These two zoos could both win the whole thing, but they need to get through the group stage first. Omaha. Prague. Ectotherms. The rules: You have three votes to award. If you think it's a tight match, award 2 votes to the stronger zoo and 1 to the weaker one. But if you think it's a wider margin than that, award all 3 votes to the winner. Your criteria for how you make your decision is entirely up to you, *except* that you must stay only within the given category. That includes ignoring the results of the other match: no strategic voting. All votes are public, and all votes can be changed. The purpose of the game is to provoke debate, so make your case for why people should vote the same way as you do. Be open to reconsidering your vote.
While I remember the giant salamander and the gharial fondly, together with other bits and pieces (e.g. the terraria in the carnivore house), then the ok-ish komodo dragon enclosure, and the (then partially closed) terrarium/aquarium building a resounding dissappointment, I couldn't provide a summary of Prague's ectotherm collection in any meaningful sense of the word. Omaha, I suspect, could be a strong contender. Will wait with voting 'till I know more.
The latest figures I have is that Omaha, even without a Reptile House on the grounds, has 240 species of reptiles and amphibians and that is probably the #1 total of any zoo in North America and easily one of the top zoos on the planet in terms of overall species. There are many rarities, and the reptile/amphibian collection is spread throughout numerous buildings such as Lied Jungle, Kingdoms of the Night/Desert Dome, the full-size Scott Aquarium, Expedition Madagascar and Wild Kingdom Pavilion. There are vivariums everywhere at this zoo, with a Gray's Monitor exhibit inside the Orangutan House and a White-throated Monitor exhibit in the African Grasslands area. Some insects are ectotherms and Omaha has the Butterfly & Insect Pavilion with many butterfly species and around 35 invertebrate species. Just looking at a fraction of the species at the zoo, and only seeing a slice of the Desert Dome collection, reveals this list: Common Death Adder, Rough-scaled Death Adder, Puff Adder, Angolan Python, Cape Coral Cobra, Black Mamba, Brown Tree Snake, King Brown Snake, Woma Python, Centralian Python, Collett's Snake, Banded Knob-tailed Gecko, Australian Tree Skink, Cunningham's Skink, Giant Mexican Horned Lizard, Frilled Lizard, Spiny-tailed Monitor and Perentie. As things stand right now, I'll vote 3-0 for Omaha. The collection of ectotherms is extensive and in quality exhibits, and I'm not sure that there are many zoos on the planet that are even in the same ballpark as Omaha. Don't be deceived by the lack of a Reptile House, as on my last visit I counted at least 130 vivariums all around the zoo and that is not even including the fantastic Aquarium. That alone is a major attraction in its own right and packed with a large number of fish. I'd be intrigued to see if Prague is comparable to Omaha, or if there is indeed a zoo in the world (Wroclaw?) comparable to Omaha for ectotherms. This category is a strong one for Omaha as it plays to the zoo's strengths.
This post has made me change my vote from 2-1 Prague to 2-1 Omaha, but I'm giving Prague some credit for having a giant salamander house along with the gharial pavilion. Two rarities given star billing and not just stuck in a reptile house, with what appear to be pretty good enclosures. What's not to love?
