Really? I think as long as you visit at their 4 pm feeding time, you’ll see them active. Other than that your odds aren’t great, but I think that would be because they’re nocturnal.
Sorry about the lack of updates. I’ve just been busy doing everything else in addition to visiting 6 zoos in 6 days. I’ll probably wait to write my reviews of Shedd, Milwaukee, and Lincoln Park tomorrow when I’m home and at my computer as I’ll have a lot to say about them all and typing up the previous three reviews on my phone was a chore. I’m also pretty tired after driving for 9 1/2 hours today and walking around Lincoln Park for 3 hours.
Alright! I am back home and ready to just sleep a whole day tomorrow before I start work again on the fourth. I'll start with my Shedd Aquarium review, then the Milwaukee and Lincoln Park reviews tomorrow. Shedd Aquarium This aquarium definitely lives up to the hype. I spent 4 and a half hours here and probably could spend the whole day if I could. This seems like the kind of facility that you could leisurely stroll through in an hour or spend three days looking for every species. The architecture of the building is amazing and I spent some time just looking for the small details that were added to the walls, the pillars and the decorations. Boasting over 1,500 species and the crazy part is, they are mostly all fish and invertebrates. The mammal, reptile and bird collection here is not all too impressive compared to other aquariums but still better than many. When you walk in, you are greeted with a large polygonal tank in the center of an atrium of sorts. The tank is their Caribbean Reef tank. It always has dozens of people around the entire thing and is an amazing centerpiece. This atrium leads to all the other parts of the building which is actually pretty nice as you never really feel like you are backtracking. The exhibits around the atrium are all simple in shape and arrangement alone. They are all general rectangles with the exception of Amazon Rising but the theming and scaping are all done amazingly. Each one has appropriate plants, rocks, wood, etc. There are some more organically shaped exhibits such as a sturgeon touch tank which I have never seen before and a well scaped alligator exhibit. Unfortunately I don't think it can hold anything other than juveniles but it's better than most juvenile gators get. Amazon Rising is flipping awesome. Natural lighting, and exhibit after exhibit that mesh perfectly with each other makes for an extremely immersive experience. If there is one thing about the other main level exhibits is that the surrounding theming isn't really there but that doesn't really detract from the actual exhibits which is what everyone is looking at. Signage is a mixture between simple signage with just the common and binomial names and electronic signage for the exhibits with more species in them. The electronic signage has more information on the species if you touch one but you would literally be there for days reading and seeing every species if you tried. Something I can see that may be useful with the exhibit designs is the ability to change species at any point without changing too much about the exhibit itself. I was impressed by the number of species and they have a good variety of familiar species that people love to see and rarities that even I have never seen or heard of before (I was baffled at the sight of a paddlefish). Down an elevator, you get to Wild Reef which is the aquarium's large shark tank and surrounding exhibits. The education signage and coral theme was superb and it all accumulated to an amazing shark tank with a window that curves over your head so that sharks can swim over you. I think I prefer this to a tunnel as it isn't as crowded and the total viewing surface is way larger. The aquarium has a special exhibit on the Ground Level called Underwater Beauty. It's a neat concept but the space does not do well with crowds and there are a lot of repeat species that you can see in other exhibits. It's decent but ultimately my second least favorite exhibit. The Ground Level also has a standard stingray touch pool on the outside which isn't anything different than what you'd see at another aquarium or zoo. I should say that I like how everything (except the 4D theater) is included with a standard admission now where previously I believe that the special exhibits, Wild Reef, and the stingray touch pool cost extra. The ticket is apparently much more expensive but I bet it helps spread the crowds around the building better than when those exhibits were extra. The last main area of the aquarium is the Pacific Northwest themed area. This is a beautiful area with realistic pine trees along the path and streams running down the rocks. The first exhibit I saw contained beluga whales. I loved seeing them above the surface and even saw an ultrasound training session with their pregnant female! The big tank in the middle (called Abbott Oceanarium) was closed off due to a show starting soon. On the other side of the path on this side of the Oceanarium is the oddest exhibit