The Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, Indiana provided the scenery for a very nice fall afternoon. They have several exhibits with beautiful scenery, and it’s tucked in next to a woods that creates a nice atmosphere. This zoo has made a lot of changes since our 2015 visit, and we are excited to continue to visit to see what else they add.
Highlights:
- Australia – although closed in the fall, they have a beautiful kangaroo exhibit where you can walk amongst them; although it was closed to visitors, we could watch the kangaroos hop along the paths
- Asia section – This currently includes 4 tigers, and a family of 4 takin (2 babies in 2019); they are adding a rhino in Fall 2019
- Americas – The highlight of our 2019 trip was the Americas, which for us included a bison feeding in the North America section, and viewing of the capybaras, lemurs, anteaters, and macawas in the South American section
- Big Cats – this zoo has as large of a big cat collection as Brookfield Zoo, with leopards, snow leopards, tigers, and lions
- Pond – like many small zoos, there is a pond area where you can feed the fish – this entertained our little ones for quite a while
Lows:
- Space – The zoo has done a great job of creating enrichment for the animals (the leopard exhibit has some added structures for climbing), but overall we wish these exhibits still provided more room for the animals. The wire cages don’t have the same feel as the windows or open air would.
- Closed exhibits – as mentioned above the Australia exhibit, as well as several others, were closed due to weather during our visit; although it was a fall day, the temperatures were in the high 60s, and it was very sunny; most zoos would monitor temperatures by day for putting animals on exhibit rather than making blanket decisions based on the calendar
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