I volunteered at the zoo for years. Yes they do some good work, especially for conservation. I could listen to Lou Perottie talk for days. The keepers are amazing dedicated people. I love the new tropics building. And if I remember correctly the elephant habitat actually exceeds AZA requirements.

But it is a sad zoo. Just because they can have some of those animals there and there is an organization that says "yes, this habitat meets the minimum requirements" doesn't mean the animals are happy and healthy. There was also some shitty office politics going on around the time I left that was definitely getting in the way of progress