As several people know I’ve been watching Animal Planet a lot here lately. One of my favorite shows is Ultimate Zoo. I’ve got to thinking about how many I’ve seen and how many I want to see. So I’ve developed this post:
What I have seen in person
- Zoo Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia, USA 1.25 acre exhibit Chinese Giant Pandas at the cost of $1.7 million. The third zoo in the US to receive pandas. They’re only here until 2009. They suddenly had to build the habitat in 7 months. They had been negotiating with China for years when they were told that they would be receiving them in 9 months. (The construction people had said build time was 12 months.) Well, China sent them early and the construction crews rose to the challenge. Also the whole state of Georgia has individuals throughout the state raising and donating the bamboo for the Panda’s diet. Currently only 4 zoos in the US have Giant Pandas.
- National Zoo
- San Diego Zoo
- Zoo Atlanta
- Memphis Zoo
- Memphis Zoo in Memphis, Tennessee, USA 3 acre exhibit Primate Canyon at the cost of $5 million. Primate canyon is home to Western Lowland Gorillas, Orangutans, Siamang, and Mona monkeys all call Primate Canyon home. Construction began in 1987 and the exhibit opened in February of 1995. One of the most famous inhabitants in the zoo is Chicky a female orangutan who paints for fun. An original Chicky painting sells for $500-$1000 each. Also among notable benefits is the high tech nursery which has allowed Indah a baby orangutan born to Tombak & Puti to thrive despite a heart birth defect which would not have been able to survive with in the wild. She is afforded the best medical care available.
- Chattanooga Zoo in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA 9,000 square foot Himalayan Passage exhibit at the cost of $568,000 features Red Pandas. This is an extremely small zoo (only 6 acres for the whole zoo) that Ultimate Zoo refers to it as a boutique zoo. The loft in the gift shop is the zoo director’s office. The red panda exhibit, which opened Aug 2004, is the largest indoor red panda exhibit in the country despite the fact that Chattanooga Zoo is one of the smallest zoos accredited by the Amerian Zoological and Aquarium Association (AZA) and they are participants in the Red Panda Species Survival Plan. Thier annual budget is about $750,000 per year. Other zoo’s budgets can be in excess of $65 million per year. This is one of the best segments I have seen produced by Ultimate Zoo.
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- Nashville Zoo at Grassmere in Nashville, Tennessee, USA Gibbon Islands exhibit. Opened in 2001. All that separates visitors and the animals is a 13 foot moat. This zoo is only 8 years old and is already AZA accredited.
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- Nashville Zoo at Grassmere in Nashville, Tennessee, USA Meerkat exhibit. Opened in 2002.
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What I haven’t seen in person
- Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, Minnesota, USA 5 acre exhibit Tiger Lair at the cost of $1 million. This habitat for Amur Tigers closely mimics the Tiger’s home range. The zoo has also successfully hand raised 2 cubs that thier first time mother abandoned.
- Columbus Zoo in Columbus, Ohio, USA 23,000 square foot exhibit Manatee Coast opened in 1993 at teh cost of $10 million. Features include an opening roof and rehabilitating and releasing manatee back into the wild.