Zoo Tours: Manatee Springs | Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

EPISODE 137
It feels so good to be back home! Not just because we're looking at such a great zoo, but... I know everything there is to know about the Cincinnati Zoo. Manatee Springs opened in 1999, the same year as Columbus's manatee facility but the biggest difference between the two is Cincinnati's is much, much more than manatees. Despite the exhibit's name this was designed as a celebration of Florida's overall rich biodiversity. There's two giant kinds of crocodilians, a snapping turtle, a lizard that can run on water, and many other animal oddities. This episode shines light on what it takes to rescue, rehabilitate, and release a manatee; the forgotten crocodilian of America; why invasive species are bad for ecosystems; and why on Earth there's a giant Asian snake displayed in an exhibit dedicated to Florida.
Species List
Greenhouse
1. Free-roaming - Grey Catbird, Downy Woodpecker, Red-winged Blackbird, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak
2. American Alligator
3. American Crocodile
Main Building
4. Alligator Snapping Turtle, Bluegill, Black Crappie
5. Green
6. Eastern Indigo Snake
7. Florida Manatee, Alligator Gar, Florida Gar, Longnose Gar
8. Common Cooter Turtle, Azureus Cichlid, Florida Gar, Longnose Gar
9. Apalachicola Kingsnake
10. Greater Siren
11. Two-toed Amphiuma
12. Grey Ratsnake
13. Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake
14. American Flagfish
15. Loggerhead Musk Turtle
16. Burmese Python
Original 1999 Species List (not in order)Southern Copperhead
Florida Water Moccasin
American Alligator
Yellow Bullhead
Spitting Devil
Green Anole
Florida Softshell Turtle
Oak Toad
Southern Toad
Florida Snapping Turtle
American Crocodile
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
Predaceous Diving Beetle
Eastern Indigo Snake
Chain Pickerel
Eastern Mosquitofish
Gopher Tortoise
Zebra Longwing Butterfly
Water Scavenger Beetle
Barking Tree Frog
Channel Catfish
Scarlet Kingsnake
potted Gar
Longnose Gar
Florida Gar
Alligator Gar
Redbreast Sunfish
Bluegill
Red-ear Sunfish
Painted River Prawn
Alligator Snapping Turale
Largemouth Bass
Eastern Coral Snake
Golden Shiner
Florida Apple Snail
Black Crappie
Suwannee River Cooter
Florida Cooter
Peninsular Cooter
Redbelly Turtle
Eastern Lubber Grasshopper
Lesser Siren
Florida Manatee
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[@ZooTours]

*I have more to say!* The lengthy episodes will be a new standard but there will be times that it will now take longer to complete an episode. The next episode will most likely be longer than this, so to give myself a break, I will be taking an extra week off. However, I will post two simple walk-through videos over the weekends. *Bonus Facts* 1. Just about every fact came from: zoolex.org/gallery/show/156/ 2. Map of Manatee Springs: zoolex.org/media/CACHE/images/exhibit/156/pics/1c79d97208d8068d8814d8ea6fbeca34.jpg 3. Sign up for Sleep With the Manatees: cincinnatizoo.org/education/groups-2/after-hours-programs/ 4. Roughly a decade ago, the manatee viewing audio projected a very loud groan with an underwater "bubbles" effect. I assume this was supposed to be a manatee, however, they only communicate in whistles and clicks. 5. If you see scratches on the alligator glass, about 10 years ago Lucy tried to attack me when I was planting ferns in front of her viewing. I also planted some of the brush in the invaders tank. 6. Back in the day, if you leaned over the barrier guarding the manatee skeleton, an automated voice would tell you to back away. 7. Even though the AZA doesn't list it on its website, Manatee Springs was awarded for significant achievement in exhibit design in 2000 - losing to Bronx's Congo Gorilla Forest for the top prize. 8. Where the rattlesnake sign sits on the wall, right in front of it, used to be an animatronic rattlesnake that could actually shake its rattle. I thought I was thinking up a false memory, but the Manatee Springs map confirms it did exist. I believe Cleveland had something like this in their Wolf Wilderness cabin. 9. The unnamed turtles that used to live in the pond were Western Pond Turtle, Barbour's Map Turtle, Florida Cooter, Florida Red-bellied Turtle, Red-eared Slider, Mississippi Map Turtle. 10. For a little while, Land Hermit Crabs were exhibited next to the snapping turtle. A Florida and Alligator snapping turtle was once exhibited at the same time. 11. The Amphiuma tank was originally saltwater and contained tropical fish. 12. The mentioned but unidentified greenhouse animals were House Geckoes, Green Anoles, Green Tree Frogs, Indigo Bunting, and Baltimore Oriole. In my hundreds of walk throughs, I only ever saw the tail of the Oriole once from a far distance. 13. As seen in the link, the skeleton was accompanied by interactive computer games: zoolex.org/media/CACHE/images/exhibit/156/10/4c96a7cd466b6615e37fd5de1fa6618d.jpg 14. Despite my efforts, I can not find a single image of the old aquarium. 15. The manatee rescue and rehab steps are: Rescue, Rehabilitation, Long-term Care, Health Assessment, Pre-release Conditioning, Release, Monitoring 16. The white lion habitat was originally to be converted into a primate island as per the Elephant Trek plans. Now, it will just be part of a pathway to the new Elephant House.

