DAY 7: Wednesday, July 18th – Part One As a surprise I ended up adding on a major zoo to my itinerary (Toledo) and by the end of the day my feet were throbbing with the amount of walking that I made them do. The reason being was that Toledo has extended summer hours and I happened to see that advertised on a billboard while driving south through Michigan. I'll look at each of those major zoos over a two-part piece of writing. First up is Detroit. Zoo #17: I'm a big fan of Detroit Zoo (Royal Oak, MI) and I think that there are only around a dozen or so zoos that are better in the nation and I'd definitely have Detroit in my top 15. I visited once before, in 2008, and so exactly a decade later it was great to see so many improvements and changes. If I'm not mistaken, the zoo added a 2-acre Grey Wolf habitat and a North American Beaver exhibit but those are just about the only new major species added to the zoo in the past decade. However, Detroit has systematically renovated and enhanced many existing structures and the zoo is a very strong one with an excellent standard of exhibitry. Besides the additions of the wolves and beavers, in the past decade the facility has spent $30 million on upgrading its penguin experience from the old 1960s-era Penguinarium to the amazing Polk Penguin Conservation Center. The African Lions had their exhibit expanded and significantly improved; the Giraffe Barn and exhibit received an upgrade in 2017 and the barn is huge and surely one of the largest giraffe barns in the nation. The otters had an upgrade, the seals currently have their pool drained and are having minor tweaks to their exhibit, and the trio of 1928 bear grottoes have been dramatically altered to make the entire area one large exhibit for Grizzly Bears instead of three smaller enclosures. Besides the non-stop progress made in the past ten years, there is a lot more on the way. A new Japanese Giant Salamander exhibit is almost ready for its inhabitants, a brand-new restaurant has been built across from the historic Rackham Fountain and is due to open in a month, the Red Panda exhibit (which was already terrific) is doubling in size and should be open by the end of the year. The Amur Tiger exhibit, which is a fairly large grotto already, is tripling in size and due to open to the public next year. A 5th project on deck is the Bat Conservation Center (the old Penguinarium) but it doesn't seem as if the zoo has any concrete plans at this time. Detroit has very large exhibits for some of its animals, as for example the Common Warthog enclosure is larger than some rhino paddocks that I've seen. The Kookaburra aviary is much bigger than many Bald Eagle aviaries. The new Grey Wolf habitat is arguably too big (2 acres) as there are only a pair of wolves and no one seems to be able to ever see them. Arctic Ring of Life is still fantastic and I love the plantings in that area, but Assiniboine Park Zoo has taken Polar Bear husbandry to a whole other level. Great Apes of Harambee has one massive yard for Chimpanzees that works well but the Gorillas don't really have an exhibit that caters to their needs. The apes switch on certain days,which is fantastic, but both enclosures are very open and of course Gorillas need some kind of overhead cover and a more substantial, 'jungle-like' environment. For the Chimpanzees the area seems great and other than Kansas City Zoo, chimps here might have the largest exhibit in the nation. (As an aside, I didn't locate any Drills at the zoo – are they definitely still there?) In regards to the $30 million Polk Penguin Conservation Center, I would say that it is my 3rdtp favourite penguin exhibit of all-time. From outside it is bloody enormous and a first impression is a big WOW as there is a massive viewing window directly inside. However, it is downright weird seeing 100 people looking back at you from across the far side of the exhibit and that sight-line is a significant drawback in my opinion. Other thoughts: the constantly falling snow is neat to see, the building has an 'industrial' feel to it, the ramp down is a neat experience as the Ernest Shackleton Antarctic Expedition is the theme and giant images and sounds echo around visitors. Once below there is a spectacular tunnel and then my favourite section is a gargantuan viewing window and the penguins 'flying' through the water is incredible. Then there is a second tunnel with penguins soaring overhead, and then upstairs to the viewing area that looks directly across at other visitors. So there are 5 viewing areas and the whole thing is pretty darn good...but not as great as my #1 Saint Louis or my #2 Calgary. Yes, those two zoos have smaller penguin exhibits with smaller, shallower pools and some 'eager beaver zoo nerd' is going to tell me that Detroit's penguin habitat is better for the animals. He might well be correct, but in Saint Louis and Calgary the penguins can swim close to the visitors and splash them in the face and the entire building is a chilled environment and a magnificent experience. Detroit has a world-class penguin facility and it might well be one of the biggest and best on the planet, but it is difficult to top either Saint Louis or Calgary in terms of a memorable interaction with the birds and the VISITOR experience. Walking around the zoo and seeing all of the improvements made for a long list of animals, I was struck by the fact that Detroit Zoo doesn't have very much wrong with it at all. Since the lions, tigers, grizzlies, penguins, giraffes, red pandas and salamanders have already been or will get upgraded habitats, then what is left? I'd probably leave the Japanese Macaques as they are as the exhibit is fine; the Aardvark exhibit is bigger than most big cat exhibits and I saw two Aardvarks digging and shuffling around today – that enclosure is one of Detroit's true gems; the giraffes have beautiful stone work around their paddock; and I even saw two Matschie's Tree Kangaroos high up in their trees – stunning! I guess that