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Snowleopard's Epic Road Trip

Discussion in 'United States' started by snowleopard, 2 Jul 2008.

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  1. ANyhuis

    ANyhuis Well-Known Member

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    North American animals

    Similarly, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo is a little bit weak on North American animals (except for in the Desert Dome). But their reasoning is the same as the Bronx's. Omaha HDZ owns the Lee Simmons Wildlife Safari park, about 30 miles from Omaha -- and it's entirely large North American animals.
     
  2. MARK

    MARK Well-Known Member

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    You could try starting another thread if you like on any of your revirews
     
  3. snowleopard

    snowleopard Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

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    @ANyhuis: I'm glad that we agree almost word-for-word in regards to the excellent Bronx Zoo. It was interesting to read that you also think that the San Diego Zoo is the #1 zoo in North America, and just as intriguing that you can't decide between Omaha and the Bronx for the #2 slot. Unfortunately I won't be visiting Omaha anytime soon, as my epic road trip will most likely take me south and then along the Southern States. I'd really love to visit Atlanta's zoo and aquarium, and so that is the main reason for beginning the second leg of the trek down south.

    @okapikpr: very intriguing that the Bronx Zoo possibly has up to 8 Indian rhinos, and yet only display 2 of them (both females) to the public. The same goes for the babirusa, who again are mainly kept off-exhibit.

    @Mark: if you want a fantastic review of the Omaha Zoo, or any other zoo for that matter, then just order the book "America's Best Zoos". It hasn't left my side for months now, and is worth every single penny.

    @Zooplantman: it was good to hear from you, and I knew that you'd be interested in my Bronx Zoo review. I'm glad that we agree!!
     
  4. kiang

    kiang Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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  5. okapikpr

    okapikpr Well-Known Member

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    They were supposed to send a young female to Oklahoma City, but reccommendations can change.
     
  6. snowleopard

    snowleopard Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

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    Central Park Zoo Review - 1.5 hours (Zoo/Aquarium #10 for the road trip)

    This zoo is extremely small, and at 6 acres is basically divided into 3 sections. There is a sea lion pool (with 2 sea lions) that is circled by 4 tiny garden walkways, but the zoo is so minute that if one were to sit by the pool then they could basically see the entire zoo! The admission is a little steep at $8, but it also includes the even tinier Children's Zoo a short walk down the path from the main zoo.

    Rain Forest - this building is like many other similar structures, with lots of dense foliage and towering trees that are entirely fake and covered with vines and ferns. There are a number of birds that dominate the area, as well as numerous tanks of fish, amphibians, reptiles and a handful of small mammals. One interesting aspect of the building is that there are actually two levels, and so visitors are allowed a look into the canopy of the trees. Overall it is an average rain forest, no better or worse than many others...although the colobus monkey glass-walled exhibit was disappointingly small.

    Polar Circle - two polar bears (Gus and Ida) swam back and forth in their rocky exhibit, which compared to the Detroit Zoo's "Arctic Ring of Life" is subpar. However, it is an average bear enclosure in comparison to many other zoos, as there really aren't that many good quality polar bear habitats in the world. I've never seen two bears that were so dark, as both of the bears were extremely black on their shoulders and rumps as if their hair had been worn down. Perhaps it was simply the New York City heat, as it has been absurdly hot (95 Fahrenheit) for all 5 nights that I've been here, and I realize that polar bears in warm climates can lose their "whiteness". Rounding out the polar complex is a penguin exhibit that is of average size, and once again there was massive condensation that fogged up all of the windows. I've still never seen a good penguin habitat at any zoo, as they are all too small, with water that is far too shallow, and often indoors where it is difficult to view the birds. The atlantic puffin tank was small and average at best, and the kea exhibit was very tiny.

    Temperate Territory - only 3 exhibits here, but one more is due to open in 2009. There was a construction crew laying cement for a snow leopard enclosure, and it will be almost right next door to the red panda habitat. There are also about 30 turtles of multiple species in two small ponds, and a japanese macaque exhibit that has a massive pool.

    Overall - only having 3 sections within 6 acres limits this tiny collection. There weren't any shockingly awful enclosures, and just about everything that I saw was of an average quality in comparison to other North American zoos. I would like to single out one delightful exhibit, and that was the Japanese macaques (snow monkeys) large enclosure. Probably 50% of their habitat is water, and there is a large rocky section of land that they live on. But then the ingenius exhibit designers placed several large stones in the water, many that are a few feet wide, and also lodged a couple of long tree branches into those same rocks. There were at least 4 snow monkeys, including a tiny baby, that bounced around from rock to rock entertaining everyone who was watching. This exhibit was the one stand-out from the Central Park Zoo.