in the entire building. The smallest California sea lion exhibit I have ever seen. It only has viewing on the surface and has about as much area as my bedroom. Super small. Although the sea lion inside is blind so maybe the small area helps him keep his bearings when swimming. Anyways, I'd axe this exhibit if I were in control. The other side of the Oceanarium has a decent sea otter habitat, what was clearly a touch pool ir is at certain times (although it was unmanned and there were signs saying don't touch the animals), and the surface viewing for the Pacific white-sided dolphins. Going downstairs gives underwater viewing for the dolphins, the whales and the sea otters as well as another touch pool, a snack bar, and some kid exploration play sets. If you can't get a seat for the show, it is pretty entertaining to see the behaviors from underwater here. There is also the Humboldt penguin exhibit which is pretty nice. It's about average in terms of rockwork and theming. The penguins seem to have a lot more swimming room than you can see as they kept swimming under the rocks on the left side and appearing on the right. I like Brookfield's better if only for the natural lighting and mixed species. I really liked Shedd. Again, if I wanted to see every single species they have on exhibit, I'd probably still be in Chicago. But I like how you can choose to walk through the main level at your own pace. I'm surprised at how small the building is for how many species it holds. It honestly doesn't seem that large. I was expecting a walk through experience through the whole building like Denver's Downtown Aquarium. I was pleasantly surprised because it allowed me to pick and choose what exhibit I wanted to see next and plan out when I wanted to see the Animal Presentation (very good, educational program, definitely see this if you are visiting, just be sure to reserve a seat at the kiosks by the restaurant). Overall, this is my favorite aquarium I have been to and a top favorite zoological facility that I have seen.
I agree that the sea lion area is pretty small, they do have a another pool area behind the scenes. Sometimes I think the show is better underwater! I love to watch the lags coordination for jumps and leaps together!
Milwaukee County Zoo This is a very interesting zoo. It sits on a beautiful plot of land with dense forest that covers the paths. It is also very spread out. My watch told me that I had 25,000 steps at the end of the day. All the animals can be seen in one big loop which makes it easy to see everything. The first exhibit I saw was the Humboldt penguin exhibit at the main entrance. It's pretty average and the penguins were pretty active but I wonder what sort of area they have in the winter as the whole exhibit seemed isolated from any buildings. After seeing these penguins I headed to the first exhibit complex. Mahler Family Aviary This is a very nice exhibit complex for its age. All the exhibits are large and immersive. The animals were very active and I even was able to see an ibis chick. Outside the building is a large pond with flamingos. There is a second penguin exhibit and this one holds cold weather penguins. Pretty average in size and features but it's nice to see a zoo with both cold and warm climate penguins. The main attraction is the walk through aviary. It is large with cliffs, live trees, a waterfall, and lots of birds. I probably spent 15 mins in here watching all the activity. The rest of the exhibits are very well scaped and planted. There is a whooping crane exhibit right outside the exit but it was blocked off. This is one of the best bird houses that I have been to and is in my opinion the best exhibit in the zoo. Primates of the World and Stearns Family Apes of Africa This is an overall above average series of exhibits. The indoor gorilla and bonobo habitats look really nice and have a natural feel. I can't say the same about the outdoor habitats. The gorilla one is interesting as it is a netted exhibit with a simple climbing structure. It isn't large enough to have a lot of apes outside and I only saw one while I was there. The outdoor bonobo exhibit is a series of elevated mesh tunnels with multiple high points and enrichment added. This is a great idea but I would like to have seen it connected to a larger outdoor habitat with natural substrate and climbing structures. Maybe they can mesh in a section of the beautiful forest that serves as the backdrop to the whole exhibit. Overall, it's a good idea but I would like to have seen it more fully realized. The Primates of the World section has lots of well perched indoor exhibits. The outdoor spider monkey exhibit is one of my favorites that I have seen as it is well themed and the primates were very active. I unfortunately did not see the mandrills in either the indoor or outdoor habitats. The map confused me. Do the siamangs and mandrills rotate the outdoor exhibit? I only saw the siamangs. The orangutan exhibit could be better in a few ways. The indoor rooms are really small and don't provide a lot of vertical space. The outdoor exhibit