In a zoo with so many must see exhibits I agree with you that this one is realy a must see-one ! Spend several hours on 2 different days Oct. last year to find all species on the signs ( just missed one or 2 species ). In your list of inhabitants you missed a very notable ( at least IMO ) : Europes last Greater yellownape woodpecker.
I don't know if I can find a full hundred, but among them there must be: -The hippo exhibit at Beauval (F) -Masoala Rainforest at Zurich (CH) -Burgers Desert at Arnhem (NL) -Clouded Forest exhibit for spectacled bears at Zurich (CH) -Burgers Rimba at Arnhem (NL) -Tirolerhof at Schoenbrunn Vienna (A) -Okapi Rainforest at Doué la Fontaine (F) -The African Savannah exhibits at Leipzig (D) -Tiger Taiga at Leipzig (D) -The African Elephant exhibit including Kitum cave at Valencia (SP) -Gharial exhibit at Prague (CZ) -Polar bear exhibit at Rotterdam (NL) As always in such cases, it isn't easy to find fair parameters to judge. Financial resources, space and specially climate conditions are different from zoo to zoo in Europe (e.g. for a Spanish zoo, it is much easier to create a naturalistic (looking) exhibit for African Savannah animals then for a Swedish zoo... and vice versa for polar bears)
Great comeback @lintworm ! You prized the Sichuan house few times already and is not a surprise start. I can only agree with you and @vogelcommando that the place is a small gem. I can anticipate another inclusion from the Prague's long list, but let's wait and see
I'd argue that - albeit on a much smaller scale - the Plzen "Siberian Aviary" is the closest counterpart.
I thought I was the only one who adored this exhibit. One of the (many) surprises when I first visit this excellent zoo.
I won't go into details, but even here are already a number that did not quite make the cut . It is up to a certain extent also really personal, @Philipine eagle also came up with a list (using slightly different criteria), but the overlap was only 33 exhibits... That doesn't mean his list is wrong, but it highlights the diversity around. Any start would have been a surprise start, as I randomized the order with a random number generator . This was a very fitting start indeed though, with an exhibit that won't be a surprise to anyone who has visited Prague, the next 3 exhibits will probably raise a bit more eyebrows To be honest, I don't see many similarities, neither in design nor in species selection. The Siberian aviary very much shows boreal species, often found in Europe too, whereas in Sichuan there are clear tropical influences and typical eastern Asian species not found further north such as pheasants and laughing thrushes.
So do you consider Plzen's Dinopark set of aviaries as one exhibit ? I'm not sure how I would consider it myself but I know it was a very enjoyable and overwhelming experience.
That would be one exhibit, but as it's only must see feature is the insane amount of rarities, I do not include it here (see my first post). There is plenty of info available on rarities in zoos, I would like to focus on exhibitry only here.
I agree, I believe Zoo Berlin's Welt der Vogel is a better bird exhibit and I am curious to see if you'll include it in there. Thank you for the time you put ahead of this thread, I sure will have pleasure reading it all.
Althrough this thread is about exhibits and not about species I evenso want to give a species-list as of mid-October 2021 ( photos of most species just uploaded in the Prague Zoo Gallery ) : - Blue-crowned laughing-thrush - Scaly laughing-thrush - Red-tailed laughing-thrush - Barred laughing-thrush ( signed but not seen ) - Emei Shan liocichla - Scarlet-faced liocichla - Peking robin - Fairy bluebird - Orange-headed thrush - White-rumped shama - Golden-crested myna - Oriental greenfinch ( signed but not seen ) - Barred cuckoo-dove - Ashy wood-pigeon - Grey peacock-pheasant - Temminck's tragopan - Cotton pygmy goose
That's a really nice species list for an area that doesn't represent that well. (because those black and white blob stole all the attention) Most Chinese zoo don't even have any of those species. Thinking of it: Would a panda-aviary works? Sichuan habitats for all, and there are quite a few indoor panda exhibits that basically act like an aviary without birds.
Oh no, I forgot about the ( IMO ) highligh-species of the Sichuan house ! I saw it almost every time I visited the House in Oct. 2021 : Greater yellownape woodpecker by vogelcommando posted 10 Jan 2022 at 10:20 PM
2. African savanna Zoo Salzburg, Austria Opened: 1991 Size: 1.5 hectares Inhabitants: Southern white rhino, Grevy’s zebra, Kafue lechwe and sable antelope African savannas are probably the most abundant mixed-species enclosure in the world. There is an incredible array of inhabitants and design of them in zoos and not two are the same, but few have such pretty views as in Salzburg. The grassy enclosure itself is nice enough, it is not overstocked and designed in such a way that inhabitants can get out of each other's view. What makes this savanna so lovely is the extraordinary view of the Alps in the background. Salzburg is a great zoo for photography, but the views from the savanna are some of the most impressive of the continent, if it is not too cloudy, that is. It is not quite the views one can get in Amboseli, Kenya, with the Kilimanjaro in the background, but still a great vista. @Batto @cottoni Similar exhibits: ZOOM Torino, Italy, another zoo where it's savanna does have a mountain view from the right angle. The major zoos with great mountain views are located in the Alps and Pyrenees with Natur- und Tierpark Goldau, Switzerland, Alpenzoo Innsbruck, Austria, and the Parc Animalier des Pyrenees, France. Natur- und Tierpark Goldau: @Orycteropus
I won't lie, I know it has nothing to do with the exhibit you were highlighting, but someone could claim that last photo was taken in the wild and I'd have honestly believed them, chamois and everything.
@lintworm: While I can absolutely understand or even share your opinion of Salzburgs African Savanna regarding the fantastic view, I have also to disagree because of the same reason. Common visitors (and even some zoonerds) don't get an "African feeling" here. What you see is a lush grasy habitat (so far still okay because you can see that in e.g. South Africa during the year too) surrounded by clearly Eurasian (looking) trees and European style houses. Also the mountain in the back is not really "African" to me, although I must confess that this type of formation could occur in Africa too. On the other hand, I couldn't find anything against the excellent fitting chamois exhibit from Natur- und Tierpark Goldau. Deserves with no doubt a place in your Top-100-Ranking.
This makes me think of a not so great in quality exhibit, but great view. Fuji Safari Park. When you're on the bus you can see giraffes and zebras in front of, you guess it, Tokyo Tower(ok it is in front of Mount Fuji which is always nice)
A bit of info about history of Sichuan house for nerds: The original project, a walk-though waterfowl pavilion without mesh separating birds and visitors, was created by prof. Stanislav Bechyně who was among top Czech architects of pre-WWII era. Due to hardships of WWII and commie putch, the house was built only in 1950s. It closed in late 1980s due to structural damage caused by high humidity and poor building materials. I still have vague childhood memories of walking though it. It had a wild mix of various water-loving birds, most notably penguins. I was too late to see its rarer former inhabitants like James flamingos. The building was let abandoned and overgrown for a decade, finally destroyed by river flooding in year 2002. It got rebuilt from scratch, using original architectonic drawings. Only interior decoration and off-show breeding room (behind those blob-shaped windows) is newly designed.
Maybe Lintworm remembered about the European fish exhibit at Plzen and thinks it deserves a spot here due to its uniqueness ?