    After 5 nights in New York City we leave for Washington D.C. tomorrow. There is a lot to see and do in the capital, but the plan is to visit the free zoo on Tuesday. Interesting fact that the National Zoo in Washington is open for 14 hours a day, while the Bronx Zoo is open for only 7 hours per day. Something is seriously wrong with the Bronx, as its hours should be extended ASAP.

    ON A SIDE NOTE:

    My wife and I visited the American Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Times Square (and all of the enormous stores - like M&M World and the Virgin Megastore), and strolled through Central Park several times. We lined up for Broadway tickets and saw two shows at 50% off the regular price. One was called "The Country Girl", and starred Morgan Freeman, Frances McDormand and Peter Gallagher...and then TWICE we saw Morgan Freeman just a few feet away! He's such a wonderful actor, and I have always been a major film buff, and I actually had the opportunity to talk to him. I congratulated him on his performance, he replied with a "Thank you, young man" and that was my 30 second celebrity story. Later my wife and I saw him again for about a minute, and it was a thrill for us movie lovers.
     
  7. mstickmanp

    mstickmanp Well-Known Member

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    Great review, but I never realized how small the zoo actually was.
     
  8. ANyhuis

    ANyhuis Well-Known Member

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    Again, I agree almost word-for-word with Snowleopard's assessment of the Central Park Zoo. I included it with a full review in my first (1994) book, but this time we decided it was simply too small, and we also wanted more geographical diversity (NYC is already represented by the Bronx).

    Interestingly, this past Friday USA Today had an article in which they asked former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to list HIS 10 favorite zoos. Of course Gingrich was asked to do this because he wrote the Foreword for our book (which is mentioned in the article). This is his very personal list, in which he includes the zoo he grew up going to (ZooAmerica) and the zoo of his coauthor friend (Palm Beach Zoo). But I bring this up here because Newt also included the Central Park Zoo (and not the Bronx) on his list!

    10 great places to go wild over zoo animals - USATODAY.com
     
  9. snowleopard

    snowleopard Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

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    I read the Newt Gingrich article, and to have the Central Park Zoo, ZooAmerica and the Palm Beach Zoo in the top 10 sort of negates the entire list. However, the 7 other zoos mentioned (really 11 in total with both San Diego and the SDWAP) are all highly regarded.
     
  10. ANyhuis

    ANyhuis Well-Known Member

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    Again remember that this is HIS list of HIS favorites! He's not saying they are the "best". Any of us might say that zoos that have some personal sentimental value are among our "favorites". I think that's what he's doing.
     
  11. okapikpr

    okapikpr Well-Known Member

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    The WCS had some financial difficulty a few years back (I think they were loosing or had some financial support from the city). They threatened to close down the Queens and Prospect Park Zoos, the Bronx's hours may be related to this. However, I have been to many zoos that are only open from 10-5. This allows for just one keeper shift. If zoos were open any more, they would possibly need more keepers (and supporting staff) for this.
     
  12. Zooplantman

    Zooplantman Well-Known Member

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    It's great that snowleopard & Mrs. Leopard felt that he wanted to stay there later. There has always been som e concern that visitors - whether local or distant - would not wish to stay in the Bronx too late. WCS has also tended to think "you can't see the whole zoo in a day. Come back."

    They don't understand the Zoobeat point of view ;)
     
  13. snowleopard

    snowleopard Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

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    National Zoo Review - 8 hours (Zoo/Aquarium #11 on the epic road trip)

    The Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington D.C. took much longer to see than I had anticipated, and it was actually a better zoo than I was prepared for. It's not a candidate amongst the very best of the best on the continent, but I was pleasantly surprised by some of the enclosures. The day flew by, and the hours of my visit were from 9:30 to 5:30. My wife Debbie actually loved many parts of the zoo, and due to her love of taking photos we ended up with over 350 shots. Who knows how many I'll eventually add to ZooBeat's Gallery, but I know for sure that Debbie took at least 40-50 of the orangutan o-line. The orangs have tiny outdoor yards that are a disgraceful size, but the o-line is a brilliant idea and we had 3 orangs doing all sorts of tricks above our heads.

