USA Today--Vote for the best zoo in the United States

Zoos:
Best Zoo Winners: 2017 10Best Readers' Choice Travel Awards

1. Saint Louis Zoo*
2. Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium*
3. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum*
4. Fort Worth Zoo*
5. Riverbanks Zoo & Garden*
6. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo*
7. San Diego Zoo*
8. Brookfield Zoo*
9. Audubon Zoo*
10. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo*

Aquariums:
Best Aquarium Winners: 2017 10Best Readers' Choice Travel Awards
1. Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies*
2. Georgia Aquarium*
3. Dallas World Aquarium*
4. Audubon Aquarium of the Americas*
5. Tennessee Aquarium*
6. Newport Aquarium*
7. Texas State Aquarium*
8. Adventure Aquarium*
9. Monterey Bay Aquarium*
10. Aquarium of the Pacific*

Safari Parks:
Best Safari Park Winners: 2017 10Best Readers' Choice Travel Awards
1. Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center*
2. Lee G. Simmons Wildlife Safari Park*
3. Fossil Rim Wildlife Center*
4. San Diego Zoo Safari Park*
5. Bearizona
6. B. Brian Preserve
7. Lion Country Safari*
8. Safari West*
9. African Safari Wildlife Park*
10. The Wilds*

*is AZA accredited.

Interesting.
 
SLZ for the win! :):):)

Really surprised by some of these, though; Shedd Aquarium didn't even make top 10, Monterey Bay got 9th, and SDWAP only made 4th.
 
Ok this list is making my head hurt :rolleyes:. There is no way that Riverbanks or Fort Worth are superior to Brookfield and Cheyenne. Also, where is Bronx, Columbus and Woodland Park? And better question, why is Shedd not on the list? And even better question, why is SD Safari Park FOURTH!? And best question, who's the genius that put The Wilds last!?!!?!?!?!?!

*Sigh* I understand these lists are just reasults of a glorified popularity contest, but this is really is just ridiculous.
 
@jayjds2 Thanks for posting the results but other than Saint Louis, Omaha and San Diego being up there I'm in total disagreement with the rest of the choices.

I can see why Saint Louis, Omaha and San Diego are there...fair enough. ASDM is a contentious choice for many zoo enthusiasts as it is brilliant at what it does but is very limited in scope. Fort Worth is not even in the top 2 zoos in its state...FAR behind Dallas and Houston in my opinion and an average zoo without its world-class Reptile House. Riverbanks has huge popularity...in South Carolina. Cheyenne Mountain at #6 is ridiculous as Denver two hours away is a much superior zoo. I could go on but I'll stop there.

Also, the top 10 aquarium list doesn't even include Shedd...my pick as America's #1 aquarium. Bizarre. I'd go with Shedd, Georgia and Monterey Bay as the top 3 aquariums in the nation.

Here is a "Snowleopard" Top 10 USA zoo list:

#1 - San Diego
#2 - Omaha
#3 - Saint Louis
#4 - Columbus
#5 - Bronx

Those are the elite group of 5 that are a cut above the rest. Then...

#6 - Sedgwick County
#7 - North Carolina
#8 - Denver
#9 - San Diego Zoo Safari Park
#10 - Miami

That set of 10 looks fairly accurate. There is still Dallas, Houston, Woodland Park, Minnesota and even Detroit that would likely be my #11-15 group.
 
The bizarre one is the safari park listing. Number one is not even a safari park - why did the site even put it up for vote?
 
Chicago's facilities have never been good at rallying troops in polls like this, so I'm disappointed but not surprised that the Shedd and Brookfield failed to make it.
 
A lot of Cleveland Zoo haters on here. I am slightly biased as it is my home zoo, but there are many great exhibits there with the opening of Tiger Passage and African Elephant Crossing. From a visitor perspective, there are not many elephant exhibits that offer the incredible viewing of elephants that AEC does. Also, the collection at Cleveland is amazing. And although Primate, Cat, and Aquatics is not the prettiest of exhibits, they have had some pretty significant births of high profile animals (I am thinking of the baby snow leopard this past year). I definitely agree with having Cleveland on the list. I am happy Saint Louis got #1 being my personal favorite zoo.
 
