Thanks, and I'm glad to hear you're enjoying this thread. The aquarium portion of the museum is actually what attracted me, as it has a tiger shark and lesser devil rays. My only fear is that I'll no longer have time to do some things in Palm Beach because I'll spend too much time there!
Zoo 3: Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens Time spent: 2.5 hours Size of zoo: 117 acres I did the least research on the Jacksonville Zoo of any facility of the trip, except for the following aquarium. The zoo was of fairly high quality, though like many had its sour spots. My favorite part of the zoo was Asia. A beautiful garden leads to an average exhibit for Komodo dragons, followed by top-of-the-line enclosures for wreathed and rhinoceros hornbills, wild pigs (babirusa and Visayan warty pig), and Sumatran and Malayan tigers. The wild pig exhibits especially were phenomenal, as both were large and grassy. Baby Visayan warty pigs are cute. By far, Range of the Jaguar was the best jaguar exhibit I've ever seen. It was large, and had height and water both. The surrounding complex was all nice as well. I felt the zoo could've done better for its giant otters, but exhibits in the reptile house and aviary were otherwise great. The rest of the zoo hovered somewhere between average and good. Some areas, such as Wild Florida and Australia, were small and uninspired, while others like Africa were much more interesting. Great Apes was mostly average, and it was interesting to see a mixed exhibit between colobus and gorilla. However, it could use some touching-up, and it's good to hear that a renovation is likely. I enjoyed Jacksonville, and it's certainly among the best zoos in Florida. I can easily see it becoming among the best in the country with a little bit of renovation work here and there. Zoo 4: St. Augustine Aquarium Time spent: 15 minutes Size of zoo: 5 tanks Need I write more? Probably the smallest facility I've ever visited, this aquarium failed to impress for a brand-new facility. One cluster of three tanks, an impressively sized (for the facility) 80,000 gallon reef tank, and a 12,000 gallon split tank for sharks and rays. That's it! I must say, though, that the tanks they did have done were nice. The three smaller tanks held lined seahorse, and miscellaneous invertebrates for a touch tank (one was the touch tank, the other had more). The reef exhibit was large, and people can pay extra to snorkel in it. There was a nice assortment of reef fish in it, though the viewing was a tad off as the tank was rather shallow, with a large diameter. The shark/ray split tank is adequate as it is now, but when the nurse sharks grow larger, problems will arise. The staff were among the nicest I've met, and I wish the facility well as it hopefully grows. Zoo 5: St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park Time spent: 3 hours Size of zoo: 7-10 acres The only revisit on the trip, and he only place to see "all" 24 species of crocodilian in one place. Of course, they're missing on or two dwarf crocodiles, Central African slender-snouted crocodiles, and the Asian variety of saltwater (which may get split), but that doesn't take away from the fact that this park truly is spectacular in the amount of crocodilians you see. Upon entering the park, you see alligators. And crocodiles. And caimans. Then some pretty toucans, and small mammals. That's pretty much the park in a nutshell. Crocodilians, pretty birds, small mammals. But it works. First up is Land of Crocodiles; containing every widely recognized and described species except both alligators and American crocodile. Some exhibits are large, and some small, but all are suitable. Occasionally, small mammals and birds make an appearance to break up the view. Birds of Africa follows: Cape griffon and hooded vulture, black crowned crane, and marabou stork. Afterwards, Madagascar: red-ruffed and ring-tailed lemurs. Next is a ton of alligators. About 250, in fact. The Wading Bird Rookery and alligator swamp is truly fantastic. It is here I saw my first wild wood storks last year (though I've seen them every day since arriving), and my first roseate spoonbills today. There are many egrets and herons, and the noise (and amount of bird poop) is phenomenal. Upon looking down, you see too many alligators to comprehend, and two crocodiles. It is a wonderful boardwalk exhibit to showcase native wildlife. Next is the Realm of the Saltie, with Pacific island wildlife, featuring Maximo, a large saltwater crocodile. The baby gharial is in the reptile house. Guess which I spent more time with? That pretty much sums up the park. A few miscellaneous exhibits, for Galápagos tortoise, more birds and small mammals, and younger crocodilians are found, but in reality there is not too much to the park. However, it's my favorite smaller zoo and I'd love to live nearby and visit frequently. Now, I really must sleep... to get up for the Sanford's lemur tomorrow!
