Really? I’d only suggest that one enclosure between the two is noteworthy, that being the indoor large free-flight. But as they’ve taken horned guans out of that exhibit and golden white-eyes off exhibit completely, the appeal is really gone. Many of the indoor exhibits are shallow, rather bare, and small. The outdoor exhibits aren’t much larger, for the most part. The collection has just one highlight species, and one highlight exhibit, being the Cypress Swamp aviary. STL’s bird exhibits certainly used to be great, but the quality of exhibits (IMO, best described as “meh”) as well as the now mostly commonplace species exhibited, really have made it not appeal to me in recent years. I miss the days of walking around and being greeted by such species as Blyth’s hornbill and channel-billed toucan...
Let's not mince words: nothing about the bird house is great. San Diego's Scripps Aviary is great. St. Louis' bird house is nice to good at best. The garden is better, but that's not saying a lot. There's only about six large-ish enclosures housing a solitary species in most instances, and most of those are probably too large for the space provided. And I say this as someone who very much appreciates the ability to get up and close to the various birds in order to observe details. I don't have the historical relationship with the zoo that others might, so it might have been better in the past, but the Bateleur habitat is definitely the size of a large fridge. Think of one of those side-by-side Sub Zero models turned sideways, and you have a rough idea of the dimensions. The pair of Toco Toucans had more space. The bird garden has the aforementioned six or seven enclosures that, from memory, contained owls and a random kookaburra that had a screen pulled down blocking most of the viewing except he/she was sitting in the upper corner taking in the sun. Otherwise, the recent add-on to the back of the bird house had a bald eagle, a great hornbill (maybe two), and two different species of vultures. These were bigger -- say 12x12x12 -- but hardly the kind of space for truly large birds. The whole thing ends in a covered seating area overlooking cranes adjoined by an incredibly small free-flight aviary with, maybe, six species. There's a lot to like about the St. Louis Zoo, but to actively campaign, and win, "America's Best Zoo" I expect a lot better. A lot better. The Starbucks and a sweet shop don't quite do it for me. I like the lemur additions to the primate house, but that's another species being kept outside.
Second generation hellbenders hatch Second generation captive-bred Ozark hellbenders hatch | Saint Louis Zoo
Prop Z, the new zoo sales tax, is fair to none I only skimmed this article. It's about how the zoo gets funding and about how much of it comes from tax. Thought a few might be interested, though the article is clearly opinion based.
Here is a less biased article: Zoo seeks sales tax in St. Louis County, but not city, to support expansion
The proposed area could well be an attraction that hosts multitudes of African fauna. The link below contains a slideshow of 50 images and I clicked through the first bunch until I reached image #34, which shows a map that includes a Wildlife Adventure Experience (70 acres), a Safari Experience (100 acres) and Conservation and Animal Science Center (250 acres). The amount of acreage is astonishing and if the funding continues to be large then there could easily be a world-class safari park right near an already world-class zoo. Slide #35 even compares the project to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and The Wilds near Columbus. https://www.ksdk.com/article/money/...xpansion-are-out-and-are-awesome/63-537310866
This is excellent news. Facilities such as these that are capable of housing large numbers of animals for breeding with natural group dynamics are what are desperately needed to sustain AZA populations long-term. I am very glad to see that more and more organizations, most recently the Audubon Nature Institute with the Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center and now the St. Louis Zoo with this proposed facility, are committing to working towards population sustainability by investing in these green space facilities.
Excellent news! Methinks this new facility would look very good with a 10+acre mixed species African elephant exhibit
Agreed 100%, especially when it comes to hoofstock. At the moment many larger Asian deer species are being sustained almost entirely by SDZSP and Bronx within the AZA, both which give their animals acres of naturalistic space to breed within large herds. Obviously African species get priority and they will here as well, but it's still very good news and much needed for a lot of programs. ~Thylo
While I agree that it is usually true that African species do get priority, these green space facilities usually do a much better job of also featuring Asian species than standard zoos. In addition to the SDZSP and the Bronx, both The Wilds and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute are vital institutions for Asian hoofstock, and the second phase of the Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Plan will be heavily focused on Asian species (barasingha, banteng, and babirusa plus two African species) and there are additional Asian species planned for future phases. The St. Louis Zoo, itself, features a good number of Asian species, so hopefully they will follow suit and feature some at this facility as well.
Personally, I think the best news about this is that the zoo finally has the funding secured to address backlogs of infrastructure maintenance at the current zoo site. It's a basic and expensive necessity that doesn't lend itself to being funded by philanthropists and donation drives the way new exhibit complexes are, so without charging admission it had to come from somewhere... and the city of St. Louis is too financially challenged to carry the whole burden.
Tour of the Penguin & Puffin Coast Similar animals of polar opposites, chilling temperatures, and the world's most beloved birds within arms reach - this is the Penguin and Puffin Coast at the Saint Louis Zoo. You'll enter this separate world to a rugged, outdoor coastline and be greeted by Humboldt penguins of South America. Head a little further south to the domed sub-Antarctic, where you'll experience cold air, winds, and splashes from penguins of the island of South Georgia. This is the Penguin Cove - an open environment with flightless birds scattered along the overtowering cliffs - with nothing between the two of you from entering into each other's space. This Cove is America's first walk-through cold-weathered penguin enclosure, a design that you'll rarely find around the world's zoos. This specially outlined attraction concludes with a similar environment for oceanic birds of the Northern world - the Puffin Bay. If you haven't seen this for yourself - an unforgettable experience lies here at the Penguin and Puffin Coast at the Saint Louis Zoo.
Looking at that slideshow, I hope I'm not the only one alarmed by the fact that only 8% of the AZA's SSPs are at the green level. If things don't turn around soon, then they're either going to have to phase out a ton of species, or just really crack down and commit to making sure their animals are breeding plentifully.
You have to remember, there are a variety of reasons why an SSP might be yellow or red. For instance, scarlet Ibis are managed under a yellow SSP, despite being having one of the highest populations and being one of the most popular birds in AZA institutions. This is only because they have a massive founder base, with many birds being of unknown origin, hence giving them a yellow status, but despite that, they are in no danger of going anywhere anytime soon.
I see where you're coming from, but there are still plenty of species that are having a hard time reproducing to the point that they might just go extinct in AZA zoos (the elephants and pretty much all of the bears, to name a few examples).
I wish there were a more comprehensive way to gauge animals in captivity/semi captivity. An example of that would be the addra gazelle. Its listed yellow at AZA with a bit less than 200. It lists less than 500 in the wild, yet there are over a 1000 in Texas running around waiting to get shot if you cough up 10 grand. The species as a whole is doing much better than if just the AZA ratings are considered.
