Oh no, this isn't looking good for Chester... I'm going to vote 2-1 based on my gut, but I'm guessing that I may end up changing to 3-0 before long. Chester are getting a point on exhibitry and some unusual island species, Taronga get two for Australian fauna (and the long-beaked echidnas), and I'm pretty sure their exhibitry is up to par as well.
I'm not convinced with this category, which is a shame since it's my "home" zoo in the cup, what with being the only UK representative,
Remember to see the whole board. The category is Australia and Islands, which includes all non-continental islands.
I can't judge how up to date Wikipedia is in regard to Tarronga zoo - however they provide quite a detailed overview on the animals living there… Taronga Zoo Sydney - Wikipedia
The frustrating irony is that one of the biggest assets Chester has in this regard (their ridiculously good record with Sulawesi Babirusa) was disallowed from consideration in their last round (Asia) because it was classified as falling under Islands, and then after that round finished Sulawesi was moved into the Asia category, thus meaning we presumably cannot consider this aspect - or the various other Sulawesi species in the collection - for this round either. However, I have a suspicion we can still make a pretty good case for Chester despite their relatively weak showing for Australasia, even if CGSwans isn't willing to hold off on the category alteration until the next stage
Chester still won that match by a wide margin though, so I'm guessing the impact was minimal. It could hinge on Chester's Malagasy and Pacific/Indian island showings, if they are strong enough to counter Taronga's Australian advantage. A reminder to everyone: most penguin species fall under this category. Unfortunately for Chester, their Humboldt penguins probably don't count while Taronga's little blue penguins definitely do. Some pluses for Chester: - Aye-ayes, Alaotran bamboo lemurs, fossa, and a new lemur walkthrough - dusky pademelons and tree kangaroos in a new exhibit - Tuatara (also at Taronga, but has bred at Chester) - Fruit Bat Forest, thanks to the Rodrigues flying foxes Another note: using the Wallace Line Komodo dragons *would* count, but using the Weber Line they would not... it may be possible to argue their inclusion biogeographically, though.
But the point remains unchanged that it's still a major aspect that has fallen through the cracks, and it sounds like every point counts in this round and of course, the win in the previous match could have been by an even wider margin had it been included then, which would have balanced out the omission of that factor in this round.
Some exhibits of the aforementioned species at Chester: Fossa Lemur walkthrough Tree Kangaroo/Pademelon Tuatara Is it just this photo angle, or is the tuatara enclosure absurdly large?
So about 260 sq feet... seems about right looking at the photo again. I suppose it's not absurd, but it *is* larger than what I would have expected for a reptile that size. How many tuataras does Chester have in there?
Bear in mind the photo doesn't show the whole exhibit. The exhibit contains 1,5 individuals with 0,0,8 offshow.
So Taronga likely wins here, but since no one has actually made an argument for it or posted what assets it has I'm voting 2-1 Chester for now based on their superb Madagascar exhibit, work with tuatara, and excellent albeit few New Guinea displays. I feel it's a little wrong to vote in favor of Taronga simply because it's in Australia therefore we assume it must be the winner, which is the only assumption I can make about how it's currently winning based on how little has been posted in favor of it. ~Thylo
I think it's wrong to think that people "assume it must be the winner because it's in Australia." Obviously I can't speak for everyone, but I'm fairly sure the majority of the voters will have bothered to at least check the relevant galleries and/or other information present elsewhere about these very well-known zoos... The things people post about these zoos in this topic isn't the only place where you can get information.
I didn't mean that in any sort of negative way towards anyone in particular, I was just pointing that the overwhelming majority of voters have gone for Taronga despite no one having made an argument for it which gives off the appearance to anyone who doesn't know anything about that zoo that it's winning simply because it's from the region where the match is set. Yes of course people can do their own research, but then why not also post those findings here to garner support for that vote? ~Thylo
Yeah, 2-1 Taronga. It helps that Taronga's collection is primarily Australian species, but Chester has the brilliant Islands exhibit too.
Almost all of islands doesn't count at Chester! For me Chesters only excellent exhibits in this category are for Fossa and tuatara. Most of the others are OK or good, but not enough for a point for me. I will not get into further arguments over this after last time!!3-0 Taronga
I take your point and it is unfortunate, but I don’t think it’s quite fair to Taronga to vary the categories a second time either. Besides, the Sulawesi exhibits wouldn’t have been discussed in this round anyway had Chester not drawn the relevant categories. I am confident that, should Chester advance, these exhibits will become relevant in the subsequent set of matches.
