Columbus Zoo Map 2015

Pictured below is the 2015 Columbus Zoo map. Heart of Africa is open for the season but meerkats have not been added like previously rumored. Robot dinosaurs have been replaced by robot pirates around the boat ride in Voyage to the Islands area. The pony rides have been moved to the top of Bison Hill and a cow has taken up residence in the old pony ride area.

Evolution of Heart of Africa at the Columbus Zoo

In anticipation of the opening of the Columbus Zoo’s new region, Heart of Africa, on May 22nd I thought I would take a moment to look back on the past plans for the exhibit. An African savanna has been part of the zoo’s masterplan for more than a decade. The name, species, and scale of the region have all evolved over the years. I’ll wait until I visit to judge the final product but it seems as though everything has been scaled back from the grand master plans. All the plans had two things in common: an African village and all were located in the same area North of Old Powell Road. The exhibit has been known as East Africa Plains, Africa Savanna, the African Safari, Safari Africa, Africa, and finally Heart of Africa. Please note this information is based on my own research; I have no insider info so please comment and correct if you know of any errors.

East African Plains 

When: 1998
Size: 65 Acres
Budget: $80 million
Attractions: Safari bus ride, village, lodge, playground

The earliest proposal for adding an Africa region that I've seen is of a plan drawn up in 1998 by PJA. The massive expansion was called the East African Plains and the plans looked simply incredible! Adjacent to the existing zoo, the East Africa Plains project was to be built on 65 acres of simulated East African habitats. A visitor’s journey would begin in a village overlooking a small lake with flamingos and pelicans. Warthogs burrow in an abandoned airstrip. In the village guests pass through the Customs House where they receive a passport. From the village, visitors embark on a bus safari through wooded and grassy savannas and kopje habitats. There would also be a walking path that leads through a gallery forest to a lodge, serving refreshments. Rested visitors can walk from the lodge to the kopje and interpretive playground. The budget for this was $80 million (in 1998 dollars). Sounds similar to Harambe area and Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Probably more of a “blue sky” idea rather than a serious proposal.

African Savanna 

When: 2002
Size: 50 Acres
Budget: unknown
Attractions: Train ride, boat ride, lodge/camping

The next set of plans are from the 2002-2003 time-frame and describe a new African Savanna region. On 50 acres of land at the Zoo, visitors will be transported to the African plains, the most productive grassland ecosystem in the world. A variety of hoofed mammals and the predators that typically follow them on their seasonal migrations will be visible in naturalistic settings. Moving herds of antelope, giraffe and zebra, as well as lions, wild dogs, hyenas, rhinos, hippos and warthogs will be viewed by the visitors as they travel over rail, paddle down a simulated Zambezi River and hike along walking trails. There will be potential opportunities for chaperoned group camping on the edge of a waterhole, for interacting with live interpreters and for participating in the bustle and activity of an African village market.

In this diagram from the Columbus Dispatch we see an African Savanna area is scheduled to be added by 2010:

Safari Africa

When: 2012
Size: 43 Acres
Budget: $30.4 million
Attractions: Ziplines, camel rides, giraffe feeding, cheetah runs

In 2012, plans for a new 43 acre African Safari exhibit were approved and scheduled to open in mid-2014. Safari Africa would feature a gateway to a simulation of a national park in Africa called Ajabu Park. The first overhead rendering of the region appeared in the Summer 2012 edition of Beastly Banner (shown above). The camels are not shown on the map but meerkats are. It also looks like the tram station was going to be located in the region (and not by the Polar Frontier region as it is now). Also of note is a zipline is listed as one of the attractions, though this was probably cut to differentiate it from the Wilds who already operates a zipline (which is better than any the zoo could build quite frankly).

When: 2014
Size:43 Acres
Budget: $30.4 million
Attractions: Camel rides, giraffe feeding

The latest official plans were released in February 2014 where the name Heart of Africa was unveiled. Zoo officials decided that Valentine’s Day was the perfect time to unveil the official name for the 43 acres that will be home to nearly 150 animals. The name of the region was changed from Safari Africa to differentiate it from the Wilds (there are currently banners up at the zoo with the Safari Africa name on them, oops). The meerkat exhibit, which was still being shown in the plans a year ago, has apparently been cut. The final budget is $30.4 million dollars and will open to the public on May 22nd, 2014. Giraffes, zebras, and cheetahs will make their return to the zoo.

