Luke da zoo nerd's Nerdy review of the Minnesota zoo!

I think In general they are updating a few of the exhibits to make them look a little but more lush, and I do not believe I have any photo's of the construction.

 

Alright! Sorry for the late post! I meant to finish the jungle In my last post but I had to go on short notice at the time I was Typing. Where was I? Oh yes, Next to the otters is a Jungle overlook Kind of like the African one, Except this one is slightly bigger and has more foliage. This habitat is usually home to the loud Gibbon neighbors. This is the casual hangout for a pair of Rhinoceros hornbills! The habitat is currently under construction. From what I have seen, It looks like they are adding some fake trees inside the habitat. The enclosure itself is amazing, and the hornbills are always a fan favorite. Diagonally across from that habitat is a Really tall netted enclosure that used to hold a single Binturong. Now this habitat holds a decent troop of Silvery leaf Langurs, a very active group of monkeys that I really enjoy. The habitat is ok, but does not have as much climbing material as would have liked. There is a lot of tallness to the enclosure, but not that much climbing opportunities for the monkeys. And if anyone has heard of what happened to Bearcats, that would be great. The habitat right in front of the monkey exhibit is a Small yard with a pool that holds 2 Malayan tapirs. As I understand a baby tapir was born recently (I forget if it was 2019 or 2018). The habitat used to be a Mixed-species exhibit holding tree kangaroos with the Tapirs. That is a nice mix In my opinion. The tree kangaroo is gone now and just the tapirs call this habitat their home. The yard is "ok". I would have liked to see more space honestly. For 2 tapirs It's kinda cramped. The tapirs seem to be fine with it but I think they deserve a little more room compared to other tapir habitats I have seen in zoos. They are an active couple of tapirs though. Behind that habitat is a tiny open topped exhibit, holding Asian forest tortoises. Which I have either seen mating, or eating greens! . continue down a couple feet or so and you are looking down on a coral reef set up. This viewing is designed to see all the reef fish above water, which I think is a cool concept. You can see them at eye level though If you follow a dark lit ramp down the end of the path. The eye-to-eye viewing is really spectacular, and has plenty of reef fish to look at. What I like about this exhibit is that you can view a tablet showing all the different species of fish in the tank. It is nice If you want to make a species list, but I am not going to attempt that in this review. One cool highlight of the exhibit is an Albino cat shark, that dwells in the reef. The zebra sharks and the pufferfish are some of the crowds favorites! The one thing that is a little inaccurate about the tank is one thing that honestly doesn't bother me at all, but Its just kind of funny to think about. This section of the jungle is suppose to have Indonesian species, and the reef setup is suppose to have Indonesian reef fish. Well, in the tank are African moonys, which do not live in Indonesian Coral reefs. Oh well, moving on your are cast out into the humidity of the jungle again, but for a very brief moment. On your right, is an open topped habitat housing very sleepy Visayan warty pigs, a critically endangered species that is well, lazy. None the less, the left habitat is a strange mix. Red panda's with Transascapian Urials. To animals that don't really belong in a jungle setting. The red panda's especially. I wonder why they don't just make a habitat for them in the northern trail? They would have much more room and be much more adapted to the Minnesota winters. Oh well, the habitat is ok, but could have a little more in it. After that you take yet another long ramp upwards to a small nocturnal themed section. This has 3 species, Chinchilla's Linnaeus's 2-toed sloths, and Burmese pythons all the habitats are ok, and I have really no complaints for the enclosures. I will include the rest of the jungle with Minnesota trails. Have fun chatting Y'all!

 

Sorry, It's been a while but I am ready for the next post! After leaving the nocturnal area you would usually see the jungle lushness around you, but as of right now, there is a bunch of construction going on. Temporarily you are taken into a sort of wooden covered boardwalk, blocking your view of the construction. After you exit that you can take a look down onto the previous Red panda habitat. A pretty good view actually. The first animal you come across is a very Small Terrarium containing a group of Amazon milk frogs. After that, the jungle comes to an end with 2 habitats. On your right, is decently sized habitat containing Red-Rumped agouti's, Cotton-Topped tamarins, and Bolivian gray tit monkeys. The habitat is gets an OK In my book. The left habitat is a charming one displaying a couple Southern three-banded armadillos, and Golden Lion Tamarins.
Finally, the Jungle ends, and you are met back at the entrance. You made an entire loop through the jungle. Overall, I think it deserves a 8.7/10. The overall lushness of the jungle is nice, and the collection is very good. Some habitat's need a little work in my opinion, but construction is taking care of that hopefully. On the opposite side of where you entered the jungle is a beginning of my favorite exhibit at the zoo. The Minnesota Trails. It starts with a small sub-attraction known as the lodge. It is a cozy room with plenty of information about mn wildlife. The lodge even has a few pocket habitats as well. The first one can be viewed at eye level from the lodge, or the entrance of the jungle. It rotates with a variety of turtles and some sunfish. Some turtle species include:
Blanding's
False map
Painted'
Smooth softshell
wood
etc.
More habitats in the lodge include a habitat for Mudpuppies and American toads, And northern leopard frogs. And another for American toads, and another for a unnamed crayfish species and an American bullfrog. The rest of the lodge is occupied by restrooms, a fireplace, and a counter where you can touch animal pelts. You can enter a sliding automatic door and that is your ticket to the Minnesota trails. You start in a dimly lit glass-fronted habitat designed like a porch of a log cabin. A trash can, rocking chair, and other elements bring to the overall theme of the enclosure. It is home to one Northern raccoon, a animal you will find pretty active most of the time, and when its not active you will most likely see it dozing away in a trash can. It's neighbor is a Red fox, another relatively active animal. The habitat is nice for not looking like the heart of the woods, and provides a nice Carnivore Mixed-species exhibit. The blast of Minnesota breeze cools the air as you pass through yet another glass sliding door. The first habitat lets you get a above water and an below water view at a lively family of american beavers! You can view them from a small screen in there dam live. The dam itself doesn't look like the beavers made it but it gives plenty of cover for the beavers if they want to get away from public eyes. I will continue with my review of the Minnesota zoo soon! (Hopefully).
Bye!!