Where can I find a great zoo?

hey everyone. I’m Rolf and I’m new to zoochat. I literally have NO idea about anything zoowise and I’m putting this poll out here on which zoo should I go check out and tell me what threads and media I should check out as well. Your in charge of me now folks. Where’s a great zoo I can visit?

 

Well LA zoo is good, but head 90 miles south and go to San Diego Zoo
and the Safari park.

 

Just go to a zoo that’s AZA accredited. Those are the zoos I only visit. Especially the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center

 

What this guy said

 

Welcome to ZooChat!

 

Lots of good zoos in California! San Diego and LA especially. Monterrey Bay Aquarium and Aquarium of the Pacific are good as well.

 

I vote everywhere. Basically there are good zoos in all continent. Whether it is famous, it is large..it doesn't matter.

 

Welcome, Rolf. I have been to some zoos that I've liked, but a companion hasn't. When I went to zoos as a child, my brother's favourite exhibit was the gift shop, my sister's favourite animals were some of the male keepers and my father's interest in some animals consisted in them being roasted and accompanied by certain vegetables.

I think you need to decide which animals you're most interested in. If you like birds, I think you'd like Walsrode and Jurong. If you want to see a wide range of animals, I suggest a visit to Berlin or some Czech zoos like Prague and Plzen.

 

If it helps, this blog post from The Zoo Review offers some suggestions on what a good zoo should look like.
The Zoo Review: The Makings of a Good Zoo

 

I didn't vote in this poll because there are great zoos on all continents (except Antarctica of course)! I'd say the general consensus is that Europe and North America are the 2 best zoo continents, but Australia has some good ones and Asia has the Singapore zoos In North America some of the best zoos include the San Diego Zoo, Omaha Zoo, Bronx Zoo, Miami Zoo and many more. Europe has Chester, Prague, Burger's, the Berlin's and absolutely loads more. Australia's marquee zoo is the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, but some other good ones include the Melbourne Zoo, Perth Zoo and Adelaide Zoo. I'm not too sure about Asia, other than that the multitude of zoos in Singapore (Night Safari, Singapore Zoo, River Safari, S.E.A Aquarium and the Jurong Bird Park) are probably the finest Asia has to offer. I'm not sure enough about African Zoos to comment.

 

Every continent of your poll have many great zoos.Being from Los Angeles I would go directly to Los Angeles zoo, and if you're interested, you can also visit after the La Brea tar pits museum.

By other side, the definition of "a great zoo" will vary a lot depending on your interests. What do you want to see: rare animals, spacious enclosures, historic buildings, a zoo with many interaction of animals, a zoo with many species...? Do you considere aquariums, aviariums and butterfly houses as zoos, or do you only zoos with large animals...?

By the way, welcome to Zoochat

 

In My opinion burgers zoo is the best zoo in the world, their animal well fare isn’t huge. They have multiple huge indoor ecosystems were wild animals roam free, they won’t even know they are in captivity. The insects and reptiles even keep their own populations in check with hunting on each other like in nature. It also has huge outside themed region like a huge savanna, a huge lion forest exhibit and huge cheetah exhibit, a beatiful tiger exhibit, the list goes on they’ve have amazing mixed exhibits. Definitely top 5 best zoos.

 

For aquariums I'd recommend Shedd Aquarrium in Chicago Illinois

 

From what I've seen and read, Burgers sounds like a tremendous zoo and I'd love to visit one day. The Ocean and Rainforest houses especially look incredible.

 

That's a general rule of thumb, but I would not make it an absolute rule. There are a few good non-AZA facilities and there are a few bad AZA facilities. If you ONLY visit AZA you are missing out on some real gems. I can also tell you from experience volunteering at an AZA zoo for over a decade and from private conversations with zoo personnel from both AZA and non-AZA zoos that the AZA is not all it's cracked up to be. There are some prominent figures within some really big name AZA facilities who would love to see the AZA disbanded. Based on my experience, I would like to see it disbanded as well.

 

Yes, I also like the huge

why would you like to see the aza disbanded?

 

Because I think overall they do more harm than good. I don't want to get into it here because I think it will become a heated and fruitless debate. I am just saying that to state as an absolute rule that you will only visit AZA facilities is a mistake in my opinion.

 

In what ways do they do harm? I really only visit AZA places as well, so I'm interested in hearing your opinion.

 

Bit like saying you only ever watch one TV channel!

 

Welcome. You have certainly started off well!