Your Top 5 Zoos (out of 50 plus visited)

I think I can only reasonably base my choices on my last visit, which sadly rules out 2 of the favourite zoos of my lifetime, London, which has fallen from the position for decades and Whipsnade, possibly only on my last visit a few weeks ago which I found a bit disappointing!

1 Berlin Tierpark (2017)
2 Zoo Berlin (2017)
3 Zoo Duisburg (2018)
4 Chester Zoo (Last visited 2018)
5 Hamerton Zoo ( last visit a week ago and is better every time I go, approximately 4 times a year on average)

Honourable mentions in addition to ZSL would be Yorkshire Wildlife Park currently , late 70s Marwell, Cologne last year (it doesn't make the top 5, because though some parts were excellent, some I thought were very poor for a zoo of its standing), Colchester ( though I think that has started a decline).

 

It is surprising how much commonality there is so far. I think just about everyone who has replied has one or two on their list that is also on the list of someone else who has replied.

 

Maybe not , I've counted 9 who have none of my top 5, though most of those members aren't European!

 

Maybe I worded it poorly. I did NOT mean that one or two zoos are on everyone's list. What I meant is that almost everyone who replied (yourself included) has at least one or two zoos that are on at least one other person's list. In other words, very few people (if anyone) has an entirely exclusive list with zoos that NO ONE else shares as a favorite.

 

Fair enough, you are right when wording it that way, 3 of mine are on more than one member's list!

 

1) Bronx Zoo
2) Chester Zoo
3) Prague Zoo
4) Tierpark Berlin & Berlin Zoo
5) Nashville Zoo

~Thylo

 

That’s an excellent way to wriggle out of a difficult choice between two equally wonderful places!

 

How could I forget YWP? If I still had a long lens, it would possibly be in my top 5.

 

Monterey Bay Aquarium
Zurich
Vienna
San Diego
Singapore // Prague

 

Isn't it? My personal opinion is that I enjoyed Tierpark a little more but I think Zoo is the better all around zoo.

~Thylo

 

Do they both still have all four big cats?

 

Except Taman Safari Bogor of course

 

Really? The Tierpark has a photo of a jaguar on their site.

 

Oh, ok

I guess the split between mainland and Sunda clouded leopards is why Parc des felins doesn't have all of them - I think it only has the mainland species.

 

Also, when I last went to the zoo in 2013, they had lions, Sumatran tigers, Persian leopards and what looks to me like a terribly photographed angry black jaguar

 

They still had Jaguar at Berlin zoo when I was there in June 2017, but the Tierpark didn't have them. I think both have probably got rid of them (possibly temporarily) due to the major renovation of both carnivore houses.