After several visits over the last few years, I've now been to every animal exhibit at the Bronx Zoo. Here is my ranking, based on my totally non-professional opinion. Any voices in agreement or disagreement? (*) Exhibits with an add-on charge Excellent - my favorites in the zoo, worthy of repeat visits: 1. Congo Gorilla Forest (*) 2. Madagascar 3. Children's Zoo (*) - my kids love it; I was expecting just farm animals, and was pleasantly surprised to find it's really a whole zoo-within-a-zoo 4. Tiger Mountain Very Good - but I wouldn't necessarily visit each one on every visit: 5. World of Birds 6. Jungle World (*) 7. Wild Asia Monorail (*) - somewhat downgraded because it gets so crowded; also, the fact that some animals can be seen ONLY from the monorail is a problem 8. Butterfly World (*) Solid: 9-11. African Plains, Bears, and Zoo Center - these three all feature the big animals that people expect to see at a zoo, in settings that are reasonably nice but not exceptional compared to other zoos; still they are staples of any Bronx Zoo visit (miscellany like camels and bison also fit this characterization) 12-14. Baboon Reserve, Himalayan Highlands, Sea Lions - nothing wrong with these exhibits, but they are no better than other exhibits *in New York City* to see the respective animals (for baboons, I like the Prospect Park Zoo; for Snow Leopards, the Central Park Zoo; and for Sea Lions, the New York Aquarium) 15. Sea Bird Aviary - Nice generous habitat, but I wish there were a greater ratio of penguins to the other birds 16. Mouse House Looking Tired: 17. Aquatic Bird House - pales in comparison to World of Birds 18. Birds of Prey - cramped quarters for these large animals 19. World of Reptiles - looked like it might be now under renovation?
You've come up with an interesting list, and the zoo having 5 exhibits that now require an extra fee is not that appealing to visitors. I'm a little surprised that Himalayan Highlands and Baboon Reserve are ranked so low, but as you point out you are fortunate to have local exhibits that are almost as spectacular. I agree with much of what you wrote, and the Wild Asia Monorail is consistently a point of frustration for ZooChatters who wish to see the large mammals for longer than a few seconds. No wonder so many monorails have become extinct in North American zoos!
As a zoo fans from Asia, my ratio is: 1. Baboon Reserve (I love the huge grassland and the combination of hyrax, ibex and gelada) 2. Congo Rainforest (for large area of gorilla enclosures and okapi enclosure and Ituri Camp, but the enclosure of colobus and Wolfe's guenon degrade it) 3. Seabird Colony (I love the way of combination of Chile coast birds, and the nest area of Inca terns is fantastic) 4. Wild Asia Monotrail (Because most animals have huge and lush enclosures, except the babirusa, Indian rhinoceros and elephants) 5. Tiger Mountain 6. Himalaya Highlands (I like the way that you have to raise your head and look up for the animals) 7. Mouse House (Simply because you can't find such an exhibit in Asia) I don't like Madagascar and Asian Jungle, because the lack of access to outside world for the animals inside the two houses.
I am a bit surprised at the comparison of baboon exhibits: Bronx and Brooklyn. I expect your preference for Brooklyn is that the animals are up close all the time?
My Ranking I have only been to Bronx once and only a few exhibits- 1. JungleWorld. 2. Madagascar. 3. Congo Gorilla Forest. 4. MouseHouse. 5. World of Reptiles. 6. The ibex exhibit. I have visited 23 zoos, but only seen ibex at 1 of them (Bronx)
All right why not, This is my opinion only. not in any order. World Class 1 Congo gets people up close like no where else with natural exhibits 2 Madagascar is extremely unique with lemurs in a very natural setting. Doesn't hurt that they have the only two Ring Tailed Mongoose outside of U.S. either 3 Tiger mountain because it brings the tigers very close and great with conservation. I include the pere davids deer part of tiger mountain. Very well made 1 Baboon reserve as it has 3 naturally occurring species which live on a very large exhibit. 2 Wild Asia Monorail gets points off for speeding through, but still great exhibit non of the less 3 Jungle World as it's a little old but still lets visitors have a no bars/mesh experience 4 Himalayan Highlands because it recreates the natural habitat and has great breeding 5 African Plains because it has typical savanna animals but with moats for predator/prey. Also include Giraffe building,hyenas, and african wild dogs 6 Bison range and butterfly garden Average 1 Zoo center as it holds monitors, tortoises, and rhinos so it is decent. Also like the old charm of the building. 2 Sea lions as it's your typical sea lion tank *World of Birds and childrens zoo 3 Big bears holds your bears of a zoo but the exhibit(s) are ok together 4 WOB and aquatic bird house holds a nice change of exhibits and hold some interesting bird species 5 Mouse house is a fine house for people who are interested in rodents and small animals(which I am) 6 World of Reptiles. a nice reptile exhibit with interesting species. * Under renovation Bad 1 Birds of prey it has good species but in pretty small enclosures overall, the bronx is a fantastic zoo but like any other has some faults but the good easily outweighs the bad
My Rankings 1. Congo Gorilla Forest- greatest immersion exhibit ever built and replicates the gorilla's natural habitat along with earth-shattering viewing opportunities. Strong conservation message is a big plus. 2. Tiger Mountain- brilliant exhibit for the black and orange cats with tons of water, grass, trees, great viewing opportunities and educational aspects. 3. Baboon Reserve- vast habitat replicating an underrepresented biome in the U.S. 4. African Plains- very solid group of habitats with some (giraffe, wild dog, nyala) among the best of their kind. 5. Madagascar- lowered slightly for me because none of the animals have outdoor access. 6. JungleWorld- brilliant rainforest that actually focuses on a specific geographic region. 7. Himalayan Highlands- best snow leopard exhibit out there. 8. Wild Asia- one of the few places with a stellar Asian hoofstock collection in amazing habitats but the elephant exhibit being average and the limited time to see the animals lowers it slightly for me. 9. Bison/Preswalzski's Wild Horse- solid grasslands for the two species 10. World of Birds- Great Collection 11. Sea Bird Colony- solid but not transcendant. 12. Children's Zoo 13. Zoo Center 14. Astor Court 15. Bears- Grizzly on its own would be a lot higher but the polar bear exhibit is crap. 16. World of Reptiles 17. Mouse House 18. Aquatic Bird House