Only two and a half hours? I mean, I often spend short amounts of time in largish zoos because I'm not paying much attention to the ABCs, but for this visit was the short time because you've been before (I'm guessing not), because there's not really much to see (in 117 acres?), or simply because you wanted to get on to the next place? Or something else? No judgement intended, just curious, especially given you spent longer at the 10 acre Alligator Farm. I'm going to have to find a thread about this aquarium. From that opening summary it sounds ... I'm not sure how to phrase it, but kind of like why have an aquarium with only five tanks? Does it have room for expansion? How much was entry?
I've been thinking about this for a while, and honestly don't have a good answer. Large parts of Jacksonville are gardens (hence the "and Gardens" in its name) but not such a ridiculous amount that it would subtract a substantial amount of time from the visit if skipping them (we skipped one garden but not the other). I'd say Africa was the largest section, but it had several large exhibits so not too much overall. Several sections had reptile houses, but they were small (well done, though). I think I spent the most time at the Visayan warty pig exhibit, followed by the white-bellied bustard exhibit (cool species I didn't think was in America). I did spend fair amounts of time with megafauna because that attracted my family, I just guess overall the zoo was spread out and not very dense. Hopefully one of the answers makes sense. St. Augustine Aquarium - St. Augustine Aquarium Opens By amount of water used in exhibits, tnis actually larger than a different aquarium I've been to (John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park Visitor Center and Aquarium- isn't that a mouthful) but by amount of exhibits it is not. There is definitely room for expansion. Not a ton of space, but, for example, a rearrangement of the tent with the three small tanks could create room for perhaps ten tanks. Entry was $8; certainly not worth a revisit but hopefully it will help them get off the ground.
thanks. For the zoo, "I just guess overall the zoo was spread out and not very dense" makes sense entirely. I've been there, with a zoo which you'd think beforehand should take all day and only takes a couple of hours for just that very reason (and of course you get the complete opposite). I checked out the aquarium's Tripadvisor page and the ratings are split evenly between excellent, average and terrible - and it sounds like "terrible" in this case just means "really small". It sounds fine, the tanks look nice, and $8 seems like the right sort of price (although I'm not sure how Americans rate aquarium pricing - they are expensive to run though, so for a small aquarium with probably limited visitor numbers $8 is actually cheap. What else are you going to do for $8?). You'll usually find, too, that small aquariums are much friendlier places (staff-wise) than larger ones and that does make a real difference to a lot of visitors' experiences.
Zoo 6: Lemur Conservation Foundation Size of zoo: 130 acres Time spent: 1.5 hours (did not tour entire facility) Several weeks ago, a guy named Jay made a desperate plea to a far off facility in Florida, in hopes of seeing a lemur named Ikoto. Fast forward through a lot of bargaining, planning, and driving through towns with little to no traffic lights and I was extremely grateful to arrive at the Lemur Conservation Foundation. I toured two of their "lemur hubs," main centers for forest-dwelling lemurs (though not all those there did). I spent most of my time inside the enclosure containing Ikoto, the last Sanford's lemur in captivity. As with many off-exhibit holdings or entirely non-public facilities, the main enclosures are function over form. I found these enclosures to be nicer than those at the similar (but larger) Duke Lemur Center. LCF maintains 56 lemurs of 6 species, and champions the breeding of mongoose lemurs in America. Additionally, it holds the studbook for ring-tailed lemur, and I feel very bad for the person who manages them, as they truly are quite common (around 700). I feel worse for the one managing American flamingos, though. Anyways, the Foundation has been around for about 20 years, and has continued to grow since (it did not have lemurs or property when it began). Really, there's not much to say about the enclosures; well-furnished cages are for most species and the free-ranging forest enclosures are standard as well, though I did not enter one. I truly, truly enjoyed my visit and cannot thank the director of the facility enough for accommodating me. A revisit is unlikely, considering it is closed to the public (there is an open house once a year, usually in December), but I will try to make it happen if possible.