I would personally overhaul the Wolverine/Bush Dog/Giant Anteater exhibits as even though all three of them are spacious, they are not aesthetically pleasing. However, Detroit is very much a zoo that is immensely popular (1.5 million annual visitors) and for the most part terrific with very little to complain about. The Holden Reptile Conservation Center is the zoo's Reptile House and it is essentially one large room. There are 34 exhibits around the outer edge, plus 2 more exhibits that were temporarily closed for 'habitat improvement', and then 5 extremely large exhibits in the centre for a grand total of 41 exhibits. None of the terrariums are small and this 1960s building does a great job of showcasing a diverse range of species. All of the vivaria are at the very least medium-sized, and then there are a couple of 12-foot high masterpieces and at least 8 of them that are very spacious. So what animals are in the 41 exhibits. Here you go... Species List for Reptile House (45 species): Chinese Alligator, Dwarf Caiman, Mexican Lance-headed Rattlesnake, Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, Colorado Desert Sidewinder, Emerald Tree Boa, Jamaican Boa, Green Tree Python, Savu Island Python, Reticulated Python, Timor Python, Black-headed Python, Eastern Fox Snake, Gray-banded Kingsnake, Madagascar Giant Hognose Snake, Mangrove Snake, Black Rat Snake, West African Gaboon Viper, Indo-Chinese Spitting Cobra, King Brown Snake, Bushmaster, Star Tortoise, Egyptian Tortoise, Pancake Tortoise, Matamata, Giant South American River Turtle, Fly River Turtle, Argentine Snake-necked Turtle, Yellow-spotted Side-necked Turtle, Western Pond Turtle, Eastern Box Turtle, McCord's Box Turtle, Green Tree Monitor, Water Monitor, Sonoran Black Iguana, Black Iguana, Sahara Spiny-tailed Lizard, Giant Plated Lizard, Uromastyx, Prehensile-tailed Skink, Shingle-backed Skink, San Esteban Island Chuckwalla, Bearded Lizard and European Legless Lizard. Leaving the Reptile House, many visitors take a stroll on the boardwalk that crosses a 2-acre wetland with many wild frogs that can be seen resting on lilypads. The setting is sublime. Across from the mini-lake is the National Amphibian Conservation Center and it is an absolutely brilliant Amphibian House with 25 exhibits and I was struck by how new it looked even though it is edging towards 20 years of age. Some of the terrariums are fantastic and even though they already have an excellent Japanese Giant Salamander exhibit (I saw two of the animals) there are 5 in total at the zoo and a terrific-looking new habitat for the species is almost finished and due to possibly open next month. Species List for Amphibian House (37 species): Japanese Giant Salamander, Ozark Hellbender, Axolotl, Aquatic Caecilian, Narrow-striped Dwarf Siren, African Lungfish, Iberian Ribbed Newt, Striped Newt, Oriental Fire-bellied Toad, Wyoming Toad, Boreal Toad, Puerto Rican Crested Toad, Kihansi Spray Toad, Mountain Chicken, Red-eyed Tree Frog, Lemur Tree Frog, Hourglass Tree Frog, Mexican Giant Tree Frog, White's Tree Frog, Denny's Tree Frog, Granular Glass Frog, Panamanian Golden Frog, Vietnamese Mossy Frog, Giant Waxy Monkey Frog, Bornean Eared Frog, African Clawed Frog, Golden Mantella, Bernhard's Mantella, Betsileo's Mantella, Splendid Mantella, Three-striped Poison Frog, Mimic Dart Frog, Dyeing Dart Frog, Green-and-Black Poison Dart Frog, Blue Poison Dart Frog, Golfodulcean Poison Dart Frog and Yellow-banded Poison Dart Frog. It is obvious that if any zoo enthusiast is a big fan of reptiles and amphibians then they should head to Detroit as with 82 species on display the zoo is one of the preeminent institutions in the United States for cold-blooded animals. But if someone likes penguins and polar bears then once again Detroit is tough to beat. A really wonderful zoo. Zoo #18: After spending around 5 hours at the Detroit Zoo, I drove for less than half an hour to Belle Isle, which is a park that is nearly 1,000 acres in size. That makes it tied with both Vancouver's Stanley Park and San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Belle Isle Nature Center (Detroit, MI) is a free facility that has a herd of deer and then a number of tanks scattered around a loop inside the building. Species list at Belle Isle Nature Center (18 species): Fallow Deer, Black Rat Snake, Eastern Box Turtle, Blanding's Turtle, Wood Turtle, Common Musk Turtle, Spiny Softshell Turtle, Spotted Turtle, Midland Painted Turtle, Red-eared Slider, Eastern Tiger Salamander, Mudpuppy, Red-spotted Newt, American Toad, Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Longnose Gar, Common Carp and Honey Bee. One slight disappointment was that I wasn't able to visit the historic Belle Isle Aquarium, as that establishment is only open on weekends and I just couldn't make it work with my schedule. The aquarium opened in 1904 and along with Waikiki Aquarium is the oldest aquarium in the USA. After the one-two punch in the Detroit area I headed south and kept seeing signs for Toledo Zoo in Ohio, as that facility is practically right on the Michigan border. I toured Toledo in 2008, the same year as my initial visit to Detroit, and this time around I was excited to see a couple of billboards announcing 'Summer Hours' and 'Late Hours' and it got me thinking. I pulled over and checked on my Iphone and sure enough Toledo Zoo is open until 7:00 at night and at that point some of the buildings close and visitors are allowed to stay until 8:00. I only had to drive 25 minutes out of my way to revisit Toledo Zoo. A nice surprise! I'll discuss that major Ohio attraction in 'Part Two' tomorrow.
I have not been to the zoos in Detroit or Calgary, but I will be one of those zoo nerds that knock Saint Louis for the size of their penguin exhibits, which are not even average in size. San Diego now has the best penguin exhibit I've seen. The Bronx, Maryland, and Kansas City are a few zoos that come to mind that also have better penguin exhibits than Saint Louis.
