Odds n' Sods: - I type this at midnight in Omaha, as tomorrow will be a visit to a zoo that some prominent zoo authors (I'm looking at you Mr. Allen Nyhuis and Mr. Tim Brown) rank as possibly one of the top 5 on the planet. I'll probably use that quote in my review! - Great Plains Zoo was a fun tour but it was a mish-mash in terms of quality animal exhibits. My review is almost finished and it is 6 pages long using font size 14. I'll post it tomorrow as I need to revise a few things first and I'm getting ready for bed now but I will say that the highlight was a superb black rhino habitat and the natural history museum was also top-notch and well worth visiting. - The workload at night is enormous as just hauling everything into a motel room takes at least half an hour. Two cribs/playpens have to be dragged in and set-up; clothes sorted and organized; all of the electronics and valuables stashed away inside the room and out of reach of little sticky hands; kids need to be bathed, fed, changed, pampered, hugged and kissed, etc. Dinner has to be obtained and then cleaned up and disposed of; bed-time routines have to be repeated; shaving, showering, etc; and before one knows it the time is 9:00 at night and ZooChat reviews, emails, etc, beckons. - We drove so many miles in the first few days that we spent time in 3 out of the 4 time zones in the lower 48 states. Pacific time became Mountain time which became Central time, and at each change we lost an hour and soon we'll hit Eastern time where thankfully we shall remain for at least a few weeks as there are many zoos and aquariums near the east coast that will be toured.
I look forward to your review of the new aquarium and Madagascar exhibit. If you happen to talk with some folks there would also be very interested to know if there is a new elephant exhibit in the foreseeable future, or if it is on the back burner until the economy improves. Will also be interested to hear what your impression of the size and quality of their reptile collection is.
DAY 4: Thursday, July 5th, 2012 Zoo/Aquarium Review # 1: Great Plains Zoo Great Plains Zoo’s website: Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History is an AZA-accredited facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. There are almost 1,000 animals in a 45-acre park, along with the museum that features around 150 mounted animals. In 2013 the zoo will celebrate its 50th anniversary as it opened to the public in 1963. The state of South Dakota is sparse on zoos, and only around 240,000 people visit Great Plains Zoo each year but that is more than the other two notable animal attractions (Bramble Park Zoo and Reptile Gardens) found in the state. We had a fun day touring the zoo, and while we did not have lunch there (that came later courtesy of Taco Bell) we did tour the natural history museum at the entrance and in total we came close to spending 3 hours at our first major attraction on this latest road trip. The zoo itself is nothing great but there are impressive plans for the future and one terrific exhibit complex to go along with a lot of mediocre enclosures. The weather was scorching hot, the mugginess of the summer heat caused the zoo to be fairly empty, and I just hope that it is not this warm tomorrow when we tour Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium. THE BEST: Rare Rhinos of Africa – This is a quite superb area that features black rhinos, and there have been two calves born here in the past 7 years so the zoo is contributing to the SSP (Species Survival Plan). There are two outdoor habitats that are not huge but are a decent size and they feature mud wallows, scratching posts, numerous boulders and grassy zones. A male black rhino was in the larger enclosure and he even graced us with a spray of urine that fell about 6 feet short of getting us wet. There is a small concrete slab surrounded by cement posts that is an adjoining gateway between the two enclosures, and I can imagine keeper talks taking place here while a rhino is contained in front of the public. The second rhino yard is a little smaller and on our visit contained a mother and calf, and both never stopped moving as they explored their exhibit. The barn is accessed by the public and there are loads of interpretative graphics, cool-looking signs and interactive elements that involve all the rhino species. The entire area is devoted to getting the message across that rhinos are amazing creatures and I was duly impressed. Delbridge Museum of Natural History – This air-conditioned area is located directly at the entrance to the zoo and can be toured at no extra cost. We were grateful for the coolness of the facility after a sweaty walk around the main zoo, and we put my one year-old son Jeffrey down on the carpeted floor and let him crawl around to his heart’s content. Small fences stopped him from advancing onto the more than 150 taxidermy specimens, and his cries of delight attracted puzzled glances from visitors as he even made one lady jump as she thought that one of the stuffed animals had emitted a noise! I sometimes think that it comes across as silly to be staring at dead animals, especially after seeing hundreds of live ones only minutes before, but it is not often that one can be a few feet away from a striped hyena or golden jackal and appreciate exactly what that animal looks like. Seeing a full-size walrus, or a polar bear, or an enormous giant eland, or any of the larger mammals up close and personal from almost within touching distance is a pretty cool thing, and so I spent many minutes musing on the shapes and sizes of the specimens in the museum. The facility is divided geographically, and so there is the South African Kopje, Asian Tropical Forest, African Waterhole, North American Tundra and a total of 14 more ecosystems that vary in size from one specimen to perhaps a dozen. THE AVERAGE: Asian Cats – This themed zone features 3 exhibits and there are some nice touches such as the two pagoda-styled structures and the huge gong that can be banged with a hand to make a rather satisfactory sound. The first enclosure is the worst as it features a single Pallas’ cat and the cage is perhaps 18 feet long, 7 feet wide and 12 feet high. That seems inadequate for even a small feline, and the same