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The most recent logo of the
Toledo Zoo, featuring hippos
The Toledo Zoo Hippoquarium is an underwater viewing exhibit for hippopotamuses. Because of the popularity of the Hippoquarium, the zoo made a new logo featuring hippos and became well known around the zoological world as a place to view hippos in a more natural setting. The Hippoquarium was rated by USA Today as one of the nation's ten best animal exhibits, and was featured in National Geographic.[1]
The Hippoquarium is located in the African Savannah at the Toledo Zoo, a naturalistic exhibit accessed via an archway made from two giant hippo head sculptures created by Toledo artist Patricia Wagenman. After passing beneath these great open mouths, visitors go underground by a small flight of stairs and enter a room with glass panels on one side. Opposite the glass is a 360,000-gallon pool,[2] giving visitors an opportunity to watch hippos underwater. The filtering system cleans 8000 gallons of water every 90 minutes,[3] yielding especially clean water and great views. In 1987 this allowed visitors and researchers to view the underwater birth of a hippo, which had never before been seen in the wild or in captivity. There have been two subsequent births.[3] One of these births was caught on video and can be viewed at the Hippoquarium.[4]
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Zoos, aquaria and aviaries |
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