I didn't expect the Jacksonville Zoo to take all day, as I'd asked around a bit and the general answer was 3 or so hours. Nothing really compelled me to revisit, and it only occurred to me after I left that I forgot to find the pudú (though it seems they weren't on exhibit anyway, and I've now missed them in a ridiculous amount of zoos). I spent a bit more time at St. Augustine because I love that park, I wanted good photos of some of the species that I didn't have good ones of (that didn't work out too well ), and I wanted to get good photos of the visiting birds, too. Also, this one section of path was closed which meant I had to go through the entire swamp boardwalk and saltwater crocodile exhibit to get to the birds on the other side (which, naturally, were rare and I wanted photos). So a lot of backtracking and that particular detour contributed to the imbalance of times at the two zoos. I'd generally agree with what you say about the aquarium. I would expect admission to be lower for what they offer, probably around $5. Most aquariums are a bit pricey as you say, with the high running costs. I can totally agree with charging $8 with the limited visitor number, but unless they add more tanks the amount of visitors will drop off quickly. Agreed, the staff (especially the admissions guy) made me have a lot more positive opinion of the place.
Zoo 7: Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens Size of zoo: 42 acres (about half is water and a fourth, gardens only) Time spent: 3 hours (see text) The Naples Zoo I was expecting to be worse than it was. Many of the exhibits are chain link or chicken wire-enclosed, but the contents of each exhibit were adequate for their inhabitants. Unless it was a giraffe, it probably had a decent exhibit. The thing I most wanted to see at the zoo was the Primate Expedition Cruise. Somewhat frustratingly, it is only offered at certain times of day, so that extended my visit length considerably. It had three species rare in American zoos: white-fronted lemur, buff-cheeked gibbon, and Hanuman langur. The lemurs and langur are the only of their kind in American zoos, so I dutifully rode the boat until I had halfway decent shots- well, the male lemur didn't quite work out, but I tried. Other interesting species at the zoo include slender-horned gazelle and ratel, and I'm sure plants had quite some rarities too. The zoo was of average quality, and doesn't really stick out beyond its collection. Exhibits on the Primate Expedition Cruise were the nicest bit of the zoo. I don't see myself wanting to visit again unless I happen to be in Naples and need something to do (unlikely).
No photos today, sorry. They were all pretty bad unfortunately. A reason to go back, I suppose... Zoo 8: Zoo Miami Size of zoo: 340 acres (with 400 undeveloped acres) Time spent: 7 hours (would've spent more if possible) Whew. That was a big and amazing zoo. Unfortunately, it was plagued by closures of things I wanted to see; namely, aviaries. Both aviaries in Amazon and Beyond were closed, and as I particularly wanted to see giant hummingbird in the first, I was quite annoyed. Secondly, the top level of Wings of Asia was also closed, meaning it took a really long time to see every species I wanted to (and I still missed a few). However, the zoo was amazing, and easily rose to the top as one of my favorite zoos. The zoo consists of two large, circular, and winding paths that are vaguely Asian and African. A lot of African species are found in Asia, and a few South American in Africa, but this is forgivable. Most exhibits are large and open, and it's hard to find a bad one. Koalas and Mastchie's tree-kangaroos are undoubtedly the main weak points of this zoo- boring, indoor enclosures. Hopefully that changes soon. I could go on and on about Wings of Asia, but that gets boring quickly. I'll post a full species list for this zoo soon, and I assure you that signs in the aviary are sadly outdated. No longer can Javan cochoa be found, nor rose-crowned fruit dove nor red-tailed laughingthrush. Such outdated signs are bound to happen in an aviary that has more birds (species and specimens alike) than many zoos do animals at all. I really don't have a lot to say about Miami, except it was great. I hope to return, hopefully soon.
