How many zoos have you visited? (poll 2)

Thanks for that! I knew that thread existed and you ended up choosing Vienna, but I couldn't find it when looking for it briefly earlier, and the discussion might spark some ideas! Vienna is definitely a likely candidate for my 100th, as well.

It actually depends what counts as a "zoo" and what doesn't for my total. Currently I count all zoos, terraria, aquaria, bird parks, animal rehabilitation centres and theme parks containing significant amounts of animals (like Skansen in Stockholm and Sea World...), but there's a few 'borderline' cases:
Sentosa Animal Encounters, which only consists of an aviary and 2 small animal shows;
Tivoli Aquarium, which is a theme park that has a very small "aquarium" with 3 medium-sized various tanks and a large reef tank (containing bonnethead and black-tipped reef sharks and a large amount of reef fish), but not much more;
A turtle hatchery in Bali, with 2 'permanent resident' species of sea turtle, though it only consists of a few shallow plastic tubs in a resort;
And a crocodile farm and ostrich farm in Malaysia, both keeping the species they specialize in plus a few others (cassowaries in the ostrich farm, a few reptile tanks in the crocodile farm).

Either way, depending on whether or not those count, I've been to anything in between 99 and 94 collections... So I have a bit of free space to plan things around (in April I'll likely be visiting Zagreb's zoo, but I'm not sure if that's quite special enough to be my 100th )

 

This prompted me to write down all the places I have been to, having thought it was about 60, but was surprised that it came out at 73 (74 if my memory is not deceiving me, and there being a shire horse centre somewhere in Buckinghamshire many years ago - am I just imagining that?)

The bulk of that has been in recent years when I have been in a position to indulge my interest more. I'd really like to visit more distant zoos, but ancient car and limited funds make it difficult.

 

My total somewhat arbitrarily excludes two butterfly parks - in Bali and at Sentosa - which were both so relatively devoid of butterflies and generally insubstantial that I can't bring myself to include them. I also exclude the Melbourne Museum, which many do count because of its sizeable invert collection, but I think the live displays are such a small part of the overall whole that I can't think of the institution itself as a 'zoo'.

 

I didn’t even think to include Martin Mere in my count - I used to live just down the road so I’ve been going since I was pretty young, probably from the age of around 7 or 8 years old.

 

105 most recently the Duke Lemur Centre on 1/15/18.

 

Each to their own but I wouldn't personally include a shire horse centre (there's probably an interesting debate in there somewhere) -it's too close to including a horse in a field for my liking (and leads to including farm parks which seems too far from a zoo for me). Let's face it, ten shire horse centres doesn't equal one small zoo.

 

One dog can equal a zoo, but it might be a shih tzu.

 

Hmmm, finally have some time so here's my list:

EUROPE - 66:
Belgium - 12
Aquatopia
Bellewaerde
Boudewijn Seapark
Dierenpark Planckendael
Familiepark Harry Malter
Monde Sauvage Safari Park
Olmense Zoo
Pairi Daiza
Sea Life Blankenberge
Serpentarium Blankenberge
Zoo Antwerpen
Zwin Natuurcentrum

Czech Republic - 13
AkvaTera Plzen
Decin Zoo
Dvur Kralove Zoo
Krokodyli Zoo Praha
Morsky Svet Praha
Prague Zoo
Usti Nad Labem Zoo
Zoo Brno
Zoo Jihlava
Zoo Plzen
Zoo Olomouc
Zoo Ostrava
Zoo Zlin

Denmark - 3
Copenhagen Zoo
Den Bla Planet
Tivoli Gardens Aquarium

France - 7
La Citadelle Besancon
Menagerie Jardin Des Plantes
Nausicaa
Parc Animalier Des Angles
Parc Des Felins
Parc Zoologique De Paris
Zoo De Bordeaux-Pessac