problem exists for the larger snow leopard habitat. There were terrific furnishings but the small size is a major letdown and once again a zoo has managed to construct a subpar exhibit for those magnificent Himalayan cats. The final habitat, and easily the best of the trio, is for Amur tigers and features a trickling waterfall and pond-like creation that would not look out of place in a British backyard. The enclosure is not enormous by any means but it is adequate for the single tiger that it held on our visit. North American Plains – A massive, multi-acre bison/pronghorn antelope yard is very impressive, and there are at least 3 calves and 6-7 bison in total. This zone is nicely done with a backdrop of grassy plains, but the 4 chain-link enclosures just down the pathway are not so inspiring. Red wolves have a nice grassy yard, sandhill cranes a small area, a swift fox was actively exploring through the thick grass in its enclosure, and a giant anteater had a large habitat to ramble through. However, all 4 of those exhibits feature chain-link fencing and that is not exactly the most aesthetically pleasing substance to use in a zoo. African Savannah – This area was disappointing as it has so much unfulfilled potential. Eye-catching signs and a smart-looking café (which is incredibly tiny inside) lead the way to a wooden fence that guides visitors onto a rising boardwalk. There is a nice, picturesque field with a waterway that runs through the center creating a beautiful image of a lush exhibit. However, even though the sign for bongos was prominently displayed the animals themselves were all locked in a pair of far-away, chain-link yards that made it difficult to see them. The main yard, which is perhaps an acre in size, features reticulated giraffes, Grevy’s zebras, East African crowned cranes and ostriches but alas the 5 giraffes and 5 zebras were only to be seen in their tiny winter side yards and I couldn’t find out from any employee why that was the case. The main savannah was essentially empty and deserted, which was very discouraging to many visitors. This area also has a pair of large, grassy yards for cheetahs that were the highlight of the area; an African spurred tortoise exhibit; a yellow-footed tortoise enclosure (as South America is part of Africa, right?), and then this zone ended and the backtracking began. The giraffe barn is accessed by visitors and along one side the giraffe indoor area can be seen. Along the opposite wall are a couple of small terrariums for African clawed frogs and a ball python, as well as an African pygmy hedgehog (currently off-exhibit) and a future meerkat exhibit (currently home to fairy bluebirds and crested wood partridges). A train circles this part of the zoo, which is another black mark against the African Savannah because the train is not on tracks but the regular pathway and so whenever it came along all the parents in the area had to grab their wandering kids and gently pull them aside until the train passed. People were grumbling about that and it never makes sense to me when zoos put any kind of ride next to the main pathway for walking visitors. Face-to-Face Farm – A typical barnyard atmosphere is found here, along with a motley assortment of goats, sheep, miniature horses, chickens and a few other critters. Curiously off to the side is a darkened, covered area where there are very small exhibits for these species: red panda, yellow-footed rock wallaby, North American porcupine, red-tailed hawk, Delaware cornsnake, California kingsnake (including an albino), brown striped California kingsnake, Amazon tree boa, Columbian rainbow boa, carpet python and gila monster. All of those animals are in enclosures that are too small for them, but at least they were easy to locate in their cramped surroundings. Bears – There were two black bears in a grassy, treed enclosure that was more than adequate, even though the public looks down on the animals in a sort of grassy grotto. The single brown bear does not fare so well as while there is a decent amount of space and a nice trickling stream into a pool the bulk of the grotto is all textured cement. It would probably not cost the zoo very much money to dump a couple of thousand pounds of dirt and mulch into the enclosure, and it would allow the bear to dig a little and ease the pain on its joints from spending all day walking around on concrete. Odds n’ Sods – There are several dusty yards that are adequate for their inhabitants (guanaco, dromedary, rhea, emu, Galapagos tortoise, reindeer); an American alligator exhibit that I could have easily stepped into as the fence was quite low; a bizarre Tammar wallaby exhibit that was constructed when the zoo first opened in 1963 and it is essentially a giant mountain of pinkish slabs of concrete; a turkey exhibit; and several small but lushly planted waterfowl aviaries. Species list of birds: North American wood duck, North American ruddy duck, harlequin duck, spectacled eider, smew and white-winged scoter in one aviary; while these species were in separate areas: hottentot teal, Baikal teal, cape teal, white-winged wood duck, mandarin duck, kookaburra and North American wood duck. THE WORST: Primate House – This small structure is in the shape of a square, with 4 metal cages protruding from its corners. There are two black metal cages on each side of the building, with a walkway in between each of them so that visitors can enter the building and see the 4 indoor rooms of the primates. Each cage is an eyesore as it is about 20 ft. x 20 ft. x 20 ft. and there were colobus monkeys, ring-tailed lemurs, siamangs, squirrel monkeys and king vultures in this part of the zoo. The colobus monkeys, lemurs and siamangs have both an indoor and outdoor area while the squirrel monkeys are all indoors and the king vultures are left outside to battle the elements. The siamangs fared the worst as due to the large size of these apes I calculated that it would take one of them perhaps 4 small swings to cross its entire existence. Perhaps because there is nothing else to do the male and female have recently sired 3 offspring (in 2008, 2009 and 2011 – all males) and seeing all 5 apes in the metal box was a little depressing and also somewhat surprising. Penguins – This is arguably the worst