The Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo is one of the great zoos of the world. Only San Diego and Bronx are better in the US. The Lied Jungle, Kingdom of the Nights, and Desert Dome are incredible immersion exhibits. Omaha’s collection is outstanding, but for the most part, their exhibitory is weak. Lied Jungle The Lied Jungle is the best indoor rainforest simply put. It has a huge variety of animals under its 1.5 acre roof. It is filled with foliage and rivers. There are two ways to see it; from a canopy level walk, or from a dirt path on the forest floor. It passes through three geographic sections; Asia, Africa, and South America. As you enter the Asian rainforest you will see a small fairy bluebird exhibit in the rock. On either side of the path is an island for lar and white handed gibbons. Like all the primate islands, they are very large and offer plenty of climbing opportunities for the animals. Sharing the lar gibbons home are Asian small-clawed otters. Living behind glass in the Asian nightlife cave are pygmy slow lorises, blood python, Malayan water monitor, while Indian crested porcupines and clouded leopards both inhabit dark cave-like exhibits. Another island is home to ebony/ francois langurs (rotating) and Malayan tapirs. The first exhibit you will see in Africa is a small DeBrazza’s monkey exhibit (formerly home to ring-tailed lemurs). Blue monkeys live on an island, while lake Victoria cichlids and Nile soft-shelled tortoises live in the water surrounding the island. A Dumeril’s ground boa lives in a tiny glass fronted exhibit in an overhanging tree branch. African pygmy geese, silvery-cheeked hornbills, violaceous turaco, and green woodhoopoe live in a nice aviary next to a Home’s hinge-backed tortoise exhibit. Pygmy hippos live in a small pool up ahead across from African spot-necked otters. In South America an island is home to black spider monkeys as well as white-fronted capuchins and Baird’s tapir. In another cave you can see yellow anaconda, Brazilian rainbow boa, cotton-top tamarin, common marmoset, golden lion tamarin, Panamanian golden from, and black and white tegu. From this cave, visitors can access an overlook of the spider monkey island. Three islands make up the last exhibit. Scarlet macaws live on one, while red-backed bearded sakis and mustached tamarins live on the largest one. Two-toed sloths live on another island, while arapaima, silver arowana, red-breasted pacu and other fish like in the surrounding waters. Free-flying birds include sunbittern, radjah shelduck, magpie goose, hammerkop, gray-necked wood rail, black crake, nicobar pigeon, white-crested laughing thrush, and straw-necked ibis, among others. When starting on the ground level, the first exhibit is a freshwater stingray pool, followed by an overlook into the Baird’s tapir exhibit. A tunnel offers underwater views of the pygmy hippos. Small aquariums are home to cichlids. Ahead are underwater viewing for Malayan tapirs, Asian small-clawed otters, and Philippine crocodiles. Prevost’s squirrels behind galls are the last animals you will see. The main point of the forest floor seems to be for observing the birds free-flying. Overall, the section has some small exhibits, but is brilliant Desert Dome The Desert Dome is a massive indoor desert located underneath a geodesic dome. The immersion is second only to the Lied Jungle. A winding trail takes visitors through canyons, caves, and other geographical features. The three regions are The Sahara desert, Australia’s Red Center, and the Sonoran Desert. Before you enter the actual desert, a large circular room offers info on the world’s deserts. As you enter, you are greeted by a giant sand dune made from actual sand from the Sahara desert. Cave drawings adorn the walls of this section. Small exhibits in the rock house bat-eared foxes, African jacanas/blue-bellied rollers, and orange bishops/blacksmith plover. Cape-thick-knees are free-roaming in this area. Two very large rocky habitats exhibit meerkats, while a serval lives on a rocky ledge nearby. Small cichlids and turtles live in pools scattered around the exhibit. An enormous rocky cliff face is inhabited by rock hyraxes, while Hottentot teals live in a pool beneath. An upcoming cave displays these African and Australian reptiles: cape cobra, burrowing asp, many-horned adder, African striped skink, orange-throated flat rock lizard, blue-headed tree agama, white-throated monitor, yellow-throated plated