[@MarcoAnguloistheGOAT]

@@thepatrioticbrothersdivegr4743 I don’t think that they have them

[@ZooTours]

They do not. They were transferred out about a month ago.

[@thepatrioticbrothersdivegr4743]

@@ZooTours Where to?

[@ZooTours]

Pittsburgh

[@thepatrioticbrothersdivegr4743]

@@ZooTours Any proof? And will the next episode be about the Creatures of The Night in Memphis Zoo

[@YoMike91]

Two exhibits that should be featured on this channel are, South America's Pantanal and the Galapagos Islands at the Houston Zoo.

[@LegitEliminator]

I love Manatee Springs, Ive been to manatee sleepover when I was little. I also remember I was little that when you see the Manatees the room use to have manatee sounds playing on some speakers, it felt surreal being there. Thanks for making video on this exhibit and including White Lions exhibit, whatever happens to that exhibit - Cincy will always remember them!

[@ZooTours]

So I wasn't crazy on remembering the manatee sounds! Even though it doesn't change the value of the exhibit at all, I miss them very much. I remember the noise as a groan, but I found in my research, manatees only make clicks and squeaks.

[@LegitEliminator]

@@ZooTours Yeah, thats probably why they remove thembecause, they werent accurate sounds. Although, I think they were probably using for whole "sea cows" reference.

[@neilchace1858]

It'd be nice, rather than exhibits, to get some videos showing the entirety of smaller/lesser known facilities. So many small and medium sized zoos have incredible exhibits, but don't have anything large enough to be a video in its own right, so to feature some smaller zoos in singular videos, and show the entire zoo (or as much as possible) in that video would be great!

[@theimmigrant7953]

It’s been a while since Houston’s been featured, their South America’s Pantanal and newly opened Galápagos Islands simply NEED to be shown on Zoo Tours.

[@wildandmagicalworldofflori8032]

Oh WOW! I wasn't expecting to see so much in this one attraction. Being a Floridian myself, this habitat makes me feel like we were back in Florida! I'm looking forward to seeing this habitat when I visit this fall!

[@jacobgroom1409]

I’d love to see you give “Texas Wild” from Fort Worth some love!

[@dinodude9532]

The Museum of Living Art in the Fort Worth Zoo needs to be covered on this channel at some point.

[@agustin091]

The Manatees are so cute! Amazing Video!

[@kylemccollum3996]

Can you do Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. BTW huge fan of your videos.

[@brodybearing5625]

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's "Rocky Mountain Wild" and Denver Zoo's "Tropical Discovery"

[@projectobject7]

I think you should cover the Tulsa Zoo's Wildlife Trek, or even better, cover the OKC zoos Sanctuary Asia or upcoming Expedition Africa!

[@joshuazerbel2495]

Great episode and probably one of the most unique additions to the Cincinnati Zoo I’m terms of what I would like to see on Zoo Tour's probably Kilimanjaro Safari due to it being in my opinion the best African safari in the U.S.

[@kevinmiller4457]

I would love to see you feature Wild Africa at the Binder Park Zoo.

[@mrex8554]

Id love to see you go to gatorland, the crossover we never knew we needed lol

[@TheGamingTigerKing]

I’ve been coming to Cincinnati Zoo for almost 20 years and I always enjoyed seeing the wildlife in Manatee springs but really I’m more glad that Cincinnati and my home town here in Columbus are here to give these animals a fighting chance to live. For a exhibit that should be featured is the Tiger Trail at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and also Jungle Trails in Cincinnati.

[@alextepe4309]

I know it’s a bit far off, but something tells me that you’re going to want to do a video of Elephant Trek when it opens tentatively next summer.

[@robertschulze7867]

i would love to see you visit Zoo Basel. It is very pretty !!!!

[@Shrock568]

This was an amazing video!

