Note: I am going to be very critical with Elephant and Primate exhibits. The zoo does a good enough job with primates, I suppose, but elephants are another story. The Fort Worth Zoo is a 64 acre zoo that opened in 1909. Its newest and most impressive exhibit complex by far is MoLA: The Museum of Living Art. This 19 million dollar complex opened in 2010 and is by far one of the best modern (emphasis on modern) reptile houses in the country, if not the world. The Fort Worth Zoo is currently ranked by Tripadvisor as the twelfth best zoo in the United States. The collections are primarily North American (Texan, one might say :]) and Asian, although a large amount of species from around the world is present in the zoo's herp collection. Note: I have broken up Texas Wild into its 5 sections, because they all focus on different types of fauna and to judge it all together is similar to judging the entire zoo off of the elephant habitat. Jay Scale: Mammals: Pygmy Hippopotamus, Mandrill, Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby, Malayan Tapir, Pronghorn The zoo scores a 1 out of 5 on its mammal collection. The species it presents are very geographically tied at the moment. The zoo is home to mandrills. Birds: Any Kiwi Species, Guam Rail, Any Hornbill Species, Great Blue Turaco, 2 or More Crane Species The zoo scores a 2 out of 5 on its bird collection. It has a fantastic pair of Sunda Wrinkled Hornbills. It is home to White-Naped, Saurus, Wattled, Demoiselle, and supposedly (did not see) West African Crowned Cranes. Reptiles: Endangered Crocodilian, Black Breasted Leaf Turtle (this is new, San Antonio Zoo's score is unaffected), Komodo Dragon, Mangshan Mountain Viper, King Cobra. The zoo receives a 4 out of 5 on its reptile collection. They have both Gharials and West African Dwarf Crocodiles, Komodo Dragons, Indochinese Serrated Turtles (another name for Black Breasted Leaf Turtle), and King Cobras. I was surprised to learn they did not have Mangshan Mountain Viper. Amphibians: Giant Salamander/Hellbender, Kaiser Newt, African Bullfrog, Panamanian Golden Frog, Any Caecilian The zoo receives a 4 out of 5 on its amphibian collection. They are currently home to Eastern Hellbenders, Kaiser Newts, Panamanian Golden Frogs and Rio Cauca Caecilians. Overall, the zoo receives a 11 out of 20 on its collection. This sounds dismal, but the reptiles and amphibians the zoo has in its collection represent a very diverse area that is not covered by the scale. ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Best: ---------------------------------------------------------------- Museum of Living Art and Crocodile Cafe: I bet nobody expected this to make the list (just kidding). The Museum of Living Art is by far the best reptile house I have ever had the pleasure of visiting, and is likely among the best in the world. There is an enormous amount of rare and geographically diverse species in this complex, and overall the exhibit quality is quite astronomical, with only a few outliers that bring it down. There are many incredibly rare species that are present in the collection. A few include: Utila Island Spiny Iguana, Chinese Giant Salamander (about this: they currently do not hold this species. Their lone female passed away about six months ago, due to many health issues. Surgery was attempted on her kidneys but sadly failed to save her. The tank that she lived in is now signed as Eastern Hellbender, but they are nearly impossible to see in the large expanse. Instead, it is much easier to see one in the nearby montane gallery of MoLA.) New Caledonia Giant Gecko, New Guinea Snapping Turtle, Asian Arowana, Tentacled Snake, and many more. The Fort Worth Zoo is home to the largest Saltwater Crocodile in North America, an impressive specimen at 15.5 feet long when it arrived. However, I believe the zoo's male gharial could rival this. Crocodile Cafe is a cafe (shocker) that is adjacent to the entrance to MoLA. There is viewing for two exhibits from the cafe, one for a lone male Saltwater Crocodile and one for anabsolutely FANTASTIC exhibit for one male and a pair of female "Gharial Alligators." Don't you just love uneducated zoo visitors? At least this place doesn't have an aardvark for people to call a pig. The Saltwater Crocodile exhibit is large enough, I suppose, but the land space is rather inadequate for as large a reptile as this. Gharial River. The only complaints I have about Gharial River are a)glare on the windows and b)most places don't have a similar habitat! Gharial River is a riverbank exhibit that obviously has a premier species of Gharial, but is also home to many species such as Needlefish, Giant Pangasius, Southeast Asian Narrow-Headed Softshell