lizard, Angolan python, Gould’s monitor, rough knob-tailed gecko, Australian tree skink, Australian frilled dragon, Australian blue-tongued skink, Merten’s water monitor, Collett’s snake, death adder, black-headed python, centralian python, inland taipan, Cunningham’s skink, as well as laughing kookaburras. The small Red Center section features rock wallabies on a cliff, free-flying white cockatoos, and a large aviary with Gouldian finch, black throated finch, double-barred finch, painted firetail finch, star finch, zebra finch, and crested doves. Both beaded and frilled dragons have exhibits in the rock. As you enter the North American zone, the first exhibit is a huge one for collared peccaries, while an ocelot lives on a cliff behind them. American kestrels and bobcats live in exhibits in the rock. Black-billed magpies and burrowing owls share an aviary nearby. Black-chinned, ruby-throated, and broad-billed hummingbirds live in hummingbird canyon in tall exhibits, while cinnamon teals live in a small pool. Sonoran black spinytail iguanas and swift foxes live in side-by-side exhibits across from a large desert cottontail exhibit. These reptiles live in a large cave: western diamondback rattlesnake, Mexican beaded lizard, Colorado River toad, Mexican spiny-tailed iguana, Gila monster, common chuckwalla, Great Plains skink, speckled rattlesnake, cantil viper, tiger rattlesnake, and mottled rock rattle snake. Back “outside” Mexican red-kneed tarantulas live in a small exhibit near a very large white-nosed coati exhibit. The last exhibit is one for desert tortoises. Kingdoms of the Night Kingdoms of the Night is a complex nocturnal exhibit located underneath the Desert Dome. It is split into several sections, including a wet cave dry cave, and swamp. The first section is a canyon, with a cross-section, glass-fronted naked mole rat exhibit. Fossas live in a very large exhibit, near another one for cacomistles. Small animals in this section include emerald tree boa, Amazon milky tree frog, file-eared tree frog, green tree python, Malagasy blonde hognose, bush-tailed jird, Malagasy cat-eyed snake, New Caledonian giant gecko, giant African bullfrog, mountain chicken frog, and white-naped weasel. An African diorama is a large exhibit with hollowed out tree to climb into. Aardvark, brushtail porcupine, springhares, rock hyraxes, and greater galagos all coexist in this exhibit. Up ahead is a wet cave. In a 16 foot deep pool blind cave fish can swim around. Japanese giant salamanders live in a large glass-fronted stream exhibit. Amethystine pythons live in a nearby exhibit, as do hundreds of short-tailed fruit bats. Up ahead giant monkey leaf frogs and smooth-sided toads live in an exhibit near a mixed species South American panorama. Kinkajous, St. Vincent agoutis, two-toed sloths, night monkeys, prehensile-tailed porcupines, three-banded armadillos, screaming hairy armadillos, and hairy armadillos live in this exhibit. I the eucalyptus forest, a streamside exhibit feature pink-backed side-necked turtles and freshwater crocodiles. Sugar gliders live in a small exhibit near a large one for Parma wallabies and tawny frogmouths. In a dry cave, greater bulldog bats, Ruwenzori long-haired fruit bats, spear-nosed bats, Egyptian fruit bats, little golden-mantled fruit bats, and giant Indian fruit bats all live in huge exhibits that allow plenty of room for flying. The last section is a swamp. In a trapper’s cabin, small terrariums house Mississippi green watersnake, Florida pine snake, indigo snake, Texas ratsnake, marbled salamander, two-lined salamander, corn snake, green tree frog, and gulf coast ribbon snake. A boardwalk leads you around exhibits for swamp creatures. In the central exhibit, a beaver swims around with wood ducks, common snapping turtles, and red-eared sliders. American alligators have a large exhibit, while a white alligator has its own exhibit. Hundreds of American bullfrogs live in a bog exhibit, near a glass fronted screech owl exhibit. The beavers lodge can be seen from behind glass. Other exhibits include alligator snapping turtle, spectacled caiman, and nutrias. As light filters in from a door, one last exhibit features bi-level viewing of American alligators, and American crocodiles, alligator and common snapping turtles, Florida soft-shelled turtle, longnose gar, alligator gar, and largemouth bass Scott Kingdom of the Seas Aquarium The Scott Kingdom of the Seas Aquarium is possibly the largest zoo aquarium in the