I think I'm in a unique position of having visited all four zoos in Group H within the last two years! Prague I visited about a year ago now and Omaha I visited in May. I have to leave for school shortly and therefore won't be able to provide full species lists until afterwards, but I will make full lists based on the taxa I noted there when I get the chance. It should be noted, though, that Omaha is actively downsizing their herp collection due to collection size having taken priority over husbandry in the past. I'm not entirely sure where the 240 number comes in but it is very likely that that number has greatly decreased as, to my understanding, Omaha no longer has the highest number of herps in the US. ~Thylo
Prague's species list from last annual report: Leiolepis ngovantrii* Steppe agama Turkestan rock agama West african rainbow lizard Phrynocephalus mystaceus Giant Ameiva* Green anaconda West Cuban anole* Southern river terrapin Green Basilisk* Asian vine snake European Legless Lizard Gold-ringed Cat Snake Chuckwalla Roti Island Snake-necked Turtle Northern Snake-necked turtle Northern Caiman Lizard Banded Day Gecko Gharial Ptychozoon kuhli Tokay gecko Mourning Gecko Gekko vittatus Homopholis fasciata Turkestan thin-toed gecko Turner's thick-toed gecko Common Wonder Gecko Leopard Gecko Western Madagascar Tree Boa* Boa Constrictor* Hog Island Boa* Brazilian Rainbow Boa Kenyan sand boa Cuban Boa Short-horned Chameleon Calluma nasutum* Oustalet's Chameleon Parson’s Chameleon* Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake Mangshan Pitviper Sand Lizard Green Lizard Alligator Snapping Turtle Fly River Turtle Crucilla Musk Turtle* California King Snake* Sonoran Mountain Kingsnakes* Ruthven's King Snake Reticulate Gila Monster* White-lipped Python Indian Python Ball Python Red Blood Python Green Tree Python* Tropical Girdled Lizard Red-bellied Side-neck Armadillo girdled lizard Eyelash Viper Lesser Antillean Iguana Cuban Ground Iguana Oaxacan Spinytail Iguana Desert Iguana Green Iguana Blue Rock Lizard Desert Spiny Lizard Collared Lizard Red-sided Curly-tailed Lizard Vaillant's Mabuya Raibow Skink Matamata Turtle* Asian Giant River Turtle Amazon Tree Boa* True Fire Skink Phrynosoma asio Solomon Island Skink* Percival's Lance Skink* Slow Worm Rhamphiophis rostratus* Malpolon insignitus Hemorrhois ravergieri Red Tegu Northern Blue-tongued Skink* Ornate Mastigure Iraqi Mastigure Amur Ratsnake Brown House Snake* Rhinoceros Snake* Smooth Snake Grass Snake Dice snake Black Tree Monitor Komodo Dragon Banggai Island Monitor Emerald Monitor Earless monitor lizard East African Egg Eater Oriental Fresh-water Snake Western Gaboon Viper Common European Adder Southeast Asian Box Turtle Annam Leaf Turtle European Pond Turtle Giant Asian Pond Turtle Spiny Turtle Impressed Tortoise Indian Starred Tortoise Egyptian Tortoise Brahminy River Turtle Aldabra's Giant Tortoise North Antillean Slider Oldham's leaf turtle Radiated Tortoise Leopard Tortoise Eastern black-bridged leaf turtle African Pancake Tortoise Malayan Flat-shelled Turtle* Pinzon Giant Tortoise Indefatigable Island Tortoise Brown-roofed Turtle Hermann's Tortoise Tunisian Spur-thighed Tortoise Kazachstan Tortoise Black-breasted Leaf Turtle Brown stream terrapin* Enigmatic Leaf Turtle Texas Tortoise Indian Roofed Turtle Black Marsh Turtle Indochinese Boxturtle * = species that might be out of collection now So these are reptiles only, now add 12 amphibians species (main stars: Lake Titicaca Frog, Chinese Giant Salamander) and cca 52 fish species
So @HOMIN96 made my life a bit easier! As far as Omaha is concerned: Reptiles American Alligator Smooth-Fronted Caiman Spectacled Caiman American Crocodile Australian Freshwater Crocodile Philippine Crocodile Inland Bearded Dragon Common Chuckwalla Frill-Necked Lizard European Legless Lizard Madagascar Ground Boa Emerald Tree Boa Amazon Tree Boa Jamaican Boa Dominican Mountain Boa Northern Boa Yellow Anaconda Banded Knob-Tailed Gecko Panther Chameleon Oustalet's Chameleon Brown Tree Snake Corn Snake Eastern Indigo Snake Rhinoceros Ratsnake Central American Tiger Ratsnake Beauty Ratsnake Common Death Adder Rough-Scaled Death Adder Cape Coral Cobra Black Mamba Coastal Taipan Cape Cobra Collett's Snake King Brown Snake Cheke's Day Gecko Henkel's Leaf-Tailed Gecko Giant Plated Lizard Mexican Beaded Lizard Mexican Spiny-Tailed Iguana Cuvier's Madagascar Swift Plumed Basilisk Malagasy Giant Hognose Snake Malagasy Blonde Hognose Snake Baja