One of the few zoos in the USA which I would go out of my way to visit is Zoo Miami, and the main reason is Wings of Asia! I didn't actually realise the zoo was that big though.
Yes, I've wanted to visit for a very long time. I was very glad to finally make it happen. The zoo was enormous. I took the tram tour (a small extra cost) and it gives you a good view of most of the zoo in less than an hour, so you can see the zoo quickly and then spend a lot of time in the aviary if you want. There is also the monorail, which I paid for but did not end up using, which is easy transport. Furthermore, you can rent a bike (for a lot of money) to take around the zoo all day. It'll be interesting to see how the zoo develops even further, as it is already amazing.
Don't worry about the hummingbird, I don't believe they were present when you were there anyhow. I agree with everything else you have written but I would like to know what you thought about mission Everglades? Also @Chlidonias yes the zoo is indeed huge with large exhibits for most of their inhabitants. I would actually consider the zoo fairly spread out, in the sense that the space between exhibits aren't that large but rather the exhibits are large enough that they could definitely fit in a few more exhibits if needed be (the exception to this imo would be the very good South American area and the Australian area).
The hummingbirds that were once in Amazon and Beyond have not been there for several years apparently, so you did not miss it. They were not there when I visited almost two years ago, nor when others visited it in years before that.
My bad, I was really tired last night from walking around that zoo, haha. So I guess, here is a Zoo Miami: Part 2. Florida: Mission Everglades is the zoo's newest exhibit. As implied by the name, it focuses on native fauna, both well-known and unknown to the general public. After beginning with a small aviary for birds such as blue jay and white-crowned pigeon, the winding path takes you through excellent exhibits for wetland birds, black bear, Florida panther, assorted herps, birds of prey, native crocodilians, and a few more. There is also a boat ride (for an additional $5) that takes you through the exhibit. I took the boat ride, and the first thing that happened was the boat taking in two inches of water, soaking my shoes (they're still wet). The ride felt kind of empty, as while you went by several exhibits, it moved slowly (unlike the airboats it is themed after) and there's a lot of off-time with nothing to look at. Randomly at the end, large water cannons shot water into the air and it all rained down on the boat. That alone was worth the $5 on such a hot day. Amazon and Beyond is a three-part complex: Cloud Forest, Atlantic Forest, and Flooded Forest. In clockwise fashion, Cloud Forest is first. Exhibits vary in quality, though most are at least average. The first of three small reptile houses is in this section, with a decent selection of species. I liked the pair of jaguar exhibits, but they were too small it would perhaps be better for them to be combined into one. The next section is Flooded Forest, where the highlight is a 50,000 gallon tank featuring some of the Amazon's largest fish (arapaima, red-tailed catfish, etc). The tank is impressively tall and has a very good effect on visitors. There is also a harpy eagle "walkthrough" where the visitor passes through a tunnel in the aviary. Zoo Miami is the only zoo to have bred this species recently, though sadly the chick did not live. Last is Atlantic Forest, with some larger South American species like giant river otter and giant anteater. The exhibits here are average. Overall, I enjoyed the setting of the complex (the music played is a bit wacky) and most of the exhibits were just fine. Wings of Asia... where do I start? The aviary itself is 1.6 acres, has 85 species, and over 500 specimens. The exact number is unknown because there are so many Javan pond herons they stopped counting. There are five species of bulbul, 15 species of dove, and other amazing species like white-eared catbird, fawn-breasted bowerbird, painted stork, and more. Did I mention there are free roaming Indian sarus cranes? The aviary is just beautifully laid out, with plants perfectly in place to add to the effect. I'll cut myself off now, but I could go on for hours about this magnificent exhibit. Thanks (to you and @savethelephant) for pointing this out. A shame they are no longer present, but that's one less thing I missed.
