This could be one of the reasons for such a long queue. Zoo penguins escaping their enclosure | Calgary | News | Calgary Sun
Top Ten Zoos: #1 San Diego #2 Omaha #3 Bronx #4 Columbus #5 Sedgwick County #6 Saint Louis #7 North Carolina #8 Denver #9 Woodland Park #10 San Diego Zoo Safari Park Top Ten Aquariums: #1 Shedd #2 Georgia #3 Monterey Bay #4 Baltimore #5 Tennessee #6 Aquarium of the Pacific #7 Vancouver #8 Mystic #9 Steinhart #10 Oregon Coast Technically Vancouver Aquarium is in Canada and thus if I were to only rank American facilities I'd place Adventure Aquarium in the #10 slot and then Mystic, Steinhart and Oregon Coast would all bump up one slot each.
Hi Snowleopard, How would this list look if u were to rate it with with consideration to the number of inadequate animal exhibits? As from my recent experience at both San Diego and Omaha, the number of inadequate exhibits was in my opinion hugely disproportionate to the number of quality animal exhibits. From reading your reviews on both of these zoos, l do see that you acknowledge this however you still rate these zoos so highly?
@CGSwans: Here is a list that is about a year-and-a-half-old but it ranks 57 American zoos. Since then I'd bump Omaha up to #2, bump Denver up to #8, move Tampa's Lowry Park into the list at around #35, and Busch Gardens and Oakland would both be between #40-50. I only included establishments with full reviews in "America's Best Zoos" and there is only one major zoo that I have not visited: Honolulu. http://www.zoochat.com/22/snowleopards-favourite-american-zoos-203497/ @BlackRhino: since I re-visited Omaha on July 6th and saw Expedition Madagascar and the renovated Scott Aquarium....Bronx slides down a notch as Omaha keeps on getting better while Bronx keeps on closing exhibits (the Monkey House being the latest - although is that a big loss?) @Zooman: you have a great point, as zoos like Sedgwick County, Saint Louis, North Carolina and Woodland Park all have maybe 15% bad exhibits while Omaha and San Diego certainly have a higher percentage of bad exhibits but they also provide awesome experiences and the animal collections are huge. Rankings are all subjective and everyone is slightly different, although a number of ZooChatters that I could name probably agree with 7 out of my top 10 zoos and maybe 8 or 9 out of my top 10 aquariums as aquatic facilities are a little more obvious and there is less of them. The few zoos that folks disagree on are usually what makes these conversations interesting, and Omaha is a zoo that ranks #1 in terms of contentious points of view.
snowleopard how would you rank the canadian zoos that you have visited? I think if you visited Toronto once Eurasia opens it may make your top ten (Toronto on my list is after Columbus and ahead of Brookfield).
DAY 46: Thursday, August 16th, 2012 & Day 47: Friday, August 17th, 2012 & Day 48: Saturday, August 18th, 2012 Road Trip Review # 50: Calgary Zoo (and ZooChat review #151) Calgary Zoo’s website: Calgary Zoo - Home Calgary Zoo is an AZA and CAZA accredited facility that regularly attracts 1.2 million visitors each year and it a tremendously popular attraction now that Penguin Plunge has opened. The zoo was founded in 1929, contains over 1,000 animals of around 300 species, and is curiously split into two different zones as about 50% of the zoo is on the mainland while the other half is on an island and accessed via a wide pedestrian bridge. The zoo is arranged into 4 major geographical regions, plus odds n’ ends zones, and while some areas are accurate (Canadian Wilds and Destination Africa) the Eurasian and South American zone both have many species that are misplaced. I have visited the zoo on 5 occasions: 1986, 2006, and three consecutive days in 2012. It was a joy to visit the zoo three days in a row, as I was able to plan the tours so that I could see specific areas with little to no other visitors around and thus I took a lot of photos. Other than Penguin Plunge, which I visited once due to the overwhelming crowds still pouring in 6 months after it opened, I saw every single animal exhibit at least twice if not three times. Calgary Zoo is definitely a major zoological park, with a huge gift shop, an enormous number of parking spots (1,800 in one massive lot), and a large restaurant, a brand-new Science Center next to it that opened in 2011, many visitor amenities and a varied collection of animals. The vast nation of Canada has long had only two notable zoos and I would argue that Calgary is an all-around better establishment than the much larger Toronto Zoo. THE BEST: Canadian Wilds – This area was completed in the 1990’s and it features a fairly comprehensive list of North American animals. Species list (26 species): grizzly bear, black bear, cougar, grey wolf, river otter, black-tailed prairie dog, musk ox, wood bison, woodland