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The absolute best zoo exhibits in the world that are models for other zoos

Discussion in 'General Zoo Discussion' started by DavidBrown, 5 Sep 2011.

  1. DavidBrown

    DavidBrown Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    In the US zoo forum we recently had a discussion of whether the San Diego Zoo is a great zoo or an over-rated zoo. The discussion branched out into whether there were common definitions of great and bad zoos that people could agree on. Unsurprisingly there was not a great deal of consensus, but it was a good discussion.

    I wanted to start a discussion of what the best zoo exhibits in the world are for specific species. The way that I am framing the question is from the perspective of a hypothetical community that wanted to build a new zoo from scratch and asked themselves "What is the best exhibit in the world for Animal Species X that we could use as a good model for our exhibit?"

    I am listing my candidates for the best zoo exhibits for specific species based on these criteria:
    1. It is an exhibit that interests and pleases a broad spectrum of zoo visitors, from the most casual visitor with no deep interest in animals or zoos to uber zoo critics who visit zoos all the time.
    2. It is an exhibit that is recognized as excellent by animal care professionals (keepers, vets, zoo management, biologists, etc.) and zoo visitors, and most importantly is an excellent home for the animals that live in it.
    3. The exhibit makes some attempt to raise awareness of what the natural habitat of the exhibit resident's wild cousins is like and what conservation challenges it is facing. This may be achieved through signs, graphics, keeper and docent talks, etc.

    These are only my opinions and based only on the zoos that I have visited. I would enjoy hearing what other criteria people use to judge "model" exhibits and what they consider to be the best exhibits for any particular species.

    Reticulated Giraffes: Disney Animal Kingdom. This open savanna exhibit is an immersive home for giraffes, many antelope species, savanna bird species, and zebras. The safari vehicles allow the visitor to get closer to the animals than in many zoo exhibits and appreciate the full size of the animals. I realize that the limited access to view the animals is a major criticism of this exhibit.

    African Savanna Elephants: Disney Animal Kingdom. A big exhibit (the largest in the world?) that is lushly planted. It is the closest replica of natural elephant habitat that I have seen in a zoo. The exhibit is large enough to keep a herd structure resembling a wild African elephant herd. Elephant conservation is a major theme of the ride that takes visitors by this habitat.
    Runner Up: San Diego Safari Park. A large exhibit with a natural herd structure. It has the distinct advantage that visitors can watch the elephants for as long as they want.

    Western Lowland Gorillas: Bronx Zoo Congo Gorilla Forest.Fantastic immersion exhibit with great interpretation of gorilla and other African forest species. A pioneer exhibit in making the exhibit animals meaningful ambassadors for the conservation of their wild relatives.

    Polar Bears: Polar Bear Plunge, San Diego Zoo. Great underwater viewing opportunities. Interactive keeper talks allow visitors to see the bears close up and demonstrate their amazing size and strength. Interactive interpretive exhibits on the arctic ecosystem, polar bear biology, and climate change make the zoo bears meaningful conservation ambassadors for their wild relatives.

    Grizzly Bears: Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle.Immersion exhibit that really does make one feel like you are in the natural habitat of the animal. Opportunity for the bears to fish. This exhibit is also superb for river otters, elk, and arctic foxes.

    Magellianic Penguins: Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle. Immersion exhibit that makes one feel like you are on the coast of South America. Great opportunities to watch the penguins swim underwater.

    Tuna: Monterey Bay Aquarium. Huge Open Ocean exhibit showcases these fantastic fish that most of us only know from cans and sandwiches. They are amazing wild animals and this exhibit really showcases this. I did not realize that it was possible to fall in love with the wonders of tuna until I saw this exhibit. Demand that your local zoo or aquarium build a tuna exhibit (yeah, right).

    Sharks: Shark Reef, Las Vegas.This was a great surprise to me. It is a really good, if compact, aquarium at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Their showcase exhibit is a huge open water exhibit with several shark species, green sea turtle, barracudas, and several other fish species. The primary interpretive tool is a handheld audio tour with informative and entertaining info on all of the species exhibited.

    Hippos: Disney Animal Kingdom. The main hippo exhibit is huge and displays a large pod of hippos in a naturalistic river exhibit. This is the closest replica of real hippo habitat that I have ever seen in a zoo. There is a smaller exhibit with underwater viewing along the Pangani Trail where the hippos can be viewed for as long as you want.

