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Best and Worst Zoo Maps

Discussion in 'General Zoo Discussion' started by Echobeast, 1 Apr 2018.

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  1. amur leopard

    amur leopard Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    In my defence I was going to have a Wagner's viper but there weren't any suitable photos so I had to have an Anatolian rock lizard instead. And as for the food, you can't have a restaurant in every exhibit of the zoo....
    I know it's a fantasy zoo, but....
     
  2. Batto

    Batto Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Oh, you could have used a Vipera ammodytes, anatolica or barani instead. ;)
    I wouldn't recommend to build any restaurant within a zoo exhibit. Not only because of hygienic or olfactory reasons; given the inhabitant(s) of the exhibit, it might even be a rather short and painful culinary experience for the guests (who might end up becoming dinner themselves). ;)
    Nevertheless, a Turkish restaurant in a zoo would be quite a novel idea. :D
     
    Last edited: 10 Jul 2020
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  3. UngulateNerd92

    UngulateNerd92 Well-Known Member Premium Member 5+ year member

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    I like this idea for a thread. For the Antwerp Zoo maps, I like the second/lower one better as I feel it more accurately depicts the site plan and has more attention to detail which makes it easier for someone like me to navigate, but I can kind of see how it would be hard to follow for laymen zoo visitors.
     
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  4. amur leopard

    amur leopard Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    I think the second one is of Artis, not Antwerp :D
    But yes, I think I like that one better as well. :)
     
  5. UngulateNerd92

    UngulateNerd92 Well-Known Member Premium Member 5+ year member

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    I far prefer the first one! I don't like or care for the cartoonish animal illustrations on the second one.
     
  6. UngulateNerd92

    UngulateNerd92 Well-Known Member Premium Member 5+ year member

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    My bad, I had a brain fart there. Being that both zoos are around the same size/acerage and are both in large cities and have a similar layout, that is why made such a mistake.
     
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  7. amur leopard

    amur leopard Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Don't worry, I do it as well sometimes! Antwerp and Artis are actually the two I confuse the most! :D :)
     
  8. UngulateNerd92

    UngulateNerd92 Well-Known Member Premium Member 5+ year member

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    Thank you, that makes me feel better about it.
     
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  9. Yi Qi

    Yi Qi Well-Known Member

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    Dallas has been done dirty as of 2020.

    [​IMG]
     
  10. Dhole dude

    Dhole dude Well-Known Member

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    They don’t even show the monorail :mad:
     
  11. ZPA

    ZPA Well-Known Member

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    LA Zoo changed theirs, although I'm not sure when. It looks like the San Diego Zoo map from the late 90's/early 00's
    [​IMG]
     
  12. UngulateNerd92

    UngulateNerd92 Well-Known Member Premium Member 5+ year member

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    That is because San Diego Zoo and Los Angeles Zoo used the same map design company during that time. The company was Reineck and Reineck. As you will see, they did map designs for other zoos (ie Denver, San Francisco, Bronx, Minnesota etc.)

    Reineck and Reineck: Zoo Maps
     
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  13. red river hog

    red river hog Well-Known Member

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    Definitely not the worst here, but the Elmwood Park Zoo map isn't the best.
    [​IMG]
     
  14. Julio C Castro

    Julio C Castro Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    This map changed recently, I’d say during this month and I think they switched back because this was their old map prior to their previous iteration that was just straight to the point. My guess it was changed back is due to it clearly pointing out closures of exhibits, playgrounds, and lunch spots. Although I love their previous map that was very colorful and nicely designed, this is a more clear as to where things are. They kept this older map from the 90’ and early 00’s for the ADA accessibility as well even prior to their new map that’s been switched back for this one.
     
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  15. Daubentoniidae

    Daubentoniidae Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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  16. jayjds2

    jayjds2 Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    I went to Chehaw Wild Animal Park today and they had no map at all :eek:
     
  17. PossumRoach

    PossumRoach Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    I just wish that I could see the enclosure layout in the Apenheul's map instead of the simplified route.
     
  18. oxycod

    oxycod New Member

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    Maps I like:
    Phoenix Zoo - it is colorful and represents the zoo quite well. Downside is that it doesn't list the animals - it only provides pictures (and while everyone can tell a zebra and giraffe, it is difficult to distinguish gazelles from antelopes or differentiate the many different bird species.
    Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, TX is actually a good map because it does list the specific species at the zoo in an interactive-based way - using icons to pinpoint on the map where the species are located with numbers that coincide with a numbered list.

    Maps that are terrible:
    Denver Zoo - WHO. EVER. THOUGHT. THAT. WAS. GOOD? - wow, everything about it is terrible. It looks like the zoo is tiny, they highlight the shopping and the food over the animals themselves (and it's really the food that brings you to a zoo?). They barely list any of the animals, so again you are pretty much going by pics - but at least in Phoenix Zoo you have good illustrations whereas with Denver you have horrible clip art (actually, that is a put down to clip art - so I apologize).
    St Louis Zoo map - now here is a map that one would think was good - but actually turns out to be bad. It has a lot of information - maybe too much. It sections the zoo into groups with animals listed in each - but it is unusable as a map! Shouldn't you be able to navigate with a.... zoo map?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: 31 Aug 2021
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  19. PossumRoach

    PossumRoach Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    I also want to mention how brevard zoo has a outdated map and Turtleback zoo’s updated maps can only be found in signs.
     
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  20. MonkeyBat

    MonkeyBat Well-Known Member

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