Review of the St. Louis Zoo Home :: Saint Louis Zoo Located on about 90 acres in Forest Park is the St. Louis Zoo, which I visited on July 5th. It began when the 1904 World Fair came to town; one of the attractions was a large walk-through aviary built by the Smithsonian Institution. When the Fair ended, the aviary was purchased, marking the beginning of one the country’s greatest zoos. St. Louis has a wonderful zoo; what more could you ask for with an animal collection that is about 19,000 strong, exhibit quality that is almost all good to great, and free admission? I had a very nice time here, spending about seven hours touring the slightly hilly grounds. On the weekends, the Zoo is open from 8 am – 7 pm, so I kind of lucked out when parking was insane and I didn’t actually get in until almost noon. Anyway, my review will explain the individual animal areas with a mention of which complex it is located in. Enjoy! The River’s Edge – This large immersive complex opened in 1999. It is divided into five different areas: South America, African Savannah, African Nile, Asia, and North America. Visitors begin the adventure in South America, with the first habitat being for bush dogs (a first for me). The unique canines have a mid-sized exhibit consisting of a large stump to rest in, dirt, and a view into the giant anteater/capybara habitat behind them. Speaking of which, the two cool and unusual animals have a large pool, some plants and a couple of rocky areas to keep them busy in their good-sized habitat. Next up is the African Savannah area, which has three exhibits. The first is a long, grassy habitat for black rhinoceros and sacred ibis. However, I only saw the flock of ibis, and the awesome rhinos were nowhere to be seen. Down the trail is a small aviary for carmine bee-eaters, and a large mixed-species habitat for red river hogs and bat-eared foxes (what a unique mix!). After this area is the African Nile, which is made up of four exhibits. First up is a mid-sized habitat for a trio of Nile hippos. The habitat has a smallish land area that does a good job resembling a riverbank, but the spectacular crystal clear underwater viewing areas make up for it. This exhibit is as good as the one in San Diego. Anyway, further down the path is a trio of predator habitats. A nice shaded area for spotted hyenas has a cool den and a few small hills, and across the path is a cheetah habitat that is probably the lushest I’ve ever seen, and has a few logs and a hill that slopes towards the back of the exhibit. Unfortunately, I never saw any fleet-footed felines in this exhibit, though I did manage to see two in their off-exhibit areas behind the main exhibit. In front of the cheetahs, one will see what is the best dwarf mongoose exhibit I’ve ever seen. The small carnivores have lush grass and a large termite mound to explore. Trying to find the mongooses as the snuck through the grass was a lot of fun! Next up is the highlight of River’s Edge, which is Asia - the home of a herd of Asian elephants. Their three habitats are not huge, but are a decent size (about 1.2 acres total is it?) and very well designed with a lush forest serving as the background for all three of them. Shady trees, a couple of pools, a waterfall, plenty of dirt, and a small hill all make up what I believe is the best Asian elephant habitat in my opinion. There is also a new elephant habitat called Elephant Woods that can only be seen via the Zoo’s train, but I didn’t go on the train. The final area of the River’s Edge, North America, doesn’t have any animal exhibits (besides a cave with a tank full of catfish), but has a good amount of education tools about water conservation. There is also a cabin with information about the Flood of 1993 on the front porch. A unique ending to what I feel is one of America’s greatest zoo complexes! Herpetarium – This is one of three buildings located on “Historic Hill” that was built in the 1920’s. The interior was renovated sometime in the 1970’s, but the beautiful architecture of the building remains. Alongside the building are lush, decent habitats for American and Chinese alligators. In between the gators are a variety of tortoise species, including Galapagos, Aldabra, and one or two other species I do not recall. Inside, there are two floors to the building. The lower floor has exhibits for false gharials (another first), green anaconda, an indoor tank for Aldabra tortoises, caiman lizards, and iguana and python species I don’t remember. Going up the stairs is a room with the tanks situated in the outer walls, and a lush, open area in the center of the room for Asian turtles. Some of the reptiles species include Komodo dragons, king cobras, tuatara (sadly, their tank was being renovated on my visit), viewing windows that look down into the previously mentioned anaconda and iguana tanks, tentacled snake, soft-shelled turtles, Panamanian golden frog, mountain chicken, and many more species. This is probably one of the better reptile