Abandoned Belle Isle Zoo - Detroit, MI - Filmed with DJI Phantom 2 Drone

[@wellgreenbeans]

Thank you for this video! I spent many fun afternoons there, as a child. I still remember the splinters that I got from the wooden rails.

[@courtneyanna]

I would volunteer to help bring this zoo back to life! So many childhood memories.

[@MrWolfSnack]

Wouldn't be too hard. The city is full of wild animals.

[@MichiganUSASingaporeSEAsia]

Courtney Koss me too. Time to bring back

[@villehussosno.1fan]

Me too

[@BobbyTucker]

@@MrWolfSnack , The "two legged" variety.....

[@lawrence6699]

Awesomely sad!! This was a beautiful place.

[@KandiKlover]

Wow I never thought of this place until I saw this. I used to go here all the time in the 90s with my parents. So much fun.

[@barbkrantz9187]

It saddens me to see the zoo this way. My Dad was the head of the Belle Isle Golf Course for many years before his promotion and as a child we visited the Zoo often with my Mom. When my two older childen were young, I took them out to the Zoo a lot too (70's).

[@cmdfarsight]

Bitter sweet memories. Bless ya heart.

[@sharonwearing8465]

+Barb Krantz I too used take my children to the Zoo.Many memories.

[@BobbyTucker]

Your Father wasn't "Mort Krantz", by any chance?

[@DJLRRT]

So sad. On that board walk is where I got my very first kiss that started my very first a childhood crush on a school field trip.

[@KandiKlover]

Sexy

[@johnhintz4760]

I Remember Field trips Here as Kid.It was Nice to Get Out of Warren.

[@villehussosno.1fan]

Lol yeah

[@Darwinawardrecipient]

I love how every year the whole isle gets turned into the grand prix track.

[@modelmode8]

Nice to see video's like these that do not threaten the safety of others, like those videos of beginners not knowing the hazards that a self propelled aircraft can impose.

[@lorrisbits]

wow just nothing left at all to remind you of what it was... I am glad they got the animals out of there, they didn't really have enough room and the polar bears always looked so miserable...I do remember going as a child it was so much fun - wish they could have made it a walk through preserve for nature instead of letting it just go, maybe someday they will so something exciting with it but for now, in this video, it is just a sad reminder.

[@BobbyTucker]

Being a Flint, Michigan native, the last time I visited Belle Isle was in 1967, it was a bustling place to gather, then across the river was Boblo Island, that was much nicer, Canada always invested more money into images, the Canadians were much more image conscious. From the views of Belle Isle now one would never think it was so nice at one time.

[@CheckThisOut77]

Then the 1967 Race Riots put a death nail in Detroit.

[@BalajiMCAT]

Such a shame of leaving behind 928 acres of land unattended....

[@mygiguser]

Great video, cool place!

[@Brettjnash]

How wonderful to see Mother Nature reclaiming back what is rightfully Hers. How stupid of man to cut down a forest to make a zoo. Its fill me to joy to think one day ALL of Detroit will return to a more Natural state of being.

[@XRally]

Well then your up for disappointment.

[@Brettjnash]

+XRally Keep drinking the leaded water fuc boi. And before you reply, Find out what Detroit's largest population was... And what is it now?

[@XRally]

+Boof it's number 18 in population. Yes I now that is dropped from over 1 million but I also know that Detroit is building a lot of new things, I live their I see it every day. Detroit has dropped from first to third baddest city in America, Detroit population haven't dropped but it hasn't gained any either. I don't know who ass you pulled that info out of but you're stupid to think that nature will reclaim all of Detroit and you even more stupid for thinking that Detroit won't rise again. Just because you've have fallen doesn't mean you can't get back up. I suggest you stop making claims that won't happen, have a good day sir.

[@sadsad-my3tf]

Sad. Many nice memories here.

[@joanmooney6413]

so many good things could be accomplished with drones, search and rescue one of them or even patrolling our city streets!

[@CoreyOrvis]

This is awesome! How do you like the set up with the gimbal? Is it worth it?

[@TheGadgetGuy1]

Hello Corey, Sorry for the delayed response. If you are looking to get into any type of drone video work, a gimbal is 100% necessary. I can't stress that enough. The gimbal is what stabilizes the video (isolates the camera from the shaking and wobbling of the aircraft), and allows me to point the camera at what I am filming. When flying the Phantom 2, I am never watching the drone itself. I am looking into the LCD monitor that displays real time video from the camera. In the case of this video, for example, I was almost ¼ mile away from the drone when filming the fountain. Having the gimbal is one of the requirements that allows you to record this type of footage.

[@romanlos5355]

+TheGadgetGuy1 Thanks for sharing not only the video, but drone info./feedback - I've been wanting to get into this hobby for quite some time, but just don't know the best way to jump in. Additionally, the uniqueness of the opportunity available for the current abandoned zoo on Belle Isle is endless - could you imagine if they did something no zoo did, from a competitive advantage perspective, as well as smart thinking, and redid the zoo w/ a dedication to perhaps a species of animal that's on its way to becoming extinct?

[@BobbyTucker]

@@TheGadgetGuy1 , I was just informing Stephanie Butcher of my new Drone, I'd like to meet others who have Drones and would like to do some videos. Thanks.

