Zoo, zoo, zoo! We're going to the zoo!
I have a semi-secret obsession (semi-secret because I'll admit it if I'm asked). I've only been to a (very small) handful, but I absolutely adore zoos. It's been a bit of a dream to be able to visit every zoo I can put my little paws near. I've only been to three so far (and now four today), but each had something the other didn't. In addition to visiting them, I've wanted to do a write-up of them after visiting.
I went out to Richmond today to get birth certificates for the munchkins and since I was carting them along, I figured I'd see where I could take them to wear them out for the 2 hour drive back XD. Zoo popped up and that was all she wrote.
Any review requires a basis for comparison, so I'll be using the Virginia Zoological Park here in Norfolk (as it's the one I'm most familiar with).
ETA: No pictures due to laziness at this time, and some need to be developed as I'd forgotten my digital camera.
1) Of course the first thing you notice when you come to any zoo is the entrance. Metro had what seems to be a typical entrance ), one storied with the giftshop attached (two out of the three other zoos is like that). I'm not sure that I liked that the ticketmaster-person also worked in the gift shop. It makes it feel cheap, which, come to think of it, is what the entrance makes me think of.
Also come to think of it, the first thing you notice about this zoo, is that it's not in Richmond, it's about 30 minutes out. And good luck finding it, I passed it by and got several miles down the road before I realized the numbers had gotten too high. (I totally overlooked the sign they had out front. It was fairly monochrome, think the colors should have been more pronounced.)
2) This leads into visitor amenities: With both munchkins along, and neither of them at an age to really be expected to keep up in a long zoo walk, I was very disappointed by the lack of any double strollers for rent. Another complaint (though this may common; Norfolk has the same problem) they're too fragging loud. I had to tip the front wheels up so I didn't startle the animals out of what they were doing. And with one or the other insisting on pushing the stroller, and/or riding this became difficult to keep up. I'm pretty sure the squeaky wheels scared off one of the giraffes and startled the fallow deer.
The walkways feel narrow in some places, and there was barely enough room for two people going in opposite directions to get by one another when both have rambunctious children along.
The zoo has no maps, just signs at the intersections. Need I say more?
Maybe my trips to Riverbanks (Columbia, SC) and Norfolk have spoiled me; there are no indoor eating areas. You don't get any relief from heat or cold, which is especially aggravating because much of the pathways are exposed to sunlight and wind. I was particularly annoyed because the eateries didn't open till 1, and my kids and I had been running on two small packs of cookies (breakfast was at 530). We'd already covered the zoo by then and were famished, and grouchy.
They did have a trollie, though I didn't take the kids on it. (this was after I found the second snack bar was still closed, so was kinda grumbly already.) They also had something I'd never seen at a zoo; a sky ride. Again, I didn't ride it myself (Bell never would have stood for it, not sure about Ten, and I'm scared of heights as it is). It spanned about a quarter of the park, and the trolley covered another portion of it. Kinda wish I did go on them to see what you could see, if there was anything visible there not visible from the walkways.
3) (This kinda fits into both visitor amenities and the next topic) Another thing I liked, though I didn't know it when I could've taken advantage of it, you could buy a cup of feed to carry throughout the park. You could also purchase a handful of feed at several vending machines throughout the park. Lets you feed the giraffes, and the fallow and white-tail deer, and the farm animals (goats, zebra, cows *i think they were there*), and the camels kinda.
Another complaint is that the information plaques were not very prominent. At least one was missing altogether, and the animal it should have told about was not one of the common ones (squat, black mammal with a prehensile tail?? O_o I couldn't figure out what it was). They were less plaques and more like paper slid between two pieces of plastic. Not very offical. Don't think the orangutans had a plaque come to think of it... Which leads to...
4) The animals and the exhibits they inhabit: I must say this, there's certainly a variety of animals that I hadn't seen at any of the three other zoos I'd been at. First and foremost in my mind: the camels (dromedary and bactrian), elk, orangutans, spoonbills, clouded leopards, asiatic black bears are not ones I've normally seen in the zoos I've visited. (more visiting may change that tune). I was actually surprised when I realized they didn't have any elephants, not a complaint though. It's possible they couldn't afford to feed them, and it's nice to see not every zoo has them. They had chimps which I hadn't seen before, but I believe are relatively common in zoos. The chimps were active (despite the chill in the air), bouncing and playing (or arguing possibly). They had a good variety of antelope of which I'm not sure of the names, and a variety of monkeys and lemurs which again I couldn't name them all nor did I actually see them all (see: Famished XD).
ETA #2: As far as variety goes, they only had a handful of reptile species: American Alligator, Galapagos Tortoise, Burmese Pythons. This might be due to the entirely outdoor exhibits.
The exhibits were not concrete and bars, but I'm not sure they were much better. The monkeys had wooden platforms and ropes they could climb on, but the tiger was pacing stir-crazy and alone. The exhibits weren't very... pretty (with the exception of the aviary's waterfall), however it is mid-winter so I'll excuse that. Though that wouldn't explain the mostly bare ground (animals with nothing better to do than tear up the ground). The antelope had quite a bit of ground to cover, but the deer and elk and camels seemed confined in comparison.
ETA #3: They had a bathouse too, but you couldn't see much of anything due to the poor lighting. Norfolk has a nocturnal exhibit, but they use a blue light (imitation moonlight almost) that leaves the animals more visible. Metro chose to use red, and that did not aid seeing into the single cage very well.
In the end, I'm not sure I'd be very eager to revisit this zoo. It is, at least to me, below the Norfolk zoo and doesn't hold a candle to Riverbanks or the memory of the North Carolina Zoo (in Asheboro) which I need to revisit and freshen the memory for comparison's sake. Giving the Virginia Zoological Park a 5 as a base rate, this would get a little less than 4, but not quite a three.
On another note, in relation to my Argh... post: I kicked the husband out a month ago today. We may or may not get back together, but the decision is in his hands, and I, quite frankly, don't give a shit either way at this point. He doesn't seem at all eager to try and fix things between us, so the likelihood is slim right now. I know what some of my problems are in this relationship (too much time on the computer? like he's one to talk), but he needs to realize his. *gnaws* I do find it... interesting... that the problems started right around the time I started writing seriously again (he'd probably say it's because I 'abandoned' my original stuff to obsess over Transformers porn, which goes to show he really doesn't know me at all). I could possibly go on, but I shan't. Dragons. *nods*
Back to the normal TF fanficing. (TFCon? :D)