Many people wonder what is actually the best enclosure for a particular species, this got me thinking: What are the best CLOSED enclosures for a species. Just like the thread Best exhibit for this Species, I name a species after which we can discuss which closed enclosure was the best for a particular species. If nothing is posted in this thread for 2 days I will move on to another species. Others may also name species, but do so only a few days after the last post in the thread. I know there are many bad things about these enclosures (they were closed for a reason) but there is still 1 that is the best of all the closed exhibits for this species. Also enclosures that still exist but have been converted to e.g. a different animal species may be mentioned. We will start with the polar bear.
I've found a couple of enclosures that have a chance of being the best closed polar bear enclosure: The first is the Central Park Zoo. This enclosure had and still has lots of rocks and a pretty big pool. The enclosure also has underwater viewing. There are now grizzly bears living in this enclosure, after the last polar bear Gus died in 2013. Here are some photos of the enclosure: Central Park Zoo 2010 - Part of Polar Bear exhibit - ZooChat Central Park Zoo 2010 - Part of Polar Bear exhibit - ZooChat Polar Bear Exhibit - ZooChat Central Park Zoo - Polar Bear Exhibit - ZooChat Polar Bear Exhibit - ZooChat Another reasonably good enclosed polar bear enclosure was the Polar Bear Cave at Burgers Zoo. It was one of the largest polar bear enclosures at the time and housed an average of 6 polar bears, in 1936 there were even 12! Parts of the polar bear enclosure were used in the Desert, where you can still find several remains (artificial rocks). Here's a picture of a part of the enclosure: Another zoo that certainly has a chance of havingthe best closed polar bear enclosure is the Philadelphia Zoo. Their last polar bear died in 2018. Now the enclosure is used for Humbolt penguins. Here photos: Another contender is Bronx Zoo. Their last polar bear Tundra died in 2017. Since 2021, there live dholes in the enclosure. Here photos: Indianopolis Zoo could also be a contender. Their last polar bear left in 2016. This enclosure is now used for Crab-Eating Macaques: Oceans - Polar Bear Exhibit - ZooChat Polar Bear Exhibit - ZooChat Another one that seems very good is the Lake Superior Zoo. Their last polar bear left in 2012. The enclosure is now used for Alaskan brown bears. I couldn't find any pictures from before it was converted to a brown bear enclosure but it seemed very good and large. Here are some links: lake superior zoo polar bear - Google Search Search Results for Query: polar bear - ZooChat Another pretty good one was the Singapore Zoo. Although it was poor in terms of Singapore Zoo quality it did have a large pool with underwater views and air conditioning. Here photos:
As a frequent Bronx visitor, let me tell you that Tundra's exhibit was terrible. He had almost no space to swim or to move, he was constantly pacing and was always miserable from the heat.
Yes. The enclosure must have been really good for its time in the past but now in this day the enclosure is better as a dhole enclosure. But compared to other closed polar bear enclosures it was still 1 of the better ones.
Migratory bird aviary at Rotterdam Zoo was probably the best exhibit ever for native birds. It was closed and remodeled for okapis (which years?). Dutch zoos have lots of good closed exhibits. Apparently it is somewhat of a Dutch habit to constantly tinker and propose improvements - generally to the better, sometimes to the worse.
To keep this thread a bit active, I would like to know what you think is the best closed pygmy hippo enclosure. For example, consider your home zoo or check Zootierliste (English) and post a photo or description of the enclosure in this thread.
In the Benelux, I think there are already 2 big contenders to be the best dwarf hippopotamus enclosure. The first is 1 of my home zoos, namely Pakawi Park. There are no real photos that show the entire enclosure, but you can see it back on Google Maps (though when the dwarf hippos had already left) and on earlier maps of the park you can also see it well (even on the current map, I think a mistake was made in making this, or it is a future project, which I would certainly welcome). It was located on the site of the current enclosures for fossa and cougar, among others. The enclosure consisted of a wide moat and a very well vegetated land area with also the fence which was nicely overgrown. There was 1 viewing window and for the rest there was only a low wooden fence where you could pretty much touch the pygmy hippo. It was actually a fairly large enclosure of about 720 m2 (7750 ft2). Especially the lots of shade and vegetation made the enclosure good in my opinion. It also housed birds such as cormorants and black swans later (and possibly at the same time as the pygmy hippopotamus). The stable, however, was too small so the dwarf hippopotamus left in 2009. Burgers Zoo enclosure was also a nice enclosure, with lots of vegetation and a nice rock wall at the back of the enclosure. The pygmy hippos lived together with blue divers. However, the pool was too small in my opinion. However, the enclosure closed in 2017. I still don't understand why they did this, as the area looked much nicer than it is now. Here are some pictures from ZooChat: Hippo/Duiker Exhibits at Burgers Zoo Arnhem, 29/08/10 - ZooChat Pygmy hippo enclosure - ZooChat
