Ah The Milwaukee County zoo. Often bashed on this site for a multitude of different reasons. So what do I think of this zoo? Well here you go KEY Great Above Average Average Below Average Awful Overview - The Milwaukee County zoo is a 200 acre, heavily forested park located in downtown Milwaukee. The zoo has not had any major developments in over 20 years Which was the Apes of Africa complex. This is one of the reason this zoo is criticized so much. Other reasons such as the overuse of Mock Rock, puny large and small mammal habitats, and A huge U-Shaped cluster in the heart of the zoo makes the zoo so... outdated. However with the new otter, pachyderm, and primate habitats on the horizon, could this be heading in the right direction? Anyway, lets get in to this review. Penguin Habitat - When you enter the zoo you cannot miss the welcoming habitat. A simple but adequate penguin pool for Humboldt penguins. There is above and underwater viewing. The habitat is a bit on the small side and is nothing outstanding by any means but still a nice introduction to the zoo. Apes of Africa - For the newest exhibit at the zoo you would think that it would be of higher quality. Sadly, this ape house falls fairly short of a great complex. Bonobos and Gorillas both have average habitats. The indoor exhibits resemble each other. They both are very fake looking, and have blocked off fake plants in the back. The bonobos have it a bit better with some very impressive climbing areas. Not to mention Milwaukee has the largest captive bonobo population in the world (23 I think) the outdoor habitats are nothing to right home about, even more so sense they both have been recently renovated. The gorillas have a topped habitat with a huge wooden climbing bridge in the middle. Its not that pretty but it works for them. The bonobos have a very long caged trail. Sure its just a trail of cages but it gives them some great climbing and playing areas. Still though, they cant get to the ground which would be nice on there feet so this exhibit is only average, as is this complex as a whole. Primates of the World - Connected to apes of Africa is... This... This thing... This is a mix of average to poor exhibits for primates. Mandrills have a ugly indoor exhibit with a puny outdoor exhibit that can only be seen through outdoor panels in the indoor exhibit. Its very ugly and has terrible outdoor viewing. That's followed by the only impressive habitat in this building, A mixed exhibit for Goldie's and a wattled curassow. Its fairly large, and has a very tropical vibe to it. In fact, This is the only indoor exhibit that has live plants in this complex. That is followed by a average indoor spider monkey exhibit that goes for the infamous ruined temple theme and ends up looking like a cemetery in a dungeon. Then there is... the ORANGUTAN exhibit!! Man is it really that hard to design a habitat for these guys? Either way Milwaukee fails horribly at making a half decent orang exhibit. there are 3 small indoor stalls with a few fake trees, some toys and a crazy amount of concreate. The pair of red apes that live here always look bored and resemble huge orange blobs. This is the weakest point of this already weak complex. Colobus monkeys have a all concreate disgrace (That the famous Samson the gorillas once called home) that has nice climbing areas but is still below average. Across from them is the newest habitat that is a average habitat for a family cotton top tamarins. Its a nice size wise, but lacks any realism except a few out of reach fake plants. The finale exhibit is a outdated siamang indoor exhibit that lacks any realism and is to small for the largest gibbon species. Surrounding the building are 3 outdoor exhibit. Including a below average siamang cage that's long but narrow, a average orangutan cage that could use improvement, and a okay spider monkey exhibit. The only reason this building does not get the is because of the Spider monkey and Goldie's exhibit that are not that bad. Still, this complex gets the thumbs down. Macaque Island - FINALLY! The last primate complex is actually very impressive. There is a grassy island filled with multiple fake trees, a little mock rock, and a large mountain on the edge of the island. Its very large and enriching for the macaque troop that calls it home. Supposedly, a American mink also lives on the island, though I have never seen It. Has any one else seen it? Any way, this habitat gets a thumbs up. Aviary - Hands down the best complex at the zoo is the spectacular aviary. This complex is divided into 5 sections. Semi-Tropics, Coastal , desert, Tropics, and Arctic penguins. The semi-tropics have birds like tawny frogmouth and Rhinoceros Hornbill. The coastal and desert sections follow and are short but sweet with solid habitats and a very great bird collection. The tropics section is the largest area in the massive bird house and includes a walkthrough section. The final section is the weakest and only features 2 species in a single exhibit. Gentoo and rockhopper penguins have a decent but unspectacular exhibit. There are also 3 outdoor exhibits. Including the old penguin grotto that has been made into a nice but simple crested screamer habitat. Next to it is a nice whooping crane exhibit that's topped. The other side of the huge building has a HUGE flamingo pond. In fact, its the best flamingo habitat that I have ever seen (Okay I'm actually saying this... Here we go... The flamingo pond is bigger then the elephant exhibit... No I'm serious... Trust me I wish it where a joke too) Reptile & Aquatics Center - One of the most modern looking exhibits at the zoo. This building is just how its sounds, it has reptiles and aquatic animals. For reptiles it has Chinese alligators, iguanas, king cobras, and other smaller lizards. For aquatics, there are leopard sharks, a octopus, a Amazon display, a Madagascar display, and in the heart of the building, Lake Wisconsin, that is dedicated to local fish. Small Mammal Building - After being followed up by 3 impressive complexes, sadly this rather ugly structure still stands. I cringe when I see the rows of class boxes that dominate the day room. These boxes hold a range of species including more Golidie's monkeys and cotton top tamarins (Even though the same species are held in much better exhibits in primates of the world) As well as Golden lion tamarins, Lemurs, (Ring tailed and red ruffed) Meerkats, and dwarf mongoose. YET, there is one impressive