Germany - 11
Allwetterzoo Munster
Berlin Tierpark Friedrichsfelde
Berlin Zoologischer Garten
Kolner Zoo
Tierpark Nordhorn
Weltvogelpark Walsrode
Wuppertal Zoologischer Garten
Zoo Duisburg
Zoo Frankfurt
Zoo Krefeld
Zoo Leipzig

Ireland - 1
Dublin Zoo

Italy - 1
Parco Faunistico del Monte Amiata

Netherlands - 10
Apenheul
Burgers Zoo
Dierenpark Amersfoort
Dierenpark De Oliemeulen
Dierenpark Zie-ZOO
Diergaarde Blijdorp
GaiaZoo
Natura Artis Magistra
Safaripark Beekse Bergen
Vogelpark Avifauna

Poland - 3
Nowe Zoo Poznan
Stare Zoo Poznan
Zoo Wroclaw

Sweden - 1
Skansen

Turkey - 1
Sea Life Akvaryum

United Kingdom - 3
Belfast Zoo
Llanelli Wetland Centre
ZSL London Zoo


NORTH AMERICA - 8:
Canada - 3
Biodome Montreal
Niagara Falls Bird Kingdom
Toronto Zoo

United States of America - 5
Bronx Zoo
Central Park Zoo
Prospect Park Zoo
San Diego Zoo
SeaWorld San Diego


AFRICA - 1:
South Africa - 1
Moholoholo Animal Rehabilitation Centre


ASIA - 20:
China - 2
Chengdu Panda Breeding Center
Shanghai Zoo

Indonesia - 5
Batu Secret Zoo
Gembira Loka Zoo
Nirwana Gardens Mini Zoo
Project Penyu Turtle Hatchery
Taman Safari Prigen

Laos - 1
Luang Prabang Bear Sanctuary

Malaysia - 3
Brinchang Butterfly Farm
Desaru Ostrich Farm
Sunway Lagoon Kuala Lumpur

Singapore - 9
Live Turtle & Tortoise Museum
Jurong Bird Park
Sentosa Animal & Bird Encounters
Sentosa Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom
S.E.A. Aquarium
Singapore Night Safari
Singapore River Safari
Singapore Zoo
Underwater World Singapore


OCEANIA - 3:
Australia - 2
Sydney Aquarium
Wildlife Sydney

New-Zealand - 1
Kiwi & Birdlife Park

-

I desided to omit Ee Feng Gu Bee Farm and Teluk Sengat Crocodile Farm as they both didn't have quite enough non-farming animals for me to really consider them. Another omission was Museu Municipal de Puigcerdá, where I saw a temporary poisonous reptile exhibition in the early 2000's, but this is normally only a museum, not a zoo.
Desaru Ostrich Farm stayed in because they do have quite some cassowaries and emus, do tours and charge entry. Additions are Apenheul (I was even a member for two years, no idea how I could forget adding Apenheul!) and a bear rescue centre in Laos.

That brings my total to 98, giving me two more places before 100!

 

Just remembered that I saw 3 small zoos in Southwest Australia, bringing my total to 52 zoos!

 

I count places advertised as farm parks if they have non-domestic species as well, even if only common species (fallow deer, meerkats, wallabies, etc). If they exclusively display domestic forms I wouldn't count them; though there are certainly some borderline cases.

The other thing that certainly wouldn't count is anywhere whose primary purpose is sale of animals, even if in some cases they are more interesting than the nearest 'zoo' equivalent (Wharf Aquatics vs Matlock Bath Aquarium, for example!).

 

@Chlidonias both!

I visited New Zealand in the summer of 2008, so I would have been just under 11 at the time. With the family we toured throughout both islands, I believe we landed in Christchurch and took off from Auckland. I vividly remember at least some highlights like the Oamaru blue penguin colony, yellow-eyed penguins, Australasian gannets, a royal albatross, a lot of fur seals and a kea. The albatross was from a dolphin/whalewatching boat, from which we also saw common dolphins. We also saw a large cetacean from the shore splashing in the distance, but 10-year-old me couldn't quite figure out what those were.

