Zoo Review: Henry Vilas Zoo, Part I

In 1904, the city of Madison, Wisconsin was gifted a parcel of 50 acres of land from William and Anna Vilas in honor of their late young son, Henry.  It was the grieving parents' wish that the land be used as a park - free of admission - for the pleasure of the city people, especially children.  In 1911, about half of the park was designated for a zoo, which, like the park itself, was and continues to this day to be free admission.  Nestled up against Lake Wingra, this medium-sized zoo recently celebrated its 100-year anniversary with renovation of several exhibits and is easily one of the finest in Wisconsin.

As I strolled across the zoo grounds, it occurred to me that this was a zoo that seemed almost perfectly designed with the parents of small children in mind. It's relatively compact, easy to navigate (though some of the paths were a little confusing), and the collection is predominately made up of the so-called ABC animals - those charismatic species (usually large mammals) that the public is most eager to see.  I got an immediate sense of what I call deja zoo, the feeling that this zoo very closely resembles another.  In this case, I saw a lot of similarities with the Como Park Zoo in St. Paul, Minnesota, incidentally another free zoo, with many species in common.  I've actually had to catch myself a few times to try to remember if a certain memory came from one zoo or the other.

Immediately upon entering Henry Vilas Zoo, visitors can find themselves at the small Discovering Primates house. It has few exhibits, but covers the basic groups (in addition to some rock hyrax) - prosimians, monkeys, and apes.  The later are represented by orangutans, which can be seen indoors or in their adjacent outdoor exhibit.  Directly outside of the primate area are back-to-back exhibits for the two great cats, Amur tigers and lions.  Both cats can be seen through mesh or through tall viewing windows in outdoor educational areas.  Across from the lions is a large paddock for white rhinoceros, which is itself then next to a hoofstock area.  Giraffe are the star attraction here, with adjacent yards of domestic Bactrian camel and Somali wild ass, the later a species that isn't encountered too often in zoos and was something of a pleasant surprise.  

The Aviary primarily consists of one indoor walk-though bird exhibit featuring macaws, curassows, and waterfowl, with a few side exhibits of small primates and turtles.  The outside of the building features habitats for North American river otter (with underwater viewing) and capybara.  Outside the Aviary is a small and (if I'm being blunt), not terribly impressive exhibit for African penguins.  It wasn't terrible, mind you, but when you've seen exhibits with large colonies of these social birds, it's hard to get that interested in very small displays.

Occasionally, Henry Vilas Zoo breaks its pleasant but somewhat basic mold with something more exciting, and an example of that is the porcupine exhibit.  Many zoos have North American porcupines, usually as a small side-habitat.  Here, North America's second largest rodents are given a large habitat tucked alongside lion and tiger, with plenty of room (though I think it could benefit from more climbing structures to display their arboreal nature).  It was easily one of the highlights of the visit.  I've seen a lot of lion, giraffe, and African penguin exhibits, some better or more memorable than others.  I've never seen a really, really good North American porcupine exhibit, and with open air viewing to allow observation without mesh in the way.  This exhibit actually proved to be a fun preview for a later display, for which the zoo is perhaps the most well-known.

We'll continue through Henry Vilas Zoo tomorrow.

Henry Vilas Zoo