So I need help picking a zoo for my 30th birthday this Friday. I have two narrowed down, so please don't suggest another one. Maryland Zoo I have been here many times, but I have a membership and I would get in for free. Not too far from my house. They have polar bears. I will be going to this zoo in about a month when the new penguin exhibit opens. Metro Richmond Zoo It is a non AZA accredited zoo. Farther away from my home. Will have to pay admission. The big draw - baby tapir now on exhibit! I guess I could always go another day in September, but it would make the day special. Anyone in the area think it would be bad traffic near DC since it's the Friday before Labor Day? Any input would be great, thanks!
Baby tapirs are really cute. Plus if you are going to Maryland again in a month it seems Richmond is the logical choice. However, I am not familiar with the area so I cannot speak about the traffic.
I reckon go with Metro Richmond, baby tapirs are awesome, and it makes more sense to go to this one rather than repeat Maryland twice.
We cannot even see any Tapir within Ohio's borders let alone a baby Tapir.Go to Richmond ! Team Tapir223
I decided on Richmond! I hope the baby tapir is out or I can at least see the adults. They have both Baird and Brazilian tapirs. If anyone is interested, here's a list of animals the zoos has (based on the outdated map and facebook photos): Addax Addra Gazelle African Black Footed Penguin African Clawless Otter African Lion Alpaca Alligator Armenian Mouflon Asiatic Black Bear Bactrian Camel Baird Tapir Bat Bengal Tiger Bighorn Sheep Bison Blackbuck Black Handed Spider Monkey Black and White Lemur Bongo Brazilian Tapir Budgies Cheetah Chimpanzee Colobus Monkey Crowned Crane Dromedary Camel Eland* Elk Emu Fallow Deer Flamingo Galapagos Tortoise Gemsbok* Gibbon Grant’s Gazelle Grant’s Zebra Impala Indian Muntjac Kangaroo King Vulture Klipspringer Llama Kudu* Marmoset Masaai Giraffe Meerkat Nyala* Ostrich Orangutan Parrot Patagonian Cavy Prairie Dog Primates (Old World & New World) Pronghorn Python Reticulated Giraffe Red River Hog Rhea Ring Tailed Lemur Scimatr-Horned Oryx* Siamang Snow Leopard Stanley Crane* Takin Thomson’s Gazelle* Wallaroo Warthog Waterbuck* White Faced Saki Monkey White Rhinoceros White Stork White-Tailed Deer * = only seen on Safari Ride.
It's ironic you're in a state with so many known zoos, all quite solid, but none of them have one of your favorite animals, the tapir.
I have to add, as long as they still have them, they have Mishmi Takin !!! One of probably only 2 or 3 places in the country that have them. Takin are my favorite though so I'm biased.
I went to the zoo and of course, the baby tapir was hiding inside. I even went first thing in the morning, but only saw the adult male for ten seconds. The zookeeper did try to go and sway the mother tapir out, but the baby was sleeping and she knew then it would be useless. At least I got to see the Mishmi takin! I'll post a review and photos once that thread gets approved for the US forum. It was a decent zoo, but pretty basic exhibits. However, some large ones as well.
