ZooChat Cup Group D: Beauval vs St Louis
- Thread starter CGSwans
- Start date
I can't say anything regarding St. Louis - however I had a quick look at 'Zootierliste' and found the following species for Beauval:
Tasmanian Devil
Queensland Koala
Red Kangaroo
Red-necked Wallaby
Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo
Brush-tailed Rat Kangaroo
Big Hairy Armadillo
Southern Three-banded Armadillo
Giant Anteater
Patagonian Mara
Capybara
Southern Two-toed Sloth
Indian Porcupine
Short-eared Elephant Shrew
Naked Mole Rat
Especially the Australia - Section looks quite impressive for me.
Tasmanian Devil
Queensland Koala
Red Kangaroo
Red-necked Wallaby
Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo
Brush-tailed Rat Kangaroo
Big Hairy Armadillo
Southern Three-banded Armadillo
Giant Anteater
Patagonian Mara
Capybara
Southern Two-toed Sloth
Indian Porcupine
Short-eared Elephant Shrew
Naked Mole Rat
Especially the Australia - Section looks quite impressive for me.
The St Louis list is actually surprisingly long, if their website is a guide. Animals On Our Web Site | Saint Louis Zoo
Not much in it really, I can't vote yet but it will be 2-1 either way!
I'm voting 2-1 Beauval due to all round better enclosures, better husbandry etc.., and better species list (not larger, but better...)
St Louis keeps the following according to their website:-
Giant anteater
Southern three-banded armadillo
Hoffman's two-toed sloth
Tasmanian devil
Matschie's tree kangaroo
Red kangaroo
Tamar wallaby
Virginia opossum
Short-beaked echidna
Black-tailed prairie dog
Capybara
Degu
Guinea pig (domestic)
Meriam's kangaroo rat
Long-tailed chinchilla (domestic?)
Mexican hairy porcupine (Sphiggurus mexicanus)
Naked mole rat
Prevost's squirrel
Springhaas
St Vincent's agouti
Woodchuck
Four-toed hedgehog
European rabbit (domestic)
With that in mind I'm going 2-1 St Louis for now as that is a very diverse collection.
Giant anteater
Southern three-banded armadillo
Hoffman's two-toed sloth
Tasmanian devil
Matschie's tree kangaroo
Red kangaroo
Tamar wallaby
Virginia opossum
Short-beaked echidna
Black-tailed prairie dog
Capybara
Degu
Guinea pig (domestic)
Meriam's kangaroo rat
Long-tailed chinchilla (domestic?)
Mexican hairy porcupine (Sphiggurus mexicanus)
Naked mole rat
Prevost's squirrel
Springhaas
St Vincent's agouti
Woodchuck
Four-toed hedgehog
European rabbit (domestic)
With that in mind I'm going 2-1 St Louis for now as that is a very diverse collection.
I'm sorry to say Saint Louis' website is somewhat unreliable as far as species list. I can't confirm they don't keep all those species behind the scenes, but I know most aren't on exhibit. Here is an on-exhibit species list from my last visit in 2018:
Short-beacked Echidna
Tasmanian Devil
Red Kangaroo
Matscie's Tree Kangaroo
Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth
Linne's Two-Toed Sloth
Giant Anteater
Capybara
Domestic Guinea Pig
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Naked Mole Rat
Not quite as diverse as their website suggests. I'm voting 2-1 Beauval but can be convinced the other way.
Short-beacked Echidna
Tasmanian Devil
Red Kangaroo
Matscie's Tree Kangaroo
Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth
Linne's Two-Toed Sloth
Giant Anteater
Capybara
Domestic Guinea Pig
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Naked Mole Rat
Not quite as diverse as their website suggests. I'm voting 2-1 Beauval but can be convinced the other way.
That makes things a little easier
Whenever there is voting for 'Miscellaneous Mammals' there tends to be less fireworks and a fairly quiet batch of voters. Based on the lists of species provided above, and a few photos in the gallery, I'm going to vote 2-1 Beauval Zoo. Without a doubt, Beauval will surge into the next round and will likely remain undefeated.
You are missing possibly the most important one there - the West Indian manatee!
I think this abridged species list makes things a lot more straightforward. I would even be tempted to vote 3-0 Beauval...
Not only does Beauval have significantly more species (16-11 in terms of wild taxa), it also has the following enclosures:
Starting with an image of the massive exhibit for tapirs, capybaras and rheas, of which this is the pool. The pool extends further out of the photo, and I think probably has a volume of around 70 m3. It allows aquatic animals such as capybara and tapirs to enjoy the coolness of the water.
Now moving on to the enclosures near the big cats, the anteater enclosure is large (around twice the area shown in the photo), with anteater in the centre for reference.
This enclosure is for Indian porcupines and is larger than the area shown in the phot, also having logs and greenery to simulate the Indian dry forest in which the porcupines live.
