If anyone on zoochat has recently been to the St. Louis Zoo could you please write a review. I have heard many great things about this zoo such as the Peguin and Puffin Coast penguin exhibit and the fantastic River's Edge with amazing exhibits for Black Rhinos, Underwater Hippos (By the looks of the website pictures it looks like one of the best underwater hippo exhibits), Asian Elephants, Cheetahs, and Spotted Hyenas. I have also heard that it has nicer big cat habitats than most zoos and an amazing Great Apes complex with naturalistic outdoor exhibits. It sounds like a stellar institution and from the pictures on the website and the review of it in America's Best Zoos it made me really want to visit. Plus it has some of the best exhibits for some of my favorite animals (Black Rhinos, Hippos, Gorillas, elephants, and big cats)
Orginally from BlackRhino St. Louis Zoo -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If anyone on zoochat has recently been to the St. Louis Zoo could you please write a review. I have heard many great things about this zoo such as the Peguin and Puffin Coast penguin exhibit and the fantastic River's Edge with amazing exhibits for Black Rhinos, Underwater Hippos (By the looks of the website pictures it looks like one of the best underwater hippo exhibits), Asian Elephants, Cheetahs, and Spotted Hyenas. I have also heard that it has nicer big cat habitats than most zoos and an amazing Great Apes complex with naturalistic outdoor exhibits. It sounds like a stellar institution and from the pictures on the website and the review of it in America's Best Zoos it made me really want to visit. Plus it has some of the best exhibits for some of my favorite animals (Black Rhinos, Hippos, Gorillas, elephants, and big cats) Though I haven't been recently, I've been to the St. Louis Zoo twice in my life. While I was there, I didn't go to the Great Apes complex, but I did see the other exhibits that you have mentioned. The Penguin and Puffin Coast exhibit is probley the best penguin and puffin exhibit I've ever seen. Everything from the rockwork to the cool temperatures gives you the impression of being in either in the poles or on the South American coasts. Plus in the Antarctic exhibit, your literally within inches of penguins and you can see them swim beside you or below you. The Rivers' Edge enclosures are also of high-caliber. Each of the exhibits are large and spacious, still has plenty of grass and vegetation, and in most cases only a waist-high fence and moat seperate you from many of the animals. The Asian elephant, black rhino and river hippo exhibit are among the best I've seen for pachyderms and the exhibits for cheetahs, hyenas, and South American species were pretty good as well. The Big Cat Complex also has good natural-looking enclosures for African lions, Amur tigers, and jaguars, though I was disappointed with the exhibits for the cougars and leopards as they only consist of few bolders and a climbing tree. Though this only a summary of what I've saw at St. Louis, I hope this help you to get in idea what the St. Louis Zoo is like. P.S. The South American coast which I had mentioned earlier is in outside exhibit for Humboldt Penguins.
St. Louis Zoo Review: Coming Soon After finishing my reply to BlackRhino, I'd realized that I could have done a better job of describing the St. Louis Zoo than in my previous post. That is why in the next couple of days, I will write a detail reveiw about the animals and exhibits I've seen at the St. Louis Zoo so members like BlackRhino will have a better idea of what the St. Louis Zoo looks like. That is the least I can do for all of you.
Muchana, a male Gorilla, has died at St. Louis. This is another "enrichment accident" to add to the list of freak accidents in the last year. Gorilla dies in St. Louis Zoo - MarketWatch Muchana's death is also much felt at Columbus, where he was born. This will be really hard on all of us in Columbus as this is half a year after his mother, Jumoke, died. Jumoke and him are survived by her son/his brother Jontu, who is alive and well at St. Louis.