caribou, white-tailed deer, mule deer, Dall sheep, bighorn sheep, Rocky Mountain goat, American pelican, sandhill crane, whooping crane, trumpeter swan, wild turkey, rough-legged hawk, golden eagle, bald eagle, great grey owl, snowy owl, barred owl and northern leopard frog. This area has fantastic visitor pathways as the Aspen Woodlands section has small conifers and tall grasses lining the trail; the Rocky Mountains area has immense boulders that the path winds through; Northern Forest has a swath of tall trees; Tundra has a plain aspect to the plantings; and Grasslands is a combination of grass and trees. The enclosures are for the most part fairly basic but they are all grassy and there is certainly space provided for the hoofstock. The muskoxen have a massive pair of enclosures (with an open gate between them on the day of my visit) that must be 1.5 acres in size with the holding area. The walk-through Rocky Mountain Aviary has 3 species of owl and 1 species of hawk in with the visitors, (which is rarely seen in North American zoos) but the mule deer/wild turkey/pelican exhibit is no longer a walk-through zone which is disappointing as it was once cool to see mule deer just a few meters away and in the open. The other recent changes that I noticed were that there currently are no mammals in the moose exhibit (only turkeys and sandhill cranes) and the old swift fox exhibit is completely empty of anything but tall weeds. Canadian Wilds has a grizzly bear exhibit that is more than adequate and it features a steep, rocky hillside; two cougar exhibits side-by-side so that cats can be split up if necessary; a stupendous bald eagle/golden eagle aviary that might well be one of the largest aviaries in North America for birds of prey; a Cequel Lodge with two river otter exhibits that both have underwater viewing; and the Lodge itself is a beautiful structure that is all wood and it features a classroom environment on its second level. All of the entire Canadian Wilds section is an absolute joy to travel through, and it is an extensive overview of the cold-weather, hardy animals that can be seen in the world’s second largest nation. Perhaps the biggest highlight of all is the pair of mock-rock masterpieces for Rocky Mountain goats and bighorn sheep on steep, grassy hillsides with a rock-textured backdrop. Penguin Plunge – Calgary Zoo has a superstar habitat on their hands, a full 6 years before the giant pandas arrive. This $24.5 million complex opened in February of 2012 and 6 months later there are still enormous lineups that stretch from 30 minutes to 2 hours according to the many signs in the area. The zoo opened at 9:00 and by 9:15 there was a half-hour wait to see the penguins, and chatting with a keeper it seems as if now the lineups are at least a full hour for most of the day but it also reaches a point where many visitors cannot be bothered to wait in the hot sun for such a long duration of time. On my 3rd consecutive day at the zoo I managed to become part of the very first group inside the building, and after that clumps of people are allowed in as there are several staff members monitoring the numbers. There are 46 penguins of 4 different species (8 kings, 23 gentoo, 5 rockhopper and 10 Humboldt) and it is the second best all-indoor penguin exhibit I’ve ever seen. Saint Louis Zoo is still #1 but Calgary has deliberately modeled Penguin Plunge on Penguin & Puffin Coast at the American zoo. In both cases penguins swim inches from visitors, and I saw at least 5 visitors actually get splashed by the birds as they were frisky first thing in the morning. Outside the building are a couple of huge penguin statues and a scenic Humboldt penguin habitat with a trickling pool (that could be a bit bigger), many rocky outcrops and a very large grassy area that I never saw being used. The Humboldts will be brought inside during the winter and placed with the rest of the penguins, as they were back in February. Indoors the setup is fairly basic, with a pathway winding down the middle and an average-sized penguin pool on either side. The rocky backdrops go well with the slightly colourful lighting on the ceiling that mimics the real sky, and the glass windows are perhaps 4.5 feet high all the way along. People are allowed to lean on the glass and it is such an immersive experience that the temptation to reach out and touch a penguin is something that the staff are aware of at all times. It is an awesome experience to see the penguins up close, but at a chilly temperature of 6 degrees Celsius (42 degrees Fahrenheit) it made me shiver in my t-shirt, shorts and sandals and after exactly 12 minutes I left the penguins to their icy water and headed back out into the sunshine. People are willing to line up for an hour because penguins are well and truly superstar attractions! Destination Africa – This large complex opened in 2003and it remains the zoo’s most ambitious and expensive undertaking at a cost of almost $35 million. There is a TransAlta Rainforest and African Savannah pair of buildings that are rather stunning architecturally and they contain many animal species, as well as a large restaurant named Kitamba Café and a huge Safari Lodge that is used for private functions. The Rainforest and Savannah buildings are unique-looking structures and they can easily be seen from various vantage points all over the zoo. There is a feeling of walking into an industrial warehouse when first viewing the hippos and giraffes in the Savannah complex; and while the Rainforest structure is much more immersive there are still green metal support beams in all directions that at many other mega-rainforest structures would be covered with fake tree trunks. Destination Africa: TransAlta Rainforest – This 31,000 sq. ft. building (2,900 sq. meters) has 8 gorillas as the star attraction and their indoor area is fairly large and the mock-rock is covered with scatterings of hay in all directions. The outdoor yard is fundamentally sound although there is really only the one major viewing angle, and apparently at times the gorillas are mixed in with colobus monkeys (who have their own habitat in a separate area). Before reaching the gorillas there is a beautiful tank packed with “Rift Valley Cichlids” and a researcher’s hut with two terrariums of giant African snails and Madagascar hissing cockroaches. The misters keep the jungle-like atmosphere intact as further along the pathway are exhibits for Malagasy tree boas, straw-coloured fruit bats, leopard tortoises and African dwarf crocodiles. My favourite section is an overlook across a short bridge as from there the gorillas can be looked down upon, as well as visitors at the far side of the exhibit. A separate area serves as a walk-through aviary with a couple of mammal species, and this zone is thick with humidity, hanging vines and it definitely evokes a steamy jungle-like environment. Species list (11 species): mongoose lemur, Guenther’s dik-dik, Lady Ross’s turaco, hottentot teal, cape teal, bearded barbet, southern bald ibis, hammerkop, long-toed lapwing, African jacana and Von der Decken’s hornbill. The highlight of this zone is the fact that it is actually a walk-through lemur exhibit! Omaha does not have the only one in North America, and I was delighted to see a pair of mongoose lemurs on the visitor pathway and one rested in a tree approximately 4 feet from my face. The lemurs scampered all over the branches, dived in between the vines, and then took off into the canopy in search of food. Destination Africa: African Savannah – This is the indoor holding area for giraffes, Nile hippos, red river hogs and a variety of smaller species. The hippo pool is the star attraction and it holds 80,000 gallons of water that is packed with tilapia and the two hippos are amazing to see underwater. Calgary is one of only 11 places in all of North America (10 zoos and 1 aquarium) where there is underwater viewing and I’ve seen 10 out of those 11 places and Calgary’s is not as natural as some of the others but it is still spectacular to witness the balletic moves of Nile hippos in water. In the background of the hippo pool is a small, muddy outdoor area for those gigantic grey blobs, as well as the indoor barn area for the zoo’s reticulated giraffes. A small side yard for giraffes can also be seen when viewing the hippos. A large, grassy lion exhibit is found outside, as well as the outdoor enclosure for the red river hogs; the giraffe/Grevy’s zebra/ostrich/marabou stork savanna yard is found here; as well as a now empty habitat that at one time held bongos. The major drawback to this area is the fact that visitors go all the way to a viewing deck and and then come back the exact same way, thus creating terribly congested areas. Indoors and just along the downward slope to the hippos are a series of average-sized, all-indoor exhibits for these species: rock hyrax, meerkat, hooded vulture, Dumeril’s ground boa, Malagasy giant hognosed snake and ball python. THE AVERAGE: Eurasia – The main attraction in this part of the zoo is the huge Amur tiger exhibit, which is essentially a half-acre lush forested area with a deep stream trickling through the center of it. A high metal fence surrounds all of it, somewhat Howletts-style, but there are two sections with glass viewing windows and I saw at 5 tigers as a trio of cubs is currently in a small side exhibit with their mother. There is also a nice red panda habitat that allows visitors to get very close to the often-sleeping mammals; Malayan fruit bats are in an outdoor cage near the tigers; collared peccaries are curiously placed in this section of the zoo; and large metal cages with lots of climbing opportunities