Continuing through the Akron Zoo, we come to the three geographic-themed areas. These areas all have three things in common. First of all, they're fairly small, with two of them being represented by only three exhibits each. Secondly, they are the newest developments in the zoo, all having been added in the most recent years. And thirdly, all are anchored by a large carnivore.
Just outside of Komodo Kingdom is Wild Asia (part of me wishes that Komodo Kingdom had kept strictly Asian theming, and then it could have been considered part of this complex). There is an exhibit for red pandas, an almost obligatory species for zoos in the northeastern US, as well as a large indoor-outdoor habitat for white-cheeked gibbons. The stars here are the tigers, which occupy two large yards, with a stone amphitheater situated to provide seating and viewing for training demonstrations.
Towards the back of the zoo is Pride of Africa which, as the name might lead you to suspect, is home to lions. An interesting feature of the lion exhibit is a sort of... I don't know, what's the opposite of an alcove? Any, a little section of the exhibit just juts out into the public area, in which the lions can often be found dozing, providing extremely close viewing for visitors. The exhibit area also features a yard of Speke's gazelle and white storks (this exhibit stuck out in my mind for having the largest number of white storks I'd ever seen in a zoo - in the wild they do form large colonies, whereas most zoos exhibit them as pairs). There is also a goat-petting corral. This area is considered a Phase I of Africa, with plans calling for the addition of giraffes, meerkats, and possibly other species in the future.
Until then, the largest and most impressive of the three geographic areas is Grizzly Ridge, with no points going to whoever guesses what the large carnivore here is. Besides the namesake brown bears in their big, well-furnished yard, visitors may also encounter red wolves and coyotes, bald eagles, screech owls, and river otters. The otter exhibit is equipped with an enclosed slide for young visitors that carries them through the otter pool, providing brief underwater views of the animals (though conventional underwater viewing is also available). The exhibit that zoo professionals will best know this exhibit area by, however, is its aviary. In most zoos, North American bird collections are focused on waterfowl and raptors, but there has in recent years been a much stronger focus on North American's rapidly vanishing songbirds. The Akron Zoo aviary has an elevated viewing platform from which the birds can be observed.
A few small aviaries, including one for a breeding pair of snowy owls, also dot the campus. There are a few garden spaces, as well as a carousel and train for younger visitors.
Akron, in its current form, is a small zoo, and I'm not sure how much larger it really will have the chance to be. I liked some of its unique touches, such as Legends of the Wild (though the area could use a refresh) and the North American songbird aviary. Some of the other areas, like the Asian and African areas, were perfectly fine, but seemed a touch generic. Perhaps it's because their all still so relatively new, that building materials and visitor areas just seemed a bit stark and raw, too glossy, too angular, not faded into the landscape. I thought about that a bit as I read about the planned addition of giraffes to Africa, and what it might mean for the character of the zoo.
Akron Zoo is less than an hour from the much larger Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. I think both communities deserve their own zoos, but in the shadow of a much bigger neighbor, I'd like to see Akron develop its own identity and celebrate its own uniqueness.
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