The marquee match of the group and it’s up straight away. The winner of this one will have one foot in the door for qualification, whereas the loser will be just one unlucky category draw away from being in trouble. The topic is Asia.
I will do the species lists in around an hour and a bit. Opening thoughts, both very good collections in that particular continent, and I wonder if Islands will have any bearing on the outcome...
I also see both having really very strong Asian collections - I've only been to Berlin several times however and therefore have to rely on the species list and especially pictures. I've not done a detailed look at the species yet - however I believe Berlin has the bigger collection and a lot of rarities (especially when considering ectotherms but also with mammals and birds). Inital vote for me is 2:1 Berlin for that reason - Chester could only win from my perspective if their enclosures would be significantly better than Berlin.
This is a bit of a test case - how much do people value the fact that Chester has an Asia area and Berlin does not?
In terms of mammals, we have: Chester Asian small-clawed otter Asiatic lion Balabac chevrotain Bornean orangutan Crested black macaque Greater One-horned rhino Javan banteng Lar gibbon Lion-tailed macaque Lowland anoa Malayan tapir Moloch gibbon Myanmar thamin Negros warty pig Nepalese red panda Northern Luzon giant cloud rat Northern treeshrew Onager Palawan binturong Rodriguez flying fox South-east Asian elephant Sulawesi babirusa Sumatran orangutan Sumatran prevost's squirrel Sumatran tiger Sun bear Swinhoe's striped squirrel Turkish spiny mouse Visayan spotted deer (29 species) Berlin Arabian sand cat Asian small-clawed otter Asiatic black bear Bangka Prevost's squirrel Bengal slow loris Blackbuck Bornean bearded pig Chinese water deer Eurasian beaver Eurasian forest reindeer Giant panda Greater one-horned rhinoceros Greater slow loris Grey langur Hamadryas baboon Himalayan tahr Indian gaur Indian sloth bear Indian swamp deer Japanese macaque Japanese sika deer Java mouse deer Javan banteng Javan lutung Lion Lion-tailed macaque Lowland anoa Malayan slow loris Negros warty pig North Persian leopard Persian fallow deer Pileated gibbon Przewalski's horse Reeves' muntjac Roborovski's desert hamster Siamang Siberian ibex Sichuan takin South-East Asian elephant Sri Lankan rusty-spotted cat Sulawesi babirusa Sumatran orangutan Sumatran prevost's squirrel Toque macaque Visayan spotted deer (45 species) Berlin leads 45-29 in species Other comments on list: Both good collections but Berlin is clearly above Chester in this area.
Berlin keeps African lions and Eurasian forest reindeer do not occur in the Russian part of Asia and are restricted to Europe. Enclosurewise Chester does however beat Berlin clearly when it comes to primates and seems also generally better for other species groups.
Chester has its Islands complex, which as a whole should count as should all/nearly all of the species in it. I've heard very good reviews of it, and the photos I've seen range from good to fantastic (and I've also heard good things about the orangutan and elephant digs). I also know that Chester has been leading the way in breeding notable Asian species like Javan green magpie, Balabac chevrotain, and babirusa. My initial leaning is therefore towards Chester, but I'd like to know more about Berlin before voting. @amur leopard's list was mammals only.
Another thing to bear in mind is that not all of the Asian species at either collection will count for the purposes of this challenge; some will fall under the Islands/Oceania theme.
Fair enough for the lions. I just couldn't be sure because ZTL listed them as Barbary but also as Non-subspecific. Eurasian forest reindeer encompass both Finnish forest reindeer and Siberian forest reindeer so I do believe they do occur in Asia as well... Anyway, enough trivialities and onto birds. Chester 79 species Berlin 133 species If anyone wants the species lists I can post them.
This is a very interesting match! Chester's Island are on the top of my list of exhibits that I want to see, and Berlin is, well, it's Berlin! Berlin's enclosures for Asian animals are all over the place in terms of quality. From the very modern blob-bear enclosure through standard hoofdstock paddocks towards enclosures that are simply outdated like the Elephant house.
I can see a few mammals in your initial list from east of the Wallace Line, which was one of the possible determining factors cited. On a related note..... @CGSwans - are the Philippines in Asia or Islands for this challenge?
The European forest reindeer are a separate subspecies fennicus, that occurs only in Karelia and Finland, which is where all animals in Europe stem from.
With these contests, I feel like there should also be categories of things like exhibit quality, education, etc.
It would depend on how you're treating Sulawesi - personally I would include Sulawesi and the Philippines under Asia for this challenge. Rodriguez Flying Fox of course does not count in any way for this round.
The Wallace line excludes half of Indonesia from Asia, so I used the Lydekker line. OK I agree. That means that it is 45-28 in mammals.
