From the News: Houston's Galapagos

Houston Zoo to welcome penguins, sharks at Galapagos Islands exhibit

A few years back, when I heard that the Houston Zoo was preparing a new major exhibit themed on the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, I was extremely excited.  Very little wildlife from Darwin's Enchanted Islands is present in American zoos (or any zoos, really), so I caught myself wondering what it might entail.  It turns out, that this is going to be a but of a theatrical production - with actors standing in for much of the main cast.  

There will be Galapagos tortoises, it is true.  There will also be California sea lions, standing in for Galapagos sea lions, Humboldt penguins in place of Galapagos penguins, Caribbean rock iguanas subbing for Galapagos land and marine iguanas.  Not a blue-footed booby or flightless cormorant in sight.  There will be an aquarium featuring marine species that can be found in the waters off the islands.

With legal restrictions and permits being what they are, I can't even pretend to be surprised that the zoo isn't important species from the islands to populate the new exhibit.  And, I'd like to be the first to admit, the new exhibit looks like it's going to be incredible, a fine compliment to that other masterpiece of South American exhibitwork Houston opened recently, The Pantanal.  So I'm not honestly disappointed that I won't see marine iguanas in Houston, but I am a little amused.  If a a Galapagos exhibit is filled with stand-ins and has barely a Galapagos species present... is it really a Galapagos exhibit?