United States. Though it is not nearly as large as aquariums like Shedd, Georgia, Monterey Bay, or Baltimore, it is still very impressive. As you first enter you are greeted by a rocky puffin exhibit. Around the corner is a fantastic penguin exhibit. King, gentoo, and rockhopper penguins inhabit this fantastic, 50-foot long exhibit. An inverted bubble window allows kids to get even closer to the penguins. A cold water exhibit houses an octopus, near a kelp forest exhibit. Small aquariums house animals such as cuttlefish, sea cucumbers, and wolf fish. An Indonesian reef simulates waves, across from a clownfish/anemone exhibit. The main attraction in this building is the shark tunnel, a glass tunnel through a huge ocean tank. Animals living in here include leopard sharks, sand tiger sharks, black and white-tipped reef sharks, and lookdowns. Two cylindrical tanks house moon jellyfish and round pompanos. Small aquariums house interesting creatures such as scorpionfish, starfish, pufferfish, upside-down jellyfish, dancing shrimp. Around the corner is a reef exhibit, as well as sea horse and sea dragon exhibits. A smaller open ocean exhibit houses cownose stingrays, Napoleon wrasses, and bonnethead sharks, among others. The last exhibit is an Amazon forest exhibit freshwater stingrays, arowanas, and pacus swim around below, while squirrel monkeys climb in the branches above. Expedition Madagascar Omaha’s newest exhibit, Expedition Madagascar was built to represent Omaha’s growing collection of Malagasy creatures. The only exhibit in the country that can compare is Madagascar! at the Bronx. The indoor part features a hallway that leads past spacious but bland exhibits. The first exhibit is for black lemurs and Madagascar big-headed turtles, while mongoose lemurs live in the next. Aye-ayes and bats live in a very large nocturnal exhibit nearby. Madagascar jumping rats have their own exhibit, while lesser vasa parrots and northern crested couas share one. Ring-tailed and collared brown lemurs share a large exhibit with radiated tortoises. Giant day geckos, spiny-tailed iguana, Oustalet’s chameleon, plated lizard, and flat-tailed tortoises live in an exhibit for reptiles. Several mantilla species live in an amphibian exhibit, and a snake exhibit includes Madagascan tree boa, Madagascar ground boa, and Malagasy hognose snake. A freshwater fish exhibit followed by one for Madagascar button quails, Chekesday geckos, and panther chameleon, rounds out the building. Outside is a large, lushly planted fossa exhibit. A n island houses ring-tailed lemurs, along with a crappy fake baobab tree. A sizable mesh exhibit houses popular sifakas. The main attraction of the exhibit is a walkthrough red ruffed and black and white ruffed lemur exhibit. Fake trees adorn the exhibit, allowing lemurs access to the elevated boardwalk. The exhibit is very nice and I was pleasantly surprised on the quality after seeing some of Omaha’s former creations. Simmon’s Aviary Simmon’s Aviary is a several acre aviary full of bird from all over the world. Visitors walk round on an elevated boarwalk. It is full of trees and ponds for the birds benefit. Birds in here include: snowy egrets, cattle egrets, little blue herons, roseate spoonbills, hammerkop, scarlet ibis, straw-necked ibis, crested screamers, Chiloe widgeons, ring-necked ducks, Bahama pintails, lesser scaups, common shelducks, wood ducks, mandarin ducks, northern pintail ducks, ruddy shelducks, green-winged teals, blue-winged teals, cinnamon teals, black swans, Caribbean flamingos, Inca terns, white storks, gray-crowned crane wattled cranes, great curassows, vulturine guineafowl, and golden pheasants, as well as tufted deer. This is one of my favorite exhibits at Omaha, for its simplicity and huge number of species (which greatly exceeds the amount I mentioned). Hoofstock Hoofstock is a group of exhibits are one end of the zoo, that is very basic, but offers tons of room for the animals. Animals featured include okapi, dama gazelle, Stanley cranes, Grevy’s zebra, addax, sable andelope, bongo, saddle-billed stork, and red river hog. At the other end of the zoo, near the train station is a huge herd of Asian guar cattle. Giraffe Complex and African Veldt The Giraffe Complex and African Veldt are two adjacent exhibits. The Giraffe Complex serves as the indoor home for the giraffes, as well as indoor exhibits for Abyssinian ground hornbills, gray crowned cranes, and rare ratels. Also in here is an aviary