Turtle, Painted Terrapin, Barbs, Fly River Turtle, Siamese Flying Fox, and a few more species of turtle and fish that were unsigned. The water is at least 10 feet, if not more, deep at its deepest point. The land area is sandy and great for the gharials to bask on, as well as turtles if they so choose. The water is gradually sloped until it reaches its deepest point near the viewing window that is not connected to MoLA or Crocodile Cafe. There are bunches of branches everywhere to mimic the habitat of the gharials, and they were surprisingly active on my visit. The interior of MoLA is best described as "modern". There are traditional wall terrariums of varying sizes, and a few that pop out of the wall. When you first enter, there is one last viewing window for Gharial River, and then the Touch Screens begin. They are great in concept, but sometimes are slow, or do not respond (one in the Tropical Trail section actually had a huge fist mark and was dimmed out- I was very disappointed that someone had as little common sense as to ruin a display that is highly educational to the public, listing information that most would never learn otherwise about species they wouldn't hear of either). They list most of the species in a mixed habitat, as well as showing a map of where the species are located in relation to each other (they do a great job of keeping geographically accurate individual enclosures, but each portion of the museum is actually grouped by habitat, which I enjoy) as well as information about each individual species. Some also appear to have once been programmed as touch screens, but now rotate without any form of control. Most of the individual species habitats, however, are situated in a two-per-column style, with the sign in the middle of the terrariums. The signs in this kind of setup are less informational, but do a great job summarizing information about the species. There are arrows in the background-design of the sign to indicate which species each name is referring to. Most of the species are in wall terrariums and will be listed later. The major habitat groupings are: Entrance (forgot title, possibly swamp?), montane, desert, Tropical Trail, Educational (one species; Eastern Hellbender), Outdoor Tropical, Flooded Forest African, and Flooded Forest South American. If you wish to know which species inhabit a certain gallery, please reply with the request or send me a private message. Individual habitats that are more signifigant are for King Cobra, a HUGE habitat with CLIMBING SPACE (almost unheard of) for Burmese Python, a large floor to ceiling area for Rio Fuerte Beaded Lizard, and a large enclosure for San Esteban Chuckwalla and San Esteban Spiny Iguana that does not have glass all the way to the ceiling. However, some poor habitats include: King Cobra (not a lot of terrestrial space), Gila Monster (barely enough room to turn around, this probably used to hold a different species), Eastern Hellbender (the enclosure in the educational room is phenomenal, for the animal. However, the one in the Montane Gallery is far too small.), and Indochinese Serrated Turtle (sadly, one of my very favorite reptiles is kept in an enclosure with water space barely wider than the turtle itself). However, all of the exhibits other than those listed have either average (Ring Tailed Lemur and Golden-Headed Lion Tamarin) or better (just about everything else) enclosures. The complete species list on the day of my visit (everybody take a deep breath) is: [Note: I cannot make out 4 species because someone broke one of the signs. Sorry] Komodo Dragon, Grand Cayman Blue Iguana, West Indian Rock Iguana, Ring Tailed Lemur, Aldabra Giant Tortoise, Saltwater Crocodile, Gharial, Crocodile Monitor, Green Tree Python, Burmese Python, Chinese Crocodile Lizard, Tentacled Snake, Red Bellied Walking Toad, Surinam Toad, Four Horned Chameleon, Black Milk Snake, Utila Island Spiny Iguana, Dragon Goby, Four Eyed Fish, Wagler's Viper, Solomon Island Leaf Frog, East African Gaboon Viper, Sri Lankan Pit Viper, Mexican Leaf Frog, Silver Barramundi, Boeseman's Rainbow Fish, New Guinea Snapping Turtle, Red Bellied Short Necked Turtle, West African Green Mamba, Green Tree Monitor, Vietnamese Leaf-Nosed Snake, Speckled Forest Pitviper, Fiji Banded Iguana, Beautiful Pitviper, Sharp Backed Monkey Tree Frog, Denny's Tree Frog, Red-Spotted Pitviper, Philippine Tree Skink, Side-Striped Palm Viper, Leaf Tailed Gecko, Haitian Giant Anole, Haitian Giant Galliwasp, Spider Tortoise, Barton Springs Salamander, Bavay's Giant Gecko, Rio Cauca Caecilian, King Cobra, New Caledonia Giant Gecko, Bushmaster, Reisinger's Tree Monitor, Millipede, Tailless Whip Scorpion, Australian Spiny Leaf Insect, Silkworm, Brazilian