    The reasons for spending an enormous 8 hours at the National Zoo: the o-line was an enjoyable time-killer; the "Asia Trail" set of exhibits are fantastic and we went through them twice during the day; the "Elephant Trails" construction meant that there were no more short-cuts through the zoo and so we had to backtrack from the end all the way down the long hill, around the children's farm, and then all the way back up again. That part of the zoo (the ending of "Valley Trail") was practically deserted as many families didn't want to trek there and all the way back again.

    The Best:

    Asia Trail - for the most part an incredible set of exhibits. The giant panda enclosures are surely the best on the planet for that rare species, as there are 3 enormous habitats with all sorts of goodies and tricks around each corner. Misters that hit the enclosures with a fine spray, dens, heated rocks, viewing windows, cameras, motion-sensors, hills, dig areas...you name it and the pandas have it. The male, female and 3 year-old offspring all have their own enormous habitat, and the diversity of the landscape was much admired by all the visitors. The indoor rooms are quite bare and basic, which is a disappointing contrast to the gorgeous outdoor meadows, but overall these set of exhibits are unbeatable.

    The rest of Asia Trail is also hugely impressive. The red pandas have a spacious yard with all sorts of misters, hiding places, trees, etc, built into the rocky terrain. The clouded leopard and fishing cat cages are a mixture of mesh and glass, but larger and better than similar exhibits at other zoos. The Japanese giant salamander tank was shut down for repairs, but the sloth bears were a delight to see. However, the bears have viewing windows that are covered in designs so that birds don't crash into the glass, but in all honesty the decision to block the views of vistors is disastrous. It was difficult to see out of the windows, and instead the overhead viewing area is a better choice for visitors. The sloth bear exhibits are the best that I've ever seen for that species, and so it was a tad distressful to see the 2 bears on display at times pacing. Even with a gloriously rocky, hilly, naturalistic habitat there were signs of stereotypic behaviour. The Asian small-clawed otters have a beautiful habitat that is also the best that I've ever seen for that species. To see this practically brand-new set of enclosures as soon as one enters the zoo grounds sets the tone for the day, even though they are the best that the zoo has to offer. My wife and I spent just as long at the end of the day re-tracing our steps through the Asia Trail section of the zoo.

    Orangutan O-Line - 3 orangs over the heads of visitors was an absolute treat! Kids were yelling at their parents to get out of the way of any possible "ape poop", and some people were following the orangs as they slowly made their way across the 8 towers to their secondary quarters across the zoo. The o-line was a massively successful hit on the day that I was there, but it's too bad that it is only open for 4 hours per day. Why not let the orangs hang around for at least a couple more hours, as the zoo doesn't close until 8 in the summer.

    Bird House - easily one of the best bird areas of any North American zoo. The main house has countless species in piano-wired exhibits. The indoor aviary isn't that large, but the 90-foot outdoor aviary is glorious to walk through. The only problem is that almost half of it was shut down for renovations, and so visitors could only travel through one side of the aviary. The surrounding bird yards are tastefully done, and they all offer the many bird species much more room than the majority of other major zoos.

    Small Mammal House - an excellent display of small mammals, but it did have 3 exhibits with armadillos, 3 with golden lion tamarins (and week-old twins were there), 3 with tree shrews, and 3 with meerkats. Deja vu around every corner! The house is an old building but very enjoyable to walk through, but the outdoor exhibits are small and antiquated.

    Lemur Island - two species of lemur (brown collared and ring-tailed) on a large expanse of land that comes with a photogenic, crashing waterfall.

    Amazonia - this small and average rainforest is so-so but nothing that hasn't been done before in 10 other zoos. The small tanks, interactive displays, piles of animal books, research stations and other amenities for budding zoologists are all first-rate. I really enjoyed the air-conditioned, "science lab" environment that comes at the end of the humid rainforest walk.

    The Average:

    Reptile House - well done but ultimately average building. Seeing the komodo dragon on real grass was a treat, as was the appearance of a gharial and cuban crocodiles.

    Invertebrates - a terrific leaf-cutter ant exhibit that winds around a small part of the room, and there are some cool-looking "creepy crawlies" in various tanks. The rest of the building is good but nothing innovative.

    Cheetah Conservation Center - huge cheetah yards adjacent to similarly large paddocks with Grevy's zebra, scimitar-horned oryx/dama gazelles, maned wolves and nearby emus/tammar wallabies. Basic exhibits that are bizarrely tossed together...but spacious and naturalistic. African, South American and Aussie animals all in the melting pot.

