I’ve been asked by several North American ZooChatters about the terrific British magazine “Zoo Grapevine” and thus I decided to take a few moments to type up a mini-review. Independent Zoo Enthusiasts Society Zoo Grapevine is a glossy, colourful magazine that is the journal of the IZES (Independent Zoo Enthusiasts Society) and it is published quarterly. I have the last dozen issues and the publication has been vastly improved during that time period. The latest Zoo Grapevine (Autumn 2012) is perhaps the best yet. It is 40 colourful pages that are all about 8.5 x 12 inches in size, and it includes: 6 glorious pages of reviews of Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Reid Park Zoo, El Paso Zoo, and Living Desert Zoo in New Mexico. Another 6 pages of reviews are on Woodland Park Zoo, Oregon Zoo, Point Defiance Zoo and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. Then John Tuson has 3 pages reviewing Osnabruck and Rheine in Germany. There is a 5-page review of Moscow Zoo by Tim Brown (including off-exhibit animals and the outstanding museum that is only open for approved, pre-booked parties), and a further 5 pages of reviews of Vietnam captive wildlife attractions by Ben Gilbert. There are other odds n' sods but overall the magazine is absolutely brilliant, and eagle-eyed readers will spot several ZooChatter contributions in each issue. In Zoo Grapevine there are always about 4 pages of book reviews, and the latest has a review of 4 books and 3 of them I will soon own. I ordered Abenteur Zoo (German for Zoo Adventure) and even though it is entirely in German it has been highly recommended by a couple of zoo friends. It details 500 German zoos (what a staggering total!) as well as 100 zoos between Austria and Switzerland. The book is apparently in full colour with many photos, essays, etc, as well as the 600+ descriptions. What is astonishing is that Germany has 500 zoos but not a single major aquarium on the level of Shedd, Georgia or Monterey Bay in the United States. Also, Germany has only a single safari park out of those 500 zoos, and so literally the nation is packed with zoo after zoo with barely any exceptions. However, there are many bird gardens and reptile parks to go along with the zoos and the book sounds as if it is the single most comprehensive zoo guide ever attempted. The first edition was published 5 years ago and I never bought it due to its all-German writing but I decided to take the plunge this time around. In fact, whenever I receive a new issue of Zoo Grapevine in the mail my bank account groans because I immediately have the urge to purchase yet more zoo-related books. Past issues are just as note-worthy: Zoo Grapevine from Summer 2012 includes: the usual 4-5 pages of U.K. and International zoo news; a 3 page review of the famous German bird park Walsrode; 4 pages of reviews of The Living Desert in California, Wildlife World Zoo, Phoenix Zoo and Sealife Arizona; 4 pages of reviews of Antwerp, Amsterdam and Rotterdam; 4 pages of Book Reviews; and 4 pages of Rotterdam Zoo (a look back at 50 years ago). Zoo Grapevine from Spring 2012 includes: amongst the first 11 pages there is a species list for the new Reptile House (LAIR) at Los Angeles Zoo; a 4-page review of Menagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris; 5 pages of reviews of 5 lesser-known German zoos; 5 pages of zoo book reviews; and 6 pages detailing a trip undertaken by Raymond Lee Ditmars.
Thanks for the review Snowleopard. Hopefully IZES will give you a discount on their products if more ZooChatters join (I just did ).
Thanks for the great review, snowleopard - I'm sure Tim would thank you too, but he's away this week, mixing business with zoo-pleasure in the Chicago area (lucky dog!). Coming up in the next issue of Zoo Grapevine will be reviews of wildlife collections in Alaska and in Albuquerque, plus a look at Plzen Zoo in the Czech Republic.
Some are still available, but maybe not all. Anyone interested in obtaining back issues - contact Tim Brown at [email protected]
Here is another plug for the superb Zoo Grapevine magazine (published by IZES): The latest issue is Winter 2012, and it consists of 32 large, glossy pages with a plethora of wonderful articles. Included: - 6 pages reviewing 5 different zoos/aquariums in New Mexico, U.S.A. - 4 pages reviewing 3 different zoos/aquariums in Alaska, U.S.A. - 4 pages reviewing Plzen Zoo in the Czech. Rep. - plus another 18 pages of news, reviews, articles and essays!