Blue Rock Lizard Giant Horned Lizard Angolan Python Bredl's Python Woma Python Green Tree Python Brongersma's Blood Python Scrub Python Gargoyle Gecko Solomon Islands Giant Skink Cunningham's Skink Red-Eyed Crocodile Skink Chinese Crocodile Lizard White-Throated Monitor Spiny-Tailed Monitor Lace Monitor Perentie Quince Monitor Gray's Monitor Crocodile Monitor Mexican Cantil Santa Catalina Island Rattlesnake Sidewinder Mottled Rock Rattlesnake Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Great Basin Rattlesnake Arizona Black Rattlesnake Puff Adder Fly River Turtle Alligator Snapping Turtle Krefft's River Turtle Red-Bellied Short-Necked Turtle Matamata Loggerhead Sea Turtle Green Sea Turtle Spotted Turtle Yellow-Blotched Map Turtle Western Painted Turtle Eastern River Cooter Painted River Terrapin Helmeted Turtle Madagascan Big-Headed Turtle African Spurred Tortoise Flat-Backed Spider Tortoise Radiated Tortoise Home's Hingeback Tortoise Nile Softshell Turtle Florida Softshell Turtle Amphibians American Toad Panamanian Golden Toad Asian Black-Spined Toad Solomon Island Leaf Frog Argentine Horned Frog Dyeing Poison Dart Frog (Blue) Yellow-Banded Poison Dart Frog Cope's Grey Treefrog Mexican Leaf Frog Splendid Treefrog Hourglass Treefrog Amazon Milk Frog African Bullfrog Powder-Blue Reed Frog Smoky Jungle Frog American Bullfrog Blue-Legged Mantella Arboreal Mantella Beautiful Mantella Madagascar Tomato Frog Mississippi Gopher Frog Eastern Tiger Salamander Emperor Newt Fishes Redtail Splitfin Cave Blind Tetra Koi Pakistani Loach Largescale Four-Eyed Fish Banded Archerfish Silver Moony African Moony Pirapitinga Arapaima Alligator Gar Giant Gourami Kissing Gourami Asian Arowana Tiger Oscar Ripsaw Catfish Red-Tailed Catfish Honeycomb Moray Green Moray Spotted Garden Eel Copperband Butterflyfish California Sheephead Yellowbar Angelfish Goliath Grouper Atlantic Tarpon Pot-Bellied Seahorse Chain Dogfish Horn Shark Zebra Shark Atlantic Nurse Shark Ornate Wobbegong Sandbar Shark Bonnethead Shark Southern Stingray Atlantic Stingray Atlantic Cownose Ray So that's 150 species for Omaha vs 192 for Prague. It must be said, though, that the Prague list includes the bts species whereas the Omaha list only includes species that were on-show. I'm pretty sure I've missed a few herps that I failed to spot as well. Additionally it must be noted that Omaha has an entire aquarium, the total contents of which I did not list out nor could I even if I wanted to. More likely than not Omaha actually beats out Prague for the total number of ectotherms. Remind me, are we counting invertebrates here, too? If so, Omaha definitely wins by a significant amount because they have an invertebrate house as well as a large collection of marine inverts in the aquarium. I'm not really sure how to vote here, as Prague does have some absolutely fantastic exhibits for their herps as well as some truly spectacular species whereas Omaha seems to be have historically taken the stampbook approach with enclosures ranging from adequate to amazing. I do want to give them credit for actively working towards keeping a fewer number of species in order to give them a better standard of living. It should also be noted that, while Prague does have the giant salamander house, gharial house, cat house, and giant tortoise house, many of the herp displays in the Asian and African houses as well as their actual reptile house aren't really anything special and are worse than most of what Omaha has to offer. So basically it seems to come to Prague having several spectacular exhibits which are far better than anything at Omaha but also many more exhibits which pale in comparison vs Omaha with a much more consistent and numerous set of good exhibits housing a significantly larger collection. I'm tempted to vote in favor of Prague, but for now I'm going to vote 2-1 in favor of Omaha with the aquarium having pushed me over. I'm open to hearing any arguments in favor of me switching to Prague, however. Does anyone have information on their conservation programs? ~Thylo
