Both zoos saw off title contenders to get this far: Chester comfortably, 22-6 over Cologne on ungulates, and Planckendael rather controversially over Zurich, 17-16 on miscellaneous mammals. This time? A little something for both zoos, I think. Birds and ungulates. Tomorrow, @Dassie rat's typing skills will get a workout when two giant collections, and for the first time two seeds, go head to head. Berlin vs Plzen.
I have voted for Chester - as well as having a more diverse range of both ungulates and birds (the latter group including several species not kept anywhere else in Europe, such as collared trogon, black-browed barbet and collared grosbeak), I think Chester's efforts to establish field conservation projects with the babirusa, anoa and banteng are commendable, their success with black rhino breeding has been fantastic to see and their efforts with conserving Indonesian songbirds (for instance the import and establishment of the Javan green magpie) are also extremely valuable. If anything else, their conservation work may take precedence over anything else for me.
Planckendael is also not exactly half bad in conservation, as part of the Antwerp Zoo society they support conservation projects on Grevy Zebra, Penguins, Vultures and Okapi (falling outside the frame of this challenge is all their work with primates...). Chesters collection is however slightly larger for both hoofed mammals and birds (though by a smaller degree than I expected. As a plus for Planckendael (not for the gazelle) is that they are they only European zoo with Slender-horned gazelle.
Very interesting match-up! I actually do really like Planckendael's bird collection (and exhibitry), and ungulates do basically form the zoo's origin story. I'm going to wait until I know how close the collections actually are, but at the moment I'm actually leaning towards Planckendael, because of their elephant enclosure which is easily one of the best I've ever seen.
I'm curious how this one turns out. After I visited a lecture about the Asian songbird crisis this winter, I had (and still have) great appreciation for the work Chester does with several passerine species including laughing-thrushes and Javan green magpie. Do you know whether Planckendael also participates in any of the (behavioural) research the KMDA ("Antwerp Zoo Society") is famous for?
I think that this is my first vote against the snake in the grass that has been Plackendael! I'm sorry but Chester's black rhino exhibit seems to be easily on a par with the above-mentioned elephant exhibit, and Chester keep a nice and diverse collection of ungulates to rival Plackendael, a zoo that should wipe the floor with it, being an open-range type of zoo. As mentioned above, Chester's work with Asian songbirds is highly commended, and I can't vote against Javan green magpies!
Ungulates Please note that I have not included domestic species. Both: South-east Asian elephant; Grevy’s zebra; greater one-horned rhinoceros; Negros warty pig; southern pudu Kirk’s dik-dik; eastern bongo; Chester Onager Malayan and Brazilian tapirs Eastern black rhinoceros Red river hog; common warthog; Sulawesi babirusa Balabac chevotrain Okapi; Rothschild’s giraffe Indian muntjac; Myanmar thamin; Visayan spotted deer Lowland anoa; Javan banteng; red buffalo; western sitatunga; roan antelope; red duiker Planckendal Przewalkskis horse; Hartmanns mountain zebra Chacoan peccary Guanaco; vicuna Kordofan giraffe Reeves muntjac; Rocky Mountain wapiti Slender-horned gazelle; Plains and European bison; Arabian and scimitar-horned oryxes; addax; common impala Chester has tapirs and a chevotrain and more species of rhinos, pigs, giraffids and deer. Planckendael has camelids, a peccary and more species of equids and bovids. Chester wins. Birds Both: Humboldt penguins; little egret; Hamerkop; Eurasian spoonbill; waldrapp; Chilean flamingo; white-faced whistling and white-winged ducks; Eurasian black vulture; Palawan peacock and Salvadori’s pheasants; Malaysian great argus; crested wood and white-necklaced partridges; Himalayan monal; eastern grey-crowned and western black-crowned cranes; emerald dove; green-naped pheasant-pigeon; Nicobar and pied imperial pigeons; Luzon bleeding-heart; spectacled owl; Fischer’s turaco; wrinkled hornbills; red-whiskered bulbul; chestnut-backed ground thrush; red-tailed laughing thrush; Asian azure-winged magpie; Bali mynah; red-billed leiothrix; white-rumped shama; golden-breasted and scissor-billed starlings