Well, this isn't something you see every day. Anyways, if anyone is particularly enthused by tiger sharks, I'd hurry here (or Maui Ocean Center, or Sea Paradise in Japan, each with one tiger shark, the only three I know of in captivity) because this one didn't look like it'd last too long. It rubbed against the sides of the tank continuously, which is a clear sign of a shark not really adapted to captivity. Zoo 9: Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science Size of zoo: hard to gauge; a six floor museum of which the aquarium occupies three Time spent: 2.5 hours The Gulf Stream Aquarium was the main attraction I visited at this facility. The museum itself was only brought to my attention the night before I left, and I can't thank @d1am0ndback enough for letting me know about it. Now, the aquarium sounds great on paper, but it was kind of a letdown (besides the tiger shark) when I went. The bottom floor is The Deep, with just four exhibits. Three tanks exhibit two species of jelly and are quite generic; I would expect more from a brand new facility. The third is the largest tank in the aquarium, the 500,000 gallon tank with all the highlights. On this level, it is viewed from the "Oculus" window, a circular bubble far above visitors that provides an excellent view straight up. Through here, species such as the tiger shark, scalloped hammerhead shark, sandbar shark, mahi-mahi, and lesser devil ray can be found. Annoyingly, not one single sign on this level identifies any of the species seen. The second level is The Dive. This has the most exhibits of any level, with a variety of fish and invertebrates. Two small bubble viewing windows into the largest tank are located here, as are a variety of other exhibits showcasing Florida's coast. These smaller exhibits tended to be overstocked; while I am no expert on fish husbandry I do know more than some because I've looked into the captive husbandry for many species commonly in the pet trade (which these tanks often had). Too many fish, too large, for too small a tank was a recurring issue. A broad range of Florida's coastal habitats were represented. The third and top level is The Vista. It has a view above the largest tank and a few of those from the previous floor, as well as some non-fish exhibits. A touch tank was uninspired and had cownose and yellow ray, with nowhere for either species to escape from the hands of the public. A native bird aviary also had two fish tanks, and a tethered American kestrel exhibit really could have been done better. The American crocodile exhibit was quite boring for a young specimen, and too small for when it is an adult. The alligator exhibit was much more well done, but could not comfortably hold an adult. A few miscellaneous reptile exhibits were again boring for such a new facility. I enjoyed the aquarium, but am thankful that I got in for free (military dependent). The $28 ticket is rather outrageous. I visited the temporary exhibit, and while I did not see the other two exhibits they would not make up the ticket price unless they were phenomenal. However, it was wonderful to see my first tiger shark and I hope it does well in the aquarium (though, as I mentioned, I have my doubts). Zoo 10: Palm Beach Zoo Size of zoo: 23 acres Time spent: 2 hours This zoo was small but of a higher quality than I expected. I won't write much, but Tropics of the Americas was certainly the best part of the zoo. The fantastic island habitats for Mexican spider monkeys and capuchin monkeys (3 species, and of course the 2 I was looking forward to were nowhere to be found) were amazing, as was the large jaguar habitat and that for bush dogs (again, another species I wanted to see that I did not). Florida was a good section of the same wildlife I keep seeing at Florida zoos: panther, black bear, spoonbills, and ibises. Among others, these species all had at least average exhibits, with the panther exhibit standing out as best. Asia was a mash of species from all over. It started with howler monkeys and then advanced to southern ground hornbill. Exhibits were of decent quality, but nothing to write home about. An odd walk-in aviary that included rock wallaby resulted in me seeing everything but, and the rest of Australia consisted of lemurs, spider monkeys, and a serval. I was pleased the koala had outdoor access. This zoo was generally of average or higher quality, and this mismatch of species geographically is forgivable. I enjoyed my visit but wish I had seen the few species I wanted to. Alas, that is the way zoo visits work. I ended up not visiting Busch Wildlife Sanctuary today. The main species I wanted to see there, brown booby, was not on exhibit (I called ahead), so I dedicated more time to Lion Country Safari.
