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Louisville Zoo Louisville Zoo Review - September 2014

Discussion in 'United States' started by blospz, 7 Sep 2014.

  1. blospz

    blospz Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    My husband and I planned a trip to Cincinnati to finally see their zoo. Since we would be going near Columbus on the way home, that was on the schedule as well. That left us to a day of doing non zoo related things. Not my cup of tea, but I have to keep things balanced for the husband! Well, we had a couple of museums selected, but the main one did not open until 11 AM. So he decided he wanted to go to another zoo nearby since we were in the area. It was between Louisville and Indianapolis. It was easily decided on when we found out Indianapolis does not participate in the reciprocity program. We would be able to see Glacier Run!

    I did not know much about this zoo besides Glacier Run and that they had wooly monkeys. We started off in the Islands exhibits. You go down a winding pathway and come across an exhibit for an oriental stork. Next door is an exhibit for the aldabra tortoise. The main focus of this section is the rotational exhibits for the Malayan tapir, babirusa, Sumatran tiger, Sumatran orangutan, and siamang. You enter a gazebo for the first set of glass fronted exhibits. One had a lot of rockwork with a small stream in front of it. The other one has a stream going throughout the whole exhibit and it seemed quite long. The first exhibit had the Sumatran tiger and the second one had the babirusa. Either of these two exhibits seemed appropriate for the babirusa or Malayan tapir. The first exhibit seemed a bit too intimate for the Sumatran tiger, but it was transferred to the second exhibit later in the afternoon. It was a treat to see the afternoon animal in the first exhibit was the Malayan tapir. With five animals and four exhibits, it’s essential you come back later in the day if you want to see all the animals. Being a tapir lover, it was a joy to see an active tapir in the afternoon! He sat down right by the windows and made up for the previous week’s debacle of not seeing the baby Brazilian tapir at Metro Richmond Zoo.

    The remaining two exhibits are further down the path with one outside exhibit and one inside. Both of these seemed the most appropriate for the apes, yet the outside one was a bit crammed and not enough climbing opportunities. It is fortunate the zoo has a male orangutan that loves to people watch and sits by the windows. The inside exhibit had nice vertical space and a lot of structures to climb and swing. It is a bit odd to picture the land dwelling animals in the inside exhibit, but if it’s the only opportunity to see them in the winter, then so be it. I was looking through the gallery and seeing comments how people loved the concept, but the execution didn’t live up to it. I thought all the exhibits were beautiful, but yes, I’m not sure if each one matches the needs of each animal.

    The Islands Pavilion has a set of bird exhibits before seeing the rotation bedroom. One notable bird to mention is the Papuan mountain pigeon. The Louisville Zoo is one of the couple zoos in the US to have them and they recently had a chick. Other birds include in these exhibits, along with the walk through aviary are the Victoria crowned pigeon, red crested cardinal, blue grey tanager, jambu fruit dove, wompoo fruit dove, fairy bluebird, Nene goose, wattled janaca, crowned pigeon, pied imperial pigeon, Mauritius pink pigeon, nicobar pigeon, emerald starling, etc. There is also a freezing room for rockhopper penguin and Inca tern. Having seen indoor penguin exhibits, this is the first one I have been in where the temperature is quite cold even in the visitors section. There was also an indoor and outdoor exhibit for the Komodo dragon.

    Herpaquarium is right next door. We sped through this building because it was getting close to the polar bear training time. There is a decent exhibit for the white alligator and Chinese alligator. The terrariums for some reptiles and amphibians are rosy boa, boa constrictor, Gila monster, Andean milk snake, corn snake, river cooter, and the list goes on.

    South America has exhibits for manned wolf, puma, ocelot, bald eagle, snow leopard, jaguar, flamingo, and guanaco. The manned wolf has a large exhibit with a few trees for shade. The only downside of this exhibit for guests is that there is a chain linked fence all around it. The Cats of the Americas section has decent sized exhibits for the ocelot and puma with vertical space. The bald eagle has an open air exhibit where visitors can look down into the exhibit. The snow leopard exhibit sticks out in this geographic area and in my opinion, should be knocked down. Chain link fencing, fake rock work, it’s no wonder there was a sign saying, “Can’t see the snow leopard? It may be inside trying to get used to its exhibit.” I think it may be hiding from it! The jaguar is also in a cage, but it has space and lots of foliage. The guanaco have a big grassy field.

    Up next is a small section with Australian animals such as lorikeet, kookaburra, wallaby, and emu. The lorikeets have a walk through aviary and a nice waterfall/pool area to bathe in. All of them were in this section when we visited them. There was also a walk through exhibit for the wallaby, but we skipped that. The emu had a small yard with chain linked fencing and I am not sure where the kookaburra was located.

    Glacier Run is the gem of this zoo. Following the rotation system of Islands, the zoo seems to have tweaked the concept for the polar and brown bears. I came the back way and there was a splash play zone open in the summer for children. There was also a building with a snowy owl exhibit to resemble the inside of a barn. It is a glass fronted with mesh on the inside, but there are some clear rectangles cut into the mesh to help visitors view the birds better. The Steller's sea eagle has a tall aviary that has a large artificial tree with a nest at the top. Visitors are allowed to go inside the aviary and there’s mesh on the sides of the tree to separate them from the birds of prey. On the visitors side is a small pool for the red breasted goose and Mandarin duck.