From pictures I know I've seen a few others, as well, like paradise shelduck, spotted shag, black shag, NZ pigeon, weka, red-billed gull and kelp gull.

From a birders' perspective now it's slightly annoying I went there when I did, but overall it was still a wonderful experience!

 

Ok, now I feel old.

 

@CGSwans, If it makes you feel better, it was only a few weeks before I turned 11, so I edited my post accordingly.

Either way, typing that out weirded me out as well... I can't get used to 2008 being 10 years ago!

 

I've visited 325 zoos in the USA, 25 zoos in Canada, 19 zoos in Australia, 2 zoos in Switzerland and 1 zoo in Trinidad & Tobago for a grand total of 372 zoos*. I tend to go an entire year at a time without visiting a single new facility, before beginning another 'Snowleopard Road Trip' that significantly boosts my all-time total.

* 288 zoos + 84 aquariums = 372 'zoos'

 

Indeed, it's half a lifetime ago.

For some.

 

Like many others, I am in what is (currently) the most common category, 100-199 zoos. My current total is 126, which could grow by only a few or quite a bunch this year. In order to make Bronx my 100th zoo, I picked and chose a few of the institutions I counted (mainly variation with a museum and a theme park that included animals, and a few butterfly places) but now have grudgingly just decided to count all of them. Bronx is still my 100th in my heart though, especially considering I have no memory of a few I visited as a child, which evened out the score. Here they are, in no particular order other than the state in which they are located (which has little significance, I just used this to organize my list initially. If anybody is wondering, the state I have visited the most zoos in is Texas, with 28, followed by Florida, with 21). The year of my most recent visit is in parentheses behind the facility's name. The only facilities which may be countable to some that I don't count are the Marine Mammal Center (no permanently captive animals) and Bluebird Gap Farm (which is just a farm. They have peacocks, though it really cannot be considered a zoo).

Texas
1. SeaWorld San Antonio (2016)
2. Dallas Zoo (2017)
3. Fort Worth Zoo (2017)
4. Houston Zoo (2016)
5. Cameron Park Zoo (2016)
6. The Texas Zoo (2016)
7. San Antonio Zoo (2016)
8. Exotic Resort Zoo (2015/2016, I am not entirely sure. It is unremarkable.)
9. Gladys Porter Zoo (2016)
10. Moody Gardens Rainforest (this and the aquarium have separate admission fees, so I count them separate accordingly) (2016)
11. Moody Gardens Aquarium (2016)
12. Austin Zoo (2015)
13. Austin Nature and Science Center (2015)
14. The Meadows Center (2015)
15. Capital of Texas Zoo (2016)
16. Topsey Exotic Ranch (2016)
17. Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (2016)
18. Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (2016)
19. Dallas World Aquarium (2017)
20. Texas State Aquarium (2015)
21. SeaLife Grapevine (2016)
22. Children's Aquarium at Fair Park (2016)
23. Downtown Aquarium Houston (2016)
24. Caldwell Zoo (2016)
25. Ellen Trout Zoo (2016)
26. Texas Discovery Gardens (2016)
27. Animal World and Snake Farm Zoo (2016)
28. DFW Reptarium (2017)

Hawaii
29. Waikiki Aquarium (2011)
30. Honolulu Zoo (2011)
31. SeaLife Park Hawaii (2011)

California
32. Los Angeles Zoo (2015)
33. San Diego Zoo (2015)
34. San Diego Zoo Safari Park (2015)
35. San Francisco Zoo (2015)
36. Aquarium of the Bay (2015)
37. Aquarium of the Pacific (2015)
38. Monterey Bay Aquarium (2015)
39. SeaWorld San Diego (2015)