Sorry for the delay on this (and, presumably, the next) update. I'm home now and am rather busy. I Hope a Rhino Doesn't Charge at the Rental Car Zoo 11: Lion Country Safari Size of zoo: 100 acre drive through + ? sized small zoo Time spent: 2.5 hours Branded as America's first cageless zoo (does anyone know how true that is?), Lion Country Safari opened at its current location in 1967. It originally featured lions only, but has since expanded into a larger safari, zoo, and theme park with multiple species, primarily from Africa. Upon paying the (expensive) entry, visitors are issued a CD with 10 tracks. Each corresponds to a certain section of the preserve, and is a mixture of tacky music, mostly correct animal facts, and advertisements for other things the park has to offer, like annual passes or the on-site campground. The first part of the reserve is Las Pampas, home to Brazilian tapirs, greater rhea, Aldabra tortoise, and brown pelican. Is it just me, or are half those animals not from the Pampas? The scenic waterfall, pond, and island attract native wood storks and black vultures, and the area overall is a nice entry to the park. Up next is Ruaha National Park, which has 22 greater kudu. That alone is probably greater than the sum of all of the greater kudu I've seen elsewhere, and in total I counted 10.35 for the park. This mass of kudu is joined by a small herd of impala and some ostriches. The Kalahari Bushveldt follows, with scimitar horned oryx, Nile lechwe, and more ostrich. It is smaller than the last one, though still huge when compared to a normal zoo exhibit. After briefly passing through Gir Forest, we enter Gorongosa Reserve. Lion Country Safari is different than many drive-through parks because it does not allow the feeding of animals. This is because of how it started. In 1967, the park simply had lions. While it grew (and other locations opened, though they're now closed), the drive-through lion exhibit remained central to the park. Though that stopped in 2005 (after people unsurprisingly continued to open their doors), the park still has the strict rules of doors closed, windows up. There are even staff members every so often along the way enforcing that. As it is today, the lion exhibit is double-fenced and electrically charged, but large and home to a lot of lions. This is the most clogged-up part of the preserve, as every person wants to stop and take a photo. There's not much to say; the exhibit is large and has shelter but isn't particularly breathtaking. The first section of Gir Forest is then re-entered. It is home to an animal that is found nowhere else in America's zoos (and isn't found in the real Gir Forest, either): a large herd of kulan. They had land to roam, and were a cool sight as any subspecies of Asian wild ass is rare in the country. The next section of Gir Forest features a lot of water, as it is home to Asian water buffalo. Other inhabitants of the exhibit are nilgai and a large herd of blackbuck, but all I saw were the blackbucks. They were hard to miss, I'd estimate there were easily over a hundred of them. They are one of the most standard species in such parks, so I was not surprised at their presence. The next, and seemingly the largest, area was Serengeti Plains. No animal is really numerous here, there are small groups of ostrich, wildebeest, common eland, waterbuck, and impala, with watusi cattle and nyala fenced off to the side. The large field is mostly tall grass, which alone is better than many exhibits attempting to recreate the region. The remnants of an elephant exhibit are off to the side, and though it was signed for rhinoceros it appeared empty. The next area, without a doubt, is the crown of Lion Country Safari, whether you are a zoo nerd or a normal visitor. Why is it so for the normal visitor? Because there is a plethora of well-known creatures: particularly, around 7 rhinos and at least 32 plains zebras. These animals are everywhere in the Hwange National Park exhibit. No barrier prevents the rhinos from moseying on up to the visitors' cars, nor the many zebras from blocking the road. Why is this the jewel for zoo nerds? Because it is, as far as I can tell, home to the only Jackson's (lelwel) hartebeest on exhibit anywhere outside of Africa. The magnificent animal roams with the others in the large paddock. The final area of the preserve is a sort of continuation of Hwange, but with different species. In the drive-through portion, giraffes and more greater kudu are free to roam. Off to either side, there are ape islands. On the left is a set of four for chimpanzees, some of few pure western chimps in America among them. They are in two social groups, and in a unique husbandry aspect, rotating bridges between the islands give these two groups different land to roam every day. On the other side of the road, there is an island exhibit for white-handed gibbon. These two enclosures finish the drive-through section of the park. It is a much better drive-trough than many, as it is sorted and not just thousands upon thousands of blackbuck in a fenced area of grassland. The theme park and zoo ("SafariWorld") portion is much smaller, though the exact size I couldn't say. There are several primate exhibits: some islands, some not. A strange assortment of exotic birds are found, anything from pied hornbill to sarus crane to vulturine guineafowl. There are boat rides, water rides, and a few games including mini-golf (around an enclosure for southern ground hornbill. My mom and I played; I won). Much of this is higher quality than unaccredited safari parks, and I was a little surprised by the quality. It wasn't fantastic, but it was much more than I expected.
