The Zoos of Great Britain and Ireland

There is a new zoo book, written by John Tuson, that is due to be published in the next few weeks. Already, there are more than 100 pre-orders of The Zoos of Great Britain and Ireland, which is currently getting printed and will arrive in mailboxes in early 2022. I've seen a few sections of the book and I can assure everyone that the manuscript is brilliantly written and lavishly illustrated. The design is of the highest quality and there will be around 300 pages.

The book will feature 51 zoos, all of which are delightfully highlighted via guidebooks on this website:

Zoo Book - Featured Zoos

Not only will there be 51 zoos profiled with lengthy reviews (including historical accounts of each collection), but the book will have more than a dozen 'special sections' as well. These will be essays on topics ranging from London Zoo's Clove Pavilion to Hamerton Zoo's Australian Collection to The Tecton Buildings at Dudley Zoo. I'm proud to say that I was the #2 individual to pay for the book and I am eagerly awaiting its arrival in the next couple of months.

The main page of the book's website is here:

Zoo Book

And, interestingly enough, the author has been running a poll to find the favourite zoos of Great Britain/Ireland. The link below lists the 51 zoos that feature in the book, and the poll allows individuals to choose their FOUR FAVOURITE ZOOS. That doesn't necessarily mean the best, as otherwise Chester Zoo might as well scoop up the 'award' right now, but one's favourite zoo might be something entirely different and a location full of nostalgia and fond memories.

Approximately 150 people have already chosen their favourite zoos. Go ahead and vote!

Your Favourite Zoos. Not the 'best' (whatever that means), or the most important, but your favourite - for whatever subjective reason you like....

 

I got email saying that the first order came from Norway and the second from Canada My first thought was : Omg, I've beat @snowleopard with seconds!

 

So...it was you who beat me! I'm glad that I came 2nd to a great zoo nerd!

 

Ha ha ha, not even close to great, but I had my moment

 

You're both great zoo nerds!

Seriously, thanks @snowleopard for alerting us to this book. I placed my order and also gladly await its arrival.

Also, that poll, wow, I found it really difficult to pick just four zoos. One was obvious, another pretty obvious, then I found a clear number 3, but found it extremely difficult to choose a fourth! Out of interest, those were:

1. Hamerton
2. Chester
3. Slimbridge
4. Bristol

But I've only visited #4 once. I didn't want to choose a zoo I know to be great but haven't yet visited (e.g. Jersey, Dudley, Paignton), and didn't want to let nostalgia be the guiding force (hence why I didn't choose childhood favourites like Paradise Wildlife Park or London). Will be really interesting to see the results!

 

Very excited for this, just put in an order!

 

I have read articles and reviews by this author before and was impressed by his writing style and opinions. I have stopped collecting books in recent years. (TOO MANY) But this book seems to tick all the boxes and I will certainly make an exception and acquire a copy of this.

 

According to the Facebook posts of the Zoos of Britain and Ireland, more than 200 people voted for their favourite zoos, with some folks choosing two, three or up to the maximum four selections. In total, author John Tuson has been tallying the more than 700 individual votes and he will count down the favourite zoos over the next few days.

Before he delves into the Top 10 favourite Zoos of Britain and Ireland, here is a trio that just failed to crack the Top 10:

#11 - Jersey
#12 - Paignton
#13 - Dublin

 

Author John Tuson has continued to list (on Facebook) the favourite Zoos of Britain and Ireland from the more than 700 votes:

#8 - Yorkshire Wildlife Park
#9 - Colchester
#10 - Edinburgh
#11 - Jersey
#12 - Paignton
#13 Dublin

 

The list continues:

#5 - Whipsnade
#6 - Hamerton (which surprised me!)
#7 - London
#8 - Yorkshire Wildlife Park
#9 - Colchester
#10 - Edinburgh
#11 - Jersey
#12 - Paignton
#13 Dublin

 

Hamerton surprises me too but it's a respectable spot in the list nonetheless. What are our predictions for the top 4? Chester will obviously appear, but who else is missing? Port Lympne/Howletts, Bristol, and Exmoor perhaps?

 

Most of the zoos i thought would be popular haven't made it into the top five, I thought that London would be popular for reasons of nostalgia, Jersey for conservation, Hamerton for its collection and Chester / YWP for enclosures but it appears only Chester will make the top five.

 

The author (John Tuson) is a really good friend of mine, but all along I have had no idea of the final list. Guessing what zoos crack the final 4 makes for an interesting conversation, especially as the 700+ votes were based on 'favourite' and not 'best'.

Obviously, Chester will be there and likely in the #1 slot. I'm guessing that Bristol will be another lock. But what will the other two zoos be? Is there enough support for Marwell and perhaps Highland Wildlife Park? Twycross? Exmoor? Howletts? Cotswold? Dudley?

 

Oh yes, forgot about poor Marwell!

 

I think Cotswold Wildlife Park is a good shout. I was also thinking Slimbridge

 

My money on Chester, Marwell, Bristol, Highland Wildlife park and Cotswold. All are recognized as good to very good zoos with different qualities. It would be a shame if one of them was not in the first part of the votes.
Twycross, Slimbridge, Howletts, Dudley, Exmoor...are interesting but not liked as the first mentionned. Of course, it is an opinion coming from a french guy so not someone who is understanding well is favourite neighbours

 

I have a feeling that Exmoor will make the cut

 

Arg... Could be possible !

 

The list continues:

#3 - Highland Wildlife Park (!!) - a zoo with circa 175,000 annual visitors
#4 - Bristol
#5 - Whipsnade
#6 - Hamerton
#7 - London
#8 - Yorkshire Wildlife Park
#9 - Colchester
#10 - Edinburgh
#11 - Jersey
#12 - Paignton
#13 - Dublin

 

It is really nice though.

3 of my four choices yet to appear so I guess one is missing out altogether (Whipsnade is the one we have seen!).