One of the most interesting zoos I have visited is Exmoor here in the UK. The site is small, but they have a very intersting collection, mostly centered on birds and carnivores. Among others they have Ringtail Cat, Binturong, Caracal, many crane species and they are also assisting with the current White Stork introduction project. Very well worth a visit.
Amongst others: Axe valley wildlife park Amazona zoo The deep Birmingham wildlife conservation centre Birdworld Tropical birdland Crocodiles of the world South lakes safari zoo (it’s picked itself up after ‘you know what’)
I don't know if they're underrated or just not well known, but Haifa and Santa Barbara have small but very pleasant zoos, both with great views.
The Potter Park Zoo, Binder Park Zoo, and John Ball Zoo don't get a lot of recognition. I'm guessing it's because the population isn't as dense as it is around the Detroit Zoo, meaning they aren't getting as many visitors as Detroit. They aren't as great as Detroit, but they do have some really nice exhibits. Potter Park Zoo has a pretty good black rhino enclosure. The zoo is also pretty small and doesn't have a lot of exhibits, but they all seem to be well designed for all the animals. The Binder Park Zoo has an amazing African section with a huge savanna exhibit. The whole area is probably about half of the zoo. There is also a pretty good wolf exhibit and snow leopard exhibit. Honestly my favorite zoo out of these three. The John Ball Zoo has a really nice aquarium, chimpanzee exhibit, and tiger exhibit. The zoo definitely has more of a modern feel to it, unlike potter park which has kind of a historic feel, or Binder Park Zoo which feels more like walking through a forest. Now, none of those are the greatest zoos ever, but I honestly think they deserve more recognition. There are also some rare animals here that I haven't seen very often.
For me it’s Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo. Let me explain. Now for such a unrecognized zoo in my opinion, they have a great collection. They have a good collection of primates, Prevost’s squirrels, Tasmanian Devils, stork and pelican collection, and etc. Not to mention besides the central zoo, the exhibits are quality and really cool. African Journey is expansive and huge (plus a sky ride), Australian Adventure has a boat ride and a shark exhibit, and Indonesian Rain Forest feels like your in a forest. This is just my opinion but I think Fort Wayne is probably too 50 in the country.
I'm not sure I'd rank it that high but it is a quite decent zoo and the name implies that it's got fairy tale exhibits or whatever.
He's saying that the name implies that the zoo is for children but in reality is similar to other institutions.
Perhaps I wasn't clear. Calling it a children's zoo might imply that it has storybook themes or is mostly a petting zoo, and so forth. In fact it's a decent small zoo. Years ago Detroit had a separate children's zoo that was in part a petting zoo and the exhibits were based on storybook themes. Here's a picture of the Three Little Pigs exhibit. I remember that they had a big shoe and rabbits for Old Mother Hubbard, and so forth. Long since closed.
Brookgreen Gardens in Myrtle Beach South Carolina has a small zoo with some native animals and it's quite pretty. There are wide open spaces for animals usually given the short end of the stick. (foxes, otters) As well as some impressive aviaries. Definitely an underrated little zoo.
The Dallas World Aquarium is a bit overlooked because if the larger Fort Worth, and Dallas Zoo near by; as well as the Perot Museum being directly across the street. However they don’t feature as many marine animals; instead they feature an abundance of animals from rainforests around the world (they focus a bit more on Central and South America). I would still recommend going here because it’s a fun experience nonetheless.
I don't think anyone on this site is overlooking DWA, if anything perhaps Dallas and Fort Worth are overlooked due to their comparative lack of rarities!