    Beaver Valley - large beaver exhibits, tiny and hard-to-view bald eagle cage, good river otter pool, average mexican grey wolf cage, typical andean bear grotto, and spacious pools for california sea lions and grey seals make up this area of the zoo.

    The Worst:

    Great Cats - 2 tiger grottoes and 1 lion grotto, but these multi-tiered habitats are much larger than the usual carnivore pits. What's the deal with the big cats all being pulled off exhibit at 4 p.m. every day of the week? That means they are locked into their tiny night quarters for 14 hours per day. Not cool.

    Think Tank - sulawesi macaques and orangs (the ones that decided to venture over on the o-line) in basic, average exhibits. The orangs in particular don't have much outdoor space, and a tiny indoor set of rooms. The interpretative information in this building is top-notch, but once again zoo visitors have been favoured over the animals. In terms of visitor amenities this building is terrific, but for the monkeys and apes it is weak.

    Great Ape House - compared to most other gorilla/orang buildings this one is extremely disappointing. The 6 gorillas and 6 orangutans have one of the worst set of habitats that I've seen. The orangs have access for a few hours a day to the wonderful, totally elevated o-line, but their two yards are puny and bare. The "gorilla grove" is a woeful patch of grass with a climbing apparatus in the middle. Ugh. Can anyone name a North American zoo with a worse ape house?

    Gibbon Ridge - awful mesh exhibits side-by-side. In truth the larger of the two is a fair size, but has limited viewing opportunities and a dearth of climbing material for the apes. The smaller cage on the left is terrible, and perhaps 15 feet at its widest point. Too small, not enough vines and ropes, and the opposite of innovative.

    Elephant/Hippo House - as dreadful as every other pachyderm house I've seen. Due to construction the elephants are lacking space and already counting down the seconds until "Elephant Trails" finally opens. The two species of hippo can't wait to be transferred out to other AZA-accredited zoos.

    The Future:

    Elephant Trails: this will hopefully be a stand-out set of habitats that will go arm-in-arm with "Asia Trail", and provide visitors with a one-two punch as soon as they go through the main gates. Construction began in 2007, and it will be a full 4 years of work before it opens to the public in the summer of 2011. My wife took a handful of photos of the more than 20 men who were working on the site, and it is difficult to believe that the zoo will be under such heavy construction for the next 3 years.

    The nile hippo there will be shipped out to another zoo, the pgymy hippos will be shipped to another zoo, and the capybara will be placed in a different section of the zoo. The elephants will have the entire house to themselves, and it is being lengthened considerably. The 3 outdoor habitats will be able to be viewed from the bridge that leads to the bird complex, and there will be a long and winding trail that the elephants will be walked up on a daily basis. I have my fingers crossed that this $50 million worth of habitats will be exceptional.

    Overall:

    The National Zoo has giant pandas, which puts them in the "must-visit" category right off the bat. The "Asia Trail" habitats are a pure joy to visit, and even though I could nit-pick over some minor points in actuality there aren't many zoos that can offer giant pandas, red pandas, japanese giant salamanders, fishing cats, asian small-clawed otters and clouded leopards in such a wonderful, brand-new, award-worthy set of enclosures. There are many zoos that have zero knockout exhibits, and so full credit goes to this zoo for a fantastic Asian section. The Toronto or Calgary zoos in Canada, as well as many other North American collections, would love to have habitats that are even half as good as "Asia Trail".

    The excellent bird collection, small mammal house, lemur island and orangutan o-line are all innovative and appealing for visitors. Since I'm visiting 25 zoos in the space of 8 weeks I don't want to see average, boring exhibits. I want to see habitats with diversity, enrichment opportunities, great viewing spaces and fantastic, amazing enclosures. The National Zoo has a handful of terrific exhibits, but the rest of the zoo is for the most part average and thus keeps it out of many top 10 lists.
     
  14. snowleopard

    snowleopard Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

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    National Aquarium Review - 50 minutes (Zoo/Aquarium #12 on the epic road trip)

    The National Aquarium in Washington D.C. is an extremely small aquarium that is set in the basement of the massive commerce building near the White House. My wife and I had been strolling around for most of the day looking at monuments, statues and memorials, and so we were ready for an air-conditioned, free little aquarium to kill an hour of time. Unfortunately the aquarium was not air-conditioned and cost $7 each, which is bizarre considering all of the enormous completely free museums that dot the Washington landscape. This is the tiniest of all the attractions, and so the entrance fee was shocking.