penguin exhibit that I’ve ever seen in all of my zoo visits. There were 9 Humboldt penguins in an all-indoor room with garish yellow tiles on the walls, perhaps 2 feet of water in the small pool and crappy rockwork along one side that was perhaps designed by a toddler. Drainage holes ran alongside the edge of the land area, and vents and pipes were prominently displayed as naturally that is what it looks like down in the wilds of Chile. It is simply an atrocious bathroom-style enclosure for a superstar animal. Creepy Crawlers – There are 22 small terrariums in this tiny darkened cave that resembles a mediocre pet shop. The signage is woeful, the stench is powerful, the condensation on the terrariums is nasty, the humidity in the cave is overwhelming, and the sense of an opportunity lost is palpable. Species list: Cuban tree frog (two tanks), northern leopard frog, plains leopard frog, African clawed frog, North American bullfrog, Oriental firebellied toad, marine toad, emperor newt, axolotl (two tanks), striped knee tarantula, brown baboon tarantula, rose hair tarantula (two tanks), white-eyed assassin bug (two tanks), taxicab beetle, Madagascan hissing cockroach, giant cockroach and Asian forest scorpion (two tanks). Tropical Birds – Tiny metal aviaries perhaps 7 feet deep, 7 feet high and 5 feet wide with these 4 species: scarlet macaw, salmon-crested cockatoo, red cardinal and eclectus parrot. How can one appreciate the beauty of birds, let alone the beauty of flight, in silver metal boxes? THE FUTURE: Visitors are now greeted by a large swath of blocked-off construction zones as opening in the summer of 2013 will be the new entrance complex that will feature giraffe statues and a wide pathway. The current flamingo yard (currently off-exhibit) will be part of this area, and the one major new exhibit will be for a troop of snow monkeys. The zoo staff are excited about this addition and drawings, sketches and blueprints are posted all over the current zoo entrance. It is a smart idea to have an energetic, hardy troop of primates welcome guests to the establishment and Minnesota Zoo has similar plans. The zoo map has a huge section labeled “Future African Savannah Expansion” and I cannot find any plans for this online. There is certainly a great deal of unused space in that area and as long as finances are not an issue then perhaps the zoo can greatly improve this section of the grounds. OVERALL: Great Plains Zoo is worth visiting for a zoo enthusiast, and the black rhino complex and natural history museum are both stellar. It is definitely a far cry from being a major zoo, and some of the exhibits (penguins, primates) are downright awful. Many small zoos have to fight for the ability to kick-start capital campaigns and at least a new entrance and snow monkey habitat makes for an exciting 50th anniversary in 2013. After that I’m not sure how much progress this little zoo will make, as at the moment there is a metropolitan population of 235,000 people in Sioux Falls and that is basically the exact same number as the annual attendance of the zoo. Great Plains now needs to encourage tourists passing through South Dakota on their way to the Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorials to drop in to pay their largest zoo a visit.
Quick follow-up question about the Great Plains Zoo: Do they still have the (stuffed) giant panda in the natural history museum?
DAY 5: Friday, July 6th, 2012 Zoo/Aquarium Review # 2: Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium Omaha’s website: Home | Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium | Entertainment Omaha | Visit Omaha | Things to do in Omaha Zoo map: http://www.omahazoo.com/Post/sections/22/Files/2011 Zoo Map.pdf Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium is an AZA-accredited facility in Omaha, Nebraska. It was established in 1894 as Riverview Park Zoo and it was not until the 1960’s before it was renamed. Over 1.6 million people tour the zoo’s 130 acres each year, and it is one of the largest and most popular zoos in America. It is a zoo that has become known for building the biggest exhibit complexes of their kind, and this is a proud feature as in all of the advertising literature in motels, billboards, brochures and signs in the general area there is always some kind of slogan announcing that the zoo has the largest aquarium of any American zoo, the largest rainforest building, the largest desert dome, the tallest orangutan exhibits, the largest nocturnal house, etc. Omaha makes no excuses for wanting to be one of the best zoos on the planet, and according to several zoo authors and historians it is already in that category even without the upcoming $180 million Master Plan. Since the zoo is enormous and I was touring it with my wife and two very small children I quickly realized that it would be impossible to see all of it within the time frame of a single visit. In addition to that was the fact that it was just over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and we were boiling hot just standing in line buying our tickets as the zoo opened for the day. It was actually a bit of a relief that there were so many animal buildings as that allowed us to cool down considerably. In 2008 my wife Debbie and I saw every single exhibit and it took us 8 hours (from opening to closing: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.) to accomplish that task. In the last four years the zoo has added a Skyfari ride which we did not go on because it does not have buckets like San Diego and thus little kids are not allowed as the ride is more like a ski lift. Also, Expedition Madagascar opened in 2010 and that is the one major addition in the past few years. Next month Rosenblatt Stadium will be demolished and the zoo will then have a tremendous amount of new space for an improved parking area, expanded entrance and a future Arctic exhibit complex. This time around we still saw a tremendous amount of the zoo, and we made sure to enter the major buildings early to beat some of the rush from the large crowds. This establishment has become a premier tourist destination as the parking lot was jammed with vehicles displaying what seemed like every license plate in the nation. We completely skipped the two worst sections of