Detroit's new penguin complex will be something that you will adore. San Diego's penguin exhibit is definitely excellent and the addition of Leopard Sharks is a great touch. The pool there is 13 feet at its deepest point but Detroit has a 25-foot deep penguin pool that is TWICE the size of the one in San Diego...plus Detroit has two underwater tunnels as well! An incredible achievement and supposedly the world's largest indoor penguin exhibit but that is what you get for $30 million. I already added photos of the Detroit Zoo's new 'Penguinarium' to the gallery.
Zoo #18: On many other road trip threads I'd check ZooChat at the end of the day and I'd have a dozen messages or there would be a major conversation about a specific zoo. This thread is very quiet and perhaps it is because I've been visiting a lot of obscure zoos that no one really knows. Anyway, Detroit was a big one and next up is Toledo. DAY 7: Wednesday, July 18th – Part Two Zoo #19: I ended up arriving at Toledo Zoo (Toledo, Ohio) at 4:00 and I stayed until 7:30 and saw the entire zoo. I took a lot of photos, including a full species list from the Reptile House, but I'd visited before (2008) and so the zoo was not unknown to me. I really enjoy seeing major zoos a second time after an absence of many years as I don't feel any pressure to search in every single corner for hidden exhibits or to take hundreds of photos to document the zoo. I've been before and I know where everything is and so I can kick back and relax. Toledo is not nearly as large or impressive as Detroit but it is still a very well-rounded zoological facility. There is a 5-acre African Savanna, an Arctic section, an Aviary, an Aquarium, a Reptile House, a great apes building, carnivores, elephants, penguins, etc. It's a fairly complete zoo that appeals to its more than 1 million annual visitors but I left with mixed feelings. There is some really great stuff there but also a lot that could be so much better. It will be interesting to see what the Museum looks like when it reopens in mid-2019 as Toledo has done a fantastic job of renovating and restoring its old, 1930s-era buildings. One thing about the zoo is that there are numerous historic structures and the zoo has many posters and signs showcasing its proud history. Starting with the positives, the rarities that I saw were phenomenal. Check out this list of species that are not often showcased in American zoos. I saw each and every one of these during my visit and here they are in a random, off-the-top-of-my-head order: Koala, Tasmanian Devil, Dingo, a slumbering Tuatara, Taipan, Saltwater Crocodile, Spotted-necked Otter, a very active Kagu, Raggiana Bird of Paradise, Arapaima, Japanese Spider Crab, Flashlight Fish and Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. Even taxa such as African Elephant, Polar Bear, Andean Bear, Greater One-horned Rhinoceros and Double-wattled Cassoway are not exactly common these days, plus I saw a Bornean Orangutan youngster and a baby Lowland Gorilla. What a list! I'm not even counting the Lowland Paca or the Brown Kiwi as I never did see either of them. The Reptile House has 49 exhibits inside and 4 outside, plus Galapagos Tortoises elsewhere in the zoo inside a seasonal yard. Toledo's Reptile House is an A+ in terms of its history as the 1934 building is stunning. I've really come to appreciate historic zoo architecture over the years and the Reptile House would not look out of place at any major European zoo. However, while there are lots of well-furnished terrariums, there are many others that are far too small. Some of the vivaria are only as long as the snake that is inside, although mention must be made of the superb venomous collection and of course the Tuatara...a mini-dragon! Species List for Reptile House (61 species): Saltwater Crocodile, Tuatara, Green Anaconda, Reticulated Python, Green Tree Python, Virgin Islands Boa, Emerald Tree Boa, Timber Rattlesnake, Mottled Rock Rattlesnake, Canebrake Rattlesnake, Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Aruba Island Rattlesnake, Taipan, Eastern Green Mamba, Death Adder, Bushmaster, Northern Copperhead, West African Gaboon Viper, King Cobra, Red Spitting Cobra, Fer-de-Lance, Eyelash Palm Pitviper, Mexican Jumping Pitviper, Asian Vine Snake, Black Rat Snake, Ornate Flying Snake, Northern Pine Snake, Corn Snake, Tentacled Snake, Eastern Fox Snake, Eastern Garter Snake, Eastern Massasauga, Sidewinder, Fiji Island Iguana, Black Tree Monitor, Rainbow Agama, Solomon Island Prehensile-tailed Skink, Red-eyed Crocodile Skink, Blue Spiny Lizard, Panther Chameleon, Madagascar Day Gecko, Kuhl's Flying Gecko, Leaf-tailed Gecko, Chuckwalla, Gila Monster, Desert Grasslands Whiptail Lizard, Aruba Whiptail Lizard, Spiny Tree Climber Lizard, Galapagos Tortoise, Pancake Tortoise, Black-breasted Leaf Turtle, Stinkpot Turtle, Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle, Roti Island Snake-necked Turtle, Puerto Rican Crested Toad, Conant's Mushroom Tongue Salamander, Blue Poison Dart Frog, Golden Poison Dart Frog, Black-legged Dart Frog, Green-and-Black Poison Dart Frog and Golfodulcean Dart Frog. Outside there is a specialized exhibit for Ozark Hellbenders as well as these additional species in a trio of enclosures. Leopard Tortoise, Red-footed Tortoise, Spotted Turtle, Five-lined Skink and American Toad. That gives Toledo Zoo a grand total of 67 species in and around the Reptile House. The Aquarium opened to the public in 1939 and is magnificent from the outside and modern and sleek on the inside. I counted 37 tanks of varying sizes, ranging from tiny goldfish exhibits to the main shark tank. Everything looks great and it is kind of a mixed-bag of displays without any kind of overarching theme. There is a Japanese Spider Crab tank, a medium-sized Kelp Forest tank with Leopard Sharks, some seahorses, Bonnethead Sharks and a Green Sea Turtle in an exhibit where visitors can see other groups of visitors on the other side, a piranha tank, an Amazon-themed tank, and my favourite was the Flashlight Fish exhibit. The room is pitch black and all visitors see are tiny Spider-Man-like eyes in the dark. Fascinating! The Aquarium restoration didn't affect the exterior of the building