    This review will be my shortest yet, as once one walks down one long corridor (with tanks on both sides) then the only choice is to walk back up the next corridor and head for the exit. That's all folks...

    Highlights:

    The largest tank by far is one of the first that visitors encounter. There are a couple of turtles and two 3-foot long alligators named "Munch Munch" and "Snappy". The alligators were frisky and active, and their exhibit was lovingly constructed. I just wonder what will happen to them once they grow to a much larger size.

    There is a second large tank that contained 3 species of shark and several other species of nondescript fish. Swell, leopard and horn sharks swam around, and we happened to be there for the informative feeding. These full-grown and yet still fairly small sharks were fun to watch, but their tank could have been much bigger as there were a total of 8 sharks in the water.

    The Worst:

    For an aquarium that recently underwent a $2 million renovation, it was alarming to find that along one side of the wall every single ledge that was outside a tank had peeling paint on it! One side of the corridor was full of plastic, modern ledges around the tanks, and so why wouldn't the aquarium have spent some of that $2 million on black paint?

    Overall:

    Only the most die-hard aquarium fan could spend much more than an hour or two in this building, which contains exactly 2 large tanks and many smaller ones. The sharks and juvenile gators were enjoyable to see, but the rest of the collection is so small that it doesn't justify the price-tag. Many of the frog, salamander and snake tanks were well done, and the aquarium is obviously a labour of love for those that work there...but it is what it is and that means a second-rate collection. I'm not prejudiced against the small fry in the world of aquariums because I sometimes enjoy seeing the flip side of captive wildlife establishments, but the lack of signage on some tanks, the lack of any kind of map or brochure, and the lack of truly outstanding exhibits made the National Aquarium only a minor diversion from the sightseeing in the city.
     
  15. mstickmanp

    mstickmanp Well-Known Member

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    great review!

    I was at the national zoo weeks after Asia Trial opened and most of the plants were new, so it did not look much foresty in any of the exhibits. When I was they also did not have the Clouded Leopards and Japanese Giant Salamander because their exhibits were either not finished or had some problems, but the Fishing Cats, Pandas and Sloth Bears were really active specially the female Sloth bear with her 6 month old cub. I heard the male Sloth Bear still paces because he lived in the old exhibit (the andean bear grotto) for too long so he got used to, but I heard is not as bad as when I was there.

    Great review overall!
     
  16. zooman

    zooman Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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  17. ANyhuis

    ANyhuis Well-Known Member

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    Snowleopard's reaction to Think Tank

     
  18. Quartz92

    Quartz92 Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Some interesting reviews you have been putting out snowleopard. I do agree with most things about the National zoo especially the Elephant/Hippo House. It is good to see they are letting the elephants have access to the whole building. The Asian Trail habitats are very good looking, probable the best set of Asian habitats I have seen anywhere. Although, I did not like the Panda exhibit all that much, when I was there I was socked to see a panda pacing, which was the first I have ever seen. The African section of the zoo is not the best I have seen, and is nothing compared to award winning African Savannas elsewhere. There are many better set ups for some of the Asian animals that the National zoo has. Overall, this zoo is a great zoo to visit. Keep the reviews coming!
     
  19. snowleopard

    snowleopard Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

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    Once again I really appreciate all of the comments on my reviews, and now that I'm at an even dozen zoos/aquariums it's time to hit a whole bunch in a row. Keep in mind that things can change, but as for right now here is the schedule for the near future. I type this in a motel that is supposedly 8 miles from the Pittsburgh Zoo, and as long as I have reliable internet access I'll be trying to keep up with the reviewing...

    5 days - 5 cities - 5 zoos (in 4 different States)

    Friday - Pittsburgh Zoo
    Saturday - Columbus Zoo
    Sunday - Cincinnati Zoo
    Monday - Indianapolis Zoo (has been added to the itinerary)
    Tuesday - Louisville Zoo

    It is about a 2-3 hour drive between each city, and so it gives my wife and I time in the evening to venture forth to the next zoological collection.
     
  20. Zoogoer2000

    Zoogoer2000 Well-Known Member

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    Aparrently,i heard they were thinking of an African House and Trail but i haven't heard since!