exhibit in this room. Across from the rest of the boxes is a very large sloth exhibit. Its works surprisingly well, especially when you consider that river otters where once held here. There is a second nocturnal room that holds a nice collection in better exhibits. Including Vampire bats, flying foxes, Armadillos, kinkajous, Springhaas, owl monkeys, Sugar gliders, Fennec fox, and bushbabys. North America (Excluding coastal animals) - The highlights of this simple but pleasing complex including 2 hoofstock/bird mixed exhibits. The smaller one has caribou and sandhill cranes, while the much larger one has elk and Canadian geese. The elk exhibit itself is extremely hilly and is one of the best exhibits in the zoo. There are also 2 bear grottos that are all concreate and pretty ugly. Are they the worst? No. The first one crams 4 Grizzly bears into a multi teared grotto that is only average at best. The second grotto is larger and has live trees and some dirt patches. It rotates a Alaskan brown bear and black bears. The last exhibit is for prairie dogs. Its nothing spectacular or clever in the slightest, but its still pretty nice and there is nothing wrong with it. This section is pretty nice really... But the other part of North America... North America (Coastal animals) - OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BOY!!! When I first laid my eyes on this eyesore of a exhibit, my jaw hit the floor in the worst way. What is this? What actually is this? The area has a subpar seal exhibit that has such little land area it could very well be thought there is none. When you compare it to the amazing pinniped exhibits at Saint Louis, Fresno even Brookfield, it really is a huge flop which maybe was fitting to the animals in it (HAHAHA get it because seals flop around hahahaha... I really wish I was funny...)That's not the main reason this area bothers me so much. Its the exhibit next to it. Its supposedly a exhibit for polar bears but looks more like the aftermath of a cement truck crashing into a community pool. The polar bear exhibit is the worst in the nation and follows the 3 p's... What are the 3 p's? The 3 p's to bad exhibits Pavement - The bear is stuck on nothing but hot cement and loads of mock rock in every corner Pathetic - The ugly looking grotto is just sad to look at and is just... Pathetic Pacing - Snow Lilly the polar bear can be seen pacing non-stop on the edge of the moat. I cant stand this god awful abomination. Hoofstock exhibits - The zoo has 4 dedicated prey yards that represent different parts of the world. The first is Asian themed and only has camels. Next is South American yard with Alpacas, Yellow footed tortoises, and barids tapirs. The last 2 are both African based. The waterhole has zebras, waterbuck, kudu, elands, and a marabou stork. Lastly Impala country has 2 yards, one is for impala, thompsin's gazelle, vultures, and ground hornbills. While the other has bongos, and spurred tortoises. They are all grassy and have good viewing making them all very nice. (Though The waterhole has way to much mock rock) There is also a random red river hog exhibit between the elephants and hippos that a bit small but adequate. Big Cat Country - This solid complex was renovated in 2005 and is pretty good. There are 4 okay grassy grottos that surround the building including ones for Tigers, Jaguars (Open-Topped) Cheetahs, and a rotational grotto for lions and spotted hyenas. The indoor exhibits are pretty nice. The tiger one has some scratching posts, a indoor pool, and they have the largest bedroom out of all the cats. Jaguars have a small den like bedroom with some logs and a some small highpoints. The lion/hyena bedroom is also very nice with many rock and den formations. The final indoor exhibit has held many things in the past. Indoor cheetah exhibit, a caracal, even the behind the scenes tayras. It now holds a male tiger cub. Outside the building are 2 more exhibits. This includes a slightly above average snow leopard habitat, and a soon to be renovated (but already still pretty good) red panda exhibit. Pachyderms - (Inhales)(exhales) OK. You can tell by my name that pachyderms (While not a modern classification) are my favorite animals. This exhibit outrages me. First off the outdoor yards are very small. Black rhinos have 2 smaller yards that are very grassy but just to small for my liking. The old malayin tapir yard is extremely narrow (Sadly Maggie the tapir has foot issues and cant go out here anyway) The hippo yard has a small pool with ugly black bars separating them from the visitors. However these all look great when you compare them to the infamous African elephant yard. This pathetic exhibit is hands down the worst elephant exhibit in the Western hemisphere. The ugly "enrichment" tree, the randomly placed mock rock, and the size in general is awful. The photos make it look bigger then it really is which is really saying something. Yet after all this the indoor stalls are what really make me sad. The rhinos and elephants both get 2 stalls that they are locked in for the entire Winter. The malayin tapir is inside a single stall all year long. The hippos have the best indoor area with 2 pools and some good land space but is still a disgrace. This entire area is ugly, old, deteriorated, and a disgrace that I'm shocked PETA, the IDA, and other animal rights groups haven't had a field day with this exhibit. Family Farm - Your typical farm exhibit with goats, sheep, cattle, chickens, ponies, and pigs. Giraffe Experience - A okayish yard for giraffes that gets extra points for a feeding deck. The indoor barn is mediocre but still adequate. Nothing special here and few faults make this a rather weak yard. (Though it does overlook the elephant and rhino yards so that's something) Animals of Australia - This building is soon to be demolished to make way for the new elephant complex so visit while you can. There is your typical grassy yard for kangaroos and emus. Its fairly large and there is nice viewing. This is also the only zoo with indoor viewing for kangaroos that i've seen. Inside there are 3 decent but unspectacular tree kangaroo exhibits, 3 reef tanks, and a nice kookaburra exhibit. Nice exhibit but nothing out of the ordinary. So yeah, Milwaukee definitely has some outdated areas. I still would say its worth a visit sense it has a very nice collection and some new exhibits on the horizon, Milwaukee could become a very impressive zoo. Thanks for reading this review.