but the inside was almost totally gutted and at a cost of some $25 million it certainly wasn't cheap but I can attest to the fact that it looks great. So if Toledo Zoo has a long list of rarities, a very good Reptile House, a nice Aviary and an excellent Aquarium, what are the negatives? Well, the African zone is a total mess and it looks as if someone vomited a whole bunch of glitz and glamour onto that part of the zoo as the animals are secondary to the face-painting, the zipline, the adventure course, the train and the jumble of noise and music. That African zone has essentially been ruined. Nearby, the seal exhibit is excellent but the Polar Bear exhibit is now badly outdated and the land area is 90% mock-rock. That whole part of the zoo, before visitors cross over the highway to the other side, is actually disappointing these days. Plus there are those poor Bald Eagles who have more than a million people tramping back and forth in their surrounded aviary. Tembo Trail is a barely adequate African Elephant yard and perfectly fine for the inhabitants but it will never be anything other than a 'minimalist' accommodation for a few elephants. The Greater One-horned Rhino and Grizzly Bear exhibits are terrible and too small (what are they doing in an African zone anyway?), although the enclosures for Common Hippo, Spotted-necked Otter and Meerkat are all still great. A real mixed-bag. Elsewhere, Tiger Terrace is a gong show of styles and the tigers, cougars, Andean bears, etc., have exhibits that are just so-so at best. The Great Apes area is okay but at 25 years it is already looking a bit rough-around-the-edges, and Primate Forest is fine but nothing special. There have been many changes in the decade since my first visit (all of the Australian animals, tweaks of Tembo Trail, flamingos, penguins, Aquarium renovation, pheasantry, etc.) but Toledo could do so much better and it hasn't improved in the way that Detroit has over the years. I did wander through Nature's Neighbourhod, which is a pretty cute Children's Zoo that opened in 2009 and there is a fascinating Leaf Cutter Ant exhibit that has a series of pipes stretching a great distance across a room. Toledo Zoo has the top-notch Aquarium, a very good Reptile House, an enjoyable (and stinky) Aviary and then everything else is just treading water and not reaching for the stars. By comparison, Detroit Zoo has the Penguin Conservation Center, the Reptile House, the Amphibian House and Arctic Ring of Life to make it 4 outstanding exhibits, plus a whole slew of above-average zones that trump Toledo every day of the week. Detroit is world-class in some areas and a top 15 zoo in the USA while Toledo is still a must-see establishment and a top 40 American zoo. It made for an extremely long day, but it was fascinating to tour both of them and I found that at 5 hours I could have probably stayed longer at Detroit (and a first-time visitor would have done so) but at 3.5 hours I was content to leave Toledo.
Re: port-a-potties, that is unacceptable. As for restrooms (or water closet or toilet for our European followers) I have often felt this is a neglected area that zoos should actually make a priority. Most people don't like public restrooms and understandably so. I think if a zoo spent more money to make individual use restrooms and made them nicer then people would go to the zoo for that reason alone. I also recently saw an online article that mentioned how Europeans (whose toilet stalls have floor-to-ceiling doors) are dismayed by American stalls with the open bottoms so you can see people's legs.
That's not true for the UK, at least, where many toilet stalls have gaps at the bottom. Personally I find full doors in cubicles a little claustrophobic -equal rights for deviant limbo dancers!
While i’d largely agree with your ranking of the various exhibits here, I think your headline analysis is possibly a little unfair to Toledo - even if that “African” area is indeed an unholy mess. The three old buildings still in use for animals - the aquarium, Reptile House and Bird House - really are superb, and they alone elevate the zoo to a higher level. The primate facilities seemed pretty decent to me, the newish penguin area - though clearly not a patch on Detroit - is very nice. Hippos, otters, the Pheasantry - all very good indeed. The carnivore area is a bit ropey for viewing, but seems good for animals. The only poor area is that horrible African mess - and, possibly, the Polar Bear exhibit (although I didn’t feel as if i fully got to grips with this one). You also miss out one of the zoo’s finest features - the cafe in the old Carnivore House (pity the food’s so indifferent). Overall - not a great zoo, but a very good one.
Excellent review of Detroit, a zoo that I wouldn’t hesitate to put in the top 5 I’ve ever visited. I agree with your point about the zoo having no glaring flaws, especially now that the Bear grottoes have been combined into one. I was actually very surprised at how consistently good the zoo was! Can you elaborate more on your thoughts about the Otter exhibit? I thought it was great, with good viewing and lots of space. I’m glad you loved the Polk Penguin Center, I found it to be brilliant and I’m glad you do too. I agree with you on the cross-viewing at the beginning of the exhibit, but I was too busy watching the antics of the penguins to pay much mind. The rest of the viewing is incredible, especially that large window! While I bet some people wouldn’t like the Shackleton Voyage part, I found it to be interesting, with a cool effect of having it rain every couple of minutes. I’ve yet to visit Saint Louis or Calgary and both their exhibits look incredible from a viewing perspective (although Saint Louis’s looks quite small), but from an animal point of view you’d be hard pressed to find a better exhibit.
Where would people rank the Maryland zoos penguin exhibit alongside the other exhibits mentioned? Because I have heard great things about it myself, yet missed the new penguin exhibit in San Diego as I visited in 2016. I also have never seen St. Louis, Calgary or Detroits exhibit. Now that I think about it I have not seen many great penguin exhibits, except for the Seabird aviary at Bronx.