[@Mr_Menace712]

Can you do the polar exhibit at San Diego or continue lost forrest

[@GGabe_]

You should definitely come to the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk to tour the Okavango Delta!! It has many diverse species and amazing habitat designs!!

[@Gagaloopony]

Awesome video! I was actually there over the weekend. The manatees have always been one of my favorite exhibits at the zoo. Also, I’ve done sleepovers here twice, once for Girl Scouts and once as a school trip, and I would highly recommend it! Both times were super fun and informative.

[@NostalgiawithJack]

Did you know that Las Vegas is getting a new zoo? They already had a zoo, but was closed in 2013, and it was 3 acres then. Now they're planning on building a new zoo that's going to be 100 acres located in the southwest of the city, and they're planning on opening in 2025. This zoo will be split into 16 different attractions and will contain over 900 animals from 300 species. I hope you will be able to cover some exhibit tours when that zoo opens.

[@alexbroadbent5313]

Do you ever plan on doing an episode about wild Africa at binder park zoo?

[@CardinalKaos]

Its wierd seeing your back yard as a zoo exhibit lol

[@bgdancer100]

Two exhibits from my hometown that should be featured: Elephant Lands and Predators of the Serengeti, both at the Washington Park Zoo in Portland, OR.

[@davidwesley2525]

Since about 1998 Portland Oregon's Zoo is called The OREGON ZOO. 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

[@davidwesley2525]

bgdancer 100. Recently the Oregon Zoo added a New Polar Bear " POLAR PASSAGE " Exhibit. 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

[@dororexgaming4205]

some exhibits I'd like featured are the Pantanal and Galapagos Islands at Houston Zoo and the Hunters of Africa and Predators of Asia opening this summer at Fort Worth Zoo

[@Nissanghmohanbabu]

Three exhbiits that need to be featured in Zoo Tours are the California Trail at Oakland Zoo, the LAIR at the Los Angeles Zoo, and the Wayne and Gladys Valley Children's Zoo at Oakland Zoo.

[@Nissanghmohanbabu]

The Zimmer Bug House and the Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Room are located in the Wayne and Gladys Valley Children Zoo at Oakland Zoo.

[@christianbontempo8859]

If you ever find yourself back in Florida, check out the Palm Beach Zoo and Zoo Miami.

[@christiancelis4642]

Dallas Zoo's Giant of the Savanna.

[@chasechristophermurraydola9314]

One exhibit that i feel for sure that needs to be featured on zoo tours is the big cat falls at the Philadelphia zoo and the reason is because they have a building that’s a theater and a building about big cat conservation and they also have this thing called zoo 360 where the big cats like tigers, jaguars and leopards can walk over you.

[@gdoolittle5745]

I loved it

[@dylanmckenzie3172]

I don't expect it any time soon but Gondwanaland at Leipzig would be amazing to be cover

[@shinygatrgamer593]

A note on the Burms: the reason there is a large population is actually from a breeding facility getting destroyed in a storm!

[@savannahvarns2126]

If I had to name an exhibit that should be featured, I would say the South American section of the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, Arizona it may be short but it’s one of my personal favorite ones

[@yazidzajni5039]

Wowwww 😊

[@graffic13]

Well, Toledo has a new bear exhibit... and you can always show us anything historic about WPA zoo buildings like toledo zoo has ... zoo history is great Toledo had pink river dolphins @ one point ... and once had a zebra that pulled a cart.

[@jonasmeijer6177]

African Grasslands at the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo

[@FleursarphatieSarphatie]

Did you ever going to zoo in netherlands are good

[@КарасьФортнайтер-о7з]

Bronx zoo and Cincinnati rhino reserve

[@crossovertrainfan8345]

California Trail: Oakland Zoo

[@Jelboo]

I love this channel but I'm sometimes confused why every episode features footage that's played backwards. I've started noticing it and it's distracting at times!

[@ZooTours]

This time, I actually don't know which one is reversed - although I do believe you. Sometimes it's done to keep a consistent flow of clips moving in the same direction (left to right), or I mis-timed pressing the play button and reversing the clip usually fixes this.

[@gigiluigi6359]

Piccolina 😂😂 top name

[@gnux]

Amazon and Beyond at Zoo Miami 🐆

[@coreyjones6401]

Whatever happened to their reptile house?