houses I’ve seen. Sea Lion Sound – St. Louis Zoo’s newest exhibit, which opened last year. It is the only animal exhibit in the “Lakeside Crossing” area, and is perhaps the best habitat for California sea lions I’ve ever seen (SeaWorld Orlando bumps down to second best). Above the water, the pinnipeds have the usual rocky land area and a show arena next door. There are also many unique facts and interactive signs for visitors, the best one being a demo on how a sea lion sees in black and white. But, it is below the surface that really puts Sea Lion Sound at #1 for me: North America’s first ever underwater tunnel into a sea lion exhibit! The cool sea mammals cruised over my head twice – what a blast! I really hope this sets the tone for other new sea lion exhibits around the country. At the end of the habitat is the usual underwater viewing window that is nice and large. Bear Bluffs – Four old, poor, 1920’s concrete bear pits are home to four species in “The Wild.” Malayan sun, sloth, spectacled, and grizzly bears all have the misfortune to live in what is St. Louis’ weakest area. Fortunately, three of the four species (sloth bears I assume are here just temporarily) will receive new and improved homes in the next few years (more info on this later). Penguin and Puffin Coast – To me, this is St. Louis’ best exhibit. It is located in “The Wild” complex, and right in between the bears. The first part of the facility is an outdoor habitat for a colony of Humboldt penguins, consisting of a shallow pool with no underwater viewing, a rocky shore, large viewing windows, and a huge cliff. It is average at best, but definitely pales compared to what is seen once you walk into the building that stands behind it. Inside, and in the freezing cold too, is the first walkthrough penguin habitat to open in North America! King, Gentoo, and rockhopper are the three species of penguin represented here. The trio of penguin species has a large pool with two land areas; the path seems to cut the exhibit in half, but the aquatic birds can swim underneath the visitor path to reach the other side. What really makes this habitat so special is just how close you can get to the ever popular birds – twice I was just inches away from a Gentoo and rockhopper – fantastic! Moving on to the next room is the puffin habitat that is as excellent as the penguin area. The puffins have a large pool with underwater viewing, a rocky shore, and holes in the cliff for nesting. After the puffins, the “brrrrilliant” complex ends with a penguin-themed gift shop. Fragile Forest – Located in “The Wild,” this is a well-done trio of habitats that is home to great apes. First up is a roomy habitat for chimpanzees. The chimps have thick grass, a pool, and bare trees to show off their climbing skills. The only thing I would say is that I feel the rocky wall could have been a bit better hidden; other than that, I give this chimp habitat a thumbs-up. Next up is without a doubt the best orangutan habitat I’ve ever seen! The red apes have a scenic waterfall, a hill, tons of vegetation, and a huge amount of climbing areas. Lastly, after a long hike, one will come across a big exhibit for gorillas. St. Louis is known for being for the first in the country to hold a bachelor troop of the world’s largest primate. The gorillas here have a very nice “bachelor pad” here; the habitat is again packed with grass, a waterfall, and a couple of logs. Overall, this gorilla habitat does not quite match up with San Diego or Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and I feel that some trees could be added; however, it is one of the better gorilla habitats I’ve seen, and I give the Zoo credit for trying something new in maintaining gorillas as a bachelor troop. 1904 World Fair Aviary – A large aviary that started the St. Louis Zoo. Even today, the aviary, now called the Cypress Swamp, still stands as a very nice bird habitat. The bird species here consist of spoonbills, ducks, egrets, and herons. It is located on “Historic Hill.” Red Rocks Hoofstock Exhibits – An enormous part of the zoo dedicated to a great collection of hoofed creatures and birds. Most of the habitats are pretty good for their residents (bongo, takin, babirusa, etc.), but some suffer from the fact that they are a bit barren (giraffe/ostrich, zebras) or just small and narrow pens (some pig and gazelle species). I didn’t get a chance to see all of the enclosures, but the ones I did manage to see had: lesser kudu/gerenuk, giraffe/ostrich, bongo (along with a cute calf), Bactrian camel, two habitats for Grevy’s zebras (who were braying up a storm when I was there), Visayan warty pigs (I saw a cool standoff between two of them), Chacoan peccaries, babirusa, Sommering’s gazelle, Speke’s gazelle, takin, nyala, and addax. There were also empty enclosures for red kangaroo and wallaby, banteng (sarus cranes were in there), and okapi (Bad luck that my two favorite animals – rhino and okapi - weren’t out, isn’t it? ) Big Cat Country – This complex is located near “Red Rocks,” and I believe this section opened sometime in the 1970’s. Lions, Amur tigers, jaguars, snow leopards, cougars, and Amur leopards are the felines housed here. The former three have large, deep pits to roam in, while the latter three have mesh cages to live in. The pits for lions and tigers are grassy, rocky areas, have a pool, and large shady trees, but could’ve been a bit larger. However, the jaguars (which I didn’t see) have the best exhibit in Big Cat Country, as their pit is the largest, has a nice pool, and is very lush. The cougars, snow leopards, and Amur leopards’ cages have a good amount of vegetation and some varied terrain, but the size is quite tiny. It was cool, however, to be just a few feet away from a cougar and Amur leopard with only mesh separating the visitors. Overall, it is a cat complex that is not bad, but nothing awesome and could use some improvement. Primate House - A small 1920’s building on “Historic Hill.” This building has a similar set up to the Herpetarium with the exhibits situated on the outside, while the center is lush with vegetation. This building has a few cool species, but the exhibits are overall slightly below average. Some primates do have outdoor exhibits or a lot of vertical space for climbing. Species here include: ring-tailed lemur, black and white ruffed lemur, lion-tailed macaque, Coquerel’s sifaka (another first), Goeldi’s monkey, cotton top tamarin, blue-eyed black lemur, spectacled langur, Francois langur, colobus monkey, black lemur, golden lion tamarin, spider monkey, mongoose lemur, white-faced Saki, and Allen’s swamp monkey. Other Exhibits – In “The Wild,” at the edge of the Fragile Forest, are two small but good habitats for prairie dogs and a red panda. Also located in “The Wild” is a lake with pelicans and flamingos. Note – Because the wait for parking was intense (an hour long wait!), I didn’t get a chance to see the Bird House, part of Red Rocks, or the well-known Insect Building. HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: The Asian elephant herd is perhaps the most active group of elephants I’ve seen in my life! A female was hanging out near one of the pools, spraying water on her feet, and trying to reach a branch with her trunk. In addition, in the next-door habitat, Priya, a female calf born a few months ago, was interacting with another calf that was about a couple years older. Just awesome! Overall: The St. Louis Zoo is one of my favorite zoos. The animal collection is top-notch, the exhibits are overall great, and the admission price is free. The River’s Edge, Penguin and Puffin Coast, and Sea Lion Sound all are among the greatest Zoo exhibits in the country in my opinion. The future looks even brighter too; opening in about 2014 are new homes for spectacled bears and Malayan sun bears in the River’s Edge; the complex will also welcome African wild dogs to the collection. In the next few years, Polar Bear Point will bring the magnificent bears back to the Zoo (after the last one died in 2009), and Grizzly Ridge will give grizzly bears a new home. I am already thinking about returning sometime in the next few years to check out the new additions. I would rank St. Louis either at #3 or #4 (just above or below Columbus) – tough call!
Great review. I agree with almost everything you said. Rivers edge, sea lion sound and penguin puffing coast are easily 3 of the best exhibits in the country. Rivers edge will be even better next year with the new small bears and wild dog additions. It's a shame u missed the bird and insect house. Both top notch. Just about the only thing I disagreed with had nothing to do with saint Louis but instead Columbus which in my opinion is by miles the most overrated zoo in the country and I think is even the worst of the big four Ohio zoos, maybe slightly better than Toledo but can't touch Cincinatti especially after the new, gorgeous Africa exhibit. However, saint Louis shows what can be accomplished when a government and community fully understand economics and fund the zoo properly. Everything at st Louis is great. the zoo brings the city tens of millions of dollars each year and the area knows this and gives back. It's awesome to see. if anyone hasn't been to saint Louis zoo they should read it review because it's pretty much spot on. Thanks.
This is your best write-up yet! I enjoyed reading about one of America's very best zoos, and in almost every category (insects, hoofstock, birds, great apes, pinnipeds, reptiles, amphibians, big cats, etc) Saint Louis has one of the largest collections in the country. Also, there are very few poor exhibits and I rank it only behind San Diego, Omaha, Bronx and Columbus amongst the best zoos in the U.S. To be honest there is not much between those establishments and Saint Louis certainly has a bright future with new exhibits for spectacled bears, sun bears, grizzly bears, polar bears and African wild dogs all opening in the next few years.