with birds I do not remember. Outside, on the African Veldt, white storks, ostriches and grey crowned cranes share the lush, wooded exhibit with the giraffes, Also on this exhibit are African black-footed penguins, which live near the moat. Nearby is Cheetah Valley, a grassy hillside exhibit for cheetahs. Hubbard Gorilla Valley Hubbard Gorilla Valley has several exhibits for the zoos gorillas. Bland, concrete hallways lead between several exhibits, and even have bubble windows into the gorilla exhibits. The exhibits aren’t great, but not bad either. A wolf’s guenon monkey has a small exhibit, while Abyssinian ground hornbills, red river hogs, black crowned cranes, and yellow-backed duikers. A huge indoor holding area offers plenty of climbing opportunities for the gorillas. Nearby exhibits feature Senegal parrots and dwarf mongooses. Hubbard Orangutan ForestHubbard Orangutan Forest is an enormous 65-foot high orangutan exhibit. There are two separate exhibits, each with a fake tree covered in mesh. The visitor walkway is bout halfway up the exhibit. One exhibit is shared with siamangs also. A glass-backed two story elevator allows visitors to get a look inside the exhibit. Indoor holding areas are shared with agile gibbons, and include exhibits for pygmy slow lorises, common tree shrews, and giant cream-colored squirrels. It is one of the best orangutan exhibits I’ve ever seen. Bear Canyon Bear Canyon is four smallish bear grottos that can be seen from above, across a moat, of behind glass in side tunnels. Spectacled, Malayan sun, and American black bears all live in boring, rocky exhibits, while polar bears have one with underwater viewing. Though I’ve seen worse, these are still pretty poor for a zoo like Omaha. Cat Complex Ahhhh, the infamous Cat Complex. Basically it is about 30 tiny, indoor concrete cells, while they have access to tiny outdoor exhibits. The only good exhibits are ones for African lions and Siberian tigers at either end of the building. Though the exhibitory is terrible, the collection is extremely impressive. Amur leopards, jaguars, Bengal tigers (including several white), Sumatran tigers, Amur tigers, African lions, mountain lions, snow leopards, and fishing cats adorn the walls of this terrible building. Other Exhibits Though I’ve never been in it, I’ve heard the insect building is good. A skyride takes visitor from the Giraffe Complex to near Pachyderm Hill. I’ve also never rode this. Garden of the Senses is a little garden full of flower, statues, water features, and bird exhibits. Pachyderm Hill has three small exhibits; two for Africa elephants, and one for white rhinos. Sea Lion Pavilion is an average sized sea lion pool. The Lagoon is home to a large black-handed spider monkey island, as well as thousands of koi. A small aviary offers budgie feeding. North American river otters can be seen from above or below water in an average exhibit, near a prairie dog/turkey vulture exhibit. Dairy World is a farm with domestic animals sucka s dwarf zebu, alpacas, and miniature goat. Small waterfowl ponds are home to animals such as Egyptian geese, mandarin ducks, radjah shelducks, and North American ruddy ducks. Swan Valley has two huge exhibits; one for black-necked swans, and one for black swans. In the Wild Kingdom Pavilion has tons of exhibits for small exhibits for animals such as bats, degus, snakes, parrots, frogs, dung beetles, tenrecs, tarantulas, archerfish, iguanas, and hedgehogs, among others. A nursery has two exhibits, one for Matschie’s tree kangaroos, and one is for baby animals, at the time I visited: fossas. Summary Overall, the zoo is incredible. The immersion effects are umequaled anywhere. The collection is hignly impressive. Still, some exhibits are weak (Cat Complex Bear Canyon), even in the “great” Lied Jungle (tapirs and hippos). However, even the mopst harcore zoo citic cannot help being impressed by this zoo in little city of Omaha, Nebraska.
Very nice and thorough review. There is no question Omaha is an extraordinary zoo. I expect very good things there in the future, given new leadership with a good understanding of the balance between quantity and quality, together with the goodwill and civic reputation that will be sustained by the continuing active presence of their former director. Three minor suggestions: --spellcheck --paragraphs --I think the word is "exhibitry," not "exhibitory"
