Somebody’s got to beat Zurich at some point in this tournament, right? So far it’s accounted for Antwerp, Leipzig, Bronx and San Diego. Now Cologne takes its best shot with South and Central America.
To begin with, it is great to see you back! Hope the wedding and the speech went well and you have a great break from out pestering And I have a feeling Zurich will win this one too Koln species list: Capybara Eastern pygmy marmoset Giant anteater Golden lion tamarin Golden-handed tamarin Patagonian mara Red-bellied tamarin South American tapir Southern pudu Venezuelan black howler Weddell's saddle-backed tamarin Western pygmy marmoset Yellow breasted capuchin Zurich species list: Bearded emperor tamarin Bolivian squirrel monkey Capybara Giant anteater Golden lion tamarin Guanaco Linnaeus' two toed sloth Plains viscacha South American coati South American tapir Southern tamandua Spectacled bear St Vincent agouti Vicuna Western pygmy marmoset White faced saki Yellow-breasted capuchin That is 17-13 in favour of Zurich in mammals. However, I think Cologne probably defeats it in Birds due to their extensive waterfowl collection.
Zurich has been rather lucky with these last two draws. In the current category, it has three exceptional areas/enclosures: The 'Sangay' spectacled bear and coati enclosure, the pantanal area, and the exotarium (which is predominantly focussed on South American species). In addition, there is a full set of South American camelids (plus Darwin's rhea) in the top-left section of the zoo, in appropriate though unspectacular enclosures. Cologne, if I remember correctly, has some nice South American bits and pieces throughout the zoo - but nothing comparably memorable as the three above-mentioned areas in Zurich.
Pantanal Ranger's hut outlook on monkey islands panorama Capybara Golden-bellied capuchin island 2 panorama Flamingo tapir, capibara, anteater & friends enclosure: Section 3, viewpoint 1 panorama tapir, capibara, anteater & friends enclosure: Main section, viewpoint 1 panorama Capuchin Black-capped squirrel monkey house, indoor holding panorama ...indoor housing for tapir, capybara, and anteater is in the exotarium and viewable to the public: A line of fairly spaceous, adequately functional stables (no pictures in the gallery). The entire ca 7'500 m2 Pantanal area of the zoo is scheduled to be covered with a large aviary until 2023 - see
Exotarium & Aquarium Impressions & enclosures (selection) Floor-level visitor corridor Terrarium subsection Free flight hall (with ca. 20 South American bird species) Scarlett ibis aviary Golden lion tamarin ground floor viewpoint Golden lion tamarin upstairs viewpoint Emperor tamarin Ground level viewpoint of agouti/motmot/white faced saki enclosure Upstairs viewpoint of agouti/motmot/white faced saki enclosure Burrowing owl and plains viscacha (one of two interconnected enclosures) Dendrobate terrarium (there is a fairly large collection of poison dart frogs in the exotarium) Yellow anaconda
Exotarium animals (selection) Electric eel Piranha Ranitomeya reticulata Atelopus hoogmoedi nassaui Two-toed sloth Green iguana White-faced saki Channel-billed toucan Southern tamandua
Cologne is pretty unlucky that their S-American house will only be ready in 2 years and by then the number of species on-show would increase clearly. The current S-American section is rather small with a large Tapir + Capybara paddock and another spacious and well-landscaped complex with Anteater and Pudu. Most S-American monkeys are in temporary holdings, which are somewhat ugly, but not bad. Additionally to that there are large numbers of waterfowl in well-landscaped ponds / enclosures throughout the zoo. In the bird complex there are a view moderately sized aviaries with S-American species, mostly rather commong like Roseate spoonbill, Boat-billed heron & Toco toucan, but also Green oropendola. The Aquarium - Terrarium has some S-American freshwater tanks (certainly more and of equal quality as the 2 in Zurich) and it must have quite some reptiles and amphibians, but I cannot clearly remember which species are currently on show. Based on bird, reptile, amphibian and fish collection Cologne would surely win. But it does not have any real stand-out enclosures and the Bear enclosure in Zurich is a thing of beauty. The Pantanal part in Zurich is a bit boring (still good, but Zurich has a very high level...) and non-flying Macaws are a minus point for me, though I am sure they are a left-over of earlier times. The Exotarium in Zuerich is very interesting, especially collection-wise. I am not a big fan of the Callichthrid and Tamandua enclosures there, but the free-flight makes up for a lot.
Only the mammal list has been posted so far and the only really unusual species held are Weddell's Tamarin & Red Howler for Cologne which possibly trump the Plains Viscacha at Zurich, though Zurich have better looking exhibits. I am voting 2-1 Zurich for now until the species lists are posted for birds & herps.
Yeah but based on those exhibits Zurich looks fantastic with a great species list. I know there's still a lot of Cologne information missing, which is why I asked before I vote. ~Thylo
When I saw this category I thought the following: Zurich has absolutely the best South American area I have ever seen. (without even considering the Exotarium) And It's a pity Cologne is currently building an SA House. Thus my 3-0 to Zurich.
Think that is fair enough, but unless Zurich has a far better species list overall, Cologne is worthy of a point. Alternatively if Cologne is way ahead I may vote 2-1 Cologne giving Zurich a point for exhibits