Birdeater Tarantula, Emperor Scorpion, Peruvian Walking Stick, New Guinea Spiny Stick, Asian Praying Mantis, Aquatic Insects, White Spot Assassin Bug, Haitian Cockroach, Eastern Hellbender, Mexican Alligator Lizard, Kewichow Crocodile Newt, McGregor's Pitviper, Thai Bamboo Racer, Armenian Viper, Iranian Harlequin Newt, Lance-Headed Rattlesnake, Chameleon Forest Dragon, Eastern Hellbender, Boelen's Python, Giant Palm Salamander, Usambara Mountain Viper, Mandarin Ratsnake, Tamaulipan Rock Rattlesnake, Chinese Tree Striped Box Turtle, Black Pond Turtle, Mantella, Indochinese Serrated Turtle, Three-Horned Chameleon, Guatemalan Palm Viper, Panamanian Golden Frog, Evergreen Toad, Hourglass Frog, Lemur Leaf Frog, Scarlet Ibis, Madagascar Tree Boa (program animal), Golden-Headed Lion Tamarin, Blue Throated Macaw, Hyacinth Macaw, Red-Fronted Macaw, Danio, Gourami, Rasbora, Catfish, Seven-Spotted Archerfish, Barbs, Quince Monitor, Flying Fox (fish), Chinese Algae Eater, Annam Leaf Turtle, Loaches, Barb, Yellow Spotted Climbing Toad, Philippine Sailfin Dragon, Asian Arowana, Hatchetfish, Savanna Side-Necked Turtle, Caiman Lizard, River Stingray, South American Map Frog, Mata Mata, Silver Dollar, Tetra, Green Basilisk, Plecostomus, Silver Arowana, Pacu, Red-Tailed Catfish, Arapaima Fish, Amazon Milky Tree Frog, Jewel Cichlid, West African Dwarf Crocodile, Congo Tetra, Synodontis Catfish, Tilapia, Big-Eyed Treefrog, Gila Monster, Shield Tailed Agama, Egyptian Tortoise, Pancake Tortoise, Spiny Tailed Lizard, Puerto Rican Crested Toad, Budgett's Frog, Burton's Legless Lizard, Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, Southern Fence Lizard, Woma Python, Gray Tree Frog, Eastern Indigo Snake, Green Anole, Gray-Banded King Snake, Texas Coral Snake, Frilled Lizard, Louisiana Pine Snake, Rio Fuerte Beaded Lizard, San Esteban Spiny Iguana, and San Esteban Chuckwalla. If someone read that all, I am very impressed. MoLA is a very impressive building with only a few faults. The species are presented to you in a pleasing way. It is certainly a commendable building, and by far the best part of the zoo, in my opinion. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Texas Wild- High Plains and Prairies: This is the second area of Texas Wild. First, you enter a small ramshackle building. There are many infographics about burrowing animals, mostly Black Footed Ferrets, which to my knowledge, the zoo no longer has. There is an aviary to the left with Northern Bobwhite. Next, you are presented with one long enclosure that is home to Burrowing Owl, Black-Tailed Prairie Dog, and Roadrunner. On the adjacent wall, there is a small decorated habitat for Swift Fox. In all three of these enclosures, there is a box which you can peer into. The box is where a pre-dug burrow is for the animal, so you can see them if they aren't underground. As you exit the building, you turn right and cross a bridge. View able from the bridge is a large grassy enclosure that is home to Wild Turkey, White Tailed Deer, and Sandhill Crane. All of the exhibits are above average. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Texas Wild- Pineywoods and Swamps: Pineywoods and Swamps is the third area in Texas Wild. The visitor can either cross a swinging bridge with an awesome sign that says "Be sure to Giggle while you Jiggle!" or take a path through a small picnic area. The path has additional viewing for Red Wolves. Once you cross the bridge, you enter a building that has viewing for many aquatic species. The far right is glass viewing of the large Red Wolf habitat. Next, there is a medium sized enclosure for a large American Alligator, Alligator Snapping Turtle, and Sunfish. Next there is a medium sized North American River Otter habitat with a deep pool. It has one of the traditional bubble viewing windows for kids. The water needs to be cleaned, there are a lot of blue crab claws on the bottom. Behind all of the viewing, there are infographics and models of different species. The main model featured is a small fake pond with a pair of wood duck that are made out of wood. The next enclosure is for a pair of American Black Bears. It is decently sized, but the bears cannot hide. There is also a very interesting viewing structure-it is a log that is halfway in the exhibit, halfway in the viewing area, right in the middle of the glass viewing. There are bars in the middle. This is an amazing viewing experience if the bear is in the log, however I think both bears have outgrown the log! All in all, this area keeps true to its name and is quite fun for the youngsters. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Texas Wild- Mountains and Deserts Mountains and Deserts is the finale of Texas Wild. It is the most immersive of all of the sections, and also has a great collection. Interestingly, most of the exhibition is a nocturnal house. There is some confusion, however: in the entrance, there are a lot of dioramas of animals which are actually fake. They look extremely real, but I know the zoo would not keep animals in such conditions. This section has a large collection of reptiles and insects. Some uncommon bat species are also presented. Species List: Texas Indigo Snake, Broad Banded Copperhead, Merriam's Kangaroo Rat, Pallid Bat, Long Nosed Bat, Red Harvester Ant, Texas Horned Lizard, Carrion Beetle, Giant Desert Centipede, Giant Vinegaroon, Desert Millipede, Dung Beetle, Pillbug, Texas Brown Tarantula, Eastern Lubber Grasshopper, Striped Bark Scorpion, Brown Reculse, Black Widow, Velvet Ant, Jumping Spider, Pinacate Beetle, Diamondback Water Snake. There are a few more which I unfortunately forgot to note, there was a pupfish, a newt, and one or two turtle species. After the Water Snake exhibit, one can choose to either watch a video in a theater, or exit the building. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Australian Outback/The Great Barrier Reef Aquarium: This zoo has a very comprehensive Australian section, compared to most zoos, as it not only covers land animals, but also has a three exhibit aquarium. You enter the exhibit through a gate. The first habitat is home to four beautiful Galah Cockatoos, all the time. There are signs of Eclectus Parrot and one other. I also saw Australian Brush Turkey. Speaking of Australian Brush Turkey, across the path is an enormous habitat for one. I believe it spans the length of the entire complex, from the Galahs to the Kangaroos. After you view the Galahs and Turkeys, you enter the Great Barrier Reef Aquarium. Although this is a small aquarium, it is above average for a zoo aquarium. There are three tanks in the building, but they are fairly large for such a small building. The first is a live reef tank, with a few species of coral, a medium sized clam, and 5 or so fish species. The next is much larger, and contains many species of wrasse, parrotfish, and large angelfish. The final is slightly larger, and contains 3 sharks. One is a Spotted Wobbegong and the others are mid-sized Blacktip Reef Sharks. There are also a few angelfish species. Overall, what makes this exhibit better than that of other zoos is the large Australian Brush Turkey habitat and the better than average zoo aquarium. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Asian Falls (not elephant portion): Asian Falls is home to most of the zoo's Asian species. It is entered in one of two ways near the elephant exhibit, but they both provide viewing of everything. The first exhibits are both for Indian Rhinoceros. They are long, with a few trees, a mud wallow, and a pond with a waterfall for each. After you view these, you either walk up a set of stairs (if you entered from ground level) or continue on the same path (if you entered on the elevated path). Next, you cross a bridge. First you get another vantage point of both Rhinoceros habitats. Then, there is viewing for a few more species. On the left, there is a lone Lowland Anoa. On the right, there is viewing for a few ducks, White Naped Cranes, and a pair of Storm's Storks. As you continue around the path, you get more viewing of these species. Next, there is a large aviary of Lesser Bird of Paradise. After a bit more walking up a hill, you reach a beautiful pair of exhibits for White Tiger (on the right) and Malayan Tiger (on the left). Separating these is an amazingly constructed chasm with many waterfalls and a lot of vegetation. If you turn around, you may be able to once again glimpse the Lowland Anoa. Continuing on the same path, the is Tiger Treats (they have delicious pretzels) and an exhibit for Striped Hyena. After a short walk, you reach a pair of African Lion exhibits. The male was separated from the rest of the pride. The rest of the pride was two lionesses and three adorable lion cubs. They are in smallish exhibits, but they are still fine for this species. Right around the corner, you reach the best habitat for Nubian Ibex that I have seen. The Dallas Zoo's monorail habitat for them may be better, but that's closed for right now. This magnificent habitat is nearly entirely a rocky slope, and I believe the rock is real. The only downfall is that the habitat only contains two males! On the other side of the path, you look down upon two habitats: One for a lone Grant's Zebra ( ) and one for a large group of Lesser Kudu and Abyssian Ground Hornbill. Overall, there aren't any bad habitats in the complex, but 5 habitats are for African animals and seemingly fit in with this complex, as they are not raptors or parrots for the next. ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Average: ----------------------------------------------------------------- Raptor Canyon: Raptor Canyon is a moderately sized grouping of birds. It is unique in the fact that some of them have access to flying (or sitting) directly above you. I imagine that if you were to stay and watch a while, you might want a hat that you don't care about that much, as that would be some serious poo. All of the exhibits are large enough, and also provide the birds with protection from the weather (or people) if they so choose. The species include: Red-Shouldered Hawk, Steller's Sea Eagle, Harpy Eagle, Milky Eagle Owl, King Vulture, Andean Condor, and African Crowned Eagle. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Penguins: It is fairly easy to infer what this exhibit is about from its name. The first part is an indoor pool that contains two species- African Penguin and Western (ssp of Southern) Rockhopper Penguin. The pool is fairly large, but the land area is a bit lacking. The outdoor area has a lot of land area for the African Penguins, adult and juvenile, that inhabit it, as well as the Eider ducks. However, the pool is almost as large. Surprisingly, the keepers were involved with the penguins almost all day. When I first reached their habitat, a keeper was feeding them. On my next visit to the area (same day), the keepers were cleaning their indoor habitat and chasing them around with the water, which was quite funny. On my third and final stop by of the day, they were chasing around a laser (think one of those cat videos). This was not only funny, but kept the animals active. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Texas Wild- Gulf Coast Gulf Coast is my favorite of all the sections of Texas Wild. It comes after Pineywoods and Swamps. First, you enter a small, heavily themed shack. There are tanks for Pompano, Upside-Down Sea Jelly, Texas Diamondback Terrapin (also sometimes used for rehabbing sea turtles), and one large touch tank. The touch tank includes the usual creatures of horseshoe crab, lightning whelk, conch shell, sea urchins. There are also tanks across the back of the room with unidentified species, mostly marine invertebrates. When you exit the building, you are actually in a themed aviary. There are animals such as White Pelican, Laughing Gull, Mallard Ducks, Brown Pelican, and a few other shorebirds. Overall, this is a nicely themed, but small area. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Texas Wild- Hill Country and Waterways These two sections blend into each other, and both are home to a very low population animals, so I will rate them together. The first section, Waterways, is the first section encountered. It is simply a waterfall in a pretty setting that is home to Guadeloupe Map Turtle and Guadeloupe Bass. The next section, Hill Country, is much larger. It is home to a Texas themed town. Within this town, there is a train, a "Texas Hall of Wonders", a food court, exhibits for Texas Longhorn and Painted Horse, and a petting zoo. This area isn't home to much, and it is the themeing that puts it to average. ---------------------------------------------------------------- World of Primates- Outdoor Only World of Primates is a large, 2.5 acre complex, aptly sized for its inhabitants. The outdoor area circles the large indoor portion, and is home to three great ape species, as well as a few others. The first, easily view able from the entrance of the zoo, is home to 5 or 6 Western Lowland Gorillas. It is large enough for the active troop, with climbing structures, but is not lushly planted. The viewing opportunities are also excellent. Also, the Zoo just had its first ever gorilla birth, 6 days ago on December 5th. To view the next habitats, one enters a boardwalk area. The first is a Bonobo exhibit. I saw four of these on my visit, two mothers and their youngsters. They were very active, darting around their climbing structure. This habitat, although not lushly planted, is unique because the vertical space is used well. This exhibit was moated, but the moat is no longer filled. Instead, it was constructed in such a way that the Bonobos can go several feet below the viewers. The next habitat is home to a pair of Sumatran Orangutan, with a large climbing structure. It wasn't the best habitat, but was not bad either. The next is home to a trio of White Cheeked Gibbon, which were very active. The final habitat is home to a pair of female mandrill, which were definitely making use of the large terrestrial space. This area certainly does a great job of exhibiting the apes (and monkey), but due to the lack of plants in many areas, it is only average. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Cheetah: This area is adjacent to the outdoor area of World of Primates, and does not really have name. It is rather small, but the exhibitry is mostly above average. The first habitat is an ENORMOUS area for Mountain Bongo, as well as (supposedly) Common Waterbuck and West African Crowned Crane. However, the bongo all logically chose to sit in a corner. Sounds about right. The next is for Cheetah, in a unique U shaped habitat where the visitors can walk into the middle, and peer down from above. The next exhibit is less successful, however; it is not big enough for the Red River Hogs that it contains. The last exhibit spans both this area, and the next area, which is the: ---------------------------------------------------------------- Serengeti: The Serengeti is one of the larger portions of the zoo. It begins with a South-Central Black Rhinoceros habitat, that is viewed in two different exhibit complexes. There are two yards for the extraordinarily rare species. Currently, both share the same yard, as the zoo is certainly trying to breed them. This yard is sandy and barren. The other yard is much more lush, and also larger. I did see the pair in this yard towards the end of the day. The next area is much larger, and is the actual plains part of the exhibit. It is home to a medium sized herd of Reticulated Giraffe, as well as Ostrich, and interestingly enough, White Pelican. The pelicans are probably excess from what can fit in the Gulf Coast aviary. The exhibit is shaped like a racetrack, the animals can hide behind the trees in the middle to enter there barn if they so choose. The final exhibit is much too small for the Nile Hippopotamus pair that inhabits it. They are rather active for this species, though. Perhaps this is a sign of stress, but I do not know the behavior of this species well. Also judged in this area is an exhibit called Meerkat Mound. It is home to at least two meerkats, and probably not many more, as it was fairly small. For whatever reason, the word "meerkat" makes many Zoochatters see red, but I personally love their personalities and their cuteness. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Assorted Birds: This section will judge the randomly placed birds throughout the zoo, as well as Waterfowl Walk and Flamingo Bay. Flamingo Bay is the first area, and is home to a flock of Caribbean Flamingos, as well as at least four adorable chicks, with more on the way. Across the way, their is a pond with more flamingos (either Lesser or Caribbean) and several other species of waterfowl. Waterfowl Walk- This exhibit is a short walkway near MoLA that has a large diversity of species. The first encountered are Lesser Flamingos, in a large flamboyance (fancy word for group of flamingos) that had some juveniles in it. Next, their were two ponds for miscellaneous ducks, followed by a large area for Demoiselle Cranes and more ducks. Finally, as you continue, there is an exhibit for Wattled Crane and Spur Winged Goose, and another for Sarus Crane. This is not a bad area overall, but is not for people who aren't infatuated with birds or waterfowl. Area below and area to the left of Raptor Canyon- These areas are both rather small. Below Raptor Canyon are a few clusters of aviaries, all containing random species, not even geographically accurate in most places. The species include: Cotton Pygmy Goose, Freckled Duck, Tawny Frogmouth, Sunda Wrinkled Hornbill, Orinoco Goose, Blue-Throated Piping Guan, Sunbittern, Blue-Crowned Motmot, Brazilian Teal, Crested Wood Partridge, Great Argus Pheasant, Blue Bellied Roller, Toco Toucan, African Pygmy Falcon, Laughing Kookaburra, and a few others. To the left of Raptor Canyon, there are three small aviaries, as well as several macaws. Some of these species are: Madagascar Crested Ibis, Hottentot Teal, Violet Turaco, African Pygmy Goose, White Headed Buffalo Weaver, Congo Peafowl. The Macaws were mostly Hyacinth, with a few Scarlet. ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Worst: ---------------------------------------------------------------- World of Primates Inside: Both of the exhibits inside this building are atrocious. I wish that they would tear it down, but it would probably cost too much. The premier exhibit is for Western Lowland Gorilla; It is made of ugly compacted dirt and a huge, horrendously fake tree stump. There is no vegetation (not even grass) that the gorillas have access to. The other indoor-only exhibit is for one sad Eastern Colobus Monkey, and is made of mock rock. It's really sad. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Texas Wild-Brush Country This exhibit is home to most of the zoo's big cats. The species are: Bald Eagle, Cougar, Ring Tailed Cat, Ocelot, Bobcat, Coyote, Jaguar, White Nosed Coati, Turkey Vulture, Red Tailed Hawk, and Swainson's Hawk. The exhibits for Cougar, Ocelot, Bobcat, and Coyote are all far too small and induced a lot of pacing. The Ocelot habitat is indoors only with absolutely no planting. The Jaguar habitat has no running water, and scare vegetation. There was also an aviary with a lot of common native species. Overall, the exhibit appears highly rushed and has the old Henry Doorly Zoo effect of not caring about the animals. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Parrot Paradise- This exhibit made me shudder a little bit. It is one of those walk in aviaries with Cockatiels, Budgies, Parakeets, and all that. I will leave one sentence to explain it: There wasn't a habitat; the concrete and rocks are literally green with poop. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Elephant: Sigh. Thankfully this exhibit is being redone soon. It resembles a desert. No plants. Somehow, the zoo has two calves. The animals, minus the babies, were all swaying. The zoo keeps seven elephants in this elephant complex. The bull elephant isn't supposed to be view able to the public, and for a good reason: The place it is kept in is hardly bigger than my living room! I was very distressed that this zoo could keep elephants. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Unique and Rare Species: There are a few uncommon species at the zoo: Utila Island Spiny Iguana - zoo claims to be one of two with species. +5 Storm's Stork - very rare in this country. +3 South-Central Black Rhinoceros - only two places with it (for sure). +5 New Caledonia Giant Gecko and New Guinea Snapping Turtle - no clue how rare these are, so +5 for the two. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Great exhibits: The Fort Worth Zoo only has two exhibits that come to mind as the best of their kind: Burmese Python- entrance to MoLA- huge exhibit for huge snake. Other places, take note. +5 Gharial River- This is, without a doubt, the best gharial (and one of the best River exhibits period) that I have ever seen. It allows for great views of the many turtles, fish, crocs, and piles of branches that inhabit it. Just checking to see if you were reading. Anyways, it is definitely one of the best of the best exhibits I've seen in a while. +10 ---------------------------------------------------------------- This pretty much sums up the Fort Worth Zoo. It receives a score of 144, making it the best out of two facilities I have reviewed. It is slightly above average, and is rated highly by TripAdvisor, but some of its exhibits bring it down sharply. The previous facility to be reviewed was: San Antonio Zoo and Richard Friedrich Aquarium. The next facility to be reviewed will either be Aquarium of the Pacific or Los Angeles Zoo, depending on if I can develop the aquarium scale in time. Suggestions would be welcome. Feel free to leave comments, or correct any mistakes.
My only complaint is the "Jay scale." It's not an objective way of measuring a zoo. You cannot grade something on what it doesn't have (unless that something is essential - like bathrooms), especially when some of those things are very obscure.
I think of it more as a bonus. A way to determine a slight bit about what the zoo's collection might contain, but not too extreme. I know some of its a bit extreme, like pronghorn, I've actually only see 5 of those or so. The kiwis as well. I can't grade bathrooms without going into every bathroom, and that'd take a lot of time away. If you have suggestions for stuff to change or replace the scale entirely, I'm open to them. Species I feel should be changed are kiwi, pronghorn, Guam rail, and maybe great blue turaco, as those are a bit too rare.
When I said bathrooms, I simply meant the presence of them, not the quality. Pronghorns have issues in captivity and aren't seen often. One of my favorite zoos, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, would get a 0 on your scale, yet, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better zoo anywhere in the world.
Oh. That's a good point. I know several of my favorites would also score low. I'm now think of reworking it in a way where it judges zoos on their strongest collections, geographically. For example, in a zoo that only exhibits North American fauna, then each species would count for four points. But in a place that primarily exhibits South American animals, like the Dallas World Aquarium, then South American species would be 5 points. In a place with mixed animals like this, every would count for one. Would that make it better?
