This will be a series of threads that I will be doing to determine the best exhibits for different types of mammals. I wanted to start with bears as Oakland has opened it's new exhibit which has two giant bear exhibits. I haven't taken any pictures myself so I will be using pictures in the media pages and give photo credit. I hope this will help people find nice looking exhibits for these species when visiting the US or even just visiting another zoo. Please note I haven't been to every exhibit personally and I'm basing these exhibits on size, viewing, education, and enrichment. There will also be honorable mentions for each species. They are listed in no actual taxonomic order. Let's start with the first species! Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) Best exhibit: Detroit zoo's Arctic Ring of Life Picture by @Miss Gulch This exhibit is apart of Detroit's Arctic Ring of Life which not only includes the stunning polar bear exhibit, but also two species of seals and Arctic foxes. The bears have access to a giant exhibit that snows seasonally which creates an amazingly realistic exhibit for both the visitors and the bears enjoyment. The bears can also be viewable from an underwater tunnel which showcases the animal's more marine side. There is even a glass barrier blocking the bears and the seals' underwater exhibits so that visitors can see the predator-prey relationship and learn about how these animals live in the frigid cold Arctic. Overall the exhibit offers everything for both the people coming to the zoo, and the bears themselves. Don't miss this exhibit when you are in Michigan. Honorable mentions: Polar bear plunge at San Diego zoo, Polar bear point at Saint Louis zoo, Rocky shores at North Carolina zoo.
Brown bear (Ursus arctos) Best exhibit: Woodland park zoo's Northern Trail Picture by @DevinL This was a very hard choice as the honorable mentions can be argued to be better than this exhibit but Woodland park rules out. The bears have an amazingly natural exhibit with trees, logs, and even a stream. They also have a lot of space and a pool that visitors can see as they tackle each other. The exhibit feels like a window to the Northwest in the past with playful bears ruling the forest. Like I said this was a very hard choice but I won't change my opinion, this exhibit is simply amazing. I can't wait to see it in person when I go to Seattle. Honorable mentions: Russia's grizzly coast at Minnesota zoo, Brown bear exhibit at Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, Californian trail at Oakland zoo
Henry Vilas Zoo also has a nice exhibit for Polar Bears. They just cannot have the same kind of walls as the other exhibits due to the steep hill behind the exhibit.
I liked Artic Ring Of Life, but in my opinion it isn't an amazing exhibit, just a very good one. Oh and are you just doing it for the US, or is it all of North America? If it's the latter then Assiniboine Zoo's Polar Bear exhibit looks far superior.
I wouldn't put San Diego's enclosure on a list of the best. It's nice but not all that big, natural, and it's in direct sunlight in constant 60-80 degree weather.. Isn't Columbus supposed to have a superb Polar Bear enclosure? As for Brown Bears, while it's far from the best around I think Bronx's is worth mentioning at roughly 21,040sqft including a huge natural rock structure that the animals can climb over the top of. ~Thylo
I'm only focusing on the US for this series of threads. North America will be a bit much since I'm not familiar with other countries. The exhibit is very nice and if this was a top 10 list it will be around 10th-8th. The honorable mentions are second, third, and fourth if that gives you a scope of a rating. Columbus is now an honorable mention replacing San Diego. I can't edit that though. Bronx's exhibit for brown bears is very nice as well but as you said, it's far from the best. I didn't know about the size of the exhibit though so it's worth a mention.
For Polar Bears I see Detroit & Columbus both as the top exhibits in the US. North Carolina is definitely my 3rd fave, much better than San Diego or St. Louis (which is relativly small, especially for a new exhibit). North Carolina has got a half acre “forest” yard essentially with 2 glass vieiwing pavilions and viewing over the moat. Most of these plants are accessible to the animals and it really just allows for lots of natural behavior. The older exhibit has less natural substrate, yet still has some areas of it. It also has a massive pool with underwater viewing. The polar bears always can access their indoor holding, which has space for plenty more bears (yet we all know the state of the SSP).
I'm fine with San Diego not being in the top 3 for polar bears, but that's a very good exhibit. Memphis deserves to be in the brown bear conversation.
How about this, my original statements still apply but at the end of this thread I will make one large post showcasing Zoochat's favorites. These will be the zoos that were not mentioned by me but by all of you. That way I don't have to change anything and can just create a final post per thread showcasing exhibits that I didn't mention.
San Diego's exhibit was in the top 3 when built most definitely. Its just so much investment has been put into polar bear exhibits in recent years (potentially short-sighted investment though). Como, Columbus, NC, St. Louis, Hogle, and Henry Villas. I did love the viewing at San Diego, though the land area does leave something to be desired. Yet the 2018 understanding of polar bear ecology has definitely advanced since the exhibits construction. San Diego's is has a much higher water to land ratio compared to most of the newer exhibits. All these investment in bear exhibits (especially polar bears) brings up questions as to the future of the bear tag. At this rate and without the federal government allowing imports from Canada of polar bears, the population will decline very rapidly in the coming decade. Yet the importations will not solve much, if reproduction cannot be improved in US Zoos. Sun Bears are the other species who have failed to reproduce, so much that the tag gave up on them. The only thing keeping polar bears in the future plans at this point is their appeal to the general visitor. Sloth Bears and Andean bears are not doing much better according to recent tag reports, yet do have some reproduction at least. The only species hanging on are brown bear and black bear, solely because their is no breeding program and orphans/problem bears are readily available. The NC zoo knew this when building their expansion to the polar bear exhibit. It was designed so it would be able to hold either grizzly bears or amur tigers in the event of a polar bear shortage, which we are seeing. Heres the website for the Bear tags and 2013 updates on each of the species. Meeting Notes « Bear Taxon Advisory Group (TAG)
American black bear (Ursus americanus) Best exhibit: Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center's Black bear exhibit Picture by @Pleistohorse This exhibit is just amazing. It's about 5.7 acres of grass, trees, and rocks like the one pictured above. The cherry on top for this exhibit is the Alaskan atmosphere that surrounds the exhibit. They even have a nice stream that goes through the exhibit. The attention to detail for this naturalistic exhibit is beautiful. This exhibit is also right next to the brown bear exhibit so visitors can see both bears interact behind the mesh that the two exhibits are separated from. It's worth seeing for sure if you are in Alaska. Honorable mentions: Black bear exhibit at Northwest Trek, Californian trail at Oakland zoo, Pritzker Family Children's zoo at Lincoln Park zoo
I’d never heard about this exhibit or this zoo before today, but WOW! 5.7 acres! If I ever go to Alaska this will definitely need to be visited.
Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) Best exhibit: Roger William park zoo's Marco Polo's Adventure Trek Picture by @BeardsleyZooFan Choosing the best exhibit for this species was hard, mostly because the AZA is trying to phase out this species. There weren't many options for this species and most of my research on these exhibits was on if a zoo still had them! This New England zoo gives these bears a nice forested area with glass viewing for the visitors. The fact that there are two of these bears gave this exhibit an extra check as people can see both bears interact with each other. Plus an underwater viewing, you got a pretty nice exhibit. What gave this exhibit the edge over the honorable mention is the theme for the entire zone this exhibit is in, Marco Polo. This makes for a unique point of view of asian species as you follow the trail of this famous explorer. This exhibit may be the weakest out of the rest but it still a nice stop as you travel through time to explore with one of the greatest trekkers of his time. Honorable mention: Trail of the tiger at Virginia zoo
