What is your Home Zoo? What do you want in it?

Hey Zoochatters,

Just wanted to ask, where is your home zoo? What are your favorite animals from it? What do you wish they would add? For example, the closest zoo to me in Turtleback Zoo of North New Jersey. My favorite animals there would have to be the Masai Giraffes, Common Eland, Amur Leopards, and Jaguars. They have the North American and Australian exhibits covered pretty well, with Wolves, Bison, North American River Otter, and Black Bear. They have a selection of kangaroos, emus, and wallabies. I'd like for them to expand on the African and Asian Exhibits. The African Exhibit should have nothing too big, as the giraffes have a huge area, but they could add a smaller african exhibit enclosure, maybe for African Wild Dogs, and another for small antelope with Duikers, gazelles, or Steenbok. For Asia, they need to expand it to add perhaps Asian Tapirs, Asian Black Bear, or Dholes. What's your opinion of your home zoo's animals, exhibits, and what should they add?

 

Well, I hope you're ready for a sea turtle hospital and african lions.

 

For Brookfield zoo I think the old bear grottos can be made into a very nice giant panda exhibit If the money is there.

 

I wish I had a home zoo and be a keeper into it

My only home zoo is the Fluvial Aquarium of Saragossa, a place whose quality (overall in number of species) decreased at same time than the price (incredibly high) increased. Of course I,ve tried to get a job here, but with no success...

 

Closest Zoo would be Franklin Park Zoo. New England Aquarium, is a stones throw away, but you asked about home Zoo, so..

Favorite Animals? Hmm?

Probably, Potto. The Zoo really lacks anything spectacular. At least, on-show. It's highly geared toward people that like birds. No surprise, given who the curator is. They do have those killer lions from Dallas. So I guess that's cool. They have a knack for housing animals that have killed previously, especially lions. Have a google, see for yourselves. Christopher + Cliff + Binti Mafuta. They just opened the renovated children's zoo. It's all fluff and landscape, nothing major, at least animal-wise.
I wish they'd add new leaders or boards of trustees. The current ones, well, heh, yeah. They added some giraffe statues, but one already seems to have fallen. Not much hope for this Zoo, it seems. Next big thing is an entry way called the greeting. Set inside the fence, eating up space. Yay! Seems to be flamingo marsh as part of that development. Can't wait! More birds! Guess it is better than the pit they are in now. Seriously, a pit. Have a look in the gallery. If you can't be bothered, google. If not, it's fine. You're not missing much. Not well-versed in hoof stock. Guess they could add some? Cheaply? Their "ZNE Shed Barn-style" holding buildings seem cheap enough. Best exhibit they have is the masai giraffe. Quite spacious for 1.1, if they are on-show. Otherwise, you can view one of their Grevy's stallions. Their giraffe are locked in 20x20 stalls, months on end with no way for visitors to see them. They could add a window like Skimpcinnati, I guess? I don't know. Seems other Zoos have larger herds, small barns and even smaller exhibits like Skimpci' and Roger Williams. Maybe ZNE cares? Or the AZA doesn't trust them? One way or another, heh, enjoy the statues. Keepers are super nice and passionate. The sub-contracted out food service and gift area, not so much. At least my experience. But if you like Gorillas in Aquariums (joking) or lots of rodents and roaches crawling around you in a tropical setting, check it out! It's $19.95, right now, price will probably go up next season, though. They seem to tack on $1 a year, to fit in with others in their league around the city. They really think they're up there with New England Aquarium, various museums and such. It's becoming more Chuck E. Cheese than a Zoo. But one difference is the rodents at the Zoo are alive!

 

I heard about the sea turtle hospital, but lions? Didn't know they planned that!

 

The Franklin Park Zoo is disappointing, although substantially better than when I first visited it in the mid-eighties. Still, Boston has all this cultural stuff, you wonder why they don't have a better zoo.

My home zoo is Detroit's; I live within walking distance and I'm self-employed, so I go frequently. I've always wanted more big cats...we just have tigers and lions, have occasionally had snow leopards, and it's been years since we had anything else.

But if the zoo asked me what I thought they needed, and they haven't, I'd say a good small mammals house, with the mammal pits in the southwestern part of the zoo, south of the Arctic Ring of Life, more coordinated. I spent some time away from Detroit but I've been going for sixty years and they've never really had much in the way of small mammals.

 

My home zoo is Butterfly Creek and I wish we had clouded leopard / aquamarine lorikeets or harpy eagles

 

I should have added clouded leopards; gorgeous animals.

 

Phoenix Zoo is my local zoo and is almost, quite literally, in my back yard. I couldn't live any closer without actually living IN the zoo. Anyway, my favorite animal there is the Cheetahs but I wish they'd bring Sand Cats back.

 

When did they have sand cats?
They do have the best cheetah exhibit I have seen.

 

Austin has two zoos, neither of which appealed to me until recently. Now that I know the Capital of Texas Zoo has fossa and falanoka, I plan to give it a chance. If I like it enough, I'll consider it my home zoo, though I probably won't join because it would take five visits a year to make membership worthwhile (well, I might join if their bird collection is a lot more impressive than it seems on their website).

Otherwise, I'm planning to join the Waco Zoo for reciprocity benefits and would likely consider that my home zoo. (I'd join San Antonio if they offered 100% AZA reciprocity; membership is a little more expensive than Waco but they have a lot more of the animals I like which I'd like to support. However they only offer 50% reciprocity, Houston Zoo's membership is about twice as much as Waco's, and money currently is somewhat of an object.)

When I lived in Western Mass I'd have considered Forest Park my home zoo. I visited a lot when I was kid and for my 11th birthday I took a couple friends to the Forest Park Zoo, then we all went home for cake and ice cream.