Sorry for the delay, but finally, here is the long-awaited review of the St. Louis Zoo. I've only been to the St. Louis Zoo twice in my life (once in 2003 and once in 2006). Even though its been awhile since my last visit, I remember some key details about the zoo's highlighted exhibit areas as well as some additional exhibits around the facility. Granted, I didn't visit every attraction on site, but I while give you all a summary of them anyway. Hope you all enjoy this review. Discovery Center This exhibit area encourages learning through playing and exploring. The Living World Before it disbanded, this exhibit focused on the adaptive abilities of animal life on planet earth. Combining living animal displays along with the best technology of its' day, this exhibit presented the theory of evolution as a cliff-note version for the general public. The designers of this exhibit even went so far as to a model of Lucy and a robot in Charles Darwin's likeness. Though the animal displays were still holding up during my last visit, some of the graphics were in need of repair or replacement. Since 2008, this exhibit has been disbanded and replaced with "Awesome Amphibians". Though I haven't seen this exhibit, I know it includes Chinese salamanders. Monsanto Insectarium I didn't go to this exhibit during my visits. I know it has exhibits on invertebrate behavior, habitats (including a bug infested kitchen), and a butterfly house. Emerson Children's Zoo I didn't visit this exhibit either. Includes wildlife displays, a contact yard, and a play area. Includes a seperate admission fee. Featured Animals - Fennec fox, blue poison dart frog, short-beaked echidna, Indian flying fox, North American river otter, and naked mole rat. Lakeside Crossing This section focuses on souvenirs and refreshments. The Wild This exhibit area focuses on the adaptive abilities of wildlife from the poles to the tropics. Bear Bluffs Another historic set of exhibits, this area of the zoo has an amazing exhibit backdrop (Hagenbeck inspired) which stills holds up to this day. While the bears have plenty of enrichment items to utilize, some of the exhibits definately need an upgrade (the polar bear exhibit needs a bigger, deeper pool). Fortunately, this area will be renovated sometime in the near future hopefully peserving the historic backdrop while meeting the bears' needs. Featured Animals - Black bear, grizzly bear, polar bear (none right now), and spectacled bear Penguin and Puffin Coast The best sets of penguin and puffin exhibits I've ever seen and they are among the best at the zoo. The first exhibit you encounter features Humboldt penguins inhabiting a beautifully recreated South American coastline. From there, you'll walk into an indoor building chilled to around 45 degrees as you enter the main penguin exhibit. Once you come in, you are completely surrounded by penguins. There is only a waist-high glass wall seperating you and the birds as you look at them in their subantarctic world (complete with naturalistic-looking rockwork and coasts, realistic-looking grass, and whale bones). The highlight of course is the see-through glass where you can see penguins swim around and beneath you. As you exit the building, you'll see a recreated North Sea habitat with a puffin rookery going about their business. With beautiful naturalisitic exhibits and highly active birds, this exhibit has definately a highlight for the St. Louis Zoo. Featured Animals - Gentoo penguin, Humboldt penguin, king penguin, rockhopper penguin, horned puffin, tufted puffin, and king eider. Jungle of the Apes and Fragile Forest I did not visit this set of exhibits. Jungle of the Apes was the zoo's newest ape house from the 1980s and Fragile Forest is the new outdoor expansion of chimpanzee and orangutan yards. The St. Louis Zoo was the first zoo to display a bachelor troop of gorillas and was home to the naked chimp "Cinder". Featured Animals - Chimpanzee, Sumatran Orangutan, and Western Lowland Gorilla Historic Hill The zoo's historic buildings Herpetarium Great collection, though an average at best in exhibit layout, the Charles H. Hoessle Herpetarium had potential to be a great reptile house again if it is renovated for a new generation. It already has an amazing cast of characters from crocodilians to frogs to tuataras. There are even outdoor enclosures for some of the crocodilians. However, I have some issues with this building. I had high hopes coming into this exhibit, but I left feeling a little disappointed. The overall herp collection was pretty impressive. Arranged by taxonomy, you can see multiple species of amphibians, crocodilians, lizards, snakes, turtles and tortoises, and there was a display of tuataras which unfortunately I didn't get to see. Even with such diversity, my experiance in the herpetarium was less than memorable thanks to the sweltering heat (seriously, isn't an indoor building supposed to provide relief for when its' hot