for snow leopards and Japanese macaques are crowd-pleasers. One huge flaw in this zone is that the macaques, snow leopards and Amur tigers can be difficult to see properly behind all of the thick metal. Even though there are large gaps as it is thicker, wider metal that is used as a containment device, I would love to see the zoo maintain the exact same animal habitats but instead knock down a long wall of metal and erect glass viewing areas. In the case of the tigers on all 3 occasions that I strolled around the big yard there were visitors huddled in the two glass viewing zones because who wants to take photos or stare at the world’s largest cat through metal fencing? Eurasia also has yet another large, open-topped metal cage for Alpine ibex and markhor; a fallow deer/white stork enclosure; a Japanese serow exhibit with a youngster in the mix; and an emu/black swan/Bennett’s wallaby/Reeves muntjac exhibit that held sloth bears until a couple of years ago. Elephant Crossing is nearby and there is a basic Bactrian camel yard next to the elephants. Dorothy Harvie Gardens – There is a 6-acre section of the zoo that is home to the Botanical Gardens, including the ENMAX Conservatory that was opened in 2009 after a 15-month refurbishment. There are lots of plants, flowers, butterflies (seasonally) and while the gardens are nothing too exciting the Conservatory has a beautiful Garden of Life as well as a second garden with a glistening fountain, high humidity and a plethora of butterflies and I would highly recommend a tour. It is all very scenic and there are also many functions that take place here and in fact a wedding was ongoing during my visit. Prehistoric Park – This 6.5 acre zone featuring many life-size statues of dinosaurs opened in 1985 and while at the time it was spectacular and one of very few dinosaur displays in any zoo worldwide time has not been kind to this area. The pathways are quite narrow in places, there are sections that are practically single-file, and the zoo was considering demolishing the entire zone before the $140 million Arctic Shores expansion fell through due to budget concerns. Also, the textured rockwork now looks a bit dated and there are only between 12-15 non-moving dinosaurs in an era when children have become used to animatronic creations. If the zoo were to end its dinosaur display it would certainly free up a lot of space for a brand-new precinct. The only problem for the zoo is that little kids still love this part of the zoo, and there were youngsters all around me rattling off the names of the dinosaurs. Species list includes: triceratops (two of them), Tyrannosaurus Rex (two of them), ankylosaurus, corythosaurus, styracosaurus and Apatosaurus. THE WORST: South America – While this zone is not horrible there is an amateurish quality to a couple of the exhibits and the main pavilion is stinky and a tad outdated. There are a couple of wire-fenced yards for alpacas and maras; a pretty lagoon with Chilean flamingos; an all-glass aviary for Andean condors; and a building with a series of exhibits that are a mixture of indoor and outdoor enclosures. A giant anteater/hyacinth macaw habitat has indoor and outdoor viewing, and a white-handed gibbon/Japanese serow (both non-South American species) share an exhibit that also has indoor viewing of the gibbons; there is an indoor/outdoor coendou exhibit; and DeBrazza guenons and black-handed spider monkeys share an indoor/outdoor exhibit. The 7 all-indoor enclosures are these: cotton-top tamarin, pygmy marmoset, coendou/yellow-headed Amazon parrot, giant anteater, coendou/Goeldi’s monkey, two-toed sloth and red-bellied piranha. Elephant Crossing – This exhibit made its debut in 2007 at a cost of $10 million (an enlarging of the previous elephant complex) but the zoo has already announced that due to “welfare reasons” the 4 Asian elephants (1.3) will be sent to another AZA-accredited zoo in the next few years. One is currently pregnant and so in about 6 months the zoo will have 5 elephants that will be shipped all together to a zoo in the future. Spike is a 31 year-old male, Kamala is a 37 year-old female, Swarna is a 37 year-old female and pregnant Maharani is a 22 year-old female. I did not get to go inside the barn as construction is being done over the next few weeks as the zoo gears up for its next baby elephant. Calgary has an average daily temperature of 4 degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit) a full 6 months of the year, and thus the elephants will often stay inside their barn and not even wish to be out in one of the 10 smallest elephant paddocks in any North American zoo. Due to the chilly weather in the city and the tiny outdoor yard it is not really much of a surprise that yet another northern zoo is phasing out elephants. THE FUTURE: Calgary Zoo intends to release a