Future Heart of Africa Expansion Plans

The Columbus Zoo’s long range plans already call for a Heart of Africa Expansion that would include an overnight-tented camp, a meerkat exhibit and other animal and visitor attractions that would end up tripling the size of the region. A new train ride would be installed that would end up as a replacement for the one currently in North American that would be removed when that region gets its extensive and much needed overhaul.

Conclusion

Heart of Africa at the Columbus Zoo is set to open next week and it’s interesting to see how the plans for the region evolved over the years. What we ended up with will be quite different from some of the earlier ideas. The plans were scaled back from $80 to $30 million dollars and from 60 to 40 acres. That’s not to say more won’t be added in a Phase II expansion soon. It’ll be interesting to see what surprises the zoo has in store for us. It was recently revealed that aardvarks will have a home in the exhibit, a species not previously mentioned in any of the plans! I look forward to seeing the final product. Stay tuned for our coverage of the opening of Heart of Africa.

Columbus Zoo Heart of Africa Update 2/22/14

The temperature was over fifty degrees today so I visited the zoo for the first time since October. The biggest surprise was they moved the reindeer again (at least the third time)! The move wasn't far, just across the path. The moose have taken over the old reindeer enclosure which makes perfect sense. There is a new path (not open yet) going around the new reindeer exhibit back towards the entrance of Heart of Africa. The placement of the exhibit as well as the new reindeer buildings and facades will add more to see on the train ride.

Reindeer's new home

The framing for the entrance into Heart of Africa is up and clearly visible. Looks like there will be two paths encircling the reindeer that lead to the entrance to the new region. A few buildings are visible in the background, such as the new restaurant by the lions. Hard to see where the camels and camel rides are going to go (if they're still planned).

Entrance way to Heart of Africa

New facades along the train tracks

Crossing the railroads tracks into Polar Frontier, immediately on the right, is a station for the new tram transportation system. I’m not sure where or how many other stations there will be. My guess is one by the entrance. Any ideas?

New tram station by Polar Frontier

New path towards Heart of Africa

There are still a lot of signs up around the zoo referring to the new region as Safari Africa and not its new and official name: Heart of Africa.

Columbus Zoo Future Plans

An article in the Columbus Dispatch revealed some of the Columbus Zoo's ideas for future plans. Over the next twenty-five years, the zoo could see the following additions:

• Bringing sea lions to the zoo with an exhibit at the main entrance that eventually could include entertainment.
• Creating an interactive exhibit honoring the legacy of former zoo director Jack Hanna.
• Tripling the size of the African Safari exhibit, which is to open in May.
• Providing transportation from one side of the zoo to the other.
• Renovating the North America exhibit.
• Building a new animal hospital.
• Enlarging the zoo’s aquarium building.

The hope is zoo attendance of about 2 million visitors a year could grow to 3 million a year with the addition new exhibits. Plans also call to add a satellite zoo in downtown Columbus along the Scioto River, estimated to cost $50 million to $65 million to build.

So it looks like a South America region is off the table. Which of these future plans do you like the best? What do you think they need?

Kilimanjaro Safaris Review

My wife and I just spent a long weekend at the Walt Disney World resort and being the animal fans that we are we naturally had to make the Animal Kingdom the first stop on our trip.  One of the marquee rides at Animal Kingdom is the Kilimanjaro Safaris. Set on the edge of a fictitious African town named Harambe, the Kilimanjaro Safaris transports guests to Africa in 32-passenger large open-sided motor vehicles driven by a narrator. The environment surrounding the ride path is filled with the types of vegetation and wild animal species typical of the African wilderness. Excitement on the ride path includes animals in their natural habitat and a journey over an old bridge that collapses halfway across.

I was expecting an experience similar to the bus tours at the Wilds in Zanesville, Ohio and while there are similarities in the fact you are riding a vehicle through large animal enclosures the differences were striking indeed. The biggest difference is habitat and vegetation. At The Wilds you never feel as though you’ve left the state of Ohio. While riding through the 100 acres of forests and savannahs of Kilimanjaro Safaris you’ll swear you were magically transported to the continent of Africa.

The Wilds doesn’t even attempt to conceal the boundaries of its animal enclosures. At Disney’s Animal Kingdom it is very difficult to determine where one enclosure ends and another begins.