Since a couple of people mentioned penguin exhibits, I would say that my #1 favourite is Saint Louis and then the #2 would be Calgary, although they are almost clones of each other in many ways. Detroit has now 'waddled' into the #3 position but it is probably best to separate outdoor and indoor penguin habitats. Saint Louis, Calgary, Detroit and the trio of SeaWorld parks are all amongst the best indoor penguin exhibits in North America. Omaha also has a top-notch penguin exhibit. In terms of outdoor penguin exhibits, I would probably place Woodland Park at the top of the list. It's an AZA award winner that can accommodate large crowds, has a lot of variance to the water level and always has active, swimming birds. I've been to Maryland Zoo but not since the new penguin exhibit was built and it looks truly superb and a strong candidate for the best outdoor habitat of its type. Sedgwick County Zoo also has a great outdoor penguin exhibit. San Diego's new penguin exhibit in Africa Rocks is superb and right up there with Woodland Park, Maryland and Sedgwick County.
DAY 8: Thursday, July 19th After the very long day of Detroit Zoo, Belle Isle Nature Center and Toledo Zoo, I began a day of 4 smaller zoos that many zoo enthusiasts have probably never even heard of! They were all fairly tiny and in a couple of cases smaller than anticipated and so I managed to squeak a full visit to John Ball Zoo to make it a 5-zoo day. Phew! Zoo #20: Only about 30 minutes from Toledo, Ohio, and in southern Michigan, is a fairly new zoo that just opened in 2014. The Indian Creek Zoo (Lambertville, MI) is a home-made, hodgepodge of exhibits and even though almost everything is practically brand-new, the whole place is a shambles and there are some disgraceful enclosures. Naturally, being a non-accredited facility there were some rarities showcased and in the space of a few minutes I saw a Pig-tailed Macaque, a Rhesus Macaque, a couple of Mona Monkeys, an Olive Baboon and a Tayra. All 5 of those taxa are rare and only the Pig-tailed Macaque had a decent exhibit as the other enclosures were all piss-poor. The Rhesus Macaque was in a cement bunker with no logs, branches, or damn near anything except a cement floor and iron bars. It is frustrating to see a brand-new zoo build such a monstrosity and I asked two different keepers (neither of whom knew what a Mona Monkey was even though they were feeding it food!) and apparently at least a couple of the monkeys are ex-circus animals. Still, if you don't even know what species you have in your collection and you put it in a bare cage then I just have to shake my head and leave. The rest of the zoo resembles a construction site, with a new 'Tropical House' being built, a 'Sloth House' almost finished (which admittedly does look pretty cool), a single Reticulated Giraffe together with an Alpaca in a decently-sized paddock, and the usual mixture that I see every day. Grey Wolves, a Bobcat, domestic goats, Bald Eagles, Barred Owls, loads of Emus, Red Kangaroos, Bennett's Wallabies, Red-tailed Hawks, etc. A couple of Plains Bison shared an enclosure with a domestic cow and there are few barriers (other than yellow police tape!) to stop someone petting the animals. The whole place can be seen in an hour and it really is a shambles. There are wires sticking out of cages and it appears that in the past 4 years the owners have assembled a zoological establishment out of duct tape and baling wire. A big disappointment as I met a woman and her kids while I was at McDonald's that morning (ya gotta love the free Wi-Fi there) and she was raving about the zoo. Non-zoo nerds have no clue what they are talking about, right? It was interesting to hear her say that her family has a membership to Toledo Zoo and they visit Detroit Zoo all the time as well. She mentioned that she liked how Indian Creek Zoo had a giraffe, which her local Toledo Zoo lacks, and she appreciated being able to feed the animals and see monkeys that they never normally see. There was no mention of primate exhibits that I wouldn't hesitate to call diabolical. Enlightening or alarming? Zoo #21: After an hour at my first zoo, I drove about 45 minutes north to the Creature Conservancy Wildlife Park (Ann Arbor, MI) which was a lot smaller than I imagined it to be and it is an hour east of Detroit. There is a large, shed-like building that hosts many smaller animals and then a short outdoor loop with a huge Emu/Black Swan exhibit, a large aviary with Black Vultures and Wild Turkeys, and then smaller enclosures for Reeves' Muntjac (which I was allowed to pet), Arctic Fox, Wild Turkey and Ravens. I saw everything outside but I was not allowed to see all of the animals indoors as there was a summer camp in progress and technically all drop-in visitors are restricted to weekends. A very fast, 30-minute visit, to a 'zoo' that is more of an educational center. Zoo #22: In southern Michigan there are quite a number of small zoos very close to each other and about 40 minutes later I ended up at Howell Nature Center: Wild Wonders Wildlife Park (Howell, MI), also an hour from Detroit. It's amazing that I even find these places as thank goodness that I have a great GPS as in the morning the Indian Creek Zoo had zero signage anywhere until I was literally on top of the place and now Wild Wonders Wildlife Park was equally bizarrely located. I drove way out into the boonies (the middle of freaking nowhere) and then entered a wealthy residential area with many impressive-looking houses. I was sure that for once my GPS had made a mistake but sure enough after leaving the paved neighbourhood I ended up on a short dirt road and at my latest zoo. There is a Conference Center attached to the attraction, an amazingly detailed tree statue that is like something from Disney, and then a woodland trail that contains a multitude of animals native to Michigan. Every single animal is a rescue and each exhibit has a sign giving short details about the reason why a specific creature was at the center. I generally find those little stories interesting and I read quite a few of them along the route. Every enclosure is constructed out of wood and wire but very few are too small and most are what I would deem 'adequate'. There are