Hi Zooish, I really appreciate you taking the time to upload all of these photographs and provide feedback. How do you feel River Safari compares to the other wrs facilities? Admitedly I've only seen your photographs but some aspects seem poorly designed and dare I say borderline tacky? This exhibit for example is, in my opinion, inferior to it's counterpart in fort worth. I really like Night Safari and the bird park by the way. Were these animals formerly at Night Safari and if so what replced them? This male has the largest ghara I think I've seen.
@Dicerorhinus: You're most welcome. Let's just say WRS intended for River Safari to be different from the other parks. It is supposed to be far more like a theme park (a white water thrill ride was part of the initial plan), hence a lot of the exhibits are "Disney-esque". The designers squeezed many exhibits on a very narrow and heavily-built up site. There are a lot more big buildings here - the animal hospital, large filtration plants, panda enclosure, etc. You've probably noticed that many exhibits are backed up against a large building or high wall, and are angular-shaped. So the theming is also there to hide these structures. It would probably be more apt to compare River Safari with say Dallas World Aquarium or Sydney Wildlife World rather than a traditional open-plan zoo, although the Amazon side of the park has more elements of the latter. Yes the gharials were relocated from Night Safari. There is still a breeding pair left at Night Safari. Good move as the Night Safari enclosure was too small for the number of gharials it used to hold. Another breeding pair was also removed from the Night Safari enclosure and placed in a bigger and more conducive space at the Zoo.
I agree, I have been disappointed with River Safari from what I have seen. I don't find it all attractive on the whole.