    Insects and Other Invertebrates: Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson.Zoos can do a great deal for biology awareness and education by introducing people to the species that make up the largest chunk of biodiversity on the planet, the arthropods, in an engaging way. The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum has fantastic exhibits of the invertebrate life of the Sonoran Desert.
    Runner Ups: San Francisco and San Diego Zoos have really good insect exhibits. The Santa Barbara has an innovative exhibit called "Ewwwww!" that attempts to introduce people to insects, spiders, and reptiles to people in an non-threatening way. I understand that the Cincinnatti Zoo has a great insect house but have not seen it yet. The Bronx Zoo has done great work integrating insects into their rain forest exhibits.

    I would be very interested to know what other people think are the best exhibits in the world for the species listed above and for other species like:
    Big Cats, Orangutans, Black Rhinos, Antelope, Antarctic Penguins, Parrots, Crocodiles, Sea Lions and Seals, Any other species people want to include.
     
  2. KCZooFan

    KCZooFan Well-Known Member

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    Here are two of my favorites:

    Chimpanzees: Kansas City Zoo: It is basically a three acre paradise. The front portion is a grassy field, thile the back portion is a dense forest. The chimps have full access to the trees. The chimps can be viewed from across a moat, or from an indoor veiwing shelter. -
    http://www.zoochat.com/1137/chimp-tree-219060/
    http://www.zoochat.com/1137/3-acre-chimpanzee-exhibit-170603/

    Antarctic Penguins: Saint Louis Zoo: It is by far the best penguin (western rockhopper, gentoo, and king) exhibit I've ever see it is open to the penguins, and extremely cold. The penguins can swim on both sides of the path, behind about three foot tall glass. Also nearby is a similar puffin exhibit.-
    http://www.zoochat.com/602/saint-louis-zoo-2010-penguin-exhibit-191140/
    http://www.zoochat.com/602/saint-louis-zoo-2010-general-view-191269/
     
  3. BeardsleyZooFan

    BeardsleyZooFan Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    The best tiger exhibit I've ever seen (maybe not the best in the world) is the Bronx Zoo's Tiger Mountain. The tigers have lots of space to roam, and it is very natural.
     
  4. KCZooFan

    KCZooFan Well-Known Member

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    I've heard that exhibit is the second best in the US, only behind Minnesota.
     
  5. mweb08

    mweb08 Well-Known Member

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    I agree with some of the aforementioned choices.

    I'd add Maryland's river otter exhibit.

    I haven't been there, but I think Detroit is considered to have the best polar bear exhibit.

    San Diego Safari Park for lions.

    San Diego Zoo for large aviaries.

    Philadelphia for a smaller aviary where you get closer to the birds.

    Washington DC for panda bears and maybe red pandas (Bronx and Virginia too).

    Maybe San Diego for pygmy hippos.

    Maybe Kansas City for cheetas.

    Seattle or Jacksonville for jaguars.

    San Diego Safari Park would be a contender for rhinos and various hoofstock.
     
  6. gorgeousingray

    gorgeousingray Well-Known Member

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    Dallas zoo for tigers!
    Fort worth zoo for reptiles!
    Dallas zoo for chimpanzees :D!
    Disney for African elephants
    Saint louis for Asian elephants!
     
  7. DavidBrown

    DavidBrown Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Thanks to everyone for the responses so far. Hopefully more people will chime in. I'm hoping that we'll hear from some folks in Europe, Australia, and Asia about models of exhibit excellence in their regions.

    Question about the St. Louis elephant program: why are animal rights activists targeting that zoo? What are they complaining about specifically regarding the elephant exhibit?
     
  8. blospz

    blospz Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    I would also agree I'd vote for the Detroit Zoo for best polar bear exhibit over San Diego Zoo. Although I haven't been to either, so this is based off seeing photos of both. Detroit Zoo seems to have more land, it has a walk through underwater tunnel, and it's right by the seal exhibit so the polar bears can watch their prey.
     
  9. Zooplantman

    Zooplantman Well-Known Member

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    And harking back to the "Best Zoo or Over-rated" discussion, Detroit is simply a more suitable climate for polar bears so you get more appropriate activities and less polar-bear-passed-out-on-a- beach
     
  10. DavidBrown

    DavidBrown Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    For people who have been to Detroit and San Diego, does the Detroit exhibit have interpretive information about the Arctic ecosystem, polar bear biology, and climate change? The San Diego exhibit has some truly excellent interactive displays on polar bear biology and their conservation challenges which really does promote the bears as conservation ambassadors. I'm wondering if Detroit (and any other zoo polar bear exhibits) also do this.
     