many raptors in the shaded exhibits and then also in another, separate area that is a Raptor Center. Mammal Species List (13 species): White-tailed Deer, Coyote, Bobcat, Red Fox, Grey Fox, Beaver, Porcupine, Woodchuck, Virginia Opossum, Mink, Northern Flying Squirrel, Domestic Ferret and Domestic Rabbit. Bird Species List (18 species): Sandhill Crane, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Harlan's Hawk (a colour morph of a Red-tailed Hawk), Broad-winged Hawk, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Barn Owl, Barred Owl, Great Horned Owl, Snowy Owl, Eastern Screech Owl, Long-eared Owl, Short-eared Owl, Turkey Vulture, Wild Turkey, Black-crowned Night Heron, Wood Duck and American Crow. Zoo #23: Another new zoo today! The Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (Alto, MI) opened briefly in 2011 and then for a full year in 2012 and so everything is new and shiny and their website even claims that they have 1,500 animals of 180 species. It is interesting that in the last few years the state of Michigan has seen Indian Creek Zoo, Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park and Sea Life Michigan all open and Detroit Zoo is tentatively planning to open and operate a million-gallon major aquarium in the next few years. With Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park, the facility gets a 9 out of 10 in terms of having top-notch, sparkling clean washrooms (no stinky port-a-potties here!), paved walkways, immaculate plantings and sturdy, well-built enclosures. Everything is crammed into a few acres as there are exhibits every few steps and even a bird show, giraffe feeding and a very small train ride. It is all professionally done and a million times better than Indian Creek Zoo's shambolic setup. However, there is not a single really good exhibit. The best of all is perhaps the Reticulated Giraffe paddock and I even saw an 11-day old baby giraffe which was a major highlight for all the visitors. There is an American Alligator pool with apparently 48 gators as many are juveniles; it will be intriguing to find out what the zoo does with those animals when they get larger. There are at least 6 primate exhibits, a large mob of Red Kangaroos, many small aviaries, a Reptile House that is fairly junky, and a real community aspect to the visitors. Almost everyone was Caucasian and the animal park is located far from the highway and off in the land of farmers and agriculturalists. Many of the staff members were pale-skinned with blue eyes and looking around it seemed to me that the diversity that I saw in Detroit was absent here and that's a bit disappointing. Then again, maybe it was just my impression, but the place was packed. The zoo is still growing and at the moment it would be difficult to spend much more than an hour and a half there at the most. It is a bit worrying to see the small sizes of many of the exhibits and there are those on ZooChat who never visit these kind of privately-owned zoos and they would be genuinely shocked. Rarities at this zoo include Spotted Genet, Mandrill (a huge male), Nilgai, Coendou, Blue Wildbeest, Black-backed Jackal, Morelet's Crocodile and Gargoyle Gecko. Zoo #24: For my 5th zoo of the day I visited John Ball Zoo (Grand Rapids, MI) and I'd already been in 2012 and therefore it was nice to return to a mid-sized zoo that I knew very well. The city of Grand Rapids has this zoo, and then a nature center and a butterfly house and I would tour both of those the following morning. I arrived late (4:30 p.m.) and the zoo closed at 6:00 but visitors aren't forced out until close to 6:30 and so the two hours that I had were more than I needed. The first impression of this zoo is a poor one as once inside there is a steep incline up a pair of smelly and outdated waterfowl pools before passing a decent Bald Eagle aviary and reaching flat ground. There have been tentative plans for years now to build an American Black Bear exhibit right at the entrance in order to wow visitors when they first arrive. I'm not going to type up a long review but the main changes in the 6 years since my initial visit are a gift shop (it's great!), a revamped Grizzly Bear exhibit and a pair of Amur Tiger habitats connected via a long metal walkway (set on the ground) that runs through the forest. The Grizzly Bear enclosure is as awful as ever as the refurbishment of the early 1980s exhibit succeeded in adding perhaps 25% of natural substrate to the 75% steep mock-rock that dominates. Both bears were badly pacing for a long time and the enclosure is substandard for such large mammals. The Amur Tiger development has resulted in one fairly small exhibit, the connecting metal tunnel, and then a much better habitat that nevertheless has all of the trees hotwired. I saw two active tigers and the sense of being in a dense forest is realized, but there are many bigger and better tiger exhibits out there. The new additions to John Ball Zoo are positive but nothing earth-shattering to make the zoo rise in my estimation. Elsewhere, the Chimpanzee, African Lion and Bongo exhibits are still all very good although a bit smaller than I remembered them to be. The chimp house is very dark and gloomy with loads of climbing opportunities but a cement floor and it appears a bit dull. The zoo's North American loop was built in 1982 and doesn't hold up well, the South American loop has some bizarre mock-rock settings, and the Tropics House (with exactly 32 exhibits) has seen better days. I like the spider monkey outdoor exhibit, seeing a Black-footed Cat was cool, but the Tropics House really should remove all of the small primates and refurbish some of the reptile terrariums and make the building into a proper Reptile House. John Ball Zoo's pathways are very steep in places and there are some neat kid elements (especially on the upper walk near the Amur Tigers and Red Pandas) and it is a commendable zoo that is doing the best that it can with its budget.
That was the point...she didn't know what the heck she was talking about. Trust the resident giraffe biologist to catch that one! On a side note, during this trip I've seen giraffes at Detroit Zoo,Toledo Zoo, Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park and Indian Creek Zoo.