the zoo (Cat Complex and Bear Canyon – both to be demolished in the future) along with the Butterfly & Insect Pavilion, the Simmons 4-acre Aviary and the Children’s Area. Those 5 zones are areas that I saw in 2008 and even with missing them this time around we still spent a full 6 hours at the zoo. THE BEST: Lied Jungle – This rainforest complex is outstanding, and if anything I was even more impressed than on my 2008 visit. It is twenty years old this year (opened in 1992) and its age actually plays into its favour as the aroma of a jungle is created and nourished. It is 1.5 acres in size and one of the largest rainforest buildings ever constructed, and the hanging vines, dirt pathways, wet swinging bridges and dark caves combine to immerse visitors. Three continents are represented (Asia, Africa and South America) and there are plenty of primates jumping from limb to limb in a variety of exhibits. Black howler monkeys, blue monkeys, Francois langurs, DeBrazza monkeys, dourocouli monkeys, white-handed gibbons, squirrel monkeys, capuchin monkeys, cotton-top tamarins, golden lion tamarins, black spider monkeys, red-backed bearded saki monkeys and others all catch the eye as they move with energy and verve in their treetop homes. Spot-necked and small-clawed otters have large pools to swim in, Philippine crocodiles have a deep pool, and there are almost 100 species within the 80-foot (8-storey) building. I’ve seen so many tropical rainforest buildings in zoos that I think I’m up to at least 30 of them at this point and Lied Jungle is in my opinion clearly the best. Like all things in life there are deficiencies if one wishes to nitpick, and for instance both the Malayan and Baird's tapirs have too little land, and while one pygmy hippo had lots of space with its monkey acquaintances the other two hippos also had a very small land area. The clouded leopard has been removed in favour of Indian crested porcupines, and other than the tapir and hippo enclosures I’m not sure that there is much to quibble over in terms of space allotted to the inhabitants. The fact that the jungle trails pathway is made out of dirt and contains real pools and rocks adds authenticity, I enjoyed the fact that I had to keep ducking to miss being hit by hanging vines and branches, and that there was a tiny bridge that was soaking wet from a waterfall. The entire building actually reeked of a rainforest, the attention to detail is amazing, and even though I listed some of the larger mammals and 11 species of primates the number of reptiles, amphibians and even fish is staggering. To top off the exciting time in the jungle we ate lunch in the Durham Treetops Restaurant that looks into the white-handed gibbon exhibit and across the steamy jungle landscape via vast viewing windows. Treetops must be one of the very best zoo restaurants simply for that view, and there is also a range of food from hot burgers n’ fries off the grill to more healthy choices. A baby gibbon was harassing its parents as we polished off our meals and headed back into zoological bliss. Kingdoms of the Night – This building opened in 2003 and it is the best nocturnal house I’ve ever seen, and no other even comes close. There is a tiny wildlife park in central Australia (Alice Springs) that perhaps has my second favourite, but Kingdoms of the Night is magnificent and almost as impressive as the Lied Jungle. It is the world’s largest nocturnal house, featuring the world’s largest indoor swamp, beneath the world’s largest desert building and all under the world’s largest glazed geodesic dome. Things don’t come in small packages at this incredible zoo. The entrance to this amazing structure features naked mole rats in a canyon area, followed by an African zone that has such animals as aardvarks, springhaas, greater bushbabies, fossas and many other wonders. A wet cave has a 16-foot deep pool with blind cavefish, and there are 2,400 stalactites in this region of the building. There are hundreds of bats, a churning waterfall, a Japanese giant salamander exhibit and countless terrariums for reptiles and amphibians. Eucalyptus Forest has wallabies, bats and many other delights, plus a huge tank that is packed with 4 species of turtle and fresh-water crocodiles. A South American exhibit has 8 species in one enclosure: kinkajou, agouti, two-toed sloth, dourocouli, coendou, three-banded armadillo, hairy armadillo and screaming hairy armadillo. The Dry Bat Cave is a highlight as it is 70 feet high and features a series of large enclosures for at least 6 bat species. The swamp is the final destination, and 9 adult American alligators (including a white one), alligator snapping turtles, beavers, nutrias, turtles, bullfrogs by the dozen and a total of almost 40 species exist in this ominous, blackened environment. Before exiting the darkness there is one final delight as a huge exhibit features these 8 species: American alligator, American crocodile, alligator snapping turtle, snapping turtle, Florida soft-shelled turtle, alligator gar, longnose gar and largemouth bass. I could honestly spend all day in either the Lied Jungle or Kingdoms of the Night as they might well be two of the greatest all-time exhibit complexes ever constructed in North America. Scott Aquarium – This top-notch aquarium, the best and biggest of its kind within an American zoo, first opened in 1995 at a cost of $16 million but somewhat curiously it has recently been remodeled at a cost of $6.5 million and has only just reopened this year. There is an excellent Antarctic penguin exhibit with 60 feet of viewing windows, and four snow machines enables it to continuously pour white flakes on some of the birds. King, gentoo, macaroni and rockhopper are the 4 species amongst the 85 birds in the habitat. A puffin/common murre habitat is very well done; a 500-gallon touch tank that is a new addition is very popular; Japanese giant spider crabs are exciting to see, and also in the aquarium are lots of colourful tanks displaying predatory fish, sea horses, 4 species of eel, jellyfish, sharks, octopus...and a huge Amazon habitat (no longer with squirrel monkeys) with massive freshwater fish. The major highlight of the tour is venturing through the 70-foot long tunnel and being surrounded by the 900,000 gallons of Shark