What do people think is the best small zoo? I'll leave it up to you to define small, whether in area, extent and nature of collection etc.
Some notable ones that have a good reputation are Bristol Zoo (UK) and Central Park (US) although i can't say i've visited either (yet) The best small zoo that i have personally visited would be Paradise Wildlife Park (UK) but I don't think it would compare to the two that I mentioned earlier
Newquay Zoo, at about 12 acres, is developing into an example of a great small zoo, with a growing collection of rarities like Black Wildebeest, Phillipine Spotted Deer, Owlston's Palm Civet, Hoffman's Sloth and Paca.
I love this topic because the best small zoo I have seen in the U.S. is my home zoo: Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, Arizona. I am defining "small" as less than 20 acres (which is why I do not count my neighboring Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, which I believe is around 30 acres???).
small zoos some good small zoos are Akron Zoo Erie Zoo Elmwood zoo outside Philadelphia Topeka Zoo South Bend Indiana Zoo Central Florida Zoo in Orlando
My favorites: Bird Kingdom (Niagara Falls) Wings of Paradise (Cambridge, Ontario) Jungle Cat World (Orono, Ontario)
Adelaide Zoo is fantastic and is getting giant pandas at the end of the year so it will be even better. It's main bad point IMO is the giraffe exhibit but most if not all of the other exhibits are good.
It does say somewhere here on Zoochat and if I remember correctley it's something like 8 hectares...I just converted it and that equals 19.768430517 acres.
I actually prefer smaller zoos to large zoos, I think they have more character and are far more interesting as they can't fit everything in and have to be more selective making them different from each other. I really like Bristol zoo (whihc I would rank above London zoo) with a good choice of species and excellent exhibits (such as monkey jungle and Penguin and seal coast). Newquay zoo has a really interesting collection including Paca, Black wildebeast, pied tamarins, fossa, owstons palm civet, Carpathian lynx, narrow striped mongoose (not yet on show but planned), Merriams kangaroo rat and visayan warty pigs among others (but these are the most unusual/unique)
Akron Zoo Erie Zoo OC Zoo Santa Ana Zoo American International Rattlesnake Museum Fountain Valley Reptile Zoo I would rank them- 1. Erie 2. OC 3. Akron 4. Rattlesnake Museum 5. Santa Ana 6. Reptile Zoo
In Germany I would say it's Magdeburg. It's quite small with 16 hectares but the zoo itself is "too good to call it small" (I never visited Magdeburg but I read and looked up much). Frankfurt has only 11 hectares but it can't be called small zoo either. From the real smaller zoos in Germany, I would say the best are Heidelberg, Krefeld, Halle, Saarbrücken and Augsburg.
I agree with ArizonaDocent about Reid Park, although it doesn't really feel all that small to me. They make good use of the space they have. CloudedLeopard...I noticed you listed OC and Santa Ana Zoos. Do you think they're worth visiting? I could put myself 'in the area' to check them out come November...
Santa Ana Zoo at Prentice Park is kind of shabby and is overpriced. Unless you like primates and barren enclosures, you won't like it. I rate OC #5 of my favorite zoos. It is really good but small. It is non AZA and doesn't have a gift shop or a restaurant/concession and it only costs $2 to get in.
Thanks for the input/opinion. So it probably wouldn't be worth the drive up from San Diego just to go to those zoos (and do a couple other things), huh?
I have started making some rounds around and have visited a handful of small zoos. The one that stands out to me by far is the Chattanooga at Warner Park. It has 13 acres, and most of their exhibits are awesome, especially considering the small space and all the Zoo/aquarium competition in the state and in the area. Here is a list of the top 3 small zoos, but keep in mind I have only been to about 20 Zoos and aquariums so far (planning 4 more for this year). 1. Chattanooga Zoo Tennessee 2. Parque del Este Zoo, Venezuela (because of their outstanding Reptile Collection and awesome Jaguar exhibit) 3. Living Desert Zoo and State Park Carlsbad New Mexico (The park is huge in size but the Zoo is a small local species zoos) Honorable mention, Alameda Park Zoo Alamogordo NM
Santa Ana wasn't THAT bad, but I didn't really like it. OC is good, but I wouldn't drive from San Diego to see them. The San Diego Zoo is better. If this is not too offtopic, how about Columbus? It's not small but it's better than San Diego.