One of the biggest complaints many zoo fans have with Animal Kingdom is that Kilimanjaro Safari animals are only viewable from the bumpy ride which only pauses a few seconds near each animal.

One of the members of ZooChat created an overhead diagram displaying the Animal Kingdom safari layout. While not exact, it is pretty accurate (with the exception of the new finale featuring zebras that was recently added).

 

I found another Animal Kingdom safari layout map which looks pretty legit but is older and contains the original ending to the ride which included animatronics and a different storyline (and I don’t think it is missed at all).

Tip: To see even more animals visit the Animal Kingdom Lodge (for free, you don't have to stay there to view the animals).

Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo 2012 Review

Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium began this week and so we went out Saturday night to get some pictures and video to share with you. The main attraction is the Animated Light Show which takes place all around Conservation Lake in the middle of the park. The focal point of the show is a giant 24-foot diameter globe floating on the lake. Watch my video embedded below to see the show in its entirety (and more, including the tiger cubs): 


A new addition to Wildlights Columbus Zoo is the Global Celebrations Village. Located in the Asia Quest building, this attraction features animated international carolers that look like dolls taken straight out of Disney's "it's a small world." You can also meet Santa Claus himself (in the Jungle Jack’s Landing area) and his reindeer (in the North America section).

Pictured below is the Columbus Zoo map seasonal Wildlights edition.

One thing to be aware of if you do go to the zoo during Wildlights - don't expect to see a huge number of animals. Some entire areas of the zoo, such as Expedition Congo: African Forest, are completely closed off. The North American section, which you would think would be one of the better areas this time of year, is just too dark to really see any animals very well. The good news is that nearly every region had at least one building you can go into to warm up and see some animals, like Hank, the enormous elephant!

The Columbus Zoo Wild lights run through January 1, 2013. There's no better way to get into the holiday spirit than by seeing the Columbus Zoo Christmas lights!

Columbus Zoo Update 11-10-2012

I went to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium yesterday for the first time since August. A few observations and changes since my last visit:

• It looks like they’ve expanded the pathway leading into the North America section (next to the elephant building).
• I still haven’t seen the otters out in the old black bear enclosure.
• There was a single beaver occupying the old otter enclosure that I could see (rumored to soon have four beavers). 
• The tiger cubs were playing outside, the first time I have seen them in person. I shot a short video of the cubs. There is also a short segment at the end with the gibbons. They were so loud yesterday, you could hear them all the way at the other end of the zoo in the Polar Frontier region. Crazy!
• A large gorilla statue was added to the Expedition Congo: African Forest section outside the entrance to the gorilla building.
• Safari Africa expansion construction is well under way. Looks like a chain link fence is being erected around the entire site, which is currently nothing but dirt
• Zoo crews were going gangbusters setting up Christmas lights and decorations for the Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo with opening only a week away! They were also setting up a neat looking “Christmas Around the World” type display in the Asia Quest building complete with figures that looked like they came directly out of Disney’s “it’s a small world” ride.

Stay tuned for our future updates as we will cover Wildlights and the ongoing construction of Safari Africa.

Child mauled to death after felling into Pittsburgh zoo African painted dog exhibit

Boy falls into Pittsburgh zoo exhibit, mauled to death by African painted dogs

 African painted dogs, also known as African wild dogs, Cape hunting dogs, spotted dogs, and painted wolves (not hyenas), are found in the open plains and sparse woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa. The long-legged canines have only four toes per foot. There is an African wild dog exhibit at the Wilds.

One of my friends who lives in the area posted this on Facebook today:

"Horrified. To all the many people I know were working today I feel for you having to hear that call over the radio and witness something so tragic. To the zoo your exhibits are unsafe it is not hard to see, this just further proves it. I can't believe this happened. May the little one rest in peace."

I've never been to the Pittsburgh Zoo so I can't comment on the quality or safety of their exhibits.

Video: California Elephant Seals Fighting

One of the best places to see elephant seals in California is on one of the beaches at the Point Reyes National Seashore. The seals seen here are actually northern elephant seals. My wife and I visited the San Francisco area back in July and were about to take a few elephant seals pictures as well as this long shot video of them fighting. The footage starts off with some shots of us passing under the Golden State Bridge while heading twenty four miles out into the ocean to look for blue whales (we saw two, sorry no pictures). 