[@Haliem7546]

Please bring it back

[@stephaniebutcher2206]

Hi! I'm putting together a video about the history of the Belle Isle Zoo. You have some incredible footage here. I was wondering if I could use like 30 seconds of your drone footage to do a past and present mashup? I would give you credit in the description with a link and during the video with a caption. If that's ok with you, let me know. If not, that's cool too. :)

[@BobbyTucker]

I just bought a new DJI Drone and I'm looking forward to making some memorable videos, just thought you might want to know....

[@MichiganUSASingaporeSEAsia]

The place that the Hollywood block buster “real steel” was filmed

[@cmdfarsight]

Why did the zoo close? Seems such a shame.

[@onstaradvisor]

Because mayor kwame stole all the money to spend on himself

[@michaelledford4751]

Patrick DiVincenzo Don't forget the 22 million he put into that stupid community center in Detroit where he got kickbacks from the general contractor , they built all the sidewalks 1st so the rest of the contractors would destroy them & his contractor could replace them several times , they tore off a 1 yr old $250,000 roof over.the pool area , threw it in the dumpster & replaced it with a $300,000 roof of inferior quality , that bastart & his cronies nailed the coffin shut on Detroit & were allowed to walk away .

[@villehussosno.1fan]

Budget problems in the city of detroit.

[@villehussosno.1fan]

He spent too much :(

[@dunbar9finger]

I'm really confused by whether or not this zoo has been restored or not. Searches on google keep giving conflicting claims about whether or not an entity called "Belle Ilse Zoo" is abandoned, or still operating today. Are there two different zoos with the same name on the same island?

[@Eatsp]

+dunbar9finger There is another zoo on the island, Bell Isle Natural Zoo. Parts of the abandonded Bell isle zoo was in Realsteel Movie back in 2011. When the robot Adam was doing his first fight for money. Controlled by the kid.

[@TheGadgetGuy1]

Tadgeman is correct. Shortly after the city closed this zoo, they opened a small nature zoo on a different part of the island. The 'new' zoo is quite small in comparison.

[@catherineclark5338]

Who is the music by and what is the name of the song in this video??

[@marvin666777]

Blackmill is the artist, not sure of the song cuz all of their music sounds similar but check it out it's all worth a listen

[@TheGadgetGuy1]

Hello. The name of the song is "My Love" by Blackmill. Hope you enjoyed the video!

[@marvin666777]

put "gramatic" into your pandora stations. If you like blackmill I promise you will hear plenty of music you will enjoy. I discovered it back in November and haven't changed the station since.

[@TheGadgetGuy1]

+Toby Slave I used Blackmill's music on a few of my videos. I try hard to find music that suits the mood of the subject matter, and their 'sound' has been perfect (in my opinion) on a few occasions.

[@wesleyswigart4486]

Do I need some kind of permit to go here or is it okay?

[@risbabyy]

do you know if it's illegal to go into there now?

[@TheGadgetGuy1]

Hello Marisa. The zoo is fenced off with no trespassing signs posted. I wouldn't suggest going in to explore, but people occasionally do.

[@jeffsteibel7743]

Typical Marisa it's not open to the public but there are ways to get into the zoo thru some overgrown trails. Very cool experience but be careful because a lot of the wood planks are missing and rotting on the walk way.

[@johnstebelton6081]

Jurassic Park anyone? Eh? I want to keep it as ruins. Greece seems to love theirs..... It's bout time we take pride in our own history. The past is beautiful. There's a story in that Park and that story ended. That's amazing.

[@kylesmith6788]

I am kind of hoping for the historic landmarks of Detroit and Flint to be restored but It's just not going to happen

[@XRally]

+Kyle smith It will.

[@lawrencekeesler7369]

Amazing video! Sad subject.

[@codyengler5666]

I know this song, anybody remember the name??

[@badgern100]

Nice to see, there should not be zoos anywhere, cruel and inhumane to the animals.

[@villehussosno.1fan]

True.

[@villehussosno.1fan]

I do like the detroit zoo, though.

[@surferbri5346]

Your mom's in a zoo loser

[@DeeDogg]

i was told i couldnt fly my drone on belle isle HOW SWAY?

[@TheGadgetGuy1]

+DeeDogg Interesting. Maybe that's because it's considered a State Park now? I'm not sure. But if you're right, that's unfortunate.

[@DeeDogg]

yea looking at the date when you did this i dont think the state bought the park yet....hmmm good shot though...i just bought the DJi 3 standard so i am looking for places to fly

[@TheGadgetGuy1]

+DeeDogg If you're new to the 'hobby', start small. Hone your skill. Lots of practice. Safe public places that are not populated with people. There are tons of interesting places to film. Just fly safe and follow the rules. :)

[@richardnakoneczny7795]

good song, blackmill rules

[@jeffreysmall8902]

Think the zoo closed in the 80s bad shape then cost too keep it going or fix it

[@villehussosno.1fan]

Actually, 2002.

[@marlenelawson8495]

So much of that land going to waste.

[@chicagolarry15]

😳DAYMMM

[@aidanmeisner6646]

AREA X ANYONE?

[@mikecrockatt7893]

Could have left out the gay ass music

[@XRally]

The music is great

[@brianf9782]

+Mike Crockatt Seriously. Awful dubstep bullshit. Muted immediately.

[@XRally]

+Brian F it's blackmill it wasn't meant to be hardcore dubstep.

[@barrywhite1821]

MAKE DETROIT GREAT PRESIDENT TRUMP