Well, I'm slightly bored so I thought I'd start a thread where we can discuss the best exhibits that you have seen for the 'A-Z animals'... (I know there is a 'Greatest exhibit' thread, but this is more specific.) I'll list some: -Orang-Utans: Realm of the Red Ape at Chester Zoo (Jersey runs it close) -Gorillas: Jersey Zoo (for the outdoor enclosure) -Elephants: Whipsnade Zoo -Rhinos: Tsavo at Chester Zoo -Hippos: Whipsnade Zoo -Giraffes: Whipsnade Zoo (hard really, there aren't many stand-out ones that i've seen) -Lions: Whipsnade Zoo -Tigers: Whipsnade Zoo -Chimpanzees: Chester Zoo -Penguins: Chester Zoo -Bears: Jersey Zoo I've based mine off the exhibits that i've seen in person, so that will explain the lack of variety and obviously there will be better ones than the examples that i have given...
Victoria Orang Utan- Maybe allwetterzoo munster, but i've only seen it on Zoolex Gorilla-Definatley melbourne zoo Elephant-again melbourne zoo Rhino-Werribee zoo because thier exhibit is huge Hippo-werribee zoo Giraffe-Werribee zoo too 'cos they are with the rhino's Lions-I have two: Mansfield zoo because i looks so nice and werribee zoo because you can't see the fences tigers-Another Zoolex one Minnesota zoo Penguins-Nothing beats the phillip island penguin parade even though it isn't an exhibit And can i add a few more Aviaries-Currumbin Sanctuary rainforest aviary reptile house-Kyabram fauna park: It's all native reptiles and run on solar energy cheetah-werribee zoo Koala-Healsville sanctuary Tree kangaroos- Currumbin
I'll list my answers for the new ones... Aviaries- Condor Cliffs or Europe on the Edge at Chester Zoo reptile house - Tropical Realm at Chester Zoo (themed as a rainforest, free-flying birds, other exotics) cheetah- Whipsnade (this will change to either Chester or Whipsnade's new one, soon)
Aviaries ; Hamilton Zoo NZ Baboons : Wellington Zoo Galapogas Tortoise : Auckland Zoo Kiwi ( for garuanteed viewing purposes ) Otorohanga Reptile House Zoo Negara , Kuala Lumpur Tiger enclosure ; Wellington Zoo Multiple primates ; Auckland Zoo
Baboons-Melbourne zoo haha kidding. It would be perth And monkeys would be the treetop monkeys at melbourne (The only exhibit i don't like is the gibbons
Orangutans - Hamburg Chimpanzees - Leipzig Gorillas, bonobos, gibbons, monkeys, lemurs - Apenheul hippos - Berlin (from visitors' POV) elephants - Rotterdam? penguins - Emmen
i can't really join in on this one since i have visited very few decent zoos. however of the exhibits i have seen which impressed me.... gorillas - melbourne zoo large, full of matured trees, and plenty of varied viewing opportunities for the public without compromising gorilla privacy. orangutans - singapore zoo for being the only zoo i know of in the world that has pulled off keeping orang-utans in a canopy of lush, live rainforest trees and installing an elevated boardwalk to put the visitor in the midst of it. as natural as it gets. baboons - singapore zoo a massive socially complex troop and exhibit design just for that purpose is what makes this one so good. pygmy hippo - melbourne zoo simply because its natural looking. sure, singapore's has cichlids galore, but melbournes is much more spacious (both on land and in water) takes into account the solitary nature of the hippo and is landscaped/immersed brilliantly. the views of mandrills helps too. hippo - werribee zoo overall a great system with naturally filtered water, clever methods of separating the animals but still giving both hippo and visitor the appearance that they are together, spacious and generally very authentic thematics and immersive landscaping. however i would have ditched the playground personally. mixed african savannah - werribee zoo the only thing that sets this open range zoos mixed savannah far ahead of any other zoo's of its kind is the fact that werribee zoo was blessed with an awesome pre-existing site for it. no amount of concrete could ever replicate the natural floodplain and river that snake through the site. now if only they just planted a few senegal palms down there...
