# Excellent zoos worth visiting **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 7, 2007, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-zoos-worth-visiting/387059 "2007-01-07T17:05:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-zoos-worth-visiting/387059/41 "2007-01-08T16:20:58Z")
The New Orleans (Audubon) Zoo is very nice. It also has the luxury of having a ferry that goes across the Mississippi River to the Aquarium of the Americas. Both are a great afternoon activity if you’re in the Big Easy. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-zoos-worth-visiting/387059/42 "2007-01-08T16:28:04Z")
[QUOTE=feppytweed] The New Orleans (Audubon) Zoo is very nice. It also has the luxury of having a ferry that goes across the Mississippi River to the Aquarium of the Americas. Both are a great afternoon activity if you’re in the Big Easy. [/QUOTE] How are these today? I understood the Aquarium took heavy damage in Katrina. They were very good last time I went to N.O. but that was 10 years back. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-zoos-worth-visiting/387059/43 "2007-01-08T17:26:05Z")
The [Cleveland Metroparks Zoo](http://www.clemetzoo.com/) is fantastic and well worth a visit. You’ll find the largest collection of primates in North America (not counting the visitors and staff 😃 ), and a very cool indoor rain forest. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-zoos-worth-visiting/387059/44 "2007-01-08T17:43:49Z")
We have a wonderful zoo [here in Houston, TX.](http://www.houstonzoo.org/) ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-zoos-worth-visiting/387059/45 "2007-01-08T21:17:56Z")
I’ll vote for the Melbourne (Australia) Zoo as well… cool stuff, like platypus, that ain’t found in U.S. zoos. But the best “zoos” in the world are the animal reserves in places like Kenya and South Africa, where the animals are in their natural habitate. Photo-safari vacation to one of those places will be high on your list of “best vacations ever.” A trifle pricey, alas. ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-zoos-worth-visiting/387059/46 "2007-01-08T21:41:45Z")
The Oregon Zoo, in Portland is very nice. They have lots of activities, summer outdoor concerts, a Zoo Train. Definitely worth a look. > **[Oregon Zoo](https://www.oregonzoo.org/)** ---
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-zoos-worth-visiting/387059/47 "2007-01-08T22:15:08Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] How are these today? I understood the Aquarium took heavy damage in Katrina. They were very good last time I went to N.O. but that was 10 years back. Jim [/QUOTE] The Aquarium seemed fine when I went there this past August. The IMAX theater was fabulous! I didn’t get to make it to the zoo, but it re-opened way before the Aquarium did, so I figure they have everything well back to normal in both places. The french quarter/downtown looked basically as it always has… to me anyway. Most of the damage that has still been unrepaired is away from the downtown area. On the way into the city, however, you can still see some broken palm trees and parts of billboards missing. But, in the whole scheme of things, the Zoo and the Aquarium are back to their regular operation with very fun attractions at both. Also, while at the Aquarium, you are close enough (for me, anyway) to walk to the House of Blues. Highly recommend their restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-zoos-worth-visiting/387059/48 "2007-01-08T22:48:39Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Milwaukee has a nice zoo. [http://www.milwaukeezoo.org/](http://www.milwaukeezoo.org/) We had a family pass there back when I lived in Milwaukee. It was a fun place to go. I miss [Sampson](http://www.milwaukeezoo.org/timeline/1981.html)! My grampa used to take me to visit him, way back in the day. [/QUOTE] My favorite part of the Milwaukee Zoo is the Amazon River exhibit. Those fish are huge. And tropical fish exhibit is beautiful – all those brightly colored little fishies flitting around. In the same building, there’s also a very cool exhibit of Wisconsin lake fish. There are some absolutely gigantic muskies in the tank, and it’s just so cool to see a lake from a view you cannot get in nature. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-zoos-worth-visiting/387059/49 "2007-01-08T23:03:13Z")
I’ll always have a soft spot for the [Rio Grande Zoo](http://www.cabq.gov/biopark/zoo/) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It’s very nice, and there’s nothing like it for probably 300 miles in any direction. They seem to get a lot of rare and endangered animals, too; I understand their breeding programs are very successful, so they get some real exotic beasties. When last I was there, years ago, they were in the early stages of building an Australian-themed section to better display their Down Under animals. I think they’ve finished that and have moved on to expanding their elephant habitat (they successfully birthed a baby elephant named Rosie a few years back that was oh so cute!). ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-zoos-worth-visiting/387059/50 "2007-01-08T23:14:19Z")
My run-down on Aussie zoos – I’m sort of in the industry, (science communication/education) and have visited most of the biggies. [Taronga](http://www.zoo.nsw.gov.au/), as mentioned, is pretty fantastic. They’ve gotten into a little hot water recently by importing five more elephants, despite claims by animal rights activists that their habitat is too small. A giraffe licked my head last time I was there, with her elegant blue tongue. HUGE visitation figures, especially in summer. The [three zoos](http://www.zoo.org.au/) in and around Melbourne are also fabulous - Melbourne zoo is the oldest zoo in Australia (still operating), and have also gotten three more elephants, for a total of five, in a relatively small, inner city enclosure, met with similar resistance. It also suffers from too-high visitation, especially on school holidays, and has a large proportion of school groups on excursions (field trips) whose behaviour is sometimes appalling. Werribee open range zoo has so much potential, but I don’t think it is as good as it could be, yet. Although it is great to see the animals with so much room to move. [Adelaide Zoo](http://www.adelaidezoo.com.au/) is kind of old-school, although they’ve been making efforts to modernize in recent years. They have some cool, unusual creatures, along with the zoo classics. Mentioned upthread, [Territory Wildlife Park](http://www.territorywildlifepark.com.au/) is in my home town of Darwin, and my internship here was what encouraged me to work in the field. It suffers from being a little out of town, all of 30 min drive - tourists in the area stay within the city, and venture out bush usually with organised tours, who may or may not include the park. It too is state government run, and hasn’t really had the infrastructure development it deserves. Its exhibits and animals are all local species, which I think is a really great philosophy, especially in an area so rich in biodiversity, and it also makes habitat creation much easier and more successful. I seem to have opinions on this, don’t I!? ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-zoos-worth-visiting/387059/51 "2007-01-08T23:15:15Z")
