Talk:Utah's Hogle Zoo

  1. Home
  2. Wiki

New Picture

[edit]

We need a new picture; the current one is dark and it's hard to read. Anyone live near the Zoo wanna snap one really quick? Jhunt47 (talk) 17:30, 2 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Sentence case for section headings

[edit]

@Zoocentral23: In this edit and in several before, you've capitalized the word exhibits in a section heading without explaining why. I've changed to lower case, explained why and linked to the guideline several times now. Do you see Closed Exhibits as a proper noun? It looks to me like a list of exhibits which have been closed and I'm not seeing why it would be capitalized. Thank you, SchreiberBike | ⌨  22:20, 29 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Multiple issues on Wikipedia Page?

[edit]

Wait, Wikipedia is not promotional or a soapbox? This would explain the Zoo Tycoon series and even JPOG animal rosters moving to other wikis and removed from Wikipedia, but Hogle Zoo barely has the vast majority of their habitat animals listed on their site. I remember when they also had all of the Small Animals listed on their site as well. I also remember when they had a black gibbon as well as the lar gibbons in the old Primate Building, but it never had a page on the official site and was already replaced by the male lar gibbon by 2009, and it could either be a crested gibbon or a Kloss' gibbon. Thankfully, there are many news regarding the animals we all know, remember and love, and I sourced some of those news, but if there is some feasible way to briefly add the rich history to the official Hogle Zoo Wikipedia page without any issues, alongside brief summaries of the exhibits, please let me know what it is? HenryIsNice (talk) 05:30, 18 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi. While I do not understand the reference of the Wikipedia article's about the Zoo Tycoon and Jurassic Park computer games, the suggestion that "[the people behind these games] moving to other wikis" and how "Hogle Zoo barely has the vast majority of their habitat animals listed on their site" implies a misunderstanding of WP:NOTWEBHOST and WP:COI. To confirm, this Wikipedia article has no connection to the subject organization and it is not "their site". It is intended to be a neutral and verifiable encyclopedia article.
Otherwise you might consider reading WP:NPOV and WP:NOTPROMO for how to write in a non-promotional tone. In most cases, the concerns with this article relate more to its tone than to its content. Simply listing or describing the zoo's current animals or former habitats (if cited) would not necessarily be promotional. Many zoo articles do this. Including several, like the Lemurs' Park and Phoenix Zoo articles, which are classified as "good articles" and complying with related policies under the Wikipedia:WikiProject Zoo criteria.
In this article on the other hand, turns of phrase like the following are overtly promotional in tone and intent and not in keeping with related guidelines:
  • "The success of Hogle Zoo's Asian Highlands solidified the facility as a zoo on the come up". "Solidified" with whom? "On the come up"? By what measure? And supported by what references?
  • "To the delight of Utah's public, red pandas returned to Hogle Zoo on May 2, 2018". To the delight of everyone in the state? How is this "delight" qualified and quantified? And, even if we had a reference (with quotes from some members of the Utah public) confirming that some of them were "delighted", why are we even stating as much? Other than as promotional editorial?
  • "Rizzo was the first polar bear to be seen in Utah since 2003 [..and..] delighted guests". Again, even if this "delight" was qualified/quantified/attributed, why are we even saying this?
  • (While since tempered, the stuff about how the "habitats in the African Savanna are outlined by amazing views of the Rocky Mountains", how "The zoo's Conservation Carousel beautifully decorates the plaza", how the former CEO "left behind him an amazing legacy" and other promotional editorial all suggests that some editors (including seemingly those with a conflict of interest) are unaware that this Wikipedia article is intended to be neutral and factual. And not read like (or act like) an extension of the org's website or social channels. Or a fan site.)
Thanks. Guliolopez (talk) 10:56, 18 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for the tip Gulio, I will see what I can do for a start. HenryIsNice (talk) 07:19, 19 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Hey Gulio, I started off by simplifying the current exhibit sections. Any ideas on how I can edit the Hogle Zoo page out of issues? HenryIsNice (talk) 00:21, 27 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
The main issue that remains, frankly, is that the zoo's own website is still one of the main sources for the content. Which causes two problems. Namely that (1) Wikipedia encourages the use of independent sources (for reliability/accuracy/bias reasons) and (2) the over-reliance on the zoo's own website makes this article read like an extension of it (quasi-promotional - at best). Guliolopez (talk) 09:41, 27 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I do appreciate the additional tips, but the problem with independent sources is that not very many of them are particularly reliable. In fact, last time I tried independent sources, they were removed after generally being deemed 'unreliable'. Still, Hogle Zoo is the largest zoo in Utah, a compromised edit of the wikipedia article must be done somehow. HenryIsNice (talk) 13:20, 27 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]