Join our zoo community

Audubon Zoo Audubon Zoo Review

Discussion in 'United States' started by Sarus Crane, 21 Sep 2019.

  1. Sarus Crane

    Sarus Crane Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    23 Apr 2017
    Posts:
    1,081
    Location:
    USA
    Last Friday on the 13th I visited the Audubon Zoo. As a new visitor to NOLA, I found the zoo a fantastic experience. I arrived at the zoo at opening time (10AM) after driving for 30 min across town on Magazine Street. I really like how the zoo is designed with a long promenade, palms lining the sides to the elephant and lion fountain. It’s like an exhibit in itself.


    Flamingos & Whooping Cranes

    These two were nice intro exhibits. I was surprised by how green the Whooping Crane exhibit appears. The life-sized statue that accompanies the Whooping Crane exhibit is a nice touch


    Asia

    My first stop was Asia and first exhibit to cover was the Barasingha since they would be most active at this point in the day. It was great to see this species alive and moving around other than frozen in time in a diorama like at AMNH, Field Museum, etc... I noticed that the herd had spots on their bodies and I remembered that HMW lists 3 subspecies of Barasingha. I remembered that the Eastern subspecies rajisthani in the illustration had spots so I asked the keepers who were gathered around the otter and babirusa exhibit if it was that subspecies. They didn't know Barasingha has subspecies but said their herd came from the Bronx Zoo. The stag has a great set of antlers and keepers said he's chill when in rut so they can work the exhibit with him in it.


    Next door the male Malayan Tiger was prowling around and then took a swim in the moat which I was able to get footage of. I have to admit the animals are super sensible when it comes to heat and I was only beginning to get a taste of how hot and humid it was going to get.


    I filmed the Sumatran Orangutans next. They were at first sleeping in the hammock. Then they finally got out and I was able to get some footage of the new male Jambi. Unfortunately baby Bulan was not visible as he was hidden by his mother's hair and she went inside to escape the vicious heat. As for theming of the exhibit, I am very glad that the zoo preserved the old WPA building and converted it as suitable housing for the orangutans while re-theming it as an ancient temple. I really enjoy zoo architecture and feel that if there was one reason to visit the zoo for aesthetics, the initiative by the zoo to conserve their historic WPA buildings is that reason. During my visit I found out that the Tropical Bird house and Odenheimer Aquarium are still closed.

    With the exhibit right next door I turned my attention to the new Asian Elephant exhibit. A much better upgrade in living accommodations, I was stunned by the incredible theming that the zoo put into it. However, I was surprised that it was only the Buffalo females out on exhibit. A docent told me that since Panya's death and the fact that one of the females (Surapa or Jothi) was a matriarch up in Buffalo they and Jean have to figure out who will be the new matriarch. Therefore the zoo will keep them separate until they see that the females have figured it out. The docent also told me that AZA Zoo Day was a success and that elephant barn tours were offered and everyone was asking questions and impressed with the barn configuration. I liked that the zoo relocated the elephant themed weather vane onto the new building and replicated the barn's architectural facade to match that of their old barn. As for Jothi & Surapa moving around, I had little luck. For a large portion of time, they just stood there rocking back and forth under the shade facing away from the viewing deck until Jothi came over towards it and then went back to her previous position.


    Next I filmed the Babirusas, Sun Bear and Amur Leopard. The babirusas were active, the Sun Bear was sleeping on a tree limb in the exhibit and the Amur Leopard was pacing from one side of his exhibit to the other. I was surprised as how big the Amur Leopard exhibit appears in person. It appeared much smaller when viewing photos of it online here on Zoochat. In the past it held the Babirusa and Milky Storks before they were located to the SSC on NOLA's west bank. When I finished Asia I couldn't help but think that the layout was heavily influenced by Lowry Park Zoo or vice versa. After I got back home I found out in an earlier thread by @okapikpr that both zoos were designed by the Torre architecture firm.


