How many zoos/aquariums have you visited?

Eh, about 25. I've traveled quite a lot, but on most journeys that I went with as a kid, with the family, I suffered from being the only family member that's into animals, missing out on nearby zoos (eg. Chester Zoo) or having terribly short visits (Only about 90 minutes in Berlin's Zoo-Aquarium!). However, now that I'm traveling increasingly on my own, I'll take advantage of this new independence, and visit whatever zoo takes my fancy!!

 

Today I got my 91st and 92nd.

91. Plumpton Park Zoo: a roadside zoo I visited to see my first black-backed jackal as well as my first Eurasian brown bear. The conditions for all the animals were better than I was expecting, but the zoo's bears and big cats get the short end of the stick as usual.

92. Brandywine Zoo: a small zoo. I finished in 25 minutes. It was free though, that was nice.

 

Do you have a list of the zoos that you've seen in Spain? Congratulations on such an extraordinary number! However, the website Zootierliste has less than 100 Spanish zoos within a 100 km radius from Madrid. I realize that there will be plenty of smaller collections scattered all across the nation...but 356 is an astonishing amount and basically double the zoo total of the United Kingdom.

 

Today I picked up #93 unexpectedly: Hidden Pond Nature Center. I thought it was just a park's visitor center but it was actually a smaller exhibition with almost 20 exhibits of native species.

 

I'm now on 52

 

Anything of interest

 

No, I wouldn't go out of my way to visit even though I live nearby.

 

When I created this poll I voted in the 75-99 category. However my recent trip to Austria got me into the highest category (though I cannot change my vote in the poll).
100 - Tiergarten Schonnbrun (Zoo Vienna)
101 - Tiergarten Hellbrunn (Zoo Salzburg)

Since I am slowing down on zoo photography (and focusing on architecture and landscape), this number is going to increase at a much, much slower rate than in the past.

 

Today I picked up three more:

94. Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo: a decent roadside zoo, and one I suspect to previously have been AZA because of some of its holdings: Amur leopard, sun bear (four individuals!), and others. What was truly notable was the troop of 23 grey-armed macaques (M. ochreata).

95. ZooAmerica- small zoo with a complete focus on American wildlife. I saw a few interesting species such as Gambel's quail and American marten (sadly sleeping).

96. Hershey Gardens- did not expect to find this third "zoo", but with a nice insect collection (situated in a butterfly atrium) I decided I could count it. The highlight was an orchid mantis.

The next time I update this thread I should have over 100, and move up to the last category. I hope to make the Bronx Zoo #100.

 

Does ZooAmerica no longer hold Ringtail?

~Thylo

 

There was an exhibit for one in the nocturnal portion of the desert building but I did not see it.

 

At least 25, I can't remember some when I was young. Mostly in the last 25 years in my business travels. The furthest was Canton, China where the pandas were a small steel bar cage that was horrible. That was in 1990, I hope it has changed by now.

 

Four but I was little when I visited the national zoo and this summer I plan on visiting Cincinnati zoo and maybe the Memphis zoo

 

Are the sun bears still in the small concrete floored cage? I've been skeptical of this zoo since their giraffe died and when the zoo director was asked why the exhibit didn't have a shade structure he said something like, "Giraffes don't have shade in Africa."

 

I seem to have miscounted something in the past as I was on 59, not 60. Now I am on 61.

~Thylo

 

It wasn't entirely concrete but it was rather small (not when compared to bear exhibits in zoos like Plumpton Park, however). It looked like the one you posted a photo of (Catoctin Zoo - Sun Bear Exhibit | ZooChat) but with some minor renovation. I wonder how they managed to acquire sun bears. Three of theirs were born there!

 

Here's a list of all the collections I've visited along with the years I visited and, for the US, the states:

United States
CT- Action Wildlife (2016)
NJ- Adventure Aquarium (2014)
NY- Bronx Zoo (Pre-2011, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
FL- Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens (2016)
NY- Central Park Zoo (2012, 2014, 2015)
OH- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (2013)
CT- Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo (Pre-2011, 2012, 2014, 2015)
FL- Disney's Animal Kingdom (Pre-2011)
FL- Gatorland (Pre-2011)
CA- Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens (2016)
CT- Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk (2011, 2014, 2016)
CT-Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration (2011, 2016)
NY- New York Aquarium (2013, 2016)
KY- Newport Aquarium (2013)
PA- Philadelphia Zoo (2014)
FL- Ponce Inlet Marine Science Center (2014)
NY- Prospect Park Zoo (2013, 2016)
NY- Queens Zoo (2016)
RI- Roger Williams Park Zoo (2012, 2015, 2016)
NY- Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park (2017)
FL- SeaWorld Discovery Cove (2013)
FL- SeaWorld Orlando (Pre-2011)
D.C.- Smithsonian National Zoological Park (Pre-2011, 2012)
FL- St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park (2014)
FL- Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo (2013)
NY- Trevor Zoo (2016)
NY- Utica Zoo (2017)
PA- ZooAmerica: North American Wildlife Park (2012)

United Kingdom
England- Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park (2016)
England- Bristol Zoo (2016)
England- Chester Zoo (2016)
England- Colchester Zoo (2016)
England- Cotswold Falconry Center (2016)
England- Cotswold Wildlife Park (2016)
England- Crocodiles of the World (2016)
Scotland- Edinburgh Zoo (2016)
England- Exmoor Zoological Park (2016)
England- Gentleshaw Wildlife Center (2016)
England- Hamerton Zoo (2016)
England- Hemsley Conservation Center (2016)
Scotland- Highland Wildlife Park (2016)
England- Howletts Wild Animal Park (2016)
England- Linton Zoo (2016)
England- Living Coasts (2016)
England- Newquay Blue Reef Aquarium (2016)
England- Newquay Zoo (2016)
England- Noah's Ark Zoo Farm (2016)
England- Paignton Zoo (2016)
England- Paradise Park (2016)
England- Port Lympne Wild Animal Park (2016)
England- Reaseheath College Zoo (2016)
England- Rodbaston Animal Zone (2016)
Scotland- Scottish Owl Center (2016)
England- Shaldon Wildlife Trust (2016)
England- Tropiquaria Zoo (2016)
England- Twycross Zoo (2016)
England- Wildwood Discovery Park (2016)
England- Wingham Wildlife Park (2016)
England- WWT Slimbridge Wetland Center (2016)
England- ZSL London Zoo (2016)
England- ZSL Whipsnade Zoo (2016)

*2011 was the year I started officially keeping track of the species I've seen and started visiting zoos more seriously. Before that my zoo visits were years apart and I don't remember much about the collections I've yet to visit since nor what I saw at them.

Number of Collections Visited in the US: 28
Number of Collections Visited in the UK: 33

The very first zoo I visited was the Smithsonian National Zoological Park when I was just a baby as we lived in a nearby D.C. neighborhood at the time.

~Thylo

 

Same here, actually. On my first birthday I went to see the pandas. That being said, the zoos that built my love for zoos and animals were probably the Virginia Zoo, the Louisville Zoo, and the Nashville Zoo, zoos I grew up with before I really started going crazy with visits.

 

I think the National Zoo built my love of animals and zoos, but my yearly childhood birthday visits to Bronx are probably what solidified it. Shame I don't remember much from those visits...

~Thylo

 

Besides proboscis monkeys, what other rarities did you presumably see and no longer remember?