  11. gorgeousingray

    gorgeousingray Well-Known Member

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    The animal rights activists are using EEHv1 infections at the zoo as an excuse for why elephants shouldn't be bred in captivity. I saw the enclosure my self back in June, and it was gorgeous, so green! Lot's of water and enrichment, and I'm pretty sure it enriched the lives of the elephants to have calves running around. I didn't even see the lone bull Raja swaying he was swimming in the water (he jumped in which was amazing) and walking around.

    As for the exhibit, I think the three yards are about two acres in size (?) although the zoo just finished construction on the elephant woods habitat! Which has numerous mature trees, grass, and is about an acre in size! But with the current exhibit size it could be argued that the amount or space provided isn't enough for 1.9 elephants...
     
  12. AnaheimZoo

    AnaheimZoo Well-Known Member

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    @BeardsleyZooFan- and there's a whole section devoted to the problems wild tigers face, so that covers the conservation aspect, DavidBrown. :D

    @KCZooFan- exactly how cold is it in that Penguin Coast exhibit? Any idea?? I'm assuming the temperature is obtained and maintained by air-conditioning?

    And, yes, I may be just judging on photos, but Detroit Zoo has the best-looking polar bear exhibit that I think would be better to use as a model, considering that, somewhat like zooplantman said, people would rather see polar bears swimming than polar bears snoozing ;). While I do not know whether or not Detroit focuses as much on conservation, it seems San Diego does the polar bears better in this area. Global warming is discussed, along with other Arctic climate changes and different topics, but presentation is unrivaled at Detroit. But yeah, if Detroit does address the conservation issues, and addresses them well, then my bad! That's what I get for judging on pictures! :eek:
     
  13. KCZooFan

    KCZooFan Well-Known Member

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    It is about 45-50 degrees (farenheit). But you can really tell when the penguins splah you. The water is freezing cold!
     
  14. Brum

    Brum Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    How about Zurichs spectacled bear/coati exhibit? Chesterb basically copied the design and species mix so it's definitely inspired at least one imitation.
    I have a controversial one from the UK as well, Chesters Asiatic lion enclosure. I know most Americans won't like it because of the chain-link fence but it's approx. 1 acre and is quite well planted. A very nice exhibit in my opinion and other zoos should follow suit and give their cats something similar in size and stature.

    Just realised I'm the only person to offer something that isn't in the USA. :D
     
  15. reduakari

    reduakari Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Zurich's Masoala is pretty hard not to include on this list....best chameleon exhibit perhaps?

    And by far the best penguin exhibit I've seen (sorry St. Louis and Sea World) is in Emmen.

    Best javelina exhibit: Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

    Werribee's hippo exhibit is superb, maybe the best in the world without underwater viewing.
     
  16. Dibatag

    Dibatag Well-Known Member

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    I think that the Bronx Zoos Baboon reserve should be on here. That is is tied with Congo Gorilla Forest as my favourite primate exhibit of all time. I would also say that Singapore has the best set up for oragutans.
     
  17. PAT

    PAT Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    I think we could add Werribee's lion exhibit as well. It is easily one of my favourite carnivore exhibits. But we should remember that the African walking trail around Werribee Zoo is based on Woodland Park Zoo's Savannah.

    Here is a link to the the hippo exhibit construction company's website: http://www.kane.com.au/project/kubu...om_mtree&task=viewlink&Itemid=195&link_id=103
     
    Last edited: 7 Sep 2011
  18. reduakari

    reduakari Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Although from the sounds of things going to be ruined--or at least seriously compromised--by the imposition of an incongruous gorilla exhibit on one end of the former central savanna exhibit.

    The wild dog exhibit started an unfortunate downward trend for Werribee's exhibits, IMO.
     
  19. PAT

    PAT Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    I agree. It is a great exhibit and any other zoo would be happy to have it but Werribee has always set its standards way higher. I was going to add the vervet monkey to my last post because it too is an exceptional exhibit but I left it out for the fact that instead of seeing zebra, ostrich and waterbuck in the background you will now see gorillas as you stated.
     
  20. AnaheimZoo

    AnaheimZoo Well-Known Member

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    @reduakari- I don't know how I forgot about Zurich's Masoala! I'm not sure if you'd call it just "best exhibit for chameleons," though. I know it's hard to see the lemurs at times, but I think it deserves a little more credit than that. :D

    I was going to add Bronx Zoo's Baboon Reserve as best exhibit for geladas, but Dibatag beat me to it!

    And "Best Exhibit for Jaguar": Woodland Park Zoo