BlackRhino said:
A lot of Cleveland Zoo haters on here. I am slightly biased as it is my home zoo, but there are many great exhibits there with the opening of Tiger Passage and African Elephant Crossing. From a visitor perspective, there are not many elephant exhibits that offer the incredible viewing of elephants that AEC does. Also, the collection at Cleveland is amazing. And although Primate, Cat, and Aquatics is not the prettiest of exhibits, they have had some pretty significant births of high profile animals (I am thinking of the baby snow leopard this past year). I definitely agree with having Cleveland on the list. I am happy Saint Louis got #1 being my personal favorite zoo.
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Sure they may have a couple good exhibits, but do you honestly think it is one of the ten best in the entire country? I have never been so I am asking this as an honest question, but I am virtually certain that if I did visit I would never consider it worthy of a top ten title.
 
zoomaniac said:
Sorry, but this BRCTA ranking is a joke (valid for all three categories).
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As people have previously stated, it is a popularity contest. The real problem is how the original twenty get listed for people to vote on. They consulted some zoo industry professionals, but clearly those people have biases to come up with some of these wacky choices. As I stated before, one of the five reviewers in the zoo category worked at Cleveland Zoo for over three decades, which explains how they got on the list.

What the final votes reveal, however, is the power of social media. My local Arizona Sonora Desert Museum came in at number three (and yes I did vote for them several days). While some zoo nerds (on this site) would consider it one of the top ten in the country, I think some would consider it too specialized to top a general zoo poll. However, every Facebook notice they post gets over one thousand likes. So if anything the value of this poll is for zoo staff to increase their social media efforts.
 
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When the latest $100M renovation is complete at the Fort Worth Zoo, people are going to forget that Dallas even exists (except for the tuataras). I do think, in its current state, its a stretch to have FW in the Top 5...but the MOLA alone could crack the Top 10. It does rely a lot on its status from the late 90s - mid 2000s when it was the only zoo in the US to house all four great ape species and three of the five rhino species (the white rhinos moved to Fossil Rim) and the Dallas and Houston Zoos were downright awful (especially Dallas). Also, the Texas Wild! exhibit, though great for the kids, doesn't wow those visitors that would likely post on forums like ZooChat...but "average Joes and Janes" dig it for the little monsters.

Between 2018-2025, the expanded African Savannah (with hippo "lazy river" and underwater viewing--direct shop at Dallas!) plus the new additions of the Elephant Spring, Hunters of Africa and Asian (adding clouded leopards, baby!), and Forests & Jungles (finally we get some okapis at the FWZ) will bring it back to its rightfully earned position in the Top 5.

It's criminal that Dallas has a tuatara and the MOLA doesn't...just criminal.
 
I doubt that all of that is going to be made in 7 years, but if so that would be absolutely incredible!
 
The last major exhibit on the plan is projected to open in Spring 2025. Obviously, things get delayed in projects of this scope...but the money has been raised and the African Savannah upgrade looks to be close to schedule (per an employee approximately six weeks ago).

A Wilder Vision
 
jaykkey said:
When the latest $100M renovation is complete at the Fort Worth Zoo, people are going to forget that Dallas even exists (except for the tuataras). I do think, in its current state, its a stretch to have FW in the Top 5...but the MOLA alone could crack the Top 10. It does rely a lot on its status from the late 90s - mid 2000s when it was the only zoo in the US to house all four great ape species and three of the five rhino species (the white rhinos moved to Fossil Rim) and the Dallas and Houston Zoos were downright awful (especially Dallas). Also, the Texas Wild! exhibit, though great for the kids, doesn't wow those visitors that would likely post on forums like ZooChat...but "average Joes and Janes" dig it for the little monsters.

Between 2018-2025, the expanded African Savannah (with hippo "lazy river" and underwater viewing--direct shop at Dallas!) plus the new additions of the Elephant Spring, Hunters of Africa and Asian (adding clouded leopards, baby!), and Forests & Jungles (finally we get some okapis at the FWZ) will bring it back to its rightfully earned position in the Top 5.

It's criminal that Dallas has a tuatara and the MOLA doesn't...just criminal.
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The thing to remember is that it’s not a competition. Zoos work together, they don’t try to compete against each other to see who has the superior exhibit.
 
Of course, all of the AZA institutions work together...that goes without saying. We all want every zoo to be amazing and well-attended...and treat the animals with all of the care and respect in the world. But a "friendly" competition, especially between the local supporters of two large zoos that are 36 miles apart, can only help on the donation/funding side. Do you think that Dallas would have pumped as much money as they did into the zoo had Fort Worth not had a decade long run of Metroplex dominance? Nope.
 
As long as it increases the quality of exhibits, I think a little friendly competition is alright.
 
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