The Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis are home to two great, yet very different, zoos. The elder of the two facilities is the Como Park Zoo in St. Paul, Minnesota, which traces its origins back to the late 1890's. When the much larger and more modern Minnesota Zoo in nearby Apple Valley was proposed, it seemed like the days of Como Park's animal collection might be numbered. Instead, the two zoos have continued to grow alongside one another. Of the two, the smaller Como facility is in many ways the more conventional zoo; for its small size (11 acres), it boasts an impressive number of the "must see" zoo mammals which are absent from Minnesota Zoo. It also remains one of the few zoos in the country which charges no admission fee.
Upon entry, most visitors are usually directed first to the beautiful duck pond, a feature that used to be much more commonplace in zoos, but has sadly become something of a rarity these days. The assorted ducks and geese share their lagoon with flamingos, while during warmer months Galapagos tortoises occupy a grassy yard adjacent to but separate from the waterfowl. Standing across from the duck pond is the zoo's old animal house, another feature of zoos of yesterday which has since largely vanished. Unlike the duck pond, this structure is no longer housing animals, though it remains an impressive architectural display. Signage posted on the outside walls helps visitors understand the evolution of the Como Park Zoo from a handful of pet deer to the facility that they now explore.
The nearby primate house features indoor habitats of a diverse collection of lemurs and monkeys, including a few rarely seen species, such as blue-eyed black lemurs. The exhibits themselves are of decent size and complexity (especially for the smaller species), though lacking any particular charm - gunite rockwork and deadfall for climbing. The two largest species - Sumatran orangutans and lowland gorillas - have adjacent outdoor habitats (it would be great if outdoor opportunities were set up for the other primates, if only on a rotational basis). The orangutan exhibit is somewhat bland, a moated grassy yard with a climbing structure. The gorilla habitat is much more impressive - very spacious, with viewing opportunities from a variety of angles, including windows from a bunker-like structure that serves as an education center, as well as through mesh outdoors.
A second taxonomic compound can be found nearby for the large cats. Pumas and snow leopards have mesh-capped exhibits with rocky backdrops, while lions and Amur tigers have large grassy yards with pools and trees. The cats can be observed from the roof of a viewing building (excellent views of the two larger exhibits, but not the best viewing of the two smaller exhibits, which look much smaller and drabber when seen from up here), or from inside the viewing building, with glass windows on either side looking out into all four habitats. This indoor space also provides educational opportunities about the cat species. Immediately outside is a wooded yard for grey wolves.
The center of the zoo is dominated by barns for African hoofstock. Plains zebra, lesser kudu, reticulated giraffe, and that honorary-ungulate, the ostrich, can be found in two open yards attached to barns. There is indoor viewing of the animals in these barns (a reasonable concession to the cold Minnesota winters), as well as a few small terrarium habitats for small African animals, such as pancake tortoise and spiny mice. Ironically for such a small zoo, there are relatively few small animals in the collection, including reptiles and amphibians. The African hoofstock barns (there are two adjoined buildings) aren't remarkable in terms of their exhibitry - it's sort of like they were built to be off-exhibit, but the zoo changed their mind and added a lobby to each), but they do provide a no-frills, not-dressed-up peak and the care of the animals as it occurs behind-the-scenes.
We'll continue with the rest of Como Park Zoo & Conservatory tomorrow.
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