An interesting award from Trip Advisor. I'm sure this list will be a huge source of debate for all the zoochattters!!! And the world's best zoo is ... - CNN.com
I think Loro Parque is overrated. The zoo already won the TripAdvisor european zoo list and now place 3? I haven't been there yet but looking at the map, the kept animals and the keeping of the animals etc, I think the zoo is good but no way it's one of the best in the world. The few exhibits for gorillas, tigers, penguins etc are beautiful but keeping orcas is, in my opinion, not really suitable, if you understand what I mean. The zoo is really successful in breeding really endangered species of parrots but many of them live in "medium-good" cage rows. The other zoos in the Top 5 are okay I guess. I didn't hear something about the St Louis Zoo before but it seems to be good. In general, TripAdvisor is in my eyes not really a good "zoo-rate" site. The most times, they just look at the normal animals, like zebras or lions, but do not look at the small and rare species. The keeping conditions are often secondary at TripAdvisor.
You guys think the Monterrey Bay Aquarium deserved the #1 spot? If so, it reinforces my desire to visit.
Actually, I'd say the TripAdvisor reviewers (and zoogoers in general) almost care more about the animals' conditions than zoo-nerds do. They just don't have much knowledge about it. Unless even the smallest animals have several acres to roam around, they complain their exhibits (or "cages", as people like to call them) are too small. You also regularly see people feeling sorry for a solitary animal that is being "mistreated" because "it has no friends to play with".
