Great Zoos of the United States - A Photo Thread

[OLS]

One of the great things about the US has been our determination back in the
early 70s to take zoos from a bunch of caged animals that depressed animals and patrons
alike, to an ethos of zoos created to be better for the animals first. And that is by the
very nature of it, better for the patrons. I grew up in New Orleans, and the Audubon Zoo
was one of the most shameful zoos in the world. It was a large, magnificent place in terms
of collection, but the cages were tiny, dirty and outside of the eyes of kids who are just
amazed to see animals, pretty depressing for everyone else involved. One need only rent
CAT PEOPLE to see what it was like even in the fairly modern dawn of the 1980s. Dozens of
big cats kept in cages the size of a prison cell. Concrete and steel.

This thread is going to be another photography thread, I guess, but first and foremost, it should
honor the zoo as a place where despite their captive status, animals look like they are actually
not totally depressed by their surroundings. I have been to the Greater Baton Rouge Zoo,
the (Hattiesburg, MS) Kamper Park and Zoo, the (New Orleans) Audubon Zoo, and the Como Park
and Zoo in Minnesota. Outside of that, I have not had too much zoo exposure. But I would like
to see what other people see. And while I love a good close-up, or a shot that makes the animal
look like it is sitting in it's home in the wild, this is first a ZOO thread, so if your shots the exhibit
the...well, EXHIBIT, that is all the better. I want to see and help share what is out there in hopes
that people might be inspired to visit a zoo, even a zoo far from home. Share what you have,
I know we will all enjoy it. And if its a closeup, or a shot that looks like it is not in a zoo, well,
we love those, too.

[OLS]

In the opening statement of this thread, I left out my DUH moment....MEMPHIS ZOO. I have been to only
a half dozen zoos, but this zoo is the rival of all of them. Only Audubon Zoo in my experience can stand
with this great zoo. The exhibits are long on visual interest, with many close up opportunities, water features,
simulated scenes of far away lands. Outside of the Elephants whose enclosure seems to be mainly about
control over their movement, they are making huge strides in animal enclosures.

The Memphis Zoo spends a great deal of time and effort on OVERALL visual interest along the pathways
and inside exhibits on Flora. Here is a shot of both a great Day Lilly-type flower, with even the inclusion
of a bug, sadly redered a blur in this depth of field test and triumph, lol.

[OLS]

The Tiger exhibit at Memphis Zoo is probably very typical in new-age zoo design, in that it spent the extra time to
not just spray concrete onto forms to make faux rocks, but to recreate in doing so, a feeling of a crumbling, hidden
temple in the jungles in which these tigers can still be found. It is really neat, with lots of clean water which the tigers love.
These tigers can be awfully sedentary in the hot summer here, although I think they are very active at night, so they
do like to rest.

[OLS]

ARGH! This shot is PERFECT for this thread, about useless for anything else. I got up on Sunday to find the weather
UNSEASONABLY cool for the last weekend in June. My only thought after getting my boston butt on the smoker
was to shower and dress and bolt for the zoo. When I walked up on the Teton Trek exhibit at the Memphis Zoo,
I could hear the howling from WAY down the path, and I hustled as fast as my fatt a55 could waddle, since this was
definitely NOT on tape. Sure enough when I got there, the Alpha male was in his favorite spot, leading the howls.
He spotted me, but continued to howl. I could see that another wolf was standing on a huge chunk of a log, 4 feet long
and hollow in the center and I maneuvered around the exhibit for a better shot. I was the first person to arrive at the
enclosure, and as soon as that wolf saw me, he stopped howling, then they all did, and they beat feet for the other end
of the long enclosure. I was crushed. I missed a hugely iconic shot, certainly a cash money print I could have sold
many copies of. So I have only this short series of about 8 shots I took of the Alpha male.....and in keeping with the
theme of the thread, look, you can see the wires. Sadly this is also the field of view you get when you are holding a
180mm prime lens and you are 4 feet from your subject...sorry about the framing as a result.

[irratebass]

This is going to be a cool thread I feel....great pics so far.

[OLS]

Here are a few pics of why New Orleans Audubon Zoo decided in the 70s that enough was enough.
While most structures in the zoo were built by the WPA in the depression, it would have been cool if the
WPA had been faced with the same pressures that zoos feel today. The Works Progress Administration was
known for doing great work wherever they set their hands, many of our National Park's oldest structures
were built through this program. I guess another problem was that the old zoo had only 14 acres, and now the A.Z.
has over 50 acres to work with. But just look at the cages, NO trees to speak of, and if they were allowed, most of
the animals spent hot days (most days in NO, lol) inside their sleeping quarters. These photos are courtesy of
Joe Carvajal.







This was Monkey Island. I think there was a tree on it. And a huge swingset. But as I recall, all of the species
were thrown together to battle it out Lord of the Flies-style, and as you know, monkeys WILL DO THAT.
All day long in the bright sun, precious little shade, and I am sure only the dominant monkeys got to enjoy it.
it NEVER looked like a nice place to be, any grass sod that was laid down was quickly worn away. it usually
looked, even to my child's eyes, like an asylum full of crazy, sad monkeys. Thank goodness most zoos
know much better today.

[CigarNut]

Some awesome pictures Brad! Thanks for sharing.

[OLS]

Architecturally speaking, the Audubon Big cats and Great Apes exhibits were really neat, stunning even.
From the animal's perspective....YIKES. These scenes are stills from the film "Cat People" (RKO/Universal)
filmed primarily in the Audubon Zoo and around New Orleans. Keep in mind this movie was released in the
early 80s, so production had to have been taking place in the late 70s, so this is pretty much the very
edge of this being acceptable to anyone who loved animals. To see this facility today, for me is
breath-taking. And I won't lie, the nostalgia of seeing all of this does take the edge off the embarrassment.
I love these pics.

"We're gonna make this LION EXHIBIT more natural, see...we're gonna lean a piece of driftwood against the wall."

[OLS]

Anyone else notice something hilarious in the old Audubon Zoo photos?

There is a fence, then a 4 foot space before another guard rail on the camels and the impalas and such,
and yet you could reach right through the bars and TOUCH any big cat you dared to during this time.
Freaking weird, lol.

[OLS]

The Memphis Zoo again, this is a view from one end of the Siamang exhibit. There is a pagoda base in the
background and nice plantings throughout "Primate Canyon". The plant you see here is Wysteria. One day
this vine will be so thick and appropriate and gorgeous that it will look like a jungle for sure.

[srduggins]

Great idea for a thread. I used to be a member of the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, but let it lapse when the kids grew up (but honestly, it was mostly for me). A couple days ago, I was talking to a co-worker who happens to be a current member and viola, he brings me some free passes the next day. Looks like I may be going again soon, but summer is not the best time to go, so I may wait till fall.

[OLS]

Take some pictures!! That's a FINE ZOO.