brand-new, 20-year master plan to the public before the end of 2012. It should make for very interesting reading and it seems reasonable to expect rhinos to replace the departing elephants and possibly something to be done with both Prehistoric Park and the South American building. One thing that has been confirmed is that Toronto Zoo will have a pair of giant pandas from 2013-2018 and then Calgary Zoo will have the same pandas from 2018-2023 and so record attendances will be shattered during those 5 years. I suspect that the current wallaby/emu/black swan/muntjac habitat (that once held sloth bears) could be a ready-made giant panda exhibit but that is simply my own conjecture. Due to a series of highly publicized animal deaths the zoo overhauled many of its operating procedures and came up with an Action Plan. Calgary Zoo Action Plan (a very interesting 9-page document): http://calgaryzoo.org/images/stories/pdf/news/actionplan/action-plan.pdf OVERALL: Calgary Zoo is a major establishment that is well worth touring for any zoo enthusiast and it would be intriguing to visit the facility in the dead of winter as Penguin Plunge would actually be warmer than the outside temperature! There are 3 great zones (Canadian Wilds, Penguin Plunge and Destination Africa – all 3 on the right-hand side of the zoo map) that can be toured year-round, and a couple of hit-and-miss animal areas (Eurasia and South America) as well as a couple of zones with zero creatures (Botanical Garden and Prehistoric Park). I predict that the loss of elephants in the future will have zero impact on attendance, and the zoo will have to update many of its exhibits in preparation for the arrival of giant pandas in 2018 as then the crowds will be ravenous for black-and-white bears. I would like to see a greater attention to detail in regards to many of the exhibits, but overall Calgary Zoo has some impressive areas and I’d love to re-visit it a couple of years from now. If I were to rank it alongside the major American zoos that I’ve visited in the past few years I’d perhaps place Calgary in the top 30.
Thanks SnowLeopard - I had obviously completely forgotten about that thread. Are there any zoos that you would perhaps elevate into your top sixty ahead of the likes of San Antonio and Buffalo?
You are truly peristent in asking me to rank an incredible number of zoos, but I stopped after the 59 major ones on that list as there are innumerable zoos that vary in quality and can be seen in 2 hours or less. Of the major zoos in "America's Best Zoos" I am most definitely not a fan of San Francisco, Milwaukee County, San Antonio, Riverbanks or Buffalo. Those are the bottom 5 on the list but they are all still regarded as large zoos and in the case of Milwaukee and San Antonio they have huge collections. Small zoos that are terrific: The Living Desert is a real gem, Cameron Park is a beauty, Rosamond Gifford was much better than I expected, El Paso and Virginia make 5 great zoos that I would place higher than any of the bottom 5 that I mentioned earlier. Here are the 36 American aquariums that I've visited (ranked in order): 1- John G. Shedd Aquarium (2008) 2- Georgia Aquarium (2008) 3- Monterey Bay Aquarium (2011, 2008, 2006) 4- National Aquarium in Baltimore (2010) 5- Tennessee Aquarium (2010) 6- Aquarium of the Pacific (2011) 7- Mystic Aquarium (2012) 8- Steinhart Aquarium (2011) 9- Oregon Coast Aquarium (2011, 2010, 2008) 10- Adventure Aquarium (2012) 11- New England Aquarium (2012) 12- Seattle Aquarium (at least 5 visits) 13- New York Aquarium (2012) 14- Long Island Aquarium (2012) 15- Dallas World Aquarium (2010) 16- Birch Aquarium (2012) 17- Virginia Aquarium (2012) 18- Florida Aquarium (2012) 19- Aquarium of the Americas (2012) 20- Newport Aquarium (2012) 21- South Carolina Aquarium (2012) 22- Maritime Aquarium (2012) 23- North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores (2012) 24- Aquarium of the Bay (2011) 25- Denver Downtown Aquarium (2012) 26- Ripley’s Aquarium at Myrtle Beach (2012) 27- North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher (2012) 28- North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoke Island (2012) 29- Albuquerque Aquarium (2010) 30- Greater Cleveland Aquarium (2012) 31- Jenkinson’s Aquarium (2012) 32- Sea Life Aquarium – Arizona (2011) 33- Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (2011) 34- National Aquarium in Washington D.C. (2008) 35- Seaside Aquarium (2010) 36- San Diego SeaWorld (2011 x 2, 2006) – Theme Park (not included in ranking) Two Canadian aquariums that I've seen are Vancouver (#7 if included on a North American list as it is great) and West Edmonton Mall's Sea Life Caverns (fairly crappy). That equals 38 North American aquariums that I've visited in the past 4 years, but there are quite a few much smaller ones still out there that I have not toured.
