After a debate with @Timmiegun I have voted Wroclaw despite him trying to convince me otherwise. Burger's Ocean, Mangrove, and Bush are great for their species but it simply does not outmatch the amount and variety of taxa held at Wroclaw. Wroclaw has great exhibits too and their reptile collection is phenomenal. The aquariums in the Afrykarium look great too. This was very close and Wroclaw only won by a tiny fraction but it has my vote. Sorry Burger's.
I’ve visited both and don’t feel that I can vote right now! I’m leaning more towards Burgers’, but that is possibly more because my visit to Burgers’ was October 2017 and my visit to Wroclaw was October 2015, and so Burgers’ is much fresher in my mind - as well as also possibly being my favourite zoo yet! But I don’t feel that I can vote right now because I just can’t say for certain.
I have, though due to proximity, I have been way more often to Arnheim. Much of why I will vote for Burgers, has been written already . Ocean, Bush, Rimba and the new Magrove are really outstanding displays and enclosures for that matter, and I am personally tending to rating the way animals are kept higher than the number of animals kept. Now, since the first time I have been to Wroclaw in 2010 much has improved (and I did like the zoo then already) but I do not see that there actually is much of a favorable comparison with the way in which Burgers animals are kept, for now.
I don't think a vote has ever been so close as this one (especially given the number of participants) I have been going through the gallery to look for more Afrykarium pictures and though the aquaria are huge, the tanks in general are not very attractive with loads of concrete and quite low levels of making it look nice. For the fish it is hardly different (though it looks as if there could be more structure), but from a visitors perspective it seems that Burgers' Ocean is vastly superior with thematization. For what I mean, compare this: with this: I can totally understand, why people would vote for Wroclaw, which does a lot of conventional things really well and has an extremely big reptile house. But nothing is really unique (apart from sheer size of the reptile house), which is however the case for Burgers' which apart from it's unique features knows how to present these unique features to the general public very well imo.
I'm loving how this one is going. I just hope it's decided on this contest: a tie (and a second category that would almost certainly favour Burgers) would be an anti-climax. But we shall see.
Wow @lintworm has made some really amazing points as too why Burgers is better, and he’s swayed my opinion a bit. For now, I think I’m sticking with Wroclaw, but Burgers is almost even with Wroclaw in my mind. This match has proved to be one of the closest, and most enjoyable yet!
I have visited neither zoo and am judging by pictures and the discussion in this thread so far (which has been interesting). the topic is reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. On the one hand we have a zoo whose vivaria I would qualify as a good 'pet-shop' standard: square glass boxes of adequate size and lighting/heating with some natural features such as plants, rocks, wood, etc. It's most recent development looks like more square boxes, but of a larger size (e.g. for large crocodiles). It's red sea tank contains fake coral (a mortal sin imo). The other zoo has been redefining what zoo husbandry could/should mean for 20(?), 30(?) years with its tropical and subtropical 'ecodisplays', which very much includes ectotherm life. It's most recent development is unique and innovative in how it displays the mangrove ecosystem including its ectotherm inhabitants. ... The question for deciding between the two zoos for me amounts to this: As an 'ectotherm-enthusiast' would I rather have the responsibles of Burgers' or Wroclaw zoo design and build the major addition to my own home zoo? Which development does a better job in displaying ectotherm life, an 'afrykarium' or a 'mangrove'? For me, the case is clear.
I wouldn't be so sure about that, for birds and small mammals Wroclaw would also stand a fair chance, certainly based on collection. For large carnivores and primates it is in Burgers' advantage and hoofstock is a tricky one too... Just to note, that only 2 of Burgers' tank contain live coral, 2 other coral tanks have fake coral based on cost and husbandry issues (many fish like coral too much....).
Just to add a few more Wroclaw pictures: Here are a couple of pictures of the Odra River exhibit: And also to give an idea of scale of the reptile house:
Trying to recruit more Dutch people to vote? With the recent election scandals and allegations of foul play, I hope Cambridge Analytica isn't interfering with these ZooChat polls of global importance. I notice that two of the Burgers votes are from people who joined yesterday, seemingly just to vote on this poll. Not voter fraud I hope .
