May 16, 2015
On a gloomy Saturday morning I (and a bazillion others) decided to visit the Zoo's recently completed Banyan Wilds exhibit, starring the 3 new young Malayan tiger brothers. Oh it was lovely to see those boys - powerful, strong and HUGE.

From a distance the exhibit looked wonderful. It indeed offered an up close and personal look at the tigers. They could come right up to the glass. There were several 'enhancement opportunities' - a small pond with a big ball, a 'Jiggle tree' and rocks to climb, all close to the windows. Kids loved it.

Sadly, I was underwhelmed. The magnificent tigers' outdoor area looked quite cramped and small. The window glass was divided on the 'people' side by artificial, winding 'tree-trunks' every few feet. Pretty, but it leaves room for only a couple of adults to stand in each of the spaces.

As I waited my turn, I noticed with alarm that the glass was etched everywhere with depictions of large vines and banyan leaves, leaving very little chance for a clear shot unless you were lucky enough to be the only person standing in that space. The etchings were implemented to stop birds committing harakiri on the glass. Further down the path, the views were obstructed by a thick black chain link fence. Ooooooh, it was frustrating for most photographers.

I waited quite patiently untill the initial tidal wave of people moved on and managed to get some nice pictures of the boys although never of the three of them together except the above, through the chain link fence.