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Originally Posted by driveway
I go to the Zoo every time I’m back in Calgary, my family are avid zoo-goers. (if you’ve ever been talked to by a tall, bearded volunteer with an Australian accent in either the butterfly house or penguin plunge that’s my dad) I’ve probably been to the zoo close to 500 times in my life and it is so much bigger and better than it used to be.
The combination of “Canadian wilds” section and then Zoo Island make it actually a challenge to see everything in a day, especially so if you take a trip through the dinosaur section.
The exhibits themselves are so much better too. There is no comparison between the current Africa exhibits and the old primate and big-mammal houses. Do I miss the elephants and polar bears? Of course. But the quality of life the animals experience is so much better than it was.
The old zoo is definitely not a thing I miss about “old Calgary.”
That Mother’s pizza glass posted above though, that made my nostalgia bone hurt.
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I can't deny that the updated zoo is certainly more... modern than the old zoo. That polar bear building was pretty sad by the end when it was pretty much empty, with a couple seals being its only residents... It is mostly nostalgia for my favourite place to be when I was a kid.
That said, the new primate building basically cuts the grounds in half, it barely has anything in it and its un necessarily massive. I liked the zoo better when the layout was a bit more spread out, instead of basically crowding everyone into just two areas. Just seems like a waste of all that space. The African section is well done but its really just comparing one big cement hole with another. Though I always felt bad for those hippos in the old mammal house, I was pleased to see they incorporated the lion den rocks into the new exhibit instead of getting rid of it, but it was a lot more fun when it was a park.
When it comes to animal welfare, I appreciate the steps that Calgary Zoo has taken in the areas of conservation and their off site activities with whooping cranes, burrowing owls etc are admirable but they still has massive issues with zoo layout, ie cougars, bears and wolves in eyeshot of moose and deer, ditto for lions and zebras. These issues were raised during the last renovations and not addressed, so I'm not sure how much better off most of the animals are off now besides maybe a modest upgrade in living space and a few extra woodchips. I remember the abject misery that that last polar bear seemed to be in before it died. I don't object to animals being moved on if thats whats deemed appropriate
Quote:
Originally Posted by CofR
That Zellers was so dumpy. If I'm remembering correctly they had one of their diners on the inside.
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By the end of that store's existence, it was the saddest place in town.
I also live in Harvest Hills and have Mother's every couple of weeks. Still awesome pizza, can confirm.