America`s,and most likely the worlds,first safari park(cageless zoo if you like ,although you can quickly dissect that statement) was actually Africa-USA at Boca Raton in Florida(not TOO far from Lion Country) which operated from 1953 to 1961.I wrote an article about it in the Autumn 2014 Zoo Grapevine(sorry,its not online).By the way i was told ,at Lion Country,that the Jackson`s Hartebeest(above,lovely picture) is not a "pure" animal but a hybrid with some other hartebeest taxon(I dont know which im afraid).
Thanks for the information, and as I assumed, that's another "first" claim proven wrong. I'd be interested to hear any more that you know about the hartebeest.
After Missing Them in Six Zoos, Virginia Enthusiast Finally Sees Pudú Zoo 12: Brevard Zoo Size of zoo: 50 acres Time spent: 2.5 hours* I went into this zoo with only average expectations, and that's about what I got out of it. Four main exhibit loops (La Selva, Wild Florida, Lands of Change, and Expedition Africa) branch off from a central loop which encircles a flamingo exhibit. La Selva ("The Jungle") has many primate exhibits of the same style: chain rectangles that are slightly furnished. Each works, but some are on the small side and should be improved (that being said, they are all adequate for the animal(s) they hold). A jaguar exhibit is in two parts with an overhead trail allowing the jaguar to cross between them. This section was an average start to a mostly average zoo. I liked it a bit more, though, when I saw the pudú. Wild Florida is yet another exhibit based on native wildlife, and I'd say it's of a bit higher quality than La Selva. The were the generic white-tailed deer and bald eagle, but also caracara and red wolf, uncommon in the similar exhibits around the state. Nothing truly stood out and I'm getting tired of native wildlife exhibits. For some reason, all Florida zoos seem to have Florida exhibits. Virginia zoos don't all have Virginia exhibits, and New York zoos don't all have New York exhibits, so I wonder why Floridian zoos are so attached to their state. Lands of Change: Australia and Beyond is the newest area of the zoo (and, in fact, opens later than the rest of the zoo, as animals are still adjusting). It centers around a walk-through kangaroo, emu, and swamp wallaby (which I unfortunately didn't see) exhibit. There is also a pair of walk-through aviaries; one is for lorikeets and the other is for cockatiels, though each has a myriad of other species such as pheasants or turacos. The walkthroughs are all visitor friendly, unless you want to see a swamp wallaby, and the stand-alone exhibits are nice too. After the walkthrough-heavy section, there is a stand-alone cassowary exhibit that is probably the best I've seen so far, and two exhibits for babirusa and Visayan warty pig that could use more space. This is a nice section, even if I didn't see the swamp wallaby. Expedition Africa is (as the name implies) the zoo's African exhibit. A series of smaller exhibits leads to a focal point for cheetah. The exhibit is large, and there is a simulation game of sorts for kids where they can go a level below and make choices that a cheetah would do to survive. Moving past a turaco aviary and a larger bird exhibit, a large giraffe exhibit is reached. It curves back and forth along the tree line, which seems a bit inefficient. A white rhino exhibit is across the way, large and shaded. There is a lemur island that sort of obscures a desert exhibit with oryx and camel. The exhibits here are all decent, with some being good. Nothing stood out as best of its kind but nothing stood out as bad. And that statement stands for the zoo as a whole. *I spent so long at the zoo because my path went something like this: Pudú exhibit La Selva Pudú exhibit Wild Florida Pudú (when I finally saw it) Swamp wallaby exhibit Lands of Change Swamp wallaby exhibit Expedition Africa Swamp wallaby exhibit Pudú exhibit Swamp wallaby exhibit
