I've been trawling through photos & comments of various zoos in the USA over the years and its come to my conclusion that [and correct me if im wrong] Woodland Park rarely gets any negative reviews. Ive never been there, so i would appreciate any input from people that actually have [snowleopard etc]. Is WPZ therefore the best zoo in the USA?.
I do not believe that Woodland Park Zoo is the best zoo in the United States, even though I live in Canada and make the 5 hour round-trip journey to that Seattle zoo about 9 times each year. There are about 1,100 animals at the facility and what makes the zoo famous (other than pioneering landscape immersion animal enclosures and the 1976 long-range plan) is the high number of AZA Best Exhibit awards. Some ZooChatters don't rate the awards very highly, but Woodland Park is #2 in America for award-winning exhibits and the Bronx Zoo is the only zoo with more awards. There are several species showcased at the zoo that many consider to have fantastic exhibits that are amongst the best of their kind: grizzly bears, orangutans, jaguars, gorillas, penguins, etc.
Personally I feel there is no such thing as 'the best zoo' in the United States or anywhere else because such rankings will always be subjective. I have only been to a handful of American zoos (the other major one being the Bronx) but I really love Woodland Park Zoo and made a priority of going to see it last year rather than any other zoo (I also considered a California trip). The landscaping around the zoo is great with lots of mature trees and lush foliage and the visitor facilities, playgrounds etc are sufficiantly separate from exhibit areas so as not to feel intrusive. It isn't a huge zoo but the clever use of planting and winding paths which lead to exhibits off the main paths creates a sense of depth and imersion. Also telling is the fact that its weaker exhibits are far from anything to be ashamed of; there is nothing significantly poor or unattractive and the (not unacceptable) tiger and bear grotto area is about to be significantly improved. All in all I would say it is an outstanding zoo and an excellent model for zoos in temperate climates seeking to offer an immersive experience.
Woodland Park is perhaps the most underappreciated zoo in the U.S. It is featured prominently in David Hancock’s book “A Different Nature: The paradoxical world of zoos and their uncertain future”. They have an excellent African Savanna; you can’t always see all the animals you would like to in that exhibit, but it feels like you are viewing animals in the wild when you do. All the immersion exhibits are well done: the designers have laid out the zoo in biomes; so an environment is represented whether they have animals for that particular ecological community or not. The gorilla exhibit is also very good. I can still remember the bad old days at the Bronx Zoo when gorillas where kept in sterile cages and visitors would jump up and down and make what I guess they imagined to be gorilla noises. At Woodland Park’s gorilla exhibit people talk in whispers as if they had stumbled upon a group of wild gorillas. If you haven’t been to Woodland Park Zoo I recommend it.
The Woodland Park Zoo is historically important because it was at the forefront of designing naturalistic immersion exhibits. David Hancocks was the zoo director that helped start the immersion exhibit movement along with many other talented people. I think that Woodland Park Zoo is one of the best zoos in the United States. One advantage that it has over San Diego and the Bronx is that it isn't nearly as large and thus does not have as many outdated exhibits to fix. They do have some exhibit troubles in that their elephant exhibit, which still looks very nice, has been criticized for being to small. Their hippo exhibit, part of their African savanna exhibit, is also slated to be updated in the master plan. I first visited this zoo in 1989 when the elephant exhibit was new and there were still several horrible exhibits at this zoo, most prominently orangutans and chimpanzees living in concrete bunkers. These exhibits have been replaced with a fantastic orang exhibit to complement the still-outstanding gorilla exhibit. The last remaining predator grottoes are now being transformed into tiger and Asian bear exhibits. The new penguin exhibit is the best Magellianic penguin exhibit that I have ever seen. Their African savanna, almost 40 years old now, still looks really good. I agree with Shirokuma that there is really no "best zoo", but I think that the Woodland Park Zoo is genuinely one of the most outstanding and important zoos in the world.
WPZ is definitely a contender for my proverbial Top 5 list. Which really isn't hard; I haven't been to that many zoos yet. Still, I made a point to visit (the only place I visited) when I happened to find myself in Seattle for work. I question some the animal types; i.e., the forthcoming Malayan tigers when Siberians/Amur/whatever make more sense given Seattle's climate. Other than that, my two biggest complaints: Too much "Kingdom Under Glass" going on, and their African Savannah exhibit is a large miss. Which is disappointing because the mock African village was so exceptionally well done. If they work on expanding the glassed-in enclosures and integrating the hippo pool into the Savannah, then WPZ will receive an equally enthusiastic thumbs up.
I'm not sure Seattle would be better off with Amur tigers as it really isn't that cold. The climate is quite moderate with much more rain than snow.
Not sure how the Savanna exhibit is a "miss?" After 30+ years, I still find it among the best zoo experiences anywhere. And the hippo area is very well visually integrated with the central savanna space, although a heated pool and greater grazing area would enhance it. And I'm not clear on what a "Kingdom Under Glass" means? Other than the Tropical Rain Forest building, Seattle's climate allows the vast majority of its exhibits to be lushly-planted outdoor spaces.
