For many years, the zoo’s old World of Reptiles was simultaneously one of Zoo Atlanta’s biggest
strengths and one of its biggest weaknesses.
The strength came from its magnificent collection; the weakness from its
poor infrastructure. The situation was
remedied recently with the opening of Scaly
Slimy Spectacular, a state-of-the-art new reptile house, tucked away
between the African Plains and Ford African Forest. The exhibit is actually a compound – a main
reptile house and a smaller reptile house, focusing on Georgia natives (most
visitors will be fascinated by the outdoor pond turtle habitat with underwater
viewing, while I was most excited to see the critically endangered bog
turtles). Between the two are grassy
yards for Aldabra tortoises, radiated tortoises, and Asian forest tortoises.
Inside the main building, visitors pass a pool housing a
slender-snouted crocodile and sunlit habitats for arboreal lizards (beautiful
habitats and with lots of natural light, but the glare does make things a
little difficult to see). From there,
they may pass through a desert gallery, home to Gila monsters, pancake tortoises, and other reptiles of arid lands, before entering the main exhibit
hall. The building’s collection was very
impressive and it featured some species which I had never seen before, such as
Papuan python and Jamaican iguana. What
impressed me the most, however, was how spacious many of the habitats
were. There were a few small stand-alone
exhibits set into the lobby of the gallery, and I never particularly enjoy
those because I feel they provide too much viewing exposure. For many of the reptiles, though, the
habitats were some of the biggest and best I’d seen. I particularly enjoyed the habitat of the
alligator snapping turtle, which was swimming tranquilly when I saw it.
Rejoining the main path and passing through the African
forest, visitors then come to what could loosely be described as the Asian
Forest/Predators region – mostly Asian wildlife, but with a few outliers thrown
in, such as the pool of giant otters and the small house of naked mole rats. Habitats of Sumatran and Bornean orangutans, rivaling the gorilla exhibit in their excellence and naturalness,
can be seen here, adjacent to the old reptile house. In an unnatural but very innovative feature,
this exhibit is home to the Learning Tree Project, which uses touch-screen
technology to allow the orangutans to demonstrate their problem-solving abilities. A habitat of red pandas can be seen nearby;
at the time of my visit, the panda(s?) were curled up in an air-conditioned,
glass-fronted nest box in their habitat, stationed at eye-level with the visitor
boardwalk.
Cutting through the Asian forest is Trader’s Alley, a themed pathway that explores how different Asian
animals are impacted by the international wildlife trade. Some of the animals seen here were actual
rescues from the trade, including some endangered tortoises (Burmese stars and
impressed tortoises) and a pair of Malayan sun bears. Other animals seen along the trail are Komodo dragons, rhinoceros hornbills, and one of the only exhibits in the US of
tanuki, an East Asian canine that is sometimes called the raccoon dog for its
appearance and omnivorous diet. Signage
relates how each of these species are impacted by the demand for their parts,
whether it be bile for sun bears, casques for hornbills, meat for tortoises, or
fur for tanuki. The path terminates in a
small sub-area called Complex Carnivores¸
home to Sumatran tigers, clouded leopards, and fossa.
For most visitors, the stars of the Asian forest area,
outshining even the orangutans and tigers, are the giant pandas. Now that San Diego Zoo has repatriated their
pandas to China, Zoo Atlanta is one of three zoos in the US to house the famous
black-and-white bears. Over half a dozen
cubs (including two sets of twins) have been born since the pandas arrived in
1999. They can be seen in their outdoor
yard or in their air-conditioned holding buildings. Compared to the other three US zoos where I
have seen giant pandas, the exhibit here is rather simple and basic… which I
actually kind of respect. It meets their
needs, but takes into account how active giant pandas really are, whereas some
zoos devote enormous chunks or real estate to the usually-sleeping bears, to
the loss of other zoo residents.
Circling back towards the entrance of the zoo, visitors pass
through the Children’s Zoo, home to goats, pigs, alpacas, and other domestic
species. The area was originally
Australian in theme, and still maintains an exhibit of southern cassowary. Other bird exhibits scattered around the
Children’s Zoo include milky eagle owls, wattled cranes, and lappet-faced
vultures, the later possibly seen perched on their recreated zebra carcass, as
well as a few mixed-species habitats of small birds. Visitors interested in experiencing birds in
an entirely different manner can attend a free-flight show in a nearby amphitheater. It’s
an impressive show that highlights natural behaviors, exercises and enriches
the birds, and allows visitors to truly be awed by the speed, grace, and
intelligence of some amazing birds.
Geographically, the Zoo Atlanta campus isn’t very big, which
makes it all the more impressive how much they manage to put in there without
becoming overcrowded. Years ago there was some talk of moving to a newer, more spacious location, but nothing came of that. For its small size, it has some truly
impressive exhibits – the primates all coming clearly to mind – and highlights
many important (though sometimes unpleasant) conservation messages. And all of this from a zoo that was once
considered America’s worst. As I walked
out the gates of Zoo Atlanta, I reflected on how with the right commitment of
resources and the right leadership, any zoo or aquarium can turn around from a
local embarrassment to a world class facility dedicated to conservation and
education.
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