First, let me give credit to geomorph, who's review style I am borrowing here. I for one really enjoy the illustrated review and thought I would give it a try. The Pocatello Zoo is located in Ross Park, in Pocatello Idaho. The Zoo is situated on the side of a basalt cliff, with half the zoo being up on the plateau, and the other half being down below at the base of the cliff. This zoo focuses exclusively on the wildlife of the Rocky Mountains, and specifically the state of Idaho. They work closely with Idaho Fish and Game as a refuge for injured or orphaned wildlife. They are currently working towards AZA accreditation, and part of this process is constructing a new $1 million grizzly bear exhibit. I will describe the zoo in a clockwise pattern starting at the zoo entrance at the lowest elevation in the zoo To the left of the entrance is the Barnyard. This area has a contact yard for goats and a paddock for Sardinian donkey and Dexter cattle. Also in this area is a fun children’s play area. There is a large treehouse structure with a slide built around a giant old cottonwood tree. Also nearby is a butterfly garden with spider-web play structure Above this area at the base of the cliff is the oldest section of the zoo. There are concrete and metal bar grottos and cages for a selection of carnivores. This is the current home of the zoo’s grizzly bear. Soon these tiny cages will be a distant memory as the zoo continues to enact its master plan, upgrading exhibits for the animals contained here. ] Following these exhibits is a heavily-wooded but very steep path up to the top of the plateau. Upon reaching the top, you see the beginning of the new Woodlands exhibits. New exhibits in this area give red foxes, Canadian lynx, and mountain quail large and naturalistic homes. A new wolf exhibit is also planned in the near future for this area. The next area is a large open grassland exhibit. Right now it is very barren in appearance, but plans call for a redirection of the path, and a greening of the exhibit. Animals in this exhibit are American bison, Rocky Mountain elk, white-tailed deer, and pronghorn. Beyond this exhibit is a relatively new, spacious and naturalistic enclosure for coyotes. The path beyond this exhibit, when built will lead to the new grizzly bear enclosure. A Pleistocene mammal digsite play area is next followed with a slightly less steep pathway off of the plateau back down to the base of the cliff. This area is home to a large number of wild yellow-bellied marmots whose antics are entertaining to watch. The first exhibit encountered on the lower area is a large habitat for mule deer, sandhill crane and wild turkey. Next at the base of the cliff is a large green exhibit for bighorn sheep, which seems to also be quite enjoyable to the native marmots. Next to the bighorn sheep is a couple of more barren exhibits for Rocky Mountain goats. As you head towards the exit of the zoo there is a roundhouse aviary for native hawks, owls and eagles, and a waterfowl exhibit featuring trumpeter swans and native ducks and mergansers. The city of Pocatello is located on the edge of the Shoshone-Bannock Indian Reservation, and interestingly the exhibit labels in the zoo are in English, Spanish, and what I assume to be the native Shoshone language. Overall this zoo has tremendous potential. If the new exhibits are any indication of its future, this will be a little gem of a zoo, teaching people about the wildlife around them in eastern Idaho.
Very nice review. I took a visit to the zoo about a year ago now. I was very pleased to hear that they plan on doing away with the older cougar and bear exhibits, and making a new grizzly bear exhibit. Hopefully, with the addition of the wolves, there might be an educational message to go with the exhibit, since the people of Idaho do co-exist with wolves. It's also the place to get quite the work out with those steep climbs!
It's a moderate sized aviary which they share with ruffed grouse. The viewing is through harp-wire and plexiglass, but the plexiglass has "photography doors" which open up and you can stick your camera through so you are only shooting through harpwire. The graphics illustrate how over the last 50 years the ruffed grouse has increased its range in Idaho, while the mountain quails range has diminished. This is also the first and only place I have seen a live mountain quail.