How big are elephant seals? I know it’s hard to tell in the video since we were so far away so here is a picture from the Marine Mammal Center which has a replica you can stand next to. As you can see, these pinnipeds are massive. In fact, a bull elephant seal can weigh up to 5400 pounds. Do you know they can hold their breath for over 100 minutes?

Where do elephant seals live? The ones pictured live along the California coast. These magnificent creatures are highly endangered because the elephant seal habitat it being destroyed by humans.

While in California, we took the opportunity to visit the Monterrey Bay Aquarium.

-Nick
In Awe of Nature

Freshwater Oasis Opening Date

Since Spring many readers have been asking the question, "What is the Discovery Cove Freshwater Oasis opening date?" Well, we can finally tell you that Freshwater Oasis is now officially open! Freshwater Oasis is included with admission to Discovery Cove, an all-inclusive tropical day resort where guests can swim with dolphins, snorkel with colorful fish and rays, hand-feed exotic birds and relax on pristine beaches, plus enjoy unlimited admission for 14 days to sister parks SeaWorld and Aquatica in Orlando. Yes, the attraction was originally supposed to open mid-spring/early summer but the good news it is now open and is worth the wait!

Now open at Discovery Cove in Orlando is Freshwater Oasis, an all-new attraction featuring wading adventures and face-to-face encounters with playful otters and curious marmosets.  Designed with a rainforest canopy above and sparkling-clear springs below, Freshwater Oasis is a natural fit within Discovery Cove’s tropical atmosphere. Guests can wade, wander, swim and float in the water-filled trails and discover marmoset monkeys and playful Asian otters. (Please note, you don't actually swim in the tank with the otters like you do the dolphins and sting rays, they are separated and you view them through a glass wall just like any other exhibit).

Where is Discovery Cove? Discovery Cove is part of Sea World resort in Orlando, Florida where you can swim with dolphins.

Columbus Zoo Stingray Bay Video

Stingray Bay at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is now open to the public. I recently visited the new attraction and took some video of the majestic stingrays doing their thing. You will see two types of rays at Stingray Bay: the smaller cownose stingray and the larger Southern stingrays. This 18,000 gallon saltwater tank allows guests to touch and feed stingrays. Timed tickets are given out if you want to come back later but in our case we were able to get in the building almost immediately after purchasing our tickets (and thoroughly washing our hands). A cup of food to feed the stingrays costs $2 (not sure if feeding is allowed only at certain times of the day or not).

Cownose stingrays are members of the eagle ray family and are found in the Atlantic Ocean. The cownose has a series of teeth and dental plates used for crushing oyster shells and clams. The cownose ray typically does have a stinger on the end of its tail with venom that cause bee sting like symptoms. Of course, this tails have been ground or clipped so as not to harm or hurt any of the visitors who wish to pet these magnificent creatures. So yes, they are safe to touch.

The southern stingray is also found in the Atlantic Ocean. Its flattened body is ideal for life on the bottom of the ocean. The ray’s spine contains a poisonous mucous which, though not fatal to humans, is extremely painful if you are unfortunate enough to step on one. The small openings on its head are called spiracles and they allow the ray to take in water while buried in the sea floor sand. Females often grow larger than males and can be up to 150 centimeters across!

Stingray Bay Tips - Best Way to Touch Stingrays 
 
As you can see in the video, the trick is to submerge your hand all the way in the hard and don't move it around. If you do this the stingray will come to you! If you try to reach out and pet them they will swim away quickly. This really works! 

Columbus Zoo Update: Safari Africa and Stingray Bay

Safari Africa expansion has been approved and Stingray Bay is now officially open.

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium’s African safari expansion plans were officially approved by the zoo’s board last week. The 43-acre exhibit will be built at a cost of $30 million dollars and will be open in time for the summer season in 2014. An artist’s overhead rendering of the expansion was featured in the latest issue of the Beastly Banner, the zoo’s quarterly magazine for zoo members. It’ll be north of the polar bear exhibit and will be accessible through the northeast corner of the North America exhibit. They also mentioned  that a new trolley or other vehicle system will provide transportation to the area from inside the front gate to Safari Africa for those who need it (for the size of the zoo a transportation system of some sort is rally needed in my opinion but very expensive to maintain).

Safari Africa is a long time coming for fans of the Columbus Zoo. Plans for a similar exhibit were first announced back in the 1990s but was repeatedly delayed as other projects and regions were prioritized ahead of it.