A note about Omaha from me: while I understand there will be different viewpoints on this, I am a big fan of buildings or complexes being entirely devoted to ectotherms (especially reptiles and amphibians) because I think it emphasizes them in a way that isn't done by housing them in countless side enclosures in exhibit complexes that are more mammalian in focus. For that reason, while I appreciate Omaha's collection and many of its exhibits, I wasn't very satisfied with how they are displayed as a whole. I'm also not sure how to describe it exactly, and I'm likely in the minority on this, but I wasn't that intrigued by Omaha's aquarium either. I think it's certainly impressive compared to other aquariums in U.S. zoos, but there wasn't anything in it that I hadn't seem done better elsewhere and I don't remember seeing any organisms that I thought were noteworthy. The whole aquarium felt a bit sterile and bland. Isn't Prague responsible (or at least played a major role in) the acquisition and distribution of a sizable Chinese giant salamander population in European zoos?
First of all, thanks should go to both @HOMIN96 and @ThylacineAlive for compiling lists of species at these two world-class zoos. It does contribute a lot to these challenges if someone has a fairly comprehensive list of species for all of us to enjoy. The 240 species list for Omaha comes from an International Zoo Yearbook from a couple of years ago, although I did acknowledge that the total of 240 included behind-the-scenes reptiles and amphibians. I do know that Omaha has approximately 130 vivariums in the zoo with reptiles and amphibians inside, an astonishing total and more than just about any single Reptile House on the planet. The zoo also has a full-size Aquarium that could in reality be a stand-alone attraction with a separate admission fee. Omaha even has an Insect House if we are including six-legged critters. It does sound as if Prague has a couple of really outstanding ectotherm exhibits (giant salamander and gharial) and a very good collection, but Omaha's sheer quantity is mind-blowing and in all honesty the vast majority of the exhibits in Omaha for ectotherms are very impressive.
I've visited Omaha on three occasions (2008, 2012, 2018) and I have to admit that I was really thrown off during my first visit when there wasn't a stand-alone Reptile House and instead dozens of ectotherm exhibits in each of the mega-buildings. I can therefore totally understand your feelings in regards to perhaps desiring a single structure to house all of the reptiles and amphibians. On the other hand, there can sometimes be 'ectotherm fatigue' in a zoo when one is inside a large-scale Reptile House and a full hour goes by just looking at snakes, lizards, turtles and similar creepy-crawlies. I can see both points of view, as I can also appreciate those kinds of animals spread throughout a zoo.
Obviously to each their own, as you said, but I don't really agree with your assessment of how Omaha exhibits their ectotherms. There are entire sections in Desert Dome that are nothing but ectotherm displays (the Australian herp hall and North American venomous loop for example), the Wild Pavilion is almost entirely ectotherms apart from a couple birds, and there are sections in Lied Jungle that are entirely herps as well with no mammals or birds in sight. Then of course there's the aquarium and insect house (if it counts) which are almost entirely devoted to ectotherms with only a few birds species scattered within. Yes there are exhibits such as their Madagascar house that display herps in the manner you mentioned, but how else are they supposed to do it? If an exhibit's purpose is to showcase the biodiversity of the area, isn't it a good thing if there are ectotherm species mixed in with all the endotherms? And yeah the endotherms will be the main focus of the exhibit usually, but that's due to visitor attention spans, not a zoo's lack of interest in other taxa. Personally I hate when I see an exhibit on a particular region that lacks displays on anything other than birds and mammals. Yeah I agree the aquarium doesn't really have anything particularly standout about it exhibit-wise and I have seen better zoo aquariums in Europe, but as you said the aquarium is better than what most zoo aquariums are and could function as a small standalone attraction somewhere. The zoo also has plans to further renovate it in the future. I do disagree that there isn't anything interesting species-wise, though. For a relatively small aquarium, they have a pretty great selection of shark species, particularly in the shark tunnel tank. They also had some fun fish species spread throughout such as shrimpfish (idk the species so I didn't include it) and various rarer rockfish. Do they also have a California Moray? I have a vague memory of one being in the rockfish tank but I could be misremembering. My biggest criticism of the exhibit is that the signs are pretty outdated and inaccurate. Of course, Prague doesn't even have an aquarium so I feel as though that's a major point against the zoo. Not sure on your giant salamander question, but I wouldn't be surprised. They have a lot of animals of various ages and sizes. I wouldn't be surprised if Prague has the most giant salamanders anywhere outside of China. ~Thylo
