My apologies for missing yesterday, it was overtaken by events and I preferred to wait for the right time slot, rather than do it late. We have something of a Southern European three-way derby, this. And the topic of conversation is... carnivores. Over to you.
I don't really know Attica and Barcelona in terms of carnivores, except that Attica's cheetahs are in with the rhino. Lisbon does have the Iberian lynx, in what is also the only genuinely really good enclosure in the whole zoo. Most of the other carnivores are not so lucky... The Bears have a decently sized enclosure, but fully lacking in structure. All cats have smallish to medium enclosures, though they often look visually pleasing. I can't get around the fact that Lisbon has three tiger enclosures but keeps Siberian, Sumatran and White tigers, meaning that often an animal is locked indoors the whole day.... I am curious about the other zoos, but if I vote for Lisbon, it is not because they keep there carnivores so good.....
I know Lisbon isn't a great zoo but the Iberian lynx enclosure looks great, and it has Iberian lynx in it... Barcelona doesn't seem to keep its carnivores in decent enclosures either, and Attica appear to have nice enclosures for tigers and cheetahs but if only they had monk seals on-show at all times then that would trump the lynx. As it stands I'm going for Lisbon, if anyone wants to change my mind then feel free to persuade me!
An interesting category as it doesn't seem as if any of these zoos have many above-average exhibits for carnivores. Is Lisbon going to win based on the fact that it has Iberian Lynx?
Probably! @CGSwans should probably give a proper run down since he visited all three collections last year and is probably (currently) in the best position to give a comprehensive, and fairly recent, overview.
I've visited Lisbon recently, Barcelona in 1991! And Attica never. Looking through the galleries Attica seems to have the better enclosures so my vote goes there.
This is an interesting match-up, because it’s very category-dependent. Barcelona would have romped home on ectotherms, Attica on ungulates or birds, and Lisbon on primates. Only carnivores and miscellaneous mammals are potentially difficult choices. Unfortunately, Barcelona’s carnivore collection is nondescript both in species and display quality, but both Lisbon and Attica have claims here. Lisbon’s ace in the hole is the Iberian lynx, and the enclosure is generous in size and full of natural features. It’s great, except that I doubt many people have more luck in seeing an Iberian lynx than I did. Lisbon is otherwise pretty ABC-ish, from memory, which doesn’t bother me but will some people. What *does* bother me a little is that many of the ABC exhibits, including for lions and bears, were overstocked. There were about 13 lions in a reasonable but not generous-sized exhibit. I think there were five brown bears, too. Lintworm has identified the issue with the tigers. Attica is pretty strong on carnivores too, with a more or less complete set of ABCs, though not so many rarities (unless the occasional rescued Mediterranean monk seal, which I didn’t see, counts). I was impressed by the big cat enclosures, especially for lions, which at the time of my visit in late May 2017 were the best I’d seen in Europe (I visited Lisbon in mid-March and Barcelona in very early April, from memory). They did fall down the rankings as I made my way through Germany, the Netherlands and UK, but better than Lisbon and Barcelona. The vegetation is the same low shrubs and grasses that occur throughout the zoo and, indeed, throughout Attica, and I always like a zoo that sits well within its environment. My vote is sitting with Attica.
Thanks for that @CGSwans, Attica is sounding more impressive, but Lisbon still have the Iberian lynx... A genuinely tough call!
