A lot of folks – both in the general public and the zoo community – tend to sleep on the Memphis Zoo. It’s a facility that I feel tends to be overlooked by a lot of people – which is surprising, because in many ways, it’s perhaps the most complete US zoo that I’ve been to in recent years. How many other US zoos have ALL of the big cats, ALL the ape genera, an aquarium, a nocturnal house, and the four mega-herbivores (elephant, giraffe, hippo, and rhino)? Not a lot.
Granted, I could see why the place isn’t to everyone’s tastes. A lot of the growth and construction happened in the 1990s, so there are a lot of exhibits that are in that weird transitional phase between being too-old to be modern and too-new to replace yet (when I visited last year, a colleague I was traveling with commented that it seemed like the place had closed up in storage for the past few decades and just reopened for our arrival). There is also a lot of somewhat over-the-top theming, which can make the place feel like a theme park more than a zoo at times. Still, I very much enjoyed my recent visit – my first time back to the zoo in 20 years, during which several major new exhibits had opened – and I think it’s often overlooked as being one of the major US zoological facilities. Even from its relatively early years, this one of the larger American zoos.
The theming hits you the moment you approach the main gate. Memphis, Tennessee is, of course, named after the ancient Egyptian city of that name, and the zoo leans into that connection with its massive entry complex, styled after the ruins of an Egyptian city, with statues, obelisks, and fountains. Cats were among the many animals sacred to the ancient Egyptians, so it’s fitting that the first exhibit that most visitors come to is Cat Country, a series of grassy yards with mock-rock backdrops, with a few smaller, meshed-in enclosures, that hold pretty much all of the world’s large wild cat species. Grouped roughly geographically, lion, cheetah, leopard, jaguar, snow leopard, and puma are among the species seen here, along with tigers with a large pool and a ruined temple backdrop. The exhibits aren’t breathtaking, but are perfectly serviceable, what you’d expect from 1990’s zoo architecture (I wonder if the zoo will keep all of these species or phase some out in order to consolidate enclosures). The zoo’s former big cat quarters, the Carnivora House, is now a nearby dining area.
Primates occupy a similar set-up to the cats in Primate Canyon, with grassy habitats for gorillas, orangutans (with small-clawed otters), and bonobos, as well as some monkeys and lemurs in mesh-enclosed habitats. Like the cat exhibits, these are nice enough habitats, if not particularly exciting or unique. Smaller, nocturnal primates are found in the Animals of the Night building. I tend to have mixed feelings about nocturnal houses – the all-indoor enclosures, the glass which lends itself to banging, the traditionally smaller enclosures – and often feel like I can’t see the animals that well anyway. This was one of the more impressive nocturnal buildings I’d seen, both in terms of the quality of the habitats, the visibility, and the scope of the collection. In the darkened gallery, visitors can encounter such diverse species as aardvark, binturong, vampire bats, and southern hairy-nosed wombat, in addition to the previously-mentioned small nocturnal primates. Also, the only bear cuscus on exhibit in the US, to the best of my knowledge!
This corner of the zoo also contains a series of taxonomic animal houses. The aquarium is quite small, but manages to pack in a lot of smaller exhibits. You won’t see the big shark tank that you’d find at many facilities, but most zoos tend to limit their aquatic collections to that, and maybe a touch-tank of rays. This small, charming building has a series of smaller habitats of both freshwater and saltwater habitats from around the world, and serves as a nice touch towards the completeness of the zoo. A decent reptile house is nearby, though perhaps a bit overstuffed. For example, the three open-air crocodilian habitats crowded at one end of the building could, perhaps, be better combined into one larger habitat for one species. Still, the building provides an excellent opportunity to learn about the active and interesting North American herp conservation projects at Memphis, such as the dusky gopher frog and Louisiana pine snake. A separate building just down the path features Komodo dragons with an indoor/outdoor habitat.
Many zoos have walk-through aviaries, but actual bird houses (with individual habitats for species) are much less commonly encountered. The Tropical Bird House is a nice attraction, filled with many smaller species, especially but not limited to passerines, that don’t play well in large, mixed, walk-through aviaries, and as such are often excluded from zoo bird collections. Species seen here included African pygmy falcons, pompadour cotingas, and violaceous euphonias. That being said, there is also a central walk-through aviary in the building. African penguins were found in a nearby pool outside.
This end of the zoo also includes a very pleasant children’s farmyard area, one of the most attractive that I’ve seen. We’ll cover the remainder of the zoo in the next post.
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