    The beginning of the main section of this area is the sea lion/seal exhibit. I did not see any seals during my visit so I am assuming they rotate with the sea lions. There were signs that said they had harbor and grey seals. There’s stadium seating for shows and underwater viewing as well. Beyond this exhibit is the main exhibit for the bears. You enter a building which leads to the underwater viewing. The windows are huge and tall. If you go back outside and climb the stairs you can go to the second level of the building to see the bears above and below water. The exhibit features a deep pool, rockwork in the back, a training wall, grassy area, and slope to resemble a glacier destroy the road. When I was inside the building on the lower level, I saw a small grassy area not connected to the main exhibit above. I was curious if this was a yard that may be used for holding or maybe for cubs starting out on exhibit. The zoo is lucky to have two young polar bears who love to swim. I was told the female likes to hide her toys in nooks that are in the pool walls. She will come back the following day to see if they are still there. Across from this exhibit is a bedroom that has a back end of a truck for the bears to climb in, a staircase, and lots of toys to play with. There is also a training wall on the side. If there is a flaw in the rotation system, it is the ability to view all the animals at once. They have 4 sets of rotations; female polar bear, male polar bear, mother brown bear, and two juvenile brown bears. On my visit I was able to see the female polar in the main exhibit and the adult female brown bear in the bedroom. Returning later in the day, the male polar bear was in the main exhibit and the juvenile brown bears in bedroom exhibit. Further down in this section of the zoo is Tiger Tundra showcasing the Amur tiger. It has a decent sized exhibit with a pool in the front. Visitors are able to view the exhibit on ground and above level.

    Africa seems to be the biggest section of the zoo. Although it had the most animal species in all the zoos I visited with African sections, it was my least favorite. Gorilla Forest has two large outside exhibits for the apes. I don’t think I studied the second outdoor exhibit much, but both seemed to lack vertical space with climbing structure. The gorilla sanctuary has indoor exhibits similar to the set up in Columbus. All these areas allow the gorillas to be separated into groups and the rotational system is used. The pygmy hippo exhibit is one of my favorite ones in this area. It’s beautifully landscaped and has different levels of pools. You can view the exhibit from the bottom and top. Up next are basic exhibits for meerkat and naked mole rat. If you happen to have lunch at the African outpost, you may notice the menu is almost identical to the African restaurant at the Cincinnati Zoo. We discovered they are owned by the same company. Anyway on a side note, I got the chicken salad sandwich on a croissant. The chicken salad was also seasoned with Buffalo sauce and small chunks of blue cheese. Yum!

    This is when we almost bypassed the monkey island, but we went back to check what monkeys they had exhibited. I am so glad that I did because that is when I discovered it had the wooly monkey. A rarity in American zoos, this monkey has always been on my bucket list to see. And in true fashion of a desired animal, it refused to show its face for a bit.

    The elephant exhibit is extremely outdated in this day in age with brand new elephant exhibits across the country. Featuring an African and Asian elephant, I would not be surprised if the two are separated and sent to other zoos in the next few years. Although it is a taboo to see these two types of elephants exhibited together, I did enjoy witnessing it once in my life. It was interesting to see the two next to each other and to compare them. Across from this is a dusty paddock for the rare Hartmann’s mountain zebra.

    The lion exhibit is an outdated grotto, although I commend them for having grass layering the bottom of the moat. Next to this is the area where visitors can feed the Massai giraffe. The giraffes seem to have a long yard, but nothing too special about it. Their house has a couple stalls, an empty exhibit where the Steller's sea eagles were exhibited, and a nice exhibit for rock hyrax.

    The camel has a dusty paddock where the bongo and addax have grassy exhibits. The exhibit featuring the male bongo has lots of trees for shade. The white rhino also had a small, dusty paddock, but there was a mudding area in the corner for them. The warthog exhibit was well shaded, multileveled and nooks for the animals to hide in. To complete this section is Lemur Island, concrete rockwork with grass in the moat.

    Despite the lack of quality in some of the exhibits, the zoo has a nice collection of animals with some rarities. Glacier Run is worth checking out and is one of my favorite zoo exhibits. I am glad we were able to finally see this small zoo.
     
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  2. GraysonDP

    GraysonDP Well-Known Member

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    Louisville is being considered for my late spring road trip. Is it worth going a couple of hours out of the way to see?
     
  3. Moebelle

    Moebelle Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    I believe so. They have a nice gorilla habitat, and Glacier Run is as unique as they get. The reason why I visit twice a year, other than it being 1.5 hours away, is for their Islands complex. If you didn't read the entirety of the review, it has tapirs, babirusas, orangutans, tigers, and siamangs rotate throughout three outdoor (one indoor) exhibits as the day goes on. It is also home to their large reptiles, and incredibly colorful bird collection. They even just opened a new Blue Penguin habitat that is very much worth seeing. I know it sounds like I'm praising the place but ironically it still sits at a low rank on my zoo list. That's because of their dry Africa complex, tiny elephant exhibit, and their small big cat cages brings the zoo down and without their other star attractions, the zoo wouldn't be worth visiting. Their reptile and Aquarium building isn't much time brag about aesthetic wise but their collection in numbers and rarity is overwhelming.
     
  4. blospz

    blospz Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Yes, I also enjoy the Island exhibits. As well as Glacier Run (Stellar's sea eagle, snowy owl, sea lion, polar bear, grizzly bear). They are also one of the only zoos in the country to display woolly monkeys.
     
  5. drill

    drill Well-Known Member

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    Does the zoo still have Hawaiian Hawk and are they off exhibit? or on display?