Virginia
40. Virginia Living Museum (2010)
41. Virginia Aquarium (2016)
42. Virginia Zoo (2016)
43. Virginia Safari Park (2007)
44. Busch Gardens Williamsburg (2008)
45. Metro Richmond Zoo (2016)
46. Nauticus (2008)
47. Roer's Zoofari/Reston Zoo (2016)
48. Hidden Pond Nature Center (2017)
49. Three Lakes Nature Center and Aquarium (2008)

Missouri
50. Saint Louis Zoo (2017)
51. Grant's Farm (2015)
52. Kansas City Zoo (2017)
53. SeaLife Kansas City (2012)
54. Wild Animal Safari (2012)
55. Dickerson Park Zoo (2012)
56. World Bird Sanctuary (2017)
57. Butterfly House (2009)

Maryland
58. Maryland Zoo in Baltimore (2017)
59. National Aquarium in Baltimore (2017)
60. Salisbury Zoo (2016)
61. Catoctin Mountain Wildlife Preserve and Zoo (2017)
62. Plumpton Park Zoo (2017)

Washington, D.C.
63. Smithsonian National Zoo (2018)
64. National Aquarium in DC (closed) (2008)
65. Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History (Insect Zoo) (2017)

Pennsylvania
66. Philadelphia Zoo (2017)
67. ZooAmerica (2016)
68. Hershey Gardens (Butterfly Atrium) (2017)
69. Elmwood Park Zoo (2017)
70. National Aviary (2017)
71. Pittsburgh Zoo (2017)

New Jersey
72. Adventure Aquarium (2017)

Florida
73. SeaWorld Orlando (2010)
74. Disney's Animal Kingdom (2017)
75. Epcot (The Seas with Nemo and Friends) (2017)
76. Santa Fe Teaching Zoo (2016)
77. St. Augustine Alligator Farm (2017)
78. Lubee Bat Conservancy (2016)
79. Lowry Park Zoo (2016)
80. Florida Aquarium (2016)
81. John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park Visitor Center and Aquarium (2017)
82. Butterfly Rainforest (2016)
83. Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park (2017)
84. Busch Gardens Tampa (2017)
85. Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens (2017)
86. St. Augustine Aquarium (2017)
87. Lemur Conservation Foundation (not open to the public) (2017)
88. Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens (2017)
89. Zoo Miami (2017)
90. Frost Museum of Science (2017)
91. Palm Beach Zoo (2017)
92. Lion Country Safari (2017)
93. Brevard Zoo (2017)

Oklahoma
94. Tulsa Zoo (2012)
95. Oklahoma Aquarium (2012)

Kentucky
96. Louisville Zoo (2014)
97. Kentucky Down Under (2014)
98. Newport Aquarium (2017)

Tennessee
99. Memphis Zoo (2017)
100. Nashville Zoo (2017)
101. Aquarium Restaurant Nashville (2004-2006, unknown)
102. Zoo Knoxville (2010)
103. Chattanooga Zoo (2010)
104. Tennessee Aquarium (2010)
105. Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies (2009)

Ohio
106. Cincinnati Zoo (2017)
107. Columbus Zoo (2017)
108. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (2010)

Indiana
109. Mesker Park Zoo (2013)

Georgia
110. Georgia Aquarium (2010)
111. Zoo Atlanta (2010)

North Carolina
112. Sylvan Heights Bird Park (2017)
113. Duke Lemur Center (2016)
114. Greensboro Science Center (2016)
115. Carolina Raptor Center (2017)
116. North Carolina Zoo (2017)

Delaware
117. Brandywine Zoo (2017)

West Virginia
118. Oglebay's Good Zoo (2017)

New York
119. Staten Island Zoo (2017)
120. Bronx Zoo (2017)
121. Central Park Zoo (2017)
122. Prospect Park Zoo (2017)
123. New York Aquarium (2017)
124. Queens Zoo (2017)

Kansas
125. Topeka Zoo (2013)

Nebraska
126. Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (2017)

I think this is a very good total considering my age, and I hope it will grow a lot this year! The next addition will be next month

 

I would visit this place just for its hilarious name!