    Africa

    After finishing Asia, I made my way to Africa where My first stop was the new Lion enclosure since Saba the male White Rhino wasn't up and moving around. I really like the exhibit's design and it’s a great area to sit down and get out of the heat. If you want to be near air conditioning on a hot day, this is the place to be! There are multiple fans in the reconfigured train cars that act as ranger stations that provide relief from the heat. The lionesses were lounging right by so I was able to get some close up views.


    One of the reasons I was so excited to visit Audubon Zoo was because they have Great White Pelicans. I've visited Lowry Park Zoo multiple times and it was always a pain trying to film through the mesh separating the viewers from them and the other birds. This exhibit is great because the pelicans can swim right up to where the boardwalk is. Also there is an elevated tree branch rising out of the water close by and a large male pelican was perched there providing me excellent filming opportunities. He then swam off and joined the rest of the others as well as the Pink Backed Pelicans who were trying to stay cool under the shade. The Marabou Storks were standing with their wings open. Later, they waded in after the pelicans were fed. The pelican feeding was a great opportunity to film the pelicans in action close up. It was fun to watch the ducks go bananas once the fish tossing was finished and the duck food was being distributed.

    Twiga Terrace is a great area for the zoo's bachelor herd of both Rothschild's and Reticulated Giraffes. There are 3 altogether plus several West African Crowned Cranes. The cranes like to hang out under a huge tree to the right of where the giraffes can be seen feeding. Also, there is a free ranging group of Helmeted Guineafowl that roams this part of the zoo.


    Jaguar Jungle

    I didn’t spend much time here because there were only 3 species I wanted to see. They were the Maguari Storks, Baird’s Tapir and Jaguar who escaped last year. Walter and Lucy the Maguari Storks were amazing! With their white feathers, red skin and light blue bills they look so patriotic. When I first saw them they were just standing still, but when feeding time occurred at 3:00PM they really turned up the action! They did a greeting display where they fluffed out their feathers and then ate the food that was tossed to them and aggressively defended it from the freeloading Black-Crowned Night Herons and Great Egret that stopped by. The keeper said that they are highly territorial and actually have to be shifted off exhibit for the keepers to safely clean it. When defending their food, I actually thought Walter was going straight for the kill when he lunged his beak at breakneck speed at the freeloaders. I asked the keeper if it was a Maguari vs. Marabou fight who would win and she said Maguari. I can see why. They weren’t messing around when it came to feeding time! Also, I came across this article about Walter’s time in San Francisco and I’m so glad he’s at Audubon being properly cared for.

    Next I saw Valerio the Jaguar who escaped from his enclosure last year. He was sleeping so I didn’t bother making a video. Next I saw the Pampas exhibit and was surprised at how large it was. At first I couldn’t find the Baird’s Tapir but a keeper pointed him out to me. There is a group of submerged trees close to the boardwalk and the tapir was in there sleeping and trying to stay cool. The Greater Rheas were wading in the water trying to stay cool as well. The large size of the exhibit really made you think you weren’t in NOLA. The only other exhibit I can think of that also gave me that impression was Zoo Miami’s Asian Elephant exhibit before they added the shade structure and the Maharaja Jungle Trek at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Before leaving, I took a peek at the Giant Anteater and Agouti exhibit.


    Reptile Encounter

    This was a well-designed part of the zoo that I really wish I had more time to explore. There were many species to look as indicated by @geomorph's comprehensive list but because I was short on time I stopped to look at the Shingleback Skinks, Bushmaster, Green Mamba and Gaboon Viper. The interior of the building is black except for the lights and the enclosures which house the reptiles. A docent was stationed inside and he knew so much about the different species housed within the building. Outside the Komodo Dragon was right up against the glass which was nice because usually they're always sleeping when I see them.