So the manatees are housed in a massive greenhouse with tons of rainforest plants and interesting paths and walkways. The house also houses the indoor exhibits for gorillas and guenons. This sets the scene for what comes next...
This exhibit is certainly one of the most exquisite manatee exhibits I have ever seen. The first picture shows a photo of the exhibit - however, you might be thinking: seems quite small...
However, the photo is in fact taken from a bridge that, as shown in the second photo, bisects the pool, and therefore only around a third of the exhibit is actually in the first photo. The walkway over the exhibit allows an alternative viewing opportunity and does not affect the manatees in any way. The visitors can also see the manatees from close up through underwater viewing glass panes around the sides of the exhibits. The glass in clean and allows a clear view, especially as the water is also clean and it is easy to spot a manatee 10 metres away. There are large and small fish in the pool with them including arapaimas and pacus, allowing enrichment amongst other things.
This exhibit is for naked mole rats and has multiple viewing points. The landscaping and structure is well done, allowing the rats to hide from visitors if they don't want to be seen.
And lastly on this post, this large exhibit is for Short-eared elephant shrews and is located in the elephant indoor housing. The elephant shrews have a large exhibit which they can run around while making it easy for visitors to observe them.
Many thanks to @Maguari for singlehandedly supplying all the photos for this and the next post.
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This post is focused on the Australian section of the Beauval enclosures. Here goes. Many many thanks to @Maguari again
These two exhibits are respectively the indoor and outdoor enclosures for Queensland koalas. The indoor enclosure is very large, especially compared to other world class zoos' enclosures such as Vienna etc...
It offers many climbing opportunities, encouraging these normally lazy animals to be more active for visitor enjoyment but also for their health. There are also spaces to hide, just like in the very large outdoor enclosure, which has tons of space to climb, especially vertical trees (koalas' favourite).
Likely the best chain of tree kangaroo exhibits I have ever seen, these 4+ enclosures exhibit Goodfellow's tree kangaroos and Brush-tailed bettongs. They are all large and spacious, and each enclosure will typically house either a single individual or a pair, although they are interconnected by a complex keeper system so that they will never get bored of the same enclosure. They are often swapped around, which allows meetings with new individuals but also new bettongs, and some enclosures are only for tree kangaroos, allowing them to be away from the bettongs if they so wish if problems arise. The enclosures all have lots of climbing opportunities, are all glass-fronted, allowing easy visitor observation, and all have areas to hide if they so wish.
There is also a great Tasmanian devil exhibit that I couldn't find photos of (too recent).
And that ends the photographic guide to Beauval's miscellaneous mammals exhibits!
And through the course of doing that, it has persuaded me to vote 3-0 unless any St Louis images convince me otherwise. I may try and find photos of the St Louis enclosures...
Again, many thanks to @Maguari
These two exhibits are respectively the indoor and outdoor enclosures for Queensland koalas. The indoor enclosure is very large, especially compared to other world class zoos' enclosures such as Vienna etc...
It offers many climbing opportunities, encouraging these normally lazy animals to be more active for visitor enjoyment but also for their health. There are also spaces to hide, just like in the very large outdoor enclosure, which has tons of space to climb, especially vertical trees (koalas' favourite).
Likely the best chain of tree kangaroo exhibits I have ever seen, these 4+ enclosures exhibit Goodfellow's tree kangaroos and Brush-tailed bettongs. They are all large and spacious, and each enclosure will typically house either a single individual or a pair, although they are interconnected by a complex keeper system so that they will never get bored of the same enclosure. They are often swapped around, which allows meetings with new individuals but also new bettongs, and some enclosures are only for tree kangaroos, allowing them to be away from the bettongs if they so wish if problems arise. The enclosures all have lots of climbing opportunities, are all glass-fronted, allowing easy visitor observation, and all have areas to hide if they so wish.
There is also a great Tasmanian devil exhibit that I couldn't find photos of (too recent).
And that ends the photographic guide to Beauval's miscellaneous mammals exhibits!
And through the course of doing that, it has persuaded me to vote 3-0 unless any St Louis images convince me otherwise. I may try and find photos of the St Louis enclosures...
Again, many thanks to @Maguari
Attachments
Here are the exhibits at Saint Louis:
Echidna/Tree Kangaroo exhibit (photo by @Moebelle)
Tasmanian Devil exhibit (photo by @GraysonDP)
Red Kangaroo exhibit (photo by @snowleopard)
Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth exhibit (photo by @Moebelle
Capybara/Giant Anteater exhibit (photo by @GraysonDP)
Domestic Guinea Pig exhibit - the parrot cage isn't here anymore (photo by @Moebelle)
Naked Mole Rat exhibit (photo by @Coelacanth18)
What I'm trying to say here is that while Beauval is undoubtedly the better zoo in this category and deserves to win here, Saint Louis deserves a point.
