Best and worst local zoo exhibits

Just as the title says, please share the best and worst exhibits in your local zoo (Or zoos). I will do it to start

Brookfield zoo
Best: Great bear wilderness (Including wolf woods)
Worst: reptiles and birds

Lincoln park zoo
Best: Regenstein Center for African Apes
Worst: Kolver lion house

 

Milwaukee County Zoo
Best - Aviary
Worst - Small Mammals Building

 

Turtleback Zoo-
Best- Hard to Choose! probably the whole Asian and African exhibits.
Worst- The Tortoistry (Being destroyed to make a Sea Turtle Recovery Center)

 

Bergen County Zoo-
Best- Spider Monkeys
Worst- Tapir/Giant Anteater/Guanaco Exhibit Row

 

San Diego
Best: The entire lost forest
Worst: Urban Jungle

Milwaukee county
Best: aviary
Worst: Pachyderm paddocks

Lowery park
Best: safari Africa
Worst: primate world

Henry Vilas
Best: arctic passage
Worst: hoofstock pens

 

I don't know that I'd categorize it as being 'worse' because it's by design. But the Forest of Uco at the Phoenix Zoo where the Andean Bears are kept, there's so much bamboo around the perimeter of the exhibit and so many nooks and crannies, it's difficult to see the bears much of the time.

Also, the Grey Wolf exhibit at the Phoenix Zoo. Even with four wolves, the way the exhibit is designed, it's difficult to see them because the viewing area is in front and most of the exhibit is 'in back' and they tend to spend a lot of time there or running around.

Best? Probably the African Plains exhibit. It's their...what's the word...it's the biggest and has the most species in it. It's very open.

 

Cleveland Zoo
Best: Tiger Passage, African Elephant Crossing, Giraffe encounter, roos and wallabies

Worst: monkey island, seals/sea lions, all the primates/apes, cheetahs

Conflicted: capybaras, rhinos, wolves

 

Los Angeles Zoo
Best: Rainforest of the Americas/LAIR
Worst: The roundhouses scattered throughout the zoo,lion exhibit

 

The Alaska Zoo -
Best: Amur Tiger Exhibit
Worst: Grey Grey Owl cage

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center -
Best: Brown Bear Exhibit
Worst: Red Fox pen

 

Roundhouses? What are those?

 

Fort Worth Zoo:
Best: MOLA
Worst: Hippos

Dallas Zoo:
Best: Giants of the Savahnna
Worst: Mountain Lions

Dallas World Aquarium:
Best: 3 Toed Sloth exhibit (If it's awake)
Worst: Jaguar

Fair Park Aquarium:
Best: Outdoor shark tank
Worst: Indoor shark tank

 

It is a style of cage. It is shaped like a C, where a visitor enters into a circular space and is surrounded by a long but narrow cage. Hopefully that helps explain it, if not perhaps I can draw a picture and post it for you.

 

Makes sense.

 

Even worse than Pachyderms Primates and the Bear Grottoes?

 

Good list although I would say the bear grottoes are also pretty bad and the wolf exhibit I remember being fantastic. The dreadful polar bear exhibit is thankfully no longer in use.

 

It might seem strange but yes.

The primates (apart from the tamarins and colobus) at least have some sort of outdoor access (though they all definitely leave a lot to be desired apart from the macaques) and a fair amount of enrichment. The bear exhibits, while nothing but pool and concrete overall, at least have more open areas to scan their surroundings compared to some other bear grottoes that are more enclosed. In addition the black bear exhibit is slightly improved with the stream, trees, and substrate areas but again, not by much. The pachyderms are actually very close to being tied with Small Mammals because of the horrendous interior (I nickname it "Pachyderm Prison") and terrible elephant and hippo exhibits; but what does put it slightly ahead is the outdoor rhino pair of exhibits - which are so-so at best. Small Mammals is just depressing with unnatural, cramped terrariums for many active social animals and no outdoor access (the lemurs do have outdoor access, but they're off-display to the normal public, and they really have very little going for them from what I can tell).

That being said, I agree that all three areas you mention are also among the worst that Milwaukee has to offer along with Small Mammals.

 

Small mammals actually has a few things going for it. For one, the sloth exhibit is pretty large, it also has a lot of great climbing areas. The nocturnal room is very good in my opinion. All exhibits apart from the fennic foxes are all certainly large enough for their species. The day room aside from the sloth is dreadful though.

 

What are some bear grottoes you would consider worse than the ones at Milwaukee?

 

Cincinnati zoos grottos are pretty awful.

 

Ok, you got me with the sloth exhibit.

Worse bear grottoes I've seen: before they were eliminated/redesigned into their current state, Henry Vilas, St. Louis, and Buffalo had some pretty horrific grottoes. Denver currently has bear grottoes that are poor and outdated.