I visited just the other day and although it was my first visit in several years I assumed the addition was new and agree it is ridiculous. It provides no better viewing and honestly I just wish they’d put the money towards renovating the exhibit.
@jayjds2 The zoo seems to have a really ambitious master plan, but given the slow pace of additions, I doubt they could fund a full new african exhibit. So why not fill in the moat relatively cheaply, and add some nice high mesh fence around it. While also having some glass viewing. At first I was gonna question if this was a safety issue, yet then I saw that the rest of the viewing had been left as is.
@jayjds2 My first thought is that it would be their first renovation towards the African Savanna overhaul from the master plan. A step towards possibly filling in the moat. According to the plan, that will not be the case - still, within seven years or so, each animal in Africa will get a new and improved habitat. If anyone was curious, this will be turned into a mixed species plains between hoofstock and elephants. Again, according to the plan.