outside), small enclosures for many of the repitles (snakes), and if I remember right, some of the exhibits were poorly lit. I hope that these flaws have been corrected since the last time of visited this building in 2003. Primate House In my opinion, this is best indoor exhibit at St. Louis. When you first walk in, the first exhibit you see is an lush, open-air habitat featuring neotropical monkeys. The rest of the exhibits circumnavigate the interior of the building each complete with enrichment items for the primates (vines, boulders, etc) and aesthetic features for patrons (painted murals, plant fixtures, etc). As for the kind of primates you might see, you'll encounter everything from lemurs to macaques. Featured Animals - Allen's swamp monkey, black and white colobus monkey, black and ruffed lemur, black lemur, black-handed spider monkey , Coquerel's sifaka, cotton-top tamarin, dusky-leaf monkey, Geoffroy's marmoset, goeldi's monkey, golden-headed lion tamarin, lion-tailed macaque, mongoose lemur, pygmy marmoset, ring-tailed lemur, and white-faced saki. Sea Lion Arena I didn't go and see a show. Sea lions perform here showing off their natural abilities. Bird House & Garden Blending historical architecture with modern exhibit features, this building is home to multiple species of tropical birds. From hornbills to guans, you will see birds of many different shapes, sizes, and colors. My only complant comes from the blank exhibit walls in each of the enclosures. You would think that they would paint a jungle scene to further give you the illusion of being in the tropics. I did not visit the Bird Garden which includes outdoor exhibits for birds of prey, pheasants, cranes, and more. 1904 World's Fair Flight Cage I didn't go into this exhibit. This is the exhibit that started it all. The entire St. Louis Zoo was built after the flight cage was erected in 1904. It had flamingos when I passed by in 2003, but now it features birds from along the Mississippi River. Featured Animals - Black-crowned night heron, blue-winged teal, bufflehead duck, canvasback duck, cattle egret, double-crested cormorant, great egret, green heron, hooded merganser, American wood duck, northern bobwhite, northern pintail duck, ruddy duck, roseate spoonbill, snowy egret, white ibis, and yellow-crowned night heron. Red Rocks This section features the zoo's collection of big cats and hoofstock. Big Cat Country My feelings are mixed about this set of exhibits. All of the exhibits are pits, some good, some average. The African lion exhibit was ok with the typical fixings (large boulders, a dead tree for rest and play and grass for cover), but my two favorites were the Amur tiger and jaguar exhibits. Both exhibits have a forest vibe along with water features and additional enrichment features. The exhibits for Amur leopard, puma, and snow leopard were too small for my liking and they seem rather barren with only a few boulders and a tree for enrichment. The graphics had faded with time, but they still carried an effective message about the plight of big cats and their importance in the wild. Featured Animals - African Lion, Amur Leopard, Amur Tiger, Jaguar, Puma, and Snow Leopard Antelope House This is probley one of the best collections of ungulates in the United States. The paddocks are open-air, mostly grass covered with additonal vegetation, and the boundaries are defined by moats, low-lying walls, or faux boulders which look more realisitic than many modern examples of rockwork in zoos. The centerpiece of this exhibit area is the actual antelope house. This building has reminders of yesteryear (iron bars) along with contemporary management fixtures (rubber floors). Given the day or time of year, you can see a reticulated giraffe, an ostrich, a family of Chacoan peccary and babirusa all under the same roof. Featured Animals - Addax, Arabian oryx, babirusa, bactrian camel, banteng, Chacoan peccary, Cuvier's gazelle, East African crowned crane, emu, Grevy's zebra, helmeted guineafowl, marabou stork, mountain bongo, okapi, ostrich, reticulated giraffe, saddlebill stork, sarus crane, Somali wild ass, Speke's gazelle, takin, transcaspian urial, warthog, and wattled stork. I will post a review of River's Edge within in the next day or two.
Thanks for taking the time to type up such an informative zoo. St. Louis is perhaps the biggest and best zoo in North America that I've never actually visited, and I'll have to take a trip there one of these years.
From snowleopard "Thanks for taking the time to type up such an informative zoo. St. Louis is perhaps the biggest and best zoo in North America that I've never actually visited, and I'll have to take a trip there one of these years. " You are very welcome. I can't even begin to imagine all the effort had you put into writing your reviews. Anyways, I will have a detail review of the River's Edge exhibits within the next couple of days for you and everyone else here to read.