@Fossa dude & siamang27: Thanks! @reduakari: Thanks, I couldn't agree more, already he has began to improve areas the the former director ignored. Lee Simmons created some of the most amazing exhibits in the country, but as you said, the balance between quality and quantity was off. I did use spellcheck for most of it, and it kept correcting exhibitry with "exhibitory". Maybe I should try to organize it more in paragraphs in the future though. Thanks again.
Some Corrections and Additions Lied Jungle Lar and white handed gibbons are the same animal. They have two different islands. Smooth-sided toad added to South American cave. Black howler monkeys, not mustached tamarins share the island with red-backed bearded sakis. Other free-flying birds include: silvery-cheeked hornbill, crested screamer, ringed teal, blue crowned pigeon, Free flying bats of some kind. Glass-fronted Central American Tiger Rat Snake exhibit added to Forest Floor. Quince’s Monitor Exhibit Replaces Malayan Water Monitor in Asian Night Life Cave. Desert Dome Namib desert not Sahara desert. Klipspringer share one meerkat exhibit. Cinnamon teals replaced hottentot teals. American kestrel replaced with Mearn’s and Benson’s quails. Mountain quails and desert cottontails live with burrowing owls, not black-billed magpies. Gambel’s quails live in Hummingbird canyon. Arizona desert hairy scorpion lives in exhibit next to tarantula. Kingdoms of the Night Rock hyraxes no longer in African diorama. Expedition Madagascar Bats with aye-aye are Madagascar flying fox Oustalet’s chameleons no longer on exhibit New exhibit for powder blue reed frog, tomato frog, and velvet gecko. New theater added. Giraffe Complex Birds in aviary are: white-cheeked turaco, erckel’s francolin, cape teal, blue-bellied roller, spectacled pigeon, wattled starling, and Reichenow’s weaver. Hubbard Gorilla Valley Black and white colobuses and Diana monkeys share gorillas’ indoor exhibit. Other Bird Exhibits in Garden of the Senses are for Lady Amherst’s Pheasant/Unknown Cockatoo and Reeve’s Pheasant/Unknown Macaw. Waterfowl in Lagoon are mute, black, and black-necked swans, northern pintails, Egyptian geese, and radjah shelducks. Exhibits past Dairy World are former monkey cages with great horned owls, Eurasian eagle owls, and raccoons, and views of wild dogs. Also saw turkeys, don’t know if they were wild or not. List of species in Wild Kingdom Pavilion: In small side exhibits; short-tailed fruit bat, lesser hedgehog tenrec, pallid gerbil, Malagasy blonde hognose snake, Malagasy cat-eyed snake, glass lizard, Chinese crocodile lizard, dwarf Surinam toad, file-eared tree frog, blue poison dart frog, emperor scorpion, goliath bird eater, dung beetle, deer mouse, pack rat, kangaroo rat, striped newt, tiger salamander, Puerto Rican crested toad, everglades rat snake, South American giant cockroach, Cairo spiny mouse, desert rosy boa, spot-bellied side-neck turtle, trans pecos rat snake, giant Hispaniolan galliwasp, Hispaniolan giant anole, African plated lizard, Fiji banded iguana, degu, Haitian boa, eclectus parrot, four-striped grass mouse, and prehensile-tailed porcupine. Around central tree are several exhibits, one for these fish; black skirt tetra, bleeding heart tetra, royal blue discus, neon tetra, blue ram cichlid, cardinal tetra, glow-light tetra, marble hatchet, pencil fish, royal pleco, rummy-nose tetra, and royal tetra. One for four-eyed fish and archer fish, and one for freshwater stingray. Free-flying birds are orange-cheeked waxbill, saffron finch, and paradise sparrow. Saw Insect Pavilion for the first time. One wing is for free-flying butterflies, hummingbird, and honey creepers. Nice but small. Between “wings” is a small room with butterfly cocoons and stick insects. The other “wing” has small exhibits for these insects; flame leg tarantula, unicorn praying mantis, red-rump tarantula, giant water bug, eastern lubber grasshopper, giant katydid, Mexican red-knee tarantula, giant river prawn, velvet ant, giant river shrimp, black widow, chevron tarantula, giant Madeira cockroach, giant hissing cockroach, flower beetle, ornamental tarantula, sunburst diving beetle, hide beetle, rainbow dung beetle, tumblebugs, giant African millipede, giant millipede, cave cockroach, giant tailless whip scorpion, African assassin bugs, and Antilles pink-toed tarantulas. Also nice but small, not even a comparison to Insectarium at St. Louis. I have posted a few pictures in the gallery, but the majority are on my Flickr page: Omaha's Henry Doory Zoo January 29, 2011 - a set on Flickr