Echidna/Tree Kangaroo exhibit (photo by @Moebelle)
Tasmanian Devil exhibit (photo by @GraysonDP)
Red Kangaroo exhibit (photo by @snowleopard)
Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth exhibit (photo by @Moebelle
Capybara/Giant Anteater exhibit (photo by @GraysonDP)
Domestic Guinea Pig exhibit - the parrot cage isn't here anymore (photo by @Moebelle)
Naked Mole Rat exhibit (photo by @Coelacanth18)
What I'm trying to say here is that while Beauval is undoubtedly the better zoo in this category and deserves to win here, Saint Louis deserves a point.
Here are the exhibits at Saint Louis:
Echidna/Tree Kangaroo exhibit (photo by @Moebelle)
Tasmanian Devil exhibit (photo by @GraysonDP)
Red Kangaroo exhibit (photo by @snowleopard)
Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth exhibit (photo by @Moebelle
Capybara/Giant Anteater exhibit (photo by @GraysonDP)
Domestic Guinea Pig exhibit - the parrot cage isn't here anymore (photo by @Moebelle)
Naked Mole Rat exhibit (photo by @Coelacanth18)
What I'm trying to say here is that while Beauval is undoubtedly the better zoo in this category and deserves to win here, Saint Louis deserves a point.
Hmmm.... I am going to try and be as unbiased as possible and evaluate these...
The first photo shows what seems to be a large-ish tree kangaroo exhibit. Not sure what is preventing them from just walking out of the exhibit though...
The second photo shows a good Tasmanian devil exhibit... About as good as Beauval's I think, perhaps even a bit better because the glass allows a close up view...
The third photo shows a very hilly kangaroo exhibit... Seems slightly smaller than that of Beauval, but isn't bad...
The fourth photo is imo not great at all... I have seen much better sloth exhibits from zoos who weren't even anywhere near qualifying for this competition and aren't even on France's top ten.
Too small and no privacy...
The fifth photo... I dunno whether this exhibit is tiny or small or even medium-sized. Is there anything else to it? I mean... if not, it's way too small...
The sixth photo shows a pretty small guinea pig enclosure...
The seventh one is for naked mole rats and seems to be significantly smaller than the Beauval one, with zero privacy and zero landscaping, so....
I dunno - if all the exhibits had been like the first three, I would've voted 2-1. However, due to the poor quality of the last few especially, I am keeping my vote at 3-0.
We have now established that the collection actually numbers at less than half of this and Beauval's collection is larger than was first implied, so the ratio is 16-11 to Beauval...
Here are the exhibits at Saint Louis:
Echidna/Tree Kangaroo exhibit (photo by @Moebelle)
Tasmanian Devil exhibit (photo by @GraysonDP)
Red Kangaroo exhibit (photo by @snowleopard)
Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth exhibit (photo by @Moebelle
Capybara/Giant Anteater exhibit (photo by @GraysonDP)
Domestic Guinea Pig exhibit - the parrot cage isn't here anymore (photo by @Moebelle)
Naked Mole Rat exhibit (photo by @Coelacanth18)
What I'm trying to say here is that while Beauval is undoubtedly the better zoo in this category and deserves to win here, Saint Louis deserves a point.
I'm going to be honest here, these exhibits do not inspire me anything good; especially the mole rat, guinea pig and two-toed sloth ones...
A lot of them seem particularly ugly (though that's subjective of course) and some definitely seem unfit for the species they hold. As such, it's gonna be a 3-0 vote from myself for Beauval.
Hmmm.... I am going to try and be as unbiased as possible and evaluate these...
The first photo shows what seems to be a large-ish tree kangaroo exhibit. Not sure what is preventing them from just walking out of the exhibit though...
The second photo shows a good Tasmanian devil exhibit... About as good as Beauval's I think, perhaps even a bit better because the glass allows a close up view...
The third photo shows a very hilly kangaroo exhibit... Seems slightly smaller than that of Beauval, but isn't bad...
The fourth photo is imo not great at all... I have seen much better sloth exhibits from zoos who weren't even anywhere near qualifying for this competition and aren't even on France's top ten.
Too small and no privacy...
The fifth photo... I dunno whether this exhibit is tiny or small or even medium-sized. Is there anything else to it? I mean... if not, it's way too small...
The sixth photo shows a pretty small guinea pig enclosure...
The seventh one is for naked mole rats and seems to be significantly smaller than the Beauval one, with zero privacy and zero landscaping, so....
I dunno - if all the exhibits had been like the first three, I would've voted 2-1. However, due to the poor quality of the last few especially, I am keeping my vote at 3-0.
The Capybara/Giant Anteater one is much larger than it appears in the photo.