Chester Southern cassowary Black stork Caribbean flamingo African white-backed, Old World comb, white-headed and ferruginous ducks; Cape, marbled, red-billed and Hottentot teals; garganey; Baer’s, tufted and red-crested pochards; ruddy shelduck; red-breasted goose Bronze-tailed peacock, Lady Amherst’s, Vietnamese and Edward’s pheasants; Cabot’s and Temminck’s tragopans; chestnut-bellied hill partridge; Congo peafowl; eastern crested guineafowl; red-billed curassow Sunbittern; wattled crane Blacksmith lapwing Black-naped and superb fruit, cinnamon ground and Socorro doves; Mindanao bleeding-heart; Victoria crowned, pink and rock pigeons; white-naped pheasant pigeon Blue-crowned hanging parrot; blue-throated macaw; coconut and Mindanao lorikeets; hyacinth macaw; golden conure; grey-breasted and Lord Derby’s parakeets; lesser sulphur-crested and Philippine cockatoos; lilacine amazon; yellow-backed chattering lory Brown wood, northern white-faced and Philippine scops, Ural and Eurasian great grey owls Collared trogon Red-crested, violet, white-crested and Schalow’s turacos Javan rhinoceros, Mindanao wrinkled, Visayan taricticken’c, Von der Decken’s and great hornbills; lilac-breasted roller Black-browed, fire-tufted and brown-breasted barbets; green aracari Red avadavat; yellow-crowned bishop; grey-winged blackbird; Asian fairy bluebird; scaly-breasted bulbul; red-crowned and yellow cardinals; Timor zebra finch; South African firefinch; Madagascar fody; collared grosbeak; white-throated orange-shouldered ground thrush; inca jay; blue-crowned, Sumatran, Sunda and spotted laughing thrushes; Emei Shan liocichla; oriental magpie robin; Indian red-billed and Javan green magpies; silver-eared mesia; yellow-faced myna; black-naped and Montserrat orioles; snowy-crowned robin-chat; Javaand Timor sparrows; Asian and superb glossy, red-winged and emerald starlings; Brazilian and Passerini’s tanagers; West African green-backed twinspot; common, orange-cheeked, zebra and lavender waxbills; black-necked and western village weavers; Kilimanjaro white-eye Planckendael Common ostrich; lesser rhea; common emu Dalmatian and great white pelicans African spoonbill; oriental white stork; black-crowned night, white-faced, purple and green-backed herons; rn cattle egret; westblack-faced, glossy, sacred, scarlet, straw-necked and black-headed ibises Lesser flamingo Berneier’s, red-shouldered and chestnut teals; black-bellied whistling and Magellanic steamer ducks; black-necked swan Common black and red kites; Harris’ hawk; Western Egyptian and western Eurasian griffon vultures; secretary bird; crested caracara Asian blue quail; brown-eared, golden, Siamese fireback and Cheer pheasants; Cocjin-chinese red jungle fowl; green and Indian peafowl; helmeted and vulturine guineafowls; crested and great curassows African purple swamphen; blue, red-crowned and demoiselle cranes; grey-winged trumpeter Black-necked stilt; pied avocet; inca tern; bush thick-knee; masked and southern lapwings Speckled pigeon; zebra dove Common barn, Eurasian northern hawk, short-eared and Eurasian long-eared owls Tawny frogmouth Mexican green military and scarlet macaws; olive-headed and rainbow lorikeets; sun conure Guira cuckoo Emin’s and great blue turacos Collared kingfisher Common bronzewing; red-billed chough; red-billed blue magpie; chestnut munia; bank and greater hill mynahs; Brahminy and white-shouldered starlings; village weaver Both zoos have their strengths and weaknesses as regards different types of birth, but Chester tends to have a better collection, especially as regards perching birds. Chester wins this one, but Planckendael has a better collection of birds than I thought it would.
So this is going to be another Chester vs Cologne? Chester's black rhino exhibits again defeats a great elephant exhibit without much fight. And this time I lack the experience to argue against it. Not that Chester doesn't deserve to win - I would vote for Chester based on birds -, but I'm again surprised by the lack of discussion.
Planckendael has the more intresting ungulate-collection ( at least IMO ) - Hartmanns mountain zebra, Arabian oryx, Kordofan giraffe,Chacoan peccari and Slender-horned gazelle but Chester as the more intresting bird-collection and because I'm more a bird-person then a mammal-person I vote - with pain in my heart - for Chester.
In a closer vote, it would probably be Chester for me, but 24 v 3 is not a fair reflection of quality. So i'm switching to P..dael.