[QUOTE=BluePitbull] Well, my country, the Bahamas, only has one zoo. It doesn’t have the diversity as the American zoos and it is certainally not very big. [/QUOTE] Please tell me it’s gotten better since I saw it in 1997. I remember some sort of big cat pacing in a small cage, and found that very depressing. I went to [Cleland Wildlife Park](http://www.parks.sa.gov.au/cleland/index.htm) when I was visiting Adelaide, and loved it. I really liked being able to feed the kangaroos out of my hand- that was one of the highlights of my trip to Australia. ---
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2007, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-zoos-worth-visiting/387059/52 "2007-01-08T23:44:15Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] Please tell me it’s gotten better since I saw it in 1997. I remember some sort of big cat pacing in a small cage, and found that very depressing. [/QUOTE] They have a new curator who is involved in environmental enrichment, ie toys, vegetation etc, and she and the cages have more space. However, there are some things that need improving. I still see cats pacing and I feel sorry for the Caracals and Servals. My dogs have way more space than them. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-zoos-worth-visiting/387059/53 "2007-01-09T00:19:32Z")
Relatively close by to the OP’s own Bahamas is Miami’s Metrozoo. From their [website](http://www.miamidade.gov/parks/Parks/metrozoo.asp) [note how they subtly spin Miami’s heat and humidity to advantage vis-a-vis the animal exhibits]: One of the world’s great zoos is right here in Miami-Dade County. Metrozoo houses more than 900 wild animals in a cageless setting that closely approximates the animals’ natural habitats and gives the visitor the feeling of embarking on an international safari. Large, open-air exhibits allow visitors to enjoy beautiful and endangered wildlife at a safe yet remarkably close range. With nearly 300 developed acres on a 740-acre parcel of land, Metrozoo is the only zoo in the continental United States located in a subtropical climate. This enables the Zoo to showcase animals that cannot easily be exhibited in colder climates. Trek through Asia and see Asian River Otters, Komodo Dragons, and Bengal Tigers. Hike the African Plains with giraffes, zebras and lions. Walk about Australia with koalas, kangaroos and wallabies. * * * That summary doesn’t even mention the zoo’s world-class tropical bird exhibit. Imagine walking through a tropical forest within a circus tent-like space enclosed by netting, in which most of the birds are free to fly and walk about as they please… very nice! Having visited it several times over the years (I grew up just a few miles away from the zoo), I can testify that it’s a great place, but it’s a long,\* long \* walk to get through it all and for many people it’s too hot and humid for, oh, about nine months of the year. (Fortunately, they sell Italian ices and there’s a free elevated, air-conditioned monorail.) Another note on the heat: for the committed zoo-goer, this is both a positive and a negative. Definitely see this zoo during the winter, if possible, when some of the same species would probably be cooped up in heated indoor exhibits in northern zoos. But if winter is when many animals will be more active and “at home” in Miami, summers are brutally hot for the larger animals, who may be more lethargic. (In all my visits, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the tapirs move. They basically just stand or lie around, chew hay and shit manure. OTOH, the gibbons & such on the monkey islands are often quite active, screaming and whooping it up, swinging from concrete limb to concrete limb, and generally just acting like a bunch of monkeys.) If you hurry, you can catch the tail end [no pun intended] of the [“Scoop on Poop” exhibit](http://www.miamidade.gov/parks/Advisories/06-11-30-poop-scoop.asp) (okay, I’m pretty sure this is geared towards kids. Or maybe, kids and guys?), which closes Jan. 10. There’s also the “regular” [again, no pun intended] zoo tour available on [podcast](http://www.miamimetrozoo.com/podcast-zoo-tour.asp). ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2007, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-zoos-worth-visiting/387059/54 "2007-01-09T22:53:44Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > With all the mentions of the San Diego Zoo, I’m surprised no one’s suggested the San Diego Wild Animal Park. In my opinion, having been to both, the WAP far surpasses the zoo. I would’ve mentioned it, but I took the OP’s request for zoos literally. I’ve also been to the SDWAP, and I agree with you completely. [QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] Brookfield Zoo in Chicago is also wonderful, but it’s HUGE. In my opinion it isn’t physically possible for an adult to see the entire thing in one day unless you’re some kind of speed walker and you don’t stop to read the informational displays. [/QUOTE] Yeah, it is big. The Motor Safari Tram is practically a necessity. [http://www.brookfieldzoo.org/0.asp?nSection=2&PageID=148&nLinkID=17&](http://www.brookfieldzoo.org/0.asp?nSection=2&PageID=148&nLinkID=17&) ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2007, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-zoos-worth-visiting/387059/55 "2007-01-10T04:57:03Z")
The Seattle zoo is quite nice. The [baby tiger](http://www.zoo.org/spotlight/ss.htm) should be on display in a few months. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-zoos-worth-visiting/387059.md?page=2)