world's largest

Utica Zoo: Oktoberfest All Year-Round!

Utica Zoo: Oktoberfest All Year-Round!

The iconic Bavarian building at the heart of the 40 acre, AZA accredited Utica Zoo, perfectly personifies the character and soul of the small zoo itself—a reflection of the dominant German population in Utica at the time of its opening in 1920. Utica Zoo is an adorable regional gem, but improvements in service access efficiency, upgrades to older areas of the zoo, and deeper thinking related to the selection of animals are needed.

Chiang Mai Zoo's Aquarium Open At Last...

chiang-mai-logoThe Aquarium, the newest add to Thailand's Chiang Mai Zoo, is finally open.  In late October, the Aquarium shut down literally hours after its official opening gala, due to malfunctions in both the life support systems and the ticketing machines.  Apparently, sand had found its way past the filtration system entering the main tank, and creating water murky enough to delay the opening for about three weeks. 

Saltwater Tank at Chiang Mai's Aquarium

However, the Aquarium is now up and running, and is touted as Southeast Asia's largest with an expectation to gain 800,000 visitors annually.  The Aquarium was built as a joint venture between the Zoological Park Organization (an apparently governmental body) and an undisclosed private investor for the sum of $17 million. 

Saltwater Tank at Chiang Mai's Aquarium

Boasting the World's Longest Acrylic Tunnel at 133 meters (436 feet--longer than a football field!), the Aquarium is over 13,000 sf in area divided into 9 zones.  The tunnel itself not only allows visitors to gaze into the depths of a marine environment, but also takes visitors through a freshwater tank.

Freshwater Tank at Chiang Mai's Aquarium

I've not been able to find many pictures of the Aquarium online, so if you know of any, please let me know.