The fact that I do not remember an Australian herp hall and barely recall the herp collection in the Lied Jungle sort of reinforces my point. Again, this may just be a difference in personal experience; when I visited LA Zoo for the first time, I distinctly remembered every part of LAIR. As a regular visitor of Saint Louis and Smithsonian, I remember their Reptile Houses quite distinctly. Meanwhile, much of Omaha's collection has already departed my memory banks because it just felt like a backdrop among everything else. I believe invertebrates count, I've seen others use them in arguments for this category before. It's not that I don't think ectotherms should be included in zoogeographic exhibits. A zoo can choose to include them, while also making them a key feature of the exhibit complex (an example might be an Asian zone that includes a house for Asian turtles). Omaha didn't feel like that to me; it felt much more like random hallways of assorted herps that were from that ecosystem, like deserts or rainforests. It's not a terrible way to do it, but I think it de-emphasizes them. Honestly I don't remember seeing any reptile or amphibian exhibit that stood out to me except the Philippine crocodile enclosure in Lied Jungle, and I actually had mixed feelings about that one because of the weird viewing angles. I also strongly disagree that endotherms end up being the main focus because of visitor attention spans. Sure, I can buy that a few small frogs or brown snakes aren't going to pique the average visitor's interest, but crocodiles, Komodos and other monitor lizards, giant tortoises, anacondas, and large venomous snakes have all been proven crowd pleasers... if they are displayed and emphasized properly. Additionally, reptile houses have been popular at every zoo I've been to that had them (except Living Desert, but theirs is very small and a little weird), which I think implies that visitors do have the attention span for herps if they are in a place where herps are the highlight rather than an afterthought. I'll be honest about the fact that fish and marine life isn't generally my thing, so when I said "interesting species", I meant ones that I would be able to recognize as being interesting or rare. There have been aquariums where maybe only one species stood out to me, like chambered nautilus or lungfish; I don't remember a single species like that from Omaha's aquarium. I also barely remember their shark tunnel tank, an aquarium feature that is so ubiquitous at this point that it honestly feels generic and overused.
In which case there are roughly dozen to two dozen butterflies in the insect house, along with various other insects and arachnids. The aquarium also houses Zebra Mantis Shrimp, Giant Pacific Octopus, Japanese Spider Crab, various sea stars, and four sea nettle species. But how does an entire hallway dedicated to Australian herps-- which includes various rare Elapids and Perentie-- and a room dedicated to venomous North American reptiles not count as emphasizing them as a key feature of the exhibit complex? What else could they do to emphasize the taxa? Omaha has six species of crocodilians, seven species of monitor, the rarer anaconda species, and sixteen venomous snakes (all but three I'd consider large) on-exhibit. All they are missing from that list are giant tortoises, but they have two species of sea turtles and I'd argue that the African Spurred Tortoise is large enough to peak interest. Most of those all have large and well designed habitats with little else around them to distract visitors from the species. I do agree with your overall point here, but I do think it's a little extreme to describe Omaha as displaying herps as an afterthought. Again, they have entire rooms and hallways dedicated solely to herp species. They also display five species of crocodilians in the nocturnal house alone and have a hallways in Lied Jungle separated from the main forest that's almost solely amphibian displays. Personally, I see a much bigger argument that herps are prioritized in their exhibit planning. ~Thylo