 

Lincoln Park and Brookfield are my home zoos in Chicago.

There is very little I can suggest for Lincoln Park given how constrained the zoo currently is. They are already moving in the right direction in my opinion, as the Lion House is the next priority. There are not many locations open for new development. There is only so much that could be done in the space of the current Primate House, for example, and the Hoofed Animals area is too diverse to replace with one cohesive biome-based exhibit.

For Brookfield, I would personally prefer to renovate the Tropic World exhibit. The interior would remain similar, with added substrate and other additions to try to make it appear more natural. The main change would be multiple exterior habitats for the building, with the top priority spots being for orangutans and gorillas, but my stretch goal list would also include tapirs, anteaters, gibbons, hippos, and even maybe a Jaguar, since there's just no other place for one and it's the only Amazon-themed area.

Brookfield's previous three Giant Pandas all lived at the Bear Grottos

 

I'm sorry I didn't see this before. There was a small Sand Cat exhibit behind the little flamingo lagoon. You had to take a separate path to get there and it was marked only with a small wooden sign. This was in the early 80s is when I remember it. I don't know how long it was there or when it changed to something different.

The Feline Conservation Center near Rosamond, CA has had 3 litters born so far this year for a total of 11 kittens. Give the Phoenix Zoo a non-related m/f pair and let them start a breeding program. Coming from the desert, they should have no problem with outer summers.

 

The pandas where actually in the area that is currently Habitat Africa! The forest.
I will be posting my Chicago zoo changes soon.

 

Lincoln park zoo- I agree with JVM that this zoo is heading is a great direction. The master plan is almost complete. Penguin Cove, Macaque Forest, Artic Tundra, and the renovated seal pool are wonderful additions. The last additions will be a new welcoming center, and a $30M makeover to the dreadful lion house (and thank god for that.) There are a few things I would change though.

Convert the hoofstock area into in Asian complex. With tigers, sun bears, Orangutans, gibbons, takins, camels, gaur, clouded leopards, and red pandas. The zebras can be moved to live with the rhinos or the savannah along with the ostriches. Alpacas can move to the farm. Kangaroos can be phased out, and peccerys can be moved to... well, you will just have to wait and see.

The lion house makeover for me would turn it into... a African hunters house!! The lions would have the entire side of the building they are currently on. The other side will have cheetahs, servals, and African leopards. The leopard and servals will have the circular cages (Which will be redone btw) While cheetahs will have the entire section between them in one long grassy field. The indoor section will be replaced with glass instead of harp wire. The lions will have a indoor exhibit that will go across the entire side of the building (With holding on top of the gift shop) The other 5 indoor exhibits will rotate cats in the winter, but will be broken into 3 larger exhibits that will extend into the public area. Substrates, more realism, and plants will be added to all 4 indoor exhibits.

The center for African apes would open the smaller outdoor area that cannot be seen by the public. This would allow Bonobos to be added. New crossing shoots will be added to rotate through the 3 caged exhibits while The Gorilla family will have the large island to them selves all the time.

More tomorrow, including Brookfield zoo.

 

Now that you mention it, I do vaguely remember a small and simple enclosure back there. It was there when I visited Arizona in 1992 (before moving here in 1993). It was not a very good enclosure and terrible for photography.

 

The São Paulo Aquarium is about 45 minutes driving from my house, and it's one of the best zoos/aquariums in Brazil.

In addition to the common aquarium aquatic animals, they recently acquired animals that aren't common here in Brazil like Red kangaroos (and a Bennett's wallaby), Ring-tailed lemurs, Meerkats, Mantled guerezas, Common wombats, Short-tailed echidna, Koalas, Polar bears, Harbor seals, South American sea lion, Subantartic fur seal... There are also other animals that are/were already there before, such as Gila monster, Large flying fox, Reticulated python, Burmese python, Green anaconda, Magellanic penguins, Amazonian manatee (in a tank with Arapaimas, Red-tailed catfishes, Pacus...), Sandtiger shark, Southern tamandua, Neotropical river otter, Linnaeu's two-toed sloth, South American fur seal...

But getting straight to the point: some animals that I think they maybe could get are Tasmanian devil, Tree kangaroo, Fennec fox, Komodo dragon, Red panda, Mandrill, Howler monkey, Armadillo, other otter (xD) species (maybe Giant river otter or Asian short-clawed otter), other penguin species... I also think that they could get some birds.
Maybe they also could get some minor animals, like Sugar glider, Emerald tree boa, Chameleons and Poison dart frogs.

 

More Lincoln Park Zoo-
The last new exhibit would be... American Pampas! replacing the primate house. A indoor/outdoor south American exhibit. featuring giant anteaters, southern tamanduas, tapirs, peccerys, capybara, primates, and maned wolfs. The indoor exhibits would include the tamanduas and the primates. As well as tapir/capybara and anteater/maned wolf holding. The empty field that viewed through a fence by the entrance would be the new maned wolf/anteater exhibit. The gibbon cage would be demolished and the other pampas (Tapir/capybara) would have a yard there. Primates include the current pied tamarins, howler monkeys, and goldies. Spider monkeys, brown capuchins, and a walkthrough squirrel monkey exhibit (Indoors)

I have a few minor changes as well.

African journey - Add colobus monkeys with the Diana monkeys. Phase out wild dogs (send them to Brookfield to grow the pride) replace them with spotted hyenas. Add crested porcupines to the rotational exhibits.

Small mammals/reptile house - Add aye- ayes. Also add more lemur species including ring tailed, crowned, and red ruffed.

That's really it. Brookfield I have a lot more however.

 

Yes, it was quite small and I don't remember if I ever even saw him even though i was there at least twice a week because I was volunteering there from 90-92. It was taller than it was wide and had a small box for his den.