Reef. Reptiles & Amphibians – I can recall once having an online discussion with my good friend Allen Nyhuis, co-author of “America’s Best Zoos”, and I questioned his decision to place Omaha in the top 10 American zoos for reptiles and amphibians. I no longer doubt him in his research! There are plenty of terrariums in Exploration Station, Expedition Madagascar, Lied Jungle, Desert Dome and Kingdoms of the Night and all combined my best estimate would be that the zoo has around 110 exhibits of reptiles and amphibians in those 5 buildings. By my calculations that is quite possibly more than zoos in Fort Worth, Dallas, Detroit or San Diego, and I’m now curious if any American zoo can match Omaha in this department. Maybe Saint Louis? Since there is not a stand-alone, specific Reptile House in Omaha it is easy to walk away from a visit not realizing the sheer volume of reptile and amphibian terrariums, but because I was conscience of exploring that idea I am a little shocked to find that Omaha might be #1 in yet another category. With its 110 exhibits it has a vast collection, but a major complaint of mine would be the very poor signage as on many terrariums there is only the common name and then Latin name of a reptile or amphibian and nothing else! Exploration Station – The full title is Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Pavilion (opened in 1987) but the 2007 renovation brought about a new name and a complete overhaul. Within this building, which serves as a sort of introduction to the zoo, are loads of interactive elements for youngsters and approximately 35 terrariums of mainly reptiles, amphibians and rodents. There is actually a lot to see here and some rare animals along the walls in tanks, and it takes a while to tour the facility. The star attraction would be the 20-foot high Discovery Tree with many exhibits around its base, but there are also many animal skeletons and historical information about the zoo. Butterfly & Insect Pavilion – This very impressive building opened in 2008 and is 14,000 square feet in size. Almost 2,500 square feet is devoted to the Butterfly Conservatory structure, hummingbirds flit around the heads of visitors, and there is a long list of invertebrates to be found here. I can only think of two zoos in the United States that have a more extensive and well-designed set-ups for insects: Cincinnati and Saint Louis. Orangutan Forest – This is not really much of a forest at all, and I feel that normally this type of habitat wouldn't appeal to me due to the mountains of mesh but it totally works for the apes. The enormous 65-foot trees (complete with multiple branches) allow for lots of brachiating opportunities and there are two large outdoor enclosures and indoor areas as well and the whole complex was completed in 2005. A group of Bornean orangutans were moving freely around in the habitat closed to the boardwalk, while siamangs and orangs frequent the adjacent enclosure. Indoors there was a family of agile gibbons taking up space in an exhibit packed with enrichment zones. Overall this is perhaps one of the 5 best orangutan exhibits in any American zoo, as the great red ape is notoriously tricky to design a captive environment for. Hoofstock Yards – This section of the zoo usually goes unmentioned, but there are some truly excellent paddocks for a range of animals. A reticulated giraffe/ostrich/African penguin veldt is enormous; a herd of sable antelope have a huge yard; a very large herd of gaur are near the train station; red river hogs, Abyssinian ground hornbills, bongo, addax, Grevy’s zebras, okapis, dama gazelles, Stanley cranes and cheetahs are also found in a long line of enclosures and all are above average in quality. Almost all of these exhibits face change in the zoo’s master plan, but as it stands right now they are all spacious and impressive. THE AVERAGE: Expedition Madagascar – This exhibit complex opened in 2010 at the cost of about $10 million, and it features a 300 foot long building with 14 exhibits and then a series of outdoor netted habitats. Seeing an aye-aye moving in is well-designed indoor exhibit was exhilarating, but the much vaunted outdoor walk-through lemur exhibit was hugely disappointing as there was only a couple of red ruffed lemurs and plenty of empty space amongst the fake trees. The outdoor fossa exhibit is very nice, as is the netted black-and-white ruffed lemur exhibit, and yet the ring-tailed lemur island features two incredibly fake-looking baobab trees. Indoors the exhibits are nicely furnished but I couldn’t help feeling a bit dismayed to see so many lemurs with zero access to an outdoor area and I believe that in ten years’ time this building might well be outdated for the primates. The collection of Madagascan animals is perhaps not equaled by any other American zoo, but the exhibitry is hit-and-miss. Here is the total species list for Expedition Madagascar. Red ruffed lemur (two exhibits), black-and-white ruffed lemur, black lemur, ring-tailed lemur (two exhibits), Hubbard’s sportive lemur, common brown lemur, collared brown lemur, mongoose lemur, aye-aye, fossa, giant jumping rat (two exhibits), Madagascar flying fox, straw-coloured fruit bat, lowland streaked tenrec, Madagascar tree boa, Madagascar ground boa, Malagasy hognose snake, powder blue reed frog, tomato frog (two exhibits), mantella frogs (of various species), panther chameleon, Cheke’s day gecko, velvet gecko, standing day gecko, spiny-tailed iguana, plated lizard, flat-tailed tortoise, radiated tortoise, Madagascar big-headed turtle, northern crested coua, lesser vasa parrot, Madagascar teal, Madagascar ibis, cattle egret and Madagascar button quail. Desert Dome – This imposing structure features the largest desert complex in the world and visually it is stunning. It opened in 2002 and focuses exclusively on three deserts of the world: Namibia, Australia and the Sonoran Desert. There is 42,000 square feet of space (another 42,000 is for Kingdoms of the Night beneath the desert) and the entire creation is 13 stories in height. It can easily be seen from a distance as one drives to the zoo! The Namib Desert area greets visitors with a 30-foot tall, 300 ton pile of bright red sand that is awe-inspiring to behold. The Red Center of Australia has Wave