from your list Snowleopard's Favourite American Zoos you have the Denver zoo at #17. Now you came out with a new top ten list and Denver is #8. that can only mean one thing the zoo is rapidly changing which is good thing. It will be interesting to see this same list 5 years down the road to see if woodland park zoo moves up because of its new Tiger/sloth Bear exhibit, North Carolina zoo with its new Polar Bear Habitat and to see if you actually may put Columbus ahead of the Bronx with its new Africa exhibit. it seems like the Big Apple's zoo has to come up big in the future to reign it's crown again. And Do you actually think one day Omaha Henry Doorly zoo will be the new #1 zoo in america someday? also you have my hometown zoo Pittsburgh zoo #49 and Utah Hogle's zoo #51 you probably move Hogle zoo ahead of pittsburgh.
An article from 2010 talks about a master plan for the WCS zoos and aquarium, and it included a massive Safari Adventure exhibit. It also included a Wildlife Ambassadors Center and new health care center at the Bronx. However, the most important thing is a new shark exhibit at the aquarium. snowleopard- Do you think Ny Aquarium will move up when Ocean Wonders opens?
I think SD, Omaha, and Columbus may have the brightest futures when their present is factored in. They're all improving at a fast pace and have big improvements on the horizon. The Bronx is a great zoo, but it has stagnated and I'm not sure when they will start upgrading the zoo again.
Now that I've been home for a few days I've already posted a list that ranks the 38 North American aquariums that I have visited, as well as a link to an older thread that ranks some of the better American zoos that I have seen. I've got one final list to post and it is the 25 best exhibit complexes in American zoos but it is a tough one to finalize and it is also more for fun as several terrific zoos (Sedgwick County and Columbus for example) are great but lack a killer, knockout exhibit complex. Some zoos are just really good with zero awful sections but also zero brilliant zones. In the meantime I've been busy uploading many photos and there has already been a lot of discussion on the Omaha photos as that zoo always draws praise and criticism in equal parts. This morning I uploaded over 70 photos just from the $50 million Toyota Elephant Passage and so there is now comprehensive coverage of that new set of habitats in the ZooChat gallery. There will be lots more photos of the rest of Denver Zoo to follow in the near future.
Welcome home, SnowLeopard Family! You are still remembered quite fondly here, from your visit to Indianapolis. But what a fascinating trip!
@Snowleopard: I just wanna say thank you for your great reviews. Although I am/was not allways agree with your comments and rankings, it was allways a pleasure to read it. And I am impressed about your huge efforts in writing after so many power-taking days.
This is how i'm exactly going to feel bout the new section at the Pittsburgh zoo, the Top of The World exhibit with a new outdoor Orangutan exhibit. The Orangutans never saw pure day light and i feel that's going to be the same problem here. They will never go outside. But that's not there fault.
Road Trip (by the numbers): Zoos: 32 Aquariums: 18 U.S. States visited: 34 Distance covered: 19,000 km (11,800 miles) U.S. States that I've visited: all 50 U.S. States that my wife has visited: 49 (she's never been to Alaska) U.S. States that my daughter has visited: 41 (she is not yet 3 years old) U.S. States that my son has visited: 37 (he is only 15 months old) Zoos/Aquariums my daughter has visited in her first 3 years: approximately 120 My lifetime list of wildlife attractions: 180 zoos/aquariums Zoos/Aquariums in U.S.A. = 144 Zoos/Aquariums in Australia = 18 Zoos/Aquariums in Canada = 15 Zoos/Aquariums in Switzerland = 2 Zoos/Aquariums in Trinidad = 1 Total = 180
