The Big Four

Topeka Zoo wasn't especially big - even with my taking time to loop back through all of the exhibits to make sure that I saw everything, it still was a half-day zoo for me.  I guess it just seemed big to me because it had so many large mammals.  Especially noteworthy, it had three of what I call the "Big Four" - these being the four mammals that, when I was a little kid, were indicative of whether a zoo was "a big zoo" or not.

They aren't species, exactly, more categories.  Elephant (African or Asian).  Rhinoceros (any species).  Hippopotamus (the Nile, or river hippo, as opposed to the pygmy).  Giraffe.

I remember where the concept of the Big Four first hit me.  I was a little kid on a trip to the National Zoo, standing roughly in the center of their old Elephant House.  Turning slowly in a circle from where I stood, I saw Nile hippos and Indian rhinos, a mixed herd of African and Asian elephant, and giraffe, before completing the panorama, all assembled inside the cavernous building.  Even at that age, I remember being impressed about seeing so many big animals together without even moving.

These days, it's not as common as it used to be to see the Big Four.  Our understanding of animal care and husbandry has expanded tremendously since I was a kid, and with it our understanding of what kind of an environment animals need to thrive.  That's largely translated to more space, and, with many zoos being landlocked within the confines of their city, that means that for some animals to get more space, others have to go.  The space at the National Zoo that once held all of those big mammals now holds Asian elephants alone - but more of them, in a larger, more natural family group, in a greatly improved habitat.  Better to house one species well than four or five in subpar habitats.

Of the Big Four, giraffes are far and away the most common - sometimes it seems like every zoo in the US, from the finest of accredited associations with sweeping savannah habitats to kinda scuzzy dumps made of chicken wire and plywood, has giraffes.  They breed very readily and their husbandry isn't that different from other hoofstock (provided you never need to anesthetize them or anything), they aren't as destructive as the others, and have much simpler housing requirements than hippo or elephant.   Plus, visitors can interact with them via giraffe feeding stations, which have become a popular feature of many zoos. 

Assuming you lump all the rhinos together, hippos are the least common of the four, with their expensive habitat requirements, as well as the growing belief that the only way to properly exhibit them is with underwater viewing, otherwise they may not look like much other than a submerged lump.  Not surprisingly, hippos have phased out of many zoo collections, and you rarely see them in the private sector - though in recent years they have been having something of a comeback, with several new exhibits opening across the country, sometimes bringing hippos back to zoos where they had been absent for many years.

Elephants, with their size, intelligence, and social needs, are among the most challenging of all terrestrial animals to maintain - and a flashpoint for people who don't believe that certain species belong in zoos.  Many zoos have gone one of two ways - greatly expand their elephant facilities to accommodate more animals in a bigger habitat, or phase the species out.  When facilities take the second option, rhinos are often the winner, as they are the species that is most often plugged in to replace them.

At the time of my visit to Topeka, it had been a few years since I'd been to a zoo that had all of the Big Four.  That's okay.  Our understanding of what makes a zoo great has changed in the last several years, and we no longer solely (or even chiefly) judge a facility by how many animals it has within its gate, but by how they are cared for.   Better a few smaller animals well cared for then a warehouse full of cramped giants... not that a zoo full of well-cared for giant animals in great habitats wouldn't always be my favorite.