Rock and an Uluru feature with rock wallabies gazing down on visitors. The Sonoran Desert landscape has immense saguaro cacti and other plants indigenous to that area. The whole thing is spectacular and it takes your breath away, and the 3 deserts combine to focus on an array of mammals, birds, fish and close to 40 species of reptiles and amphibians. It was cool to see deadly Aussie snakes such as a death adder and inland taipan, and the Sonoran area had at least 7 species of rattlesnakes living in well-lit terrariums. However, there are some serious issues with animal husbandry in terms of space requirements. The black-footed cat exhibit is perhaps 15 feet wide and 8 feet deep and that is small enough, but the feline has basically a huge slab of cement to spend the rest of its life. Both meerkat exhibits (one also containing klipspringers) have almost zero natural substrate; the collared peccaries were roaming around an enclosure that is almost all concrete; the bobcat, bat-eared fox, coati and rock wallaby exhibits are all far too small; the rock hyrax have small cement ledges to live on that are devoid of practically anything whatsoever; and many of the bird aviaries are way too small. Desert Dome is awesome to the average visitor but if one looks closely there are cracks in the seams and the amount of natural substrate available to many of the animals is of little to no consequence. While Lied Jungle and Kingdoms of the Night have a handful of space issues for larger mammals it is the Desert Dome that is by far the guiltiest of that fact. Gorilla Valley - I'm not completely sold on this maze-like set of enclosures, which opened in 2004, but it is certainly innovative and the twists and turns of the public walkway allow visitors to be surprised at how close they can get to gorillas. The whole complex is rather complicated but I believe that there are 4 exhibits plus the indoor areas for gorillas, with many cool elements such as an overhead tunnel, pop-up bubbles, a cave viewing area, huge windows on both sides of the visitor area, and even at one point both colobus monkeys and Diana monkeys in with the apes. There are over a dozen gorillas in the area and they are divided up into pairs, bachelors and troops. There is also a steep Wolf’s guenon/rock hyrax exhibit and a central yard with yellow-backed duiker, West African crowned crane and Abyssinian ground hornbill. Free Flight Aviary – The zoo claims that this 4-acre aviary, which opened in 1983, is the second largest on the planet (apparently after Birds of Eden in South Africa), and with 120 species and over 500 birds is this yet another accomplishment at the zoo that is one of the biggest and best in the world? Poor signage is the main detriment as the aviary is showing its age, but for a birder it is probably still spectacular. Pachyderm Hill – White and Indian rhinos (two paddocks) inhabit this area that formerly held African elephants. Due for an overhaul to become an African Grasslands zone in the future, but the enclosures are more than adequate for the rhinos and in fact are quite large and grassy in size. Children’s Area – This zone features the train station, a carousel, a farmyard, a goat petting paddock, a prairie dog exhibit and then more exotic creatures like river otters and a large herd of gaur. It now features a new fossil dig site but it is not a notable part of the zoo except for the fact that in 2008 I saw raccoon dogs here! Koi Pool & Monkey Island & Odds n’ Sods – There are two islands filled with squirrel and spider monkeys and surrounded by a couple of thousand koi fish. A bridge is loaded with visitors tossing food to the animals and it is an entertaining sight as the nimble primates create lots of havoc amongst themselves in an attempt to earn their dinner. Near this area is Garden of the Senses, which opened in 1998 and is an area packed with plants, statues and a few tropical birds. Sea Lion Plaza is located near the monkey islands and it is an old-fashioned pool containing California sea lions. THE WORST: Bear Canyon – Here there are typically awful bear grottos for 4 different species that somewhat surprisingly opened as recently as 1989. There are polar bears, American black bears, sun bears and spectacled bears found here, and all of the enclosures are consistently awful and “unbearable”. This area will be demolished within a decade. Cat Complex – This building was built about 35 years ago and even though it is enormous (37,000 square feet) and plays host to at least 9 cat species it is slated to be demolished in the future. THE FUTURE: Master Plan Report (7 pages): http://www.omahazoo.com/Post/sections/131/Files/OHDZMasterPlanExecSummary.pdf Master Plan Conceptual Framework (4 pages): http://www.omahazoo.com/Post/sections/131/Files/OHDZMasterPlanConceptualFrame.pdf OVERALL: After touring Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium a second time (after my 2008 visit) I was surprised at how well both the Lied Jungle and Kingdoms of the Night held up. I think that there could be some rearranging in terms of the larger creatures but rather than nitpick I’d like to focus on how astounding they are to 99% of all visitors. Desert Dome certainly did not impress me as much the second time around, but visually it is still stunning and it effectively recreates a trio of deserts from three different continents. The rest of the zoo has some top-notch sections, such as a world-class collection of reptiles and amphibians; a fantastic insect house; very good orangutan and gorilla complexes; large hoofstock paddocks; an enormous aviary; a terrific collection of species from Madagascar; and at least 85% of the zoo is first rate. The two major areas that need work (Cat Complex and Bear Canyon) will probably be extinct within ten years and then how many ZooChatters would not rank Omaha in the top 5 American zoos? It is right up there with San Diego, Bronx, Columbus, Saint Louis and Sedgwick County and it is not far off being better than any of them. At this exact moment in time, and having visited practically every single large, medium and half-decent zoo in the nation (especially after this latest road trip) I’d place Omaha in a tie with the Bronx Zoo in the #2 position, and both of those zoos are not far behind San Diego.