[@suzielangen7401]

The Reptile House is open

[@coreyjones6401]

Ok, thank you

[@PrestonPfeifer-yf4ej]

Discovery Outpost (reptile area) at San Diego Zoo

[@pandaboi3383]

Wings of Asia, Miami zoo

[@xavier_da_one6268]

Jungle trails-cincinnati zoo🦧

[@xavier_da_one6268]

And South America's pantanal-houston zoo

[@kibawolflve124]

Houston zoo Galapagos

[@brettwebster607]

Do mongoose

[@steliosstanis2125]

🐊🐢🦎🐸🐍🐟🦭

[@godzillaenthusiast9687]

their basilisk enclosure is utter shite, not at all enough room and almost no water

[@karenindesoto]

Black camin

[@ello5023]

In sweden you should maybe visit Kolmården 🫶🏻

[@ShempHoward2]

Excited to see this exhibit again!

[@lesliechu8879]

Zounds! Manatee Springs at Cincinnati Zoo! Say, visit the San Diego Zoo Safari Park & Woodland Park Zoo soon! Also, Zak, 4 zoo trivia questions for you & your girlfriend... 1) What other crocodilian, besides the caimans, did the SF Zoo once house in the Tropical Rainforest House back in 2000? 2) What crocodile species did the Mandalay Bay's Shark Reef Aquarium once house before the Komodo Dragon moved in? 3) Which elephant at the Oakland Zoo passed away last month? 4) When did the SF Zoo's bobcat, Inti, passed away before a female Andean Condor moved in? Jumping Tanycolagreus!🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊

[@ArtistSince05]

I love this tour video, Zach! Btw, here’s some of my zoo and aquarium tour recommendations for you to visit: Bronx Zoo’s JungleWorld (1985) Ocean Wonders: Sharks! At the New York Aquarium (2018) Adventure Aquarium’s Ocean Realm and Hippo Haven (2005) San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s Walkabout Australia (2019) Brookfield Zoo’s Habitat Africa! (Both Savanna and Forest) And last but not least, Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Open Sea.

[@minthantlin9168]

And don't forget Into The Deep ( if it's permanent and still open ).

[@TheRandomZooVisitor]

African Grasslands at Omahas Henry Doorly Zoo/Aquarium

[@kristinkoppes686]

Rivers to the sea at the national Mississippi River museum and aquarium in Dubuque Iowa

[@tylerkohorst9124]

Akron Zoo, Curious Creatures or Komodo Kingdom

[@Penguin2907]

You should do Kansas City Zoo and pick an exhibit that you would like to feature as a next exhibit

[@TheRandomZooVisitor]

Or wait for the Aquarium

[@alexallen9640]

Nice video and exhibit. To answer this week's trivia I will say Dallas World Aquarium. 🙂👍

[@kaizengaming510]

i love this channel. this channel allows me to experience zoo tours without needing to go to one. cause not all the time u have time and money to go to the zoos. thanks zoo tours for the virtual tours. keep it up man!

[@olekklein27]

You should go to the uk and Tour some uk zoos

[@banimates]

come back to pittsburgh zoo and review the islands exhibit!

[@lindarevere5846]

HOW TO SAY THIS ZOO IS SPECIAL===THEY ALL HAVE SPECIAL THINGS TO SEE AND FAVORITES ARE TOO HARD TO SAY!!!!

[@meredithholt9988]

You should do "The Herpetarium" from the Saint Louis Zoo.

[@bkfireshark]

Gotta cover the Asian Savannah and African Plains at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

[@skittlezzz0014]

One exhibit that I think should be featured on the channel is Jungle Trails at Cincinnati

[@lucaperez4269]

philidephia zoo Reptile and Amphibian House

[@giovannachauca1331]

Super good, and I like animals.

[@ghinannafsiaqila4629]

Subhanallah beautiful

[@thomaskang9382]

Asian passage San Diego zoo

[@kevinmiller4457]

Did the Toledos zoo white lions die?

[@КарасьФортнайтер-о7з]

Good video and exhibit

[@StarGiraffinum]

I know you find most Africa sections boring, but I would love for you to eventually do a video on the Virginia Zoo's Okavango Delta. Also to answer the trivia question, I believe the Dallas World Aquarium.

[@NicholasConsuegra]

Animals

[@MarcoAnguloistheGOAT]

An exhibit I really want to see is the Asian Highlands in Omaha. I also want to see more from Animal Kingdom

[@iloveautumn9682]

Hey, I just wanted to say that I feel like one exhibit that definitely needs to be featured on the channel is the California Trail at the Oakland Zoo

[@rjshea1939]

[4th] Keep uploading the amazing content!

[@deezsnutz4562]

can you visit the bronx zoo it has some amazing exhibits, ex madagascar, jungle world, congro goriila forrest, world of bird and others