"Rivers Edge" From me " I will post a review of River's Edge within in the next day or two." So much for a day or two, but I guess its better late than never. I must apologize though, I should have made it a priority to finish the review for so many of you wanted to know what the St. Louis Zoo is like. Never the less, here is my review of "River's Edge" The first set of exhibits in "River's Edge" focuses on the wildlife of South America. As you enter the exhibit you'll begin to notice the signs of wildlife all around you (mostly footprints and an oropendola nest) as you enter through a jungle-like setting. The South American exhibit is divided into two parts, one for bush dogs and a mixed-species exhibit featuring capybaras and giant anteaters. Though I don't recall seeing a lot of vegetation in the exhibit (maybe grass), the animals seem content as the capybaras were enjoying an afternoon nap while the anteaters were strolling about their enclosure. Unfortunately, I didn't see the bush dogs on any of my visits to St. Louis. The next two exhibit sets feature the wildlife of Africa starting with species from the savanna. The first exhibit you'll encounter is a large, spectacular black rhino display. Complete with several vantage points. You'll be able to see black rhinos graze alongside a tropical waterfall while being amidst yourself in a tropical-like setting. Supposably there are life-sized models of dung beetles around the exhibit, but I've never really looked for them though. The final exhibit in the savanna section is home to a colony of birds called carmine bee-eaters. The exhibit itself is a long, wiremesh enclosure complete with branches and a recreated riverbank for these colorful little birds to rest after flying throughout their habitat as I assume they do. There are also more models here to give you a sense of danger. Nearby the bee-eater exhibit is the remains of a dead impala in a tree (supposably drugged up there by a leopard) and along the path there is a dead log with very life-like green mamba hatchlings. The next couple of exhibits features African animals who live along the Nile River. The first exhibit is a fairly large grassy enclosure that originally featured warthogs, but now it is a mixed species habitat featuring red river hogs and bat-eared foxes (neither species was on display when I last visited). Next is one of the best hippo exhibits I've seen in a zoo so far. On my last visit, there were four full-grown hippos (also the most I've seen in a captive group) resting on the river bottom as several fish were inspecting them for a tastie morsel. Patrons are able to see these magnificent behemoths underwater which in my opinion is probley the best way to see them. The African Nile section is rounded by some of the continent's most fascinating and deadly predators. This first predators you'll encounter is pack of spotted hyenas. Though I don't remember this exhibit exactly, I believe it was fairly grassy and it had dens for the animals to use. Also, if you look carefully, you might find crushed ostrich eggs along the pathway suggesting additonal signs of danger. Next up is Africa's fastest mammal, the cheetah. This is probley one of the longest cheetah exhibits I've seen as it complete with shade trees, gently rolling hills, and lots of grass. Nearby is a colony of dwarf mongoose who appear to be in the same exhibit as the cheetahs. However, thanks to genius of landscape-immersion exhibits, the mongoose and cheetahs are in two seperate enclosure designed to look like one. There is also a faux dead tree with a replica of a Van der Deckens Hornbill nest and birds and an African schoolhouse. The centerpiece of River's Edge is the zoo's Asian elephant exhibit. This in my opinion is the best exhibit for Asian elephants and elephants in general. It is about two acres in size, complete with grass, dirt piles, trees and boulders to scratch themselves, and massive pools to swim in. This exhibit also includes numerous vantage points where you can get about ten feet from the world's largest land mammal. Be sure to be on the look out for models of reptiles and an Asian ranger station. The final exhibit set at "River's Edge" considers the rivers and waterways of Missouri. Though I haven't see them myself, this exhibit features additonal replicas of life along the Mississippi river including a beaver dam, crayfish mounds, a massasauga rattlesnake mold, and a cabin educating the public about man's affect on North America's waterways. The last animal exhibit is an aquarium fish and turtles native to both the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Thank You for your patience, I hoped you enjoyed my reviews.