Well Snowy you reached many of the same conclusions on Henry Doorly as myself..i dont even mind the Cat House and the Bear Grottos being a lover of traditional zoos and ever-so-slightly anti-immersion[im finding em all a bit boring to be honest] but i do realise that the old stuff will have to go eventually..and the heat,its tough, i was in the mid-u.s. this time last year and its a killer,goodness knows how it all works with children-well done.Was much easier recently in the near- arctic north-west!By the way didnt forget bout my thoughts on that regions zoos,have sent you a letter[yes young zoochatters they still exist] and a much bigger report will be in Autumns Zoo Grapevine...plus the zoos of Alaska.Keep your eyes on the road!
When the exhibit first opened, the walkthrough had about a couple dozen of both ruffed lemurs and was very nice. The current b&w ruffed lemur exhibit held sifaka's, and I'm sure you'd rather see one of those. Are you serious!? I need to get to Omaha, now! Do you happen to remember what aclids where in there? I recall Horned and Tufted Puffin, and rhinoceros auklet. Where is this? Former bat-eared fox or serval exhibit maybe? Another excellent review, very interesting how species change. Keep up the good work, and enjoy the rest of your trip.
Surprised that Rosenblatt Stadium is still standing staff had told us that demolitition was weeks away during our visit in fall 2011. Team Tapir
When i was at Henry Doorly "Expedition Madagascar" was under construction..presumably some of the indoor area is nocturnal or you wont be seeing many Aye-ayes or Hubbards Sportive Lemurs[well noticed KCzoofan],and, upon reflection, i dont remember Black-footed Cats in the Desert Dome either.The size of some enclosures in those massive houses is the "Doorly dilemma"-often thought of as a Lee Simmons penchant and repeated seemingly in the new Madagascar house[but then it would have been designed by him before Dennis Pate took over].Dennis told me that the Rosenblatt Stadium would be demolished and elephants would go in that area..seems as if that plan has been replaced.And what about that funny little carnivore house with Central American Cacomistles in it? Is that still there? Also public feeding of the Orangs was rife[everyone stood around watching a racial minority feed them bubblegum..perhaps the racial thing was the reason no-one said anything-a situation soon changed by myself i will add.A lady thanked me,perhaps people really are afraid to correct minorities in the U.S.].Anyway its good to hear that ,overall,you rate it as highly as i do Snowy and that it is still a collectors zoo committed to showing us the diversity of the zoological world.
I had a thought that I wanted to bounce around with fellow Zoochatters regarding great zoos and exhibits within them. It occurred to me that Elephant Odyssey at San Diego Zoo and the Desert Dome and Lied Jungle at Omaha Zoo are in some ways inverses of each other in the way that they are regarded on Zoochat. Many people have derided Elephant Odyssey for failed theme and design elements, but mostly I think people accept it as at least a decent exhibit for the species living in it. The Desert Dome and Lied Jungle have wonderful design elements but some really awful animal exhibits within them. Are these exhibits equal failures and do they detract from the "greatness" quotient of their respective zoos?
I'd suggest thst Omaha's perceived "greatness" is largely based on the two massive thematic buildings you mention, despite their well-discussed flaws. They are undeniably ambitious and jaw-dropping experiences, but would probably be so even if there weren't so many species crammed into inappropriate spaces there. San Diego's reputation for greatness is largely based on its collection and subtropical setting, and to a lesser degree on some exhibits built in the 1980s/90s that are quite good. The dustbowl/ironworks known as EO does not seem to add to the characteristic things that people seem to like about the zoo--namely the great variety of animals framed in pretty gardenesque plantings.
Regarding Madagascar... Are there always just a couple or so lemurs in the walk through exhibit or is this just a matter of poor timing affecting a review? And SL, don't you place the Madagascar exhibit at the Bronx in your best category despite none of the animals ever going outside?