is large and has a lot of climbing opportunities but completely breaks any immersion. With a beautiful forest backdrop and a lot of unused space, I think the zoo could improve this habitat by adding an overhead shift to the other side of the path and building a large mesh enclosure using some of the natural trees in the forest. Just my opinion. Otherwise it is largely function over form. The primates section is right next to an island for Japanese macaques who were very active and utilizing the water, rocks and trees. Milwaukee is a pretty good zoo for primates but could improve in a few ways for its apes. Aquatic and Reptile Center I did not really enjoy this section. It was super crowded and dark. It is almost impossible to get close to a window and see any of the animals up close. It has an older reptile house feel where the animals just feel like they are put there without much immersion surrounding them. It's just kinda boring. The exhibits themselves are really nice though with great rockwork, perching, and water features inside them. That part is great. I guess in my view, my favorite reptile houses have natural lighting, are well lit, and have some sort of theming surrounding them. Whether its amazing classic architecture like Saint Louis or San Diego, or completely immersive like Denver or Omaha, I think a modern reptile house should have a theme that attracts guests. Milwaukee's just seems like it's a reptile house for because they need a reptile house. There were a lot of guests that were waiting outside the exhibit. I've mentioned seeing this behavior before but this is the most extreme example where I saw more than 20 people standing outside the building when it was raining! I can't say for sure it's for this reason but I have a strong suspicion that the lack of natural lighting or theming to distract from the "scary" snakes and reptiles kept many people from going in. Not impressed by this building. Small Mammals Building I like this better than the reptile building. Brighter with larger viewing space for the exhibits. Most of the exhibits are above average but there's not a whole lot in this building to get excited about. Otter Passage This is a very nice otter exhibit. There are multiple viewing windows and there is lots of water and land space for the otters. There is also natural grass which is nice to see. The surrounding theming is also very well done. It feels rustic and appropriate for this species. This is one of the only exhibits that are like this in the entire zoo. I'm hoping that when Milwaukee decides to upgrade their old exhibits that they do it like this exhibit. North America? I put a question mark because this isn't a named area of the zoo but it does contain all North American animals. None of these exhibits are really good. The best is the caribou and elk exhibit as it has lots of space and tall grass that the animals were hiding in. The rest of the exhibits are pretty poor. The bear grottos are mock rock with small amounts of natural substrate and furniture. The zoo looks to have added some shelters and enrichment opportunities but this is an area that needs improvement ASAP. I'll talk about the polar bear and seal exhibits here too. These are better than the other exhibits in the area but still not great. They almost completely lack natural substrate. I do love the aesthetic of seeing the polar bear from the seal exhibit. This is a feature used in the big cat area too. I think that this can be a great concept if the exhibits weren't outdated and I hope they continue the idea when they improve the area. I also caught a glimpse of the god awful pony ride area that I'd hate seeing even at a county fair let alone a zoo. The ponies just walk in circles. I'm sure they get plenty of rest but this isn't the style of animal encounter a modern zoo should be offering. Adventure Africa This is a modern, large exhibit complex that gives lots of space and enrichment opportunities to the animals. The elephant yard is really big. Especially for just two elephants. They enrichment walls scream "modern zoo" and are some of my favorite parts of the exhibit. A keeper even caught us looking at one and told us how the elephants get really close to reaching the sprinkler control box that they for some reason put right next to these access ports that the elephants can reach through. There are three or four of these enrichment walls around the yard. One thing about this yard is that it is only one yard and the Elephants in Action yard. In my experience with elephants, if Milwaukee wants to house older, geriatric females, then they may run into some issues when new elephants come in. Elephants live in matriarchal groups where all the elephant females are related to each other and grow up together. It is rare to have grown females from different groups merge into a functioning herd. This is a real issue at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo with their elephant exhibit. There are six elephants from four different situations. Because of this, it has taken years for the elephants from the different