DAY 9: Friday, July 20th There was a total of 5 zoos yesterday and I've got another 5 set for today: Zoo #25: Blandford Nature Center (Grand Rapids, MI) is a very small facility that nevertheless has more than 250 acres of hiking trails and the whole area is a nature preserve. On the day of my visit there were a lot of kids there for a summer camp, as well as a full parking lot due to the fact that the facility is also a Conference Center that plays host to many conventions each year. There is a single room with a small display of animals and then an outdoor loop that doesn't take long to see at all. The one major surprise was an Osprey, as those birds are rarely exhibited in captivity. Species list (21 species): Bobcat, Virginia Opossum, Southern Flying Squirrel, Osprey, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Barred Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Great Horned Owl, Long-eared Owl, Barn Owl, Eastern Screech Owl, Eastern Garter Snake, Eastern Box Turtle, Blanding's Turtle, Red-eared Slider, Painted Turtle, Musk Turtle, Wood Turtle and American Toad. Zoo #26: This next facility is undergoing a major expansion with the addition of a new entrance and welcome center. Meijer Gardens Butterfly House (Grand Rapids, MI) is enormously popular, as the establishment had an annual attendance of 200,000 just under 20 years ago and now has 750,000 annual visitors and is bursting at the seams. The expansion will be able to accommodate larger crowds near the front of what is an attraction with more than 150 acres. I barely scratched the surface of this place, as there is an 8-acre Japanese Garden, a Children's Garden, a huge Sculpture Garden that I was warned “will take you at least two hours if you bring along the guide and study each work of art”. Uh, no, I'm here for the meagre display of animals. In truth this facility has a massive Butterfly House/Aviary/Conservatory House that is essentially a huge greenhouse environment but it really is a top-class Tropical House with a few birds. There are only butterflies on display for two months each year (April and May) which seems a little bizarre as those animals are immensely popular with visitors. I saw some dead specimens and then did my best to locate all 9 bird species in the Conservatory/Tropical House. Whether this place actually counts as a 'zoo' is definitely up for debate but here are the 9 species anyway: Bishop's Weaver, Chinese Painted Quail, Namaqua Dove, Blue Dacnis, Turquoise Tanager, Bananaquit, Gouldian Finch, Cuban Melodious Finch and Fiji Parrotfinch. Zoo #27: After leaving Grand Rapids and the trio of facilites that I visited in that city, I headed an hour or so south and encountered a couple of fierce rainstorms only for muggy, hot weather to greet me at Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary (Athens, MI), which is now notable for being my 400th zoo. Wow! I've still got another 20 new ones to explore on this trip to hopefully hit the 420 mark but it is both stupendous and ridiculous to have toured as many 'zoos' as I have. My total includes around 90 aquariums, loads of zoos, and then of course a variety of butterfly houses, a few nature centers, some drive-through safari parks, then some bug zoos and even an Alligator Sanctuary. They are all 'zoos' in one form or another. This place contains a couple of Bearded Dragons, a juvenile Morelet's Crocodile, a single Nile Crocodile and then approximately 140 American Alligator of all ages and sizes. There is also a small 'Jungle' building with a few other delights (Dwarf Caiman, Spectacled Caiman, some anoles) and inside are apparently 40 free-roaming tree frogs! Sadly, I looked in vain but didn't spot any even though I could hear them all around me and the tour guide said that at night (there are 'Twilight Tours') it is easier to spot them. The guide was an interesting guy (maybe 28ish in age) as twice while talking to the dozen of us he spat on the ground! Also, while very knowledgeable, the 6-inch long tattoo of some kind of automatic weapon on his forearm was very distracting. These are interesting times that we live in. At this point I've now visited 17 Michigan zoos on this trip, plus Binder Park Zoo (2010), Potter Park Zoo (2012) and DeYoung Family Zoo (2014) on previous road trips to bring my all-time total to 20 out of the 23 zoos in the state of Michigan. It is interesting that I've now visited a zoo in that state in the years 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2018. I should be done with Michigan for a very long time as 5 trips through the state is enough for now! Here is my updated list and ** means that I've visited that facility. The two aquariums are in bold. Belle Isle Aquarium (Detroit) – only open on weekends **Belle Isle Nature Center (Detroit) **Binder Park Zoo (Battle Creek) **Blandford Nature Center (Grand Rapids) **Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (Alto) Butterfly House & Insect World (Mackinac Island) – requires a ferry ride **Creature Conservancy Wildlife Park (Ann Arbor) **Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary (Athens) Deer Tracks Junction (Cedar Springs) – looks very 'home-made' **Detroit Zoo (Royal Oak) **DeYoung Family Zoo (Wallace) **GarLyn Zoo (Naubinway) **G.T. Butterfly House & Bug Zoo (Williamsburg) **Howell Conference & Nature Center: Wild Wonders Wildlife Park (Howell) **Indian Creek Zoo (Lambertville) **John Ball Zoo (Grand Rapids) **Meijer Gardens Butterfly House (Grand Rapids) **Oswald’s Bear Ranch (Newberry) **Potter Park Zoo (Lansing) **Roscommon Zoo (Roscommon) **Saginaw Children’s Zoo (Saginaw) **Sea Life Michigan (Auburn Hills) **Wilderness Trails Zoo (Birch Run) Now that Michigan was off my bucket list, it was time to tackle a couple of minor zoos in Indiana that I'd never been to before. I'd already toured Indianapolis Zoo (3 times), Fort Wayne Children's Zoo, Potawatomi Zoo and Mesker Park Zoo on past road trips. The two zoos below I really enjoyed, for completely different reasons! Zoo #28: After finishing my 5-day stint in Michigan, I proceeded a couple of hours south into the state of Indiana. Washington Park Zoo (Michigan City, IN) was first on the list and I just finished reading a blurb about this 90 year-old facility in the terrific book American Zoos During the Depression: A New Deal for Animals and here is the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/American-Zoo...qid=1532221509&sr=1-1&keywords=zoo+depression Washington Park Zoo opened in 1928, is not very large (15 acres), doesn't have any great exhibits, yet I loved my visit and I spent 1.5 to 2 hours there. The zoo is actually on the National Register of Historic Places, one of the few zoos to make the list. The reason I loved this small zoo is that there are many 1930s-era, WPA projects such as a very high tower that I climbed and then instantly regretted as it featured plenty of extremely narrow steps. Haha! Seriously though, the view from that 1936 structure of Lake Michigan is very nice indeed, and the tower underwent a restoration in 2006 and it is in fine shape. Elsewhere, there is a 1930s-era Castle that has a number of animal exhibits inside, a primate concrete bowl enclosure with lemurs, plenty of stone steps, pathways and walls in all directions and all throughout the zoo are remnants of the WPA decade. As someone who now really appreciates historic zoo architecture, this zoo was a delight. It's like a mini version of Toledo as both establishments have plenty of 'old-school' buildings. Of course Toledo has the budget to spend $25 million on its Aquarium that preserves the exterior while modernizing the interior while Washington Park has to make do with less financing. Looking beyond Washington Park Zoo's historical legacy, there is a Tropical House/Jungle Building (of course from the 1930s) that is more of a walkway with primate exhibits on each corner of the building. It was great to see not only Black-handed Spider Monkeys, White-throated Capuchins and Brown Tufted Capuchins, but a very active Lowland Paca and a group of 9 or 10 Golden-handed Tamarins. How many zoos in the USA have that taxa? At one point another crescendo of thunder (the second storm of the day) saturated the zoo and I had to run and take shelter and it was an amazing opportunity to linger while the rarely-seen tamarins kept me fascinated for ten minutes. The zoo also has lions, tigers, bears, wolves, eagles, bobcats, river otters, a farmyard area, a Reptile House (small but quite nice with maybe a dozen terrariums) although none of the exhibits anywhere are truly commendable. However, this zoo is an absolute must-visit for the zoo historian. Zoo #29: After visiting a very old zoo, I then drove 2 hours further south and visited an even older one! Columbian Park Zoo (Lafayette, IN) was founded in 1908 and therefore it is 110 years old but is modern and sleek and the complete opposite of Washington Park Zoo. Columbian Park Zoo's age went against it as the zoo became an eyesore and at one point was closed from 2004 to 2007. The upside of the closure is that almost everything on the grounds is practically brand-new and the condition of the facility is pristine. The glass on the Australian Walkabout enclosure is perfectly clean without a scratch anywhere and in fact the Aussie section is nice with Bennett's Wallabies, Emus, Kookaburras and then a single Galah and New Guinea Singing Dog both sighted on my visit. The zoo has a Galapagos Tortoise yard, a Bald Eagle aviary, a small Butterfly walk-through, a new entrance, a really nice farmyard zone, a kid-friendly prairie dog enclosure and one of the best North American River Otter exhibits I've ever seen. It has a large grassy area with rocks and logs, a deep pool with underwater viewing and even a small tunnel that goes through the water. The whole zoo, including a long splash pad with bronze animal sculptures on it near the neat and tidy entrance, seems as if it just opened to the public yesterday and I was very impressed. Black-handed Spider Monkeys, White-handed Gibbons and North American Porcupines are in a trio of big metal cages next to what seems to be the one-and-only older building on the property. The zoo is a joy to visit but I saw everything in around 20 minutes as it is a very small establishment. However, with kids along it would take much longer and the zoo is free and a real community gem. There are even some plaques and posters talking about community sponsorship and directly outside the zoo is a park with many playgrounds, BBQ areas and green lawns. It was cool to see many local families, some of whom live directly across the street, head over to the park and zoo after dinner. The zoo's website declares that when the zoo closed down in 2004 and reopened in 2007 the Master Plan had “nearly 1,000 citizens participating” and there is mention of Columbian Park Zoo as being “a community resource”. Great stuff!
Great post, very informative. It’s incredible that you’ve been to over 400 zoos! I couldn’t imagine being to that many. Of these 400, what would you consider to be the worst zoo you’ve seen?
Definitely a zoo, no debate from me. An unfortunate 400? Did you ever try to plan a big one for the milestone or have you just ran out of new notable collections? How times have changed! Loving the thread as always @snowleopard, safe and happy continued zoo-going!
First of all, I never answered your question from the other day about the Detroit Zoo's river otter habitat and I really liked that enclosure. The concrete bowl wall along one section is not the most aesthetically pleasing but the rest of the otter area (including the building) is terrific. Detroit has very few poor exhibits anywhere on its grounds and the zoo is world-class in areas. Wisconsin has some of the worst zoos that I've ever seen, as you'll see in some upcoming posts. Jo-Don Farm & Zoo is awful, Bear Den Zoo is poor, and Animal Haven Zoo is terrible even though I spent some time with the owners and they are very pleasant individuals. Wisconsin also has the worst aquarium ever (Beaver Springs Park Aquarium) while Clay Center Zoo in Kansas is piss-poor as well. There are a few places in Arkansas and Texas that also come to mind but you don't get to 400+ zoos without seeing some utter junk.
Some areas of this itinerary have been covered by others, recently, as well. The excellent @alexkant has recently been here, and already has a page on his website for Indian Creek - Indian Creek Zoo - although it is not yet (July 23rd) populated with photos. Certainly worth checking back, when photos are added - Alex is a superb photographer.