I knew that there would be a lot of comments after my Omaha review, as that has and perhaps always will be a divisive zoo. On my second visit, as I've already stated, I found a few issues with the Lied Jungle and Kingdoms of the Night but it was really the Desert Dome that failed when it came to mammals. Having almost 40 species of reptiles and amphibians in there was fantastic but many of the mammal enclosures are cement and too small. I can't wait to see how the Master Plan works out, as I can imagine that the regular visitors to that zoo will now constantly be expecting gargantuan exhibit complexes and outstanding visual treats. I stand by my statement that it is tied with the Bronx for the #2 slot behind San Diego but there is not much to choose between those establishments and Columbus has its 70+ acre African Savanna opening in a couple of years and that zoo will soon be a serious contender as well. Answering Questions on Omaha: - the black-footed cat exhibit in the Desert Dome is the very first enclosure on the left-hand side as you walk past the 300 ton pile of red sand. It is directly across from that outstanding visual treat of sand and I'd be curious to know what was in there at one time as I seem to recall bat-eared foxes from my 2008 visit. Those foxes are next to the meerkat/klipspringer exhibit and they barely have any space whatsoever. - there are no sifakas in Expedition Madagascar, but the ever-moving aye-aye was a delight to see in its darkened environment. The sifakas have been replaced by black-and-white ruffed lemurs, and I definitely only saw 2 red ruffed lemurs in the large walk-through exhibit. What a disappointment! Phoenix Zoo's walk-through squirrel monkey habitat is far more impressive. - I do not remember the exact species of alcids in the Scott Aquarium, but it is the exhibit just before the terrific penguin enclosure and there were puffins and common murres inside. - I am a big fan of the Bronx Zoo's Madagascar House and yet the lemurs not having access to the great outdoors is an issue. I personally find that the larger mammals (like the tapirs and pygmy hippos in Lied Jungle) should really have at least the option of getting outside air and I know that has been debated at length on ZooChat before. - Rosenblatt Stadium is due to be demolished in July, and that will provide a tremendous number of acres for Omaha to expand its parking lot and gift shop in Phase II of the entrance complex. Phase I seems to be finished as there were signs up with photos of a proposed Phase II area, and a zoo of that status definitely needs a larger gift shop. The Master Plan link that I provided shows all of the possible future changes for the zoo. - I did not see any cacomistles anywhere in the zoo. - I have a photo of the Hubbard's sportive lemur sign but I wonder if it was a conservation-themed sign and not an exhibit photo? All of the signs in Expedition Madagascar are a yellowish-orange and they blend into one another. - Does anyone know if the Cat Complex is truly going to be demolished or will it be turned into a behind-the-scenes structure? (ie: quarantine, night quarters, etc) Other Odds n' Sods: - Today we visited Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa, and I was pleasantly surprised at its quality. There was nothing really outstanding (except for perhaps the snow monkey exhibit) but not too much bloody awful either. - Just to give you an idea of what it is like travelling with kids, my 1 year-old son Jeffrey suddenly became quite sick today. We were at the zoo for perhaps two minutes when he puked all over himself and his stroller. It took my wife 20 disgusting minutes to clean him all up and then he was alternately cranky and lethargic during our tour. When we left the zoo he puked up volumes of milk and crackers all over himself in his car seat and the minivan stunk to high heaven. After pulling into a McDonald's and again cleaning him he proceeded to have diarrhea that was so bad that my wife (cleaning him again, bless her heart) tossed out the clothes that he was wearing. He puked a third time and had diarrhea a second time at our motel before the pedialite that we bought kicked in and he seems like he has recovered from whatever stomach bug he caught. What a day.
It sounds to me like Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo keeps rising on the list of great USA zoos. While SnowLeopard finds it tied for 2nd-best in America, I'm finding it harder and harder not to consider this the very best zoo in the USA. Only San Diego -- with its vast collection, incredible exhibits, and pandas and koalas -- could possibly be considered better than Omaha. I tend to agree with what SnowLeopard said about the Lied Jungle, that its deficiencies are more a result of "nitpicking", and in fact, that's my opinion about the negatives of the great Desert Dome. The only real problem I had seen with the Desert Dome was the mountain lion exhibit, and it sounds like they've corrected that. I also agree a lot with David Brown about the cats and bears exhibits. While they may not be Omaha's best, they do give visitors an incredible variety of animals to compare, so I rather like them. I would be interested to find out more about the walk-through lemur exhibit in the fairly new Madagascar exhibit. Was SnowLeopard simply a victim of bad timing, or do they always only have one or two lemurs there? I've seen many of walk-through lemur exhibits over in Europe (where they are quite common), and they are always a thrill. The fact that this is America's ONLY walk-through lemur exhibit alone makes it very special! (From what I've heard, the stupid legal system we have in America is the reason we don't have more of these exhibits. In the USA, it's way too easy to file lawsuits for the stupidest things -- thanks to our out-of-control trial lawyers.) If any of your Europeans want to see Europe's version of Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, it is in the Netherlands, Arnhem's Burgers Zoo. There they have the only rain forest building that even compares with the Lied Jungle. I've done a comparison of Burgers Bush and the Lied Jungle, and I lean slightly towards Omaha. I like the actual jungle experience better at Burgers, but Omaha has better animals to see. Also, Burgers has an incredible Burgers Desert, an American southwestern indoor desert that is almost as good as Omaha's Desert Dome.
Hubbard's sportive lemur was named after Claire Hubbard who was one of the zoo's most important benefactors. The lemur was "discovered" by Dr. Ed Louis of the zoo, along with a few others (another of which was also named after her, Claire's mouse lemur). It may be a good bet that the sign was to do with this rather than suggesting the species was on exhibit there.
You are correct, bat-eared foxes used to be exhibited in here. I belive cacmistles are held in the Kingdoms of the Night exhibit, across from the fossa, in the former fishing cat exhibit (now in cat complex.) I think the carnivore house Tim Brown referred to was the small mammal house located on top of the hill at the extreme north of the property. I used to house black-footed cat and raccoon dog, before it was closed. The master plan shows it being demolished, seemingly being replaced by "Equatorial Africa" outdoor exhibits for red river hog, bongo, and okapi.