groups to be safely held together and they aren't all in together at the same time ever. And this is with an exhibit with 7 total outdoor spaces so even when the elephants are split up, all 6 can have outdoor time and rotate the yards through the day. Milwaukee has 2 yards. I fear that elephants will need to split time in the yard and will have to spend a large portion of their time inside if they don't get along with each other. I hope they have better luck than us but I foresee this becoming an issue when elephants come in. It may not even be an issue but that is my experience. The building itself is nice and has all the features a modern elephant building needs including a movable lift which will help when an elephant can't get up. I think all modern elephant exhibits need this and it is something I noticed was missing in Omaha so I am glad Milwaukee had the foresight to add this. The hoofstock yards were missing species as other users have noted. I saw a duiker in the African Forest and cranes and ostrich in the Impala Plains. The yards are large and grassy and have shade and enrichment opportunities. All the exhibits in the complex lack super immersive theming and the only real theming is in the signage. You never feel like you are in Africa. I would have liked to see the same amount of effort put into theming as they did with Otter Passage. But, looking at the old elephant exhibits, this is an amazing upgrade and I heard multiple guests mention how happy they thought the animals look (I normally hate this sort of thinking, what does an unhappy elephant look like? Anyways, it does show that the guests who visit are invested in this zoo and that is great to see). Big Cat Country, Hippo House, and hoofstock yards I'll group all of these together as they are essentially all one complex. All of these would be considered outdated and that is about the best word to describe it all. The hoofstock yards are pretty large and the South America yard had the most South American hoofstock and other animal species I have ever seen in one yard. The other exhibits are average and do their jobs for the animals. The indoor rhino and hippo buildings are appalling though. I'm glad the hippos are getting an upgrade. The big cats get a great view of their potential prey but that is about it in terms of positive aspects of their exhibits. They lack space and unlike Brookfield, don't have much in terms of appropriate furnishings other than pools and a few large rocks. Their indoor exhibits would be fine if their outdoor exhibits were more enriching or if they didn't have to spend half the year indoors. The red pandas and snow leopards have decent exhibits but they are pretty average. The giraffes nearby have a decent exhibit with plenty of space indoors and outdoors but it still has an outdated look. The whole area is outdated and I did not spend much time here. Family Farm This is a pretty well themed children's zoo area. But I don't understand why everything needs to be so spread out. Is there a reason the bee hive exhibit is 50 feet away from everything else? Other than that mild complaint, I saw a lot of things I liked here. The exhibits are educational and appropriate for the animals. Milwaukee is a good zoo. But it could be much better. It has so much unused forest landscape. I have so many ideas that could improve the various areas. Most of the exhibits are serviceable but uninspiring. There are some gems though with the Aviary, the Otter Passage, and parts of Adventure Africa. I hope that this zoo improves but it seems like progress is slow when it comes to funding and building exhibits. I'm glad the community seems to love this zoo. I'd like to come back in 5-10 years and see progress in some of the more troubled areas. I'm glad I got to experience it so now I can understand the forum comments that the many fans of Milwaukee here write. Wow that took longer than I thought it would. I have work tomorrow and then I am out to celebrate the Fourth. I probably won't be able to put up my Lincoln Park Zoo review until this weekend unfortunately. Hope you guys can wait until then.
I was looking forward to this review the most of all your visits. It's strange. Original plans called for the siamangs and mandrills to switch the spaces they are in now. This has yet to happen and it seems the only thing from the promised primate renovations was for the colobus monkeys (renovated indoor space, new outdoor exhibit). Actually, in recent years the Milwaukee County zoo has improved more in the past three years than the past 2 decades. The Otter Passage opened last year, Adventure Africa this year, and there have renovations to the existing small mammal and primate buildings plus many new restaurants. Next year the new hippo exhibit will open, rhinos after that, a renovated humble penguin exhibit plus a renovated main entrance, and then the new "Alaskas Cold Coast" exhibit area that will replace the existing North American area in 2023. There is a lot happening at the zoo and hopefully they will continue to improve at this rate for years to come.