I appreciate the compliments everybody! @Quicksand: Why is it that you aren't a fan of Columbus? They have tons of naturalistic habitats, and a pretty nice collection. Don't get me wrong; I totally respect your opinion, but I was just curious?
Mil Man great review ! Glad you enjoyed St Louis its one of our faves too.We also are curious about Quicksands thoughts on C-Bus ? Team Tapir223
Lol, it cool my sister thinks I'm crazy but Columbus just doesn't do anything for me. I can't really say what it is. To me it's lacks a big signature exhibit. Polar bears are close, but compared to Detroit or Louisville its not that great for being brand new. Manatees are prob their best exhibit in my opinion. It's not that I think Columbus is bad, it's not, I just don't see it being on that utmost upper level. It's on the second rung I think. It just has too many big animals it's missing, like most of Africa except primates. The lion exhibit is one of the worst I've seen. It's just horrible in my opinion. Luckily they are adding a new Africa section which will address this. Cats, red pandas, and otters are my favorite things to see at any zoo and none of Columbus exhibits of these are very good outside tigers but even tiger could use some work, like a better water feature since tigers like water. I think the biggest problem though is for me it's just not memorable. I don't have that wow factor of Henry Doorley desert dome, st Louis rivers edge, Detroit arctic ring of life or the continually getting more impressive Cincinnati Africa or even the rainforest at Cleveland. I have trouble remembering Columbus if I haven't been there in awhile and I go once a year. I respect everyone's opinion and realize I'm in the minority but it's cool. I absolutely hate Knoxville zoo which many people love. I think that's what makes traveling to all these zoos fun, comparing and contrasting all the details. Also, out of curiosity did u get into the children's zoo at st Louis? Beautiful river otter exhibit with slide thru tunnel. It's for kids but I love going down it. lol. best otter exhibit ever seen yet.
Milwaukee Man, I'm glad to hear you had a such a good time at our zoo (and apologies for the parking - that's something to be addressed in our expansion!). Quick Notes: * Yep, our sloth bear is only with us temporarily. We'll miss Daisy, but we're also looking forward to all of our bears having improved habitats. * There are actually four Nile hippos - all ladies. * The Okapi have been in and out because we just welcomed a new arrival! Thanks for visiting (and for the great feedback). I hope you'll come back when we've finished up with River's Edge and Polar Bear Point. Should be fantastic.
@Quicksand: I didn't go to the Children's Zoo due to my late arrival to the Zoo. The otter habitat sounds awesome - I may have to check it out next time I go! @BlueSky: Thanks for the interesting notes. It was too bad the okapi (my all-time favorite animal) weren't out on my visit, but it's great to hear about the new arrival ! And yes, I am definitely planning on a return trip to St. Louis sometime in the next couple years.
Really liked the review! I am going for the second time this year Friday and was curious, did you see a bird walkthrough? I read that somewhere in the zoo there is a pathway with different birds out. However, when I went last time all I saw was the aviary built in 1904 and the bird house. Did I simply miss it? Thanks, good review! Definitely one of the best zoos in the country!
Thanks a lot, Pleistohorse and zoolover123! @zoolover123: If I remember correctly, there are a few aviaries with birds of prey on an outer path called Bird Garden next to the bird house; I think the Zoo's map shows it. I never went to the bird house or the Bird Gardens - just the 1904 aviary.
My memory of it is vague, but I wrote in my 2009 review of the zoo, "...Bird Garden behind it, which is a nice set of modern small outdoor aviaries set along a meandering pathway and a slightly larger walk-in aviary."
Saint Louis has the largest collection of waterfowl of any zoo in the United States, plus the historic World's Fair aviary (now known as Cypress Swamp) and the Bird House. The Bird Gardens are a minor section of a truly great zoo, and here is an excerpt from my 2010 review: There is also a beautiful 2-acre outdoor Bird Garden with aviaries for these species: Bald Eagle, Bateleur Eagle, Cinereous Vulture, White-Naped Crane, Cabot’s Tragopan, White-Crested Laughing Thrush, Kookaburra and others.
We're just finishing up some improved raptor habitats behind the Bird House, but otherwise, this is a great time to come enjoy our birds. My personal favorites are the Burrowing Owls and Tawny Frogmouths in the Bird House. Oh, and beware of the Double-crested Cormorant who likes to guard the foot bridge in the Flight Cage. Sometimes I feel like I need to answer three riddle before he'll let me pass.