MONKEY exhibit-TARONGA ZOO-Francois Langur a large, airey structure that has multiple viewing opportunities and nice interp. the surrounding birds, tapir and chital help WALK-THROUGH PRIMATE exhibit-LONDON ZOO-in with the monkeys for squirrel monkeys REPTILE EXHIBIT- Taronga Zoo, Melbourne Zoo and London Zoo including Dragons of Komodo LARGE CARNIVORES-WHIPSNADE and MELBOURNE Whipsnade for lions and Melbourne for tigers BEST IMMERSION..... Wild Asia-Taronga Zoo Rainforest precinct-Melbourne Zoo African Savanah-Perth Zoo BEST NOCTURNAL HOUSE-Perth Zoo BEST GREAT APE-Rome BioPark-chimpanzee interesting exhibits..... Perth Zoo for orangs, WPZ for indian rhino and otter, Melbourne and Taronga Zoo for amphibians, Artis for its savannah islands and Barcalona Zoo for its gorilla pavillion and Spanish wildlife exhibits
oh and BUGS at LONDON ZOO and the CLORE. how could i forget them. total attractions in their own right. and Melbourne ZOOs gorgeous butterfly enclosure.... and please no debate. i love Taronga's elephant enclosure. the animals swimming are a real treat
Everyone is simply listing exhibits that they are familiar with, which is obviously all they can do. I'm the same way, as Seattle, San Diego and Denver all have multiple award-winning exhibits that I could list with all the others on this thread. However, we shouldn't overlook countries such as Germany and the U.S., with their absolutely enormous number of large zoos. I live in Canada and there are many zoos in this country, but perhaps only the Toronto Zoo and Calgary Zoo are large enough to warrant international recognition. There are others (Montreal Biodome, Granby Zoo, African Lion Safari, etc) but none have the infrastructure or resources like Toronto and Calgary. Australia is in a similar situation: Taronga, Melbourne, Australia, Adelaide and Perth are the big 5 urban zoos. There are some decent aquariums, parks (Alice Springs Desert Park has an awesome nocturnal house!!) and open-range zoos but overall there are only 5 names that are known by most people worldwide. What is startling is that Canada is the # 2 largest country on the planet, and Australia is the # 6 largest country, and yet between them one could argue that there are only about 7 large, urban zoos that would be internationally known. I adore smaller collections and open-range setups as much as anyone, but they aren't as well known or anywhere close to being as popular as their urban counterparts. When discussing zoo exhibits surely the 250+ zoos in Germany or the 220 or so in the U.S. must merit consideration. Those are only the big ones, as I'm not even counting all of the smaller wildlife parks and roadside menageries. My point is that Australia and Canada are massive nations with a puny number of zoological collections. I'm venturing on a 7 week Canada-U.S.A. road trip this summer, and aim to hit a number of new zoos that I've never been to. I've never been to the State of Ohio, but they have four quite large zoos in Cincinnati, Toledo, Cleveland and Columbus. Those four zoos have more captive animals than almost all of Canada! I am exaggerating a little, but the fact remains that there are so many enclosures to be considered on a list of exceptional exhibits that it is virtually an impossible task. Major zoos are a dime a dozen throughout the U.S. and Germany, and many of those zoos must have exhibits that are superior to anything mentioned on this thread. I see people who live near Sydney or Melbourne proclaiming that their local zoo has the world's greatest exhibit of a particular species of animal, while there are British members of ZooBeat that are saying how Chester or Whipsnade has the world's greatest exhibit of an animal species...and I am always mentioning how Seattle has won more exhibit awards than any other U.S. zoo (apart from the Bronx). So what we all need to do is to sell our homes, drop all of our belongings off at the local pawnshop, and hit the highway for a road trip of a lifetime. Let's visit all 10,000 zoos in the world!! Hahahaha... The best way to approach the "greatest exhibits" of the world is to choose the best within a certain country or geographical zone. I don't know if some gorilla exhibit in Atlanta, Georgia is better than one in Melbourne, Australia (even with all of its damn hotwire that I saw there last June)...or if the excellent sumatran tiger exhibit is better at the Adelaide Zoo or the San Diego Zoo. It's much too difficult to choose.
snowleopard that is an entirely accurate point, however I started this thread with the intention to discuss "the best exhibits you have seen", not whether they are the best in the world. I do agree with what you said though...