The book ' Abenteuer Zoo ' mentioned by snowleopard surtainly is worth obtaining. If you don't understand German you still have a book with numberless photos and the names of the cities/villages the zoos are located are in most cases the same in German as in English. By the way, Germany HAS a major aquarium. Maybe not the size of Shedd, Georgia or Montery Bay, the Deutsches Meeresmuseum at Stralsund measures 8000 squar meter had has about 3000 animals in 350 species and surtainly is worth a visit !
My quarterly plug for the superb Zoo Grapevine magazine continues... Spring 2013 includes 32 glossy, colourful pages...including: - 6 pages of zoo news from around the world - 10 pages of reviews of 6 zoos in the state of Louisiana, USA - 4-page review of Detroit Zoo, USA - 2 pages of reviews of a trio of tiny French zoos - 2 pages of Berlin Zoo from over 100 years ago Plus lots more in a high-quality, photo-laden format!
On the whole I enjoy 'Zoo Grapevine' and the book reviews are often excellent, but it's not the best-named publication as most of the news is old and if you read ZooChat, somewhat lacking in depth.
Well, I see that it has been more than two years since I promoted the superb Zoo Grapevine magazine (published by IZES): The latest issue is Summer 2015, and it consists of 36 large, glossy pages with a plethora of wonderful articles. Included: - 4 page review of Jardin Animalier and Musee Oceanographique in Monaco - 4 page review of Budapest Zoo's "Magic Mountain" exhibit (inside the Great Rock) - 5 page review of Warsaw Zoo in Poland - 8 page review of 6 small zoos in southern Florida - plus another 15 pages of news, reviews, articles and essays Here is the society's website: Independent Zoo Enthusiasts Society
If any IZES members haven't received the 'Summer 2015' issue yet, please let me know. We've had occasional cases of journals getting lost in the post.
The latest issue is Autumn 2015, and it consists of 40 large, glossy pages with a plethora of wonderful articles. Included: - 5 page review of the new Paris Zoo - 4 page review of a trio of French zoos near Le Mans - 6 page review of Como Park Zoo and Minnesota Zoo - 8 page review of the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C. - 4 pages of book reviews - plus another 13 pages of news, articles and essays Here is the society's website: Independent Zoo Enthusiasts Society
For those that are unaware, Zoo Grapevine recently combined with International Zoo News and the two publications have joined together to become a single magazine. From cover-to-cover the Winter 2016/17 issue is 46 pages of fantastic zoo information. The publication is still a very high quality production, complete with large, glossy pages and in full colour with numerous photos. Here is a snapshot: - 7 pages of zoo news from all over the world - 8 page review of Cabarceno Nature Park and Zoo de Santillana (both located in Spain) - 5 page review of Wildlands Adventure Zoo in Emmen - 5 page review of S.E.A. Aquarium in Singapore - A very interesting article on the unique "AbyssBox" at Oceanopolis Aquarium in Brest, France - A couple of interesting book reviews - plus a lot more! The past two issues of the magazine have had extensive, detailed reviews of the 5 big Singapore zoological attractions (Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Safari, Jurong Bird Park and S.E.A. Aquarium) and no doubt have forced many zoo enthusiasts to check on prices for Singapore flights. I can dream...
I see...you Brits only include what is inside...I said cover-to-cover and in Canada that is 46 pages. However, I do recognize the authority of the magazine's editor and therefore 44 pages makes sense. Either way, you guys did a brilliant job with the latest issue.
The magazine is published by the IZES. Grapevine has 'swallowed' IZN, thus preserving many years of history - for which great thanks are due. Grapevine will incorporate some elements of IZN - the recent article section, for example. The IZES website is a little out of date, but is, I believe, due to be updated; people who like that sort of thing may be interested to know that there is now an IZES facebook page, which can be found here: IZES. I cannot understand why anyone who has any interest in zoos would not want to be a member of the IZES, and thus subscribe to Grapevine & IZN. It is a superbly-produced, well-written magazine, which really is an essential read!
After a long and distinguished history, International Zoo News (IZN) had reached a crisis. The health of the last editor was declining, and nobody could be found to take over from him: remember this was an unpaid position, and the journal was making little or no profit. To maintain something of that history, the IZES and its magazine Zoo Grapevine took over IZN and merged the titles. We now have a quarterly publication that will, hopefully, incorporate the best features of the two original 'parents'.
I hope I am not the only one interested when this magazine becomes available in pdf format. I know many people like to collect printed zoo memorabilia, but I am interested in the factual content and don't have space for paper.
