I was in Columbia two weeks ago, and had a chance to visit their zoo. It was ranked first in the nation by the USA Travel Guide here: http://www.wrsol.com/usatravelguide/2009/02/top10zoosinamerica/, and it’s ranked favorably by other sites online as well. My girlfriend and I were really looking forward to going.
And then we were disappointed. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that 40% of the animals were off display for maintenance reasons. While some of the exhibits were cool (the kangaroo exhibit was particularly neat!), they were few and far between. I remember one section of the park had us walking past cardboard cut-outs of big cats that had gone extinct throughout the world, which would be okay if there were any actual big cats in the exhibit. There weren’t; they were all at other facilities due to maintenance. What could have been a cool exhibit was instead a five minute walk with no animals. Some kind of warning at the beginning of the path would have been great.
The zoo was plagued with other problems, as well. Exhibits and habitats would be closed. A third of their food vendors, and a third of their food court itself, was shut down. Most of the habitats seemed small, with very few animals inside of them. Their aquarium was cool, but the touch pool was closed, along with several of their displays. Long stretches of the park wouldn’t have any animals available for viewing.
Despite all of these problems, I paid full price at the door, and they made no mention of how much of the park was actually closed. It was a warm, beautiful day, so weather isn’t an excuse. So my question to all of you is, what was I missing? Why was this zoo ranked first? The Travel Guide article says they have over 7000 animals, but I’d be surprised if I saw more than 500. I’m genuinely confused on how my experience at this zoo could be so different from all of the sources I researched online.
Being a member of the Columbus Zoo, I could answer some of you questions or concerns. But first I would like to know what zoo you actually were at?
The Columbus Zoo is in a transition phase, greatly expanding its physical area. Historically, the zoo is well known for its conservation and preservation work. The first gorilla born in captivity was born there, as well being a rehabilitation site for Manatees and breeding area for bald eagles.
Additionally, animals are not longer on display for the zoo patrons convenience. If the animal is nocturnal or has other needs, zoos generally no longer force them to be on exhibit or “perform”. The focus has shifted from entertainment to education.
Having been at several of the zoos on the linked list, I have little disagreement with the rankings.
Don’t sweat the typo, Astral Rejection. We’ve all done it. I’ve never been to the Columbus zoo but I have been to the Columbia zoo. While maybe not Top-10 I certainly enjoyed it.
The Columbus Zoo is very famous, mostly because of Jack Hanna. It’s also famous for having the first gorilla born in captivity, Colo, who is now over 50 and the worlds oldest known gorilla. She is the matriach of 5 generations of gorillas now. (I shared a birthday with one of her kids, Oscar, who we used to go visit.)
It sounds like you just visited at a bad time. This is the off season for a zoo in that area so that’s probably why there was more maintanance going on than there would be during the summer.
Fair enough, but there’s a difference between animals sleeping and large sections of the zoo being closed, which is what the OP seemed to be lamenting.
While I"ve lived two hours away from the Columbus, OH zoo, I"ve never been.
I’d echo what Antinor01 said–you may have caught a nice warm day, but early April ain’t zoo time in Ohio. I’d be surprised if they have the place ready to go all out before May 1 at the earliest.