We can finally accurately answer your question: Is sting ray bay open? Located in Jungle Jack’s Landing near Zoombezi Bay (the Columbus waterpark), Stingray Bay will feature an 18,000-gallon saltwater pool for dozens of cownose and southern stingrays to call home.

Please note, this attraction is not free and is not included within the regular zoo admission. The pricing structure is as follows:

Stingray Bay is as follows:

Non-member children and adults $3
Columbus Zoo member children and adults $2
Zoombezi Bay season pass holder $2
Gold membership holder Free
Ride wristband holder at $8 Free
Stingray feeding (one cup) $2

Visit my previous post to see some pictures of Stingray Bay at the Columbus Zoo.

Additional tags:

columbus ohio safari

safari columbus ohio

ZooAmerica 2012 Trip Report and Review

While visiting Hershey world (as some people like to call it) this past Memorial Day Weekend I had the opportunity to visit Hershey Zoo America, a North American Wildlife Park. This quaint little zoo is located in Hershey, Pa. right next door to HersheyPark amusement park. Zoo America pa  (also spelled Zooamerica) is home to animals found in North America, such as the river otter, bobcat, American alligator, etc. Visiting ZooAmerica is a great way to take a break from the vomit inducing rides and long hot lines at HersheyPark. Admission to the zoo is free with your ticket to HersheyPark or you can buy admission to the zoo separately. The park has many trees and is very well shaded throughout.

The mountain lions at the Hershey zoo where extremely active, more so than I have seen them at any other zoo in the country. In fact, one of the cats was being very vocal as well – something I had never heard before! Timber wolves and black bear are the other large mammals on display. One of the best exhibits at Hershey Park Zoo America is the prairie dog enclosure. The cute critters were very active and the exhibit allowed you to get pretty close to them too.

Zoo America Hershey Pa gets a lot of flak for having small and outdated enclosures, which I agree with, but I would rather the animals be kept there than at some exotic animal farm in Zanesville, Ohio or at the even more pathetic cages at Lagoon Park. On a sad note, this is the same Pennsylvania zoo where the two bison had to be euthanized due to rapidly rising flood waters back in September of 2011. As far as I could tell, the former bison exhibit sits on the bank of the creek and remains empty to this day.

Overall, ZooAmerica, the Hershey Pa zoo, is a nice little zoo and is a great place to visit if you’re at HersheyPark but I otherwise wouldn’t go too far out of my way to visit. I would rather go to the nearby ElkCountry to see wild herds of elk rather then see the three that ZooAmerica has in their little pen – but that’s just my opinion.

Pictured below is the ZooAmerica 2012 park map.

Columbus Zoo 2012 Stingray Bay Update

My wife and I visited the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium this morning to check out the status of several projects. First off, there is no visible sign of any construction or work being done on the new Safari Africa2014 expansion from INSIDE the zoo. That's not to say they aren't pushing dirt around or doing any other preliminary site preparation but if there is none of it was viewable from my vantage point inside the zoo.

Second, the new interactive touch pool exhibit for 2012, Stingray Bay, is not open yet. Signs posted near the new attraction state a "mid-June" opening. It looks like the queue line was the only unfinished aspect from the outside. This brand new enclosed salt water pool will allow Columbus Zoo visitors to touch and even feed the southern and cownose rays.

One disappointing observation: there is an additional fee to touch and feed the stingrays of $3 for non-members and $2 for zoo members, unless you have the highest level of zoo membership (Gold I think) or have a ride all day wristband.

Stingray Bay is located in Jungle Jack's Landing in-between the zoo and the Zoombezi Bay waterpark. Look closely at the Columbus Zoo 2012 map below to see exactly where Stingray Bay is. Does anyone know what was in that spot last year – was another building there or was it just an empty patch of land?

Speaking of Jungle Jack Hanna, he was at the zoo today! We were quite surprised, while observing the polar bears underwater, to look over and see Jack Hanna himself, dressed in his usual safari khakis. I believe he was in town filming a segment for Jack Hanna’s Into the Wild earlier this week at the Wilds in Zanesville, Ohio. What a nice guy, real down to earth. What you see is exactly what you get with Jack, just one of the many reasons why he is an easy guy to like.

 That's all for now. Hopefully on our next visit the exhibit will be open. Thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment below to discuss.

UPDATE 6-18-12: Stingray Bay is now open!