    My favorite part of Reptile Encounter was the False Gharials! The male was active and floating around in the pond. The female was under the shaded portion that acts as a barrier to separate the two if needed. The two bred several years ago and hatched a couple babies so it'd be great if they could do it again. Does anyone know why the male has a crooked jaw? It seems like males at other zoos like Artis Royal Zoo and Alligator Adventure also have crooked jaws. Anyone know why this is? I really liked the layout of the exhibit and the bright sun was shining on the water offering a perfect view of them when close-up in the water.


    Conclusion

    Since I was limited in time at the zoo (10AM-4PM) I didn't get a chance to see all the exhibits as I was trying to film the animals I really wanted to see. I wasn't able to see the Sea Lions, Louisiana Swamp, Primate World and Audubon Aviary. It was 3:45 and I had just gotten to the Audubon Aviary when I realized it was locked! At least I've seen most of those species in other zoos.

    Overall, I thought this was a top-notch zoo and I see why it was ranked as the 9th best zoo in the USA TODAY’s 10 Best Readers' Choice travel award contest. The temperature last Friday was insane at 95 degrees with a real feel of 105! I had brought bottles of water that were able to keep me going although I was sweating buckets by mid-afternoon and was totally worn out by the time I left at 4PM so make sure to stay hydrated! If I were to give suggestions for anyone visiting, I would say if you're planning on taking photos one day is sufficient, but if you're taking videos, definitely plan on adding a second day (or a half day). I could have easily spent at least half a day at Reptile Encounter and wanted to spend more time in Jaguar Jungle but I had to pick priorities. Also make sure to plan on spending time in traffic. The zoo is in Audubon Park on the other side of the city and traffic on Magazine Street can be slow.

    My overall rating for the zoo is: 9/10


    Thoughts On New Orleans

    As for experiencing NOLA, I had so much fun. I stayed near the Convention Center and was able to walk to Jackson Square, see the Cabildo museum and took the trolley around town stopping to see Tulane, Loyola Universities and the NOMA which is a great art museum with many galleries. My favorite was the Oceanic gallery on the 3rd floor. The contemporary collection is great as well with works done by Picasso and Pollock. I didn’t have time to see the National WW2 Museum although I’ve heard it has fantastic exhibits. In case anyone is planning a visit in the near future, the Cabildo (next to St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square) has a temporary exhibit on the Battle of New Orleans and it’s in the same room that the Louisiana Purchase transfer ceremonies took place in 1803.

    My favorite thing about NOLA other than the zoo would have to be the food. I had the best chicken sausage gumbo, shrimp and crawfish po-boy sandwiches. My favorite meal was a giant platter of seafood with crawfish, stuffed flounder, lobster tail, shrimp enbrochette, and oysters at Landry’s Seafood. I wanted to eat all around the city, but if I did I’d end up as big as Jothi or Surapa. Even if you don’t have enough time to visit the zoo for a full day there are a lot of amazing places to see and experience. I'd highly recommend a visit to this fun city!
     
    Sarus Crane, 21 Sep 2019
    #1
    Summer Tanager, Brum, Buldeo and 4 others like this.
  2. Buldeo

    Buldeo Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    8 Aug 2012
    Posts:
    515
    Location:
    The Yay Area
    If I remember correctly, all three subspecies of Barasingha have spots along their spines. Some even develop more sports during the summer months! It's the hooves that are the telltale sign. The hard ground barasingha of Central India have [natch] hard hooves, while the Western and Eastern varieties have longer, splayed hooves. I think their skulls are larger too.

    You need to visit in mid-August during a rolling brownout!


    For anybody else that has the unfortunate timing of visting NOLA in the summer, I want to recommend that you take a very leisurely lunch in the afternoon. There's absolutely no reason to be trudging through a hundred degree heat and a hundred percent humidity.

    Spring's lovely. Fall is fantastic. Winter is hit or miss, and Summer absolutely sucks.



    Unless you're wedded to the idea of driving everywhere, you can take the St. Charles Ave. streetcar. (That's the green one.) Pick it up on Canal St., and it'll drop you off a short distance from the zoo.
     
    Buldeo, 24 Sep 2019
    #2