The Zoo Review: Zoo Review: Northeastern Wisconsin Zoo and Adventure Park, Part I

Despite what its acronym might suggest the Northeastern Wisconsin Zoo, commonly called “the NEW zoo” isn’t that new. It was founded in the 1950s as part of an effort to re-establish lands outside of Green Bay which had been lost to a forest fire. To give the facility its full, proper name, it is the Northeastern Wisconsin Zoo and Adventure Park. That second half of the title is important – in addition to animal attractions, the facility offers zip-lining, a ropes course, and rock climbing. These features of the park are separate from the zoo, though it should be noted that they are rather unobtrusively incorporated into the landscape of pine forest. Visitors can purchase tickets to the zoo without adding on these adventure features.

The park can be roughly divided into two sections. One, closer to the entrance, features an international assortment of wildlife. The other is focused on North American species, which a special (but not exclusive) focus on the wildlife of Wisconsin. We’ll begin with the “miscellaneous” section, covering the Northern/Wisconsin section tomorrow.

Of the two halves, the international area is definitely the weaker. There’s little in the way of planning to it, with exhibits cobbled together in a manner that sometimes seems to suggest theming (as in there is a rough grouping of African animals together, Asian animals together), but it doesn’t quite hold up. Many of the exhibits are simple constructs of wood and wire, with some viewing windows. Some of these left me slightly concerned for safety reasons. The sandhill crane exhibit for instance (no idea why these guys were here and not in the Wisconsin section) were in an enclosure which, if a visitor was so inclined, could have been grabbed at, or otherwise touched – and the touching can go both ways. Having worked with some homicidally aggressive sandhill cranes, it left me uneasy. I had visions of someone getting a beak in the eye.

In others, the aesthetic gets a little… odd. Consider the Aldabra tortoises, for instance, which have a perfectly conventional yard to plod around in. As is not uncommon in northern zoos, immediately adjacent to the yard is their indoor habitat – a building with viewing windows set in the front. What makes the building odd, however, is that it is shaped like an enormous tortoise shell. It’s kind of cool looking, actually, and the tortoises certainly don’t care what their building looks like, but it is just another example of a zoo that seems cobbled together, rather than planned.

The international section is relatively small, but it has a decent cross-sampling of popular zoo animals, such as Japanese macaque, snow leopard, and American alligator (the alligator exhibit was probably my least favorite in the zoo, seeming small, dark, drab, and completely indoor). Snow leopard and macaque were kind of shabby as well (I didn’t see the leopard during my visit – the macaque exhibit was suitably sized, but leopard was not, in my opinion). I understand the zoo has plans to set up a canopy trail system to allow these species more roam and greater stimulation, which I think is a great move.

There were a few touches of more modern zoo thought – the lion and giraffe exhibits, for example, while neither particularly impressive, were set up to allow a predator-prey vibe. The African penguin exhibit was probably the crown jewel of the section, and even had a small underwater viewing area, but if you’ve ever seen a large colony of penguins, it’s hard to be too dazzled by this one. Other species scattered around the area included macaws, agouti, blue duiker, and wattled cranes, as well as a small children’s zoo, in which it is possible to mingle with domestic animals or feed the giraffes. A few small reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates occupy a fairly dull “Education and Conservation Center.”