for whats its worth glyn. i really like the look of the taronga paddock with the deep moat at the front also. unfortunately i'm yet to see wild asia, something i'll fix on my next sydney visit. interesting you mentioned melbourne's tiger exhibit. i think its excellent too. but didn't mention it due to the fact i know many other zoos have good tiger exhibits also.
i think given Australias relatively small population we should be proud to have so many good zoos. its interesting you pcked Australia Zoo as an internationally recognised zoo. and theres no denying it is. but as someone who has never been, im not in a hurry either. it just looks like they have hardly any animals............ in zoo circles Western Plains Zoo was recognised in the 1990s as being one of the worlds top three zoos! but none of their exhibits back then were outstanding.
@Glyn: Australia Zoo has the Steve Irwin factor, and even in death he is a massive name in regards to both conservation and captive wildlife. Most people who have heard of the "Crocodile Hunter" also realize that he had a zoo somewhere in Australia. I actually agree with you in that the zoo doesn't appear to have half as many animals as other major collections, and to top it off the admission is rather expensive. I included it in my list of notable zoos in your country more for its potential than for anything else. With ideas like a safari tour, a hotel, a Madagascar island for lemurs, possibly enormous orangutan and gorilla enclosures (all discussed on past ZooBeat threads) the amount of money that is supposedly going to be pumped into this zoo over the next decade is staggering. Vast sums of money, and huge tracts of land, are being proposed for these giant projects, and with Brisbane's blossoming population I'm sure that Australia Zoo will be even more renowned in another ten years or so. Look at how fast Adelaide Zoo has crept up in terms of recognition. The new immersian Asian forest exhibits are all outstanding, and the pair of giant pandas arriving in 2009 means that $20 million is being spent on creating their exhibit and improving other aspects of the zoo. They will be the only collection in the southern hemisphere with giant pandas, and only one of a handful of zoos in the world outside of China to showcase the species. Whether they are a financial drain or not is debatable, but they have well and truly put Adelaide Zoo on the map.
Spectacled bears and coatis - Zurich Brown bears - Owehands Zoo in Rhenen, Netherlands (it`s a huge forest, used as sanctuary for abused bears) gorillas indoor - Cologne gorillas outdoors - Melbourne and Apenheul, maybe Duisburg too. chimpanzee - Leipzig orang utan outdoors - Leipzig orung utan indoors - Cologne lions - Wuppertal and Chester tigers - same, Wuppertal and Chester different monkey species - Apenheul and Gaiapark Kerkrade black rhinos - Chester white rhinos - Beekse Bergen and Emmen giraffes - Beekse Bergen, Burgers Zoo Arnheim, Leipzig leopards - Hagenbeck Hamburg, Cologne, Arnheim penguins - Emmen Although I`m from Germany and have seen more german zoos then dutch or english, I think the dutch and english zoos have more "best" enclosures then the german zoos.
Yassa, interesting that you find Chester's tiger enclosure one of the best. Personally, I find that it is a bit too small, even though it is well planted and enrichment is provided. It is good, but they could really do with an improvement and therefore it is not my personal favourite for tigers. I haven't seen too many in person, however Bronx Zoo's looks very, very impressive!
It`s definately much better then far most tiger enclosures in Germany and the Netherlands. I found it is relatively spacious and most important, with the trees and the natural vegetation, the tigers have plenty of opportunity to hide. I think for big cats and apes, that is as important or even more important then space alone.
Very true Yassa, I guess I haven't had as much scope on various exhibits as you have. I've rarely visited zoos outside of the UK (and even then it is limited)
Yassa, do you know zoo at Luneburger Heide? Somebody told me that snow leopard exhibit there is the best. Jaguars: Rostock. Open air paddock with high deer fence topped by electric wire. Closed cages for big cats are simply second league. Didn't see Chester, though. Brown bears, wolverines, wolves: Bern. Simply chunks of mature forest. But probably many local German Tiergeheges are equal. Lynx: Tierpark Herberstein at Zurich. Ditto. Beaver: Bern. Fenced natural oxbow lake of river. Huge. BTW, otters used to live there, but escaped.
