Best Zoo Exhibit (2020)

The Asian Highlands exhibit at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo takes visitors through the foothills of Northern India to see Indian rhinos and Père David’s deer, and the Himalayan Mountains to spot sloth bear, Amur tigers and snow leopards. Guests enter the area by passing beneath a replica Himalayan ruin.
Photo courtesy of Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium

Colorado wildlife is front and center at this exhibit at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. The 3-acre exhibit is home to moose wandering amid pine woods with their own small lake, mountain lions in a naturalistic rock canyon, the elusive Canada lynx, river otters playing in a waterfall and grizzly bears roaming the mountainside.
Photo courtesy of iStock / avstraliavasin

The Gorilla Treeway at the Philadelphia Zoo is part of the facility’s Zoo360 initiative, aiming to enrich the environments of all animals in their care. This 300-foot walkway passes 12 feet above the visitor path, giving the gorillas a way to explore and move between a variety of environments.
Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Zoo

Zoo Knoxville’s Boyd Family Asian Trek is home to Malayan tigers, white-naped cranes, silvered leaf langurs and white-handed gibbons. Guests can observe these species while climbing a multi-level tree house or walking across a swinging suspension bridge.
Photo courtesy of Zoo Knoxville

The 2.1-acre Simmons Hippo Outpost, an expansion of the already incredible Africa experience at the Dallas Zoo, features a replicated African waterhole habitat with a 120,000-gallon pool and a 24 by 8-foot underwater viewing window, bringing guests up close to the zoo’s Nile hippos. Above the water, the hippos share their home with an okapi herd. The zoo hosts daily keeper chats where guests can get up close with the hippos and okapi during educational training demonstrations.
Photo courtesy of Dallas Zoo

Land of the Tigers at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens provides a home for Malayan and Sumatran tigers, free to roam through the area on a series of trails. Guests can see these animals from almost any angle while enjoying the 2.5-acre exhibit.
Photo courtesy of Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens

Among the newest exhibits at the Nashville Zoo is Expedition Peru: Trek of the Andean Bear, marking the first time this species has appeared at the zoo in its entire history. The exhibit is fashioned after a traditional indigenous village, with unobstructed views of the bears from aboveground and underwater observation points.
Photo courtesy of Byron Jorjorian / Nashville Zoo

This 5-acre exhibit at Sedgwick County Zoo is the third largest elephant habitat in the country. The African elephants have access to both indoor and outdoor spaces, including a 550,000-gallon pool, while visitors can observe these gentle giants from the comfort of a covered pavilion.
Photo courtesy of Sedgwick County Zoo

This exhibit at the Detroit Zoo provides a home to three Amur tigers, Nikolai, Aleksei and Kisa. The enclosure features naturalistic elements you might find in the tigers’ natural environment, including elevated vantage points, wooded areas, pools, open spaces, a cave and a waterfall.
Photo courtesy of Detroit Zoo

The California Traill at the Oakland Zoo tells the story of how humans have shaped the ecology of the San Francisco Bay Area through a series of native animal and plant exhibits. American bison, black bears, California condors, eagles, mountain lions, gray wolves, grizzly bears and jaguars all call the area home, accessible via an electric gondola from the main portion of the zoo.
Photo courtesy of Oakland Zoo