Zoochat Cup Group H: Chester vs Prague

[CGSwans]

The final first round match is among the most consequential we've had. Two European super-heavyweights with Cup-winning credentials, but Prague is in serious danger of elimination if it can't scrounge a win (and might miss out even if it does). Chester will progress with a win, but a heavy defeat could see it tumble out instead.

The topic? Carnivores.

 

[amur leopard]

Chester species list:

African wild dog
Asian small-clawed otter
Asiatic lion
Bush dog
Dwarf mongoose
Fossa
Giant otter
Grandidier’s Vontsira
Jaguar
Meerkat
Nepalese red panda
Northern Narrow-striped boky
Palawan binturong
Scottish wildcat
Spectacled Bear
Sudan cheetah
Sumatran tiger
Sun bear

 

[Brum]

African wild dog
Asian small-clawed otter
Asiatic lion
Bush dog
Dwarf mongoose
Fossa
Giant otter
Grandidier’s Vontsira
Jaguar
Meerkat
Nepalese red panda
Northern Narrow-striped boky
Palawan binturong
Scottish wildcat
Spectacled Bear
Sudan cheetah
Sumatran tiger
Sun bear

... and the only Javan mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) in Europe...

 

[amur leopard]

Prague species list:

Amur leopard
Asiatic lion
Brown hyena
Bush dog
Cape fur seal
Central African ratel
Caracal
Dwarf mongoose
Eurasian wolf
Fennec fox
Fishing cat
Geoffroy's cat
Indochinese clouded leopard
Indochinese smooth-coated otter
Jaguarundi
Javan leopard
Malayan tiger
Maned wolf
Meerkat
Nepalese red panda
North American river otter
Northern raccoon
Oncilla
Palawan binturong
Palawan leopard cat
Philippine palm civet
Polar bear
Siberian tiger
South African bat-eared fox
South African cheetah
South American coati
Sri Lankan rusty spotted cat
Sumatran tiger
Tayra
White-nosed coati
Yellow mongoose

So that's Prague 36 - 19 Chester in species...

 

[lintworm]

Prague does however not have the enclosures to beat Chester, with the Polar bear and quite a number of the Cat enclosures being quite poor.

 

[vogelcommando]

And again a competition from which I only know 1 collection personaly. At Prague Zoo I found the carnivore collection quite impressive with a number of rare and rarely seen species and even a lifer on subspecies level ( Palawan leopard cat ). Some of the enclosure were very large ( Cheetah , Brown hyena - althrough the species himself was not visuable ), others were a little bit small and one - the Polar bear was IMO very small.
Overall I found it one of the better carnivore-collections I've seen and because I've not seen Chesters carnivore-collection myself - althrough there's written quite a lot about here on ZooChat - I'll give a 2-1 score for Prague.

 

[FunkyGibbon]

I think as well that whilst the bat-eared fox and ratel enclosures are not bad they are not fantastic either. I will be voting 2-1 to Chester based on exhibit quality.

 

[twilighter]

Sadly, one of the those two fantastic zoos, witch could fight in a Final four will perhaps leave the game. Prague is awesome zoo with one of the biggest and most diverse Carnivore collection I have seen , but Chester's Spirit of Jaguar, Giant Otter and Fossa exhibits are in the league of it's own.I will vote for Chester 2:1 now, but could be convinced to change side.

 

[amur leopard]

OK I agree that the polar bear enclosure is poor but it is being redone into a massive exhibit, so....
Secondly, I would certainly not say that some of the cat exhibits are extremely poor... If you refer to the oncilla, one that is mediocre at worst...!
Here are some photos of Prague:

Thanks to @HOMIN96 , @lintworm and @Robaque especially (I think)

So starting with smaller species:








So these (I'm guessing) are the 'quite poor' enclosures. I would not even say that it approaches poor, although my benchmark may well be lower than yours @lintworm.
The top exhibit for jaguarundis is well-planted, with lots of space and many places to hide. It is a good exhibit. The entrance to the oncilla exhibit viewing tunnel is shown in the second photo. I couldn't find a picture showing the actual exhibit, but from the small view we have of it, I imagine it is similar-ish to the jaguarundi exhibit and same with the tayras in the third photo. Then, the leopard cats. While the exhibit may look slightly shabby, the enclosure itself is suitable and good. There is plenty of height to the enclosure, allowing the cats to climb as they would in the wild. Therefore, the bad exhibits aren't actually bad at all really...


This is a small section of the coati exhibit, which is lushly planted, with lots of natural climbing opportunities as well as viewing opportunities for visitors. This makes it a very good exhibit for a species often overlooked in zoos.




The second photo shows the extent of the exhibit properly, while the first shows a small section. It is a spacious and well-proportioned exhibit with a slide, clear water and a long range of viewing windows. A good exhibit on the whole.


This immense exhibit for bush dogs is outstanding compared to the exhibits this species is normally housed in. Very spacious and impressive.


Meanwhile, the otter exhibit is also very large and well-suited to the species. It also has large viewing windows.



And lastly, probably the best and most striking red panda exhibit I have ever seen, it reflects the red panda's mountainous home, while being based around Nepalese trees and the dense foliage reflets the thick tops of the trees of the Nepalese mountain forests in which they live. the photo only shows part of the enclosure. The exhibit is also built on a natural slant, which also allows visitors to view from above and below.

More in the next post.

 

[FunkyGibbon]

@amur leopard have you visited Prague?

 

[ThylacineAlive]

While Prague does have Chester beat out species-wise and while I don't entirely agree with the degree to which Prague's enclosures have been described (Polar Bear definitely aside), I think Chester has the win here. Chester is a zoo that is actively working on importing new and endangered species, and is willing to be one of the first to join in on new captive programs (vontsirsa, mongoose). They also have some pretty fantastic enclosures that do beat Prague's overall. The Giant Otter enclosure in particular is superb, and from photos it looks like they arguably have the best Fossa enclosure around. On top of all of that, they do excellent conservation work in several countries around the globe. Their Scottish Wildcat complex is even completely bts so that the cats may potentially be reintroduced back into the wild. 2-1 Chester for me.

~Thylo

 

[TeaLovingDave]

... and the only Javan mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) in Europe...

Minor correction - Herpestes auropunctatus.

This is quite a painful round, as I personally think both of these collections deserve to progress over their two rivals but this cannot be, so we just have to tackle things head-on.

Prague is the superior collection in terms of species (both number and diversity), this is without doubt... but Chester isn't too shabby in this regard either and has the better exhibit quality overall in my opinion.

I may detail the factors on both sides in more depth anon, but for now ...

2-1 Chester

 

[TeaLovingDave]

@amur leopard have you visited Prague?

I'm rather interested to know the answer to this one too

On another note, I wonder how many of us have visited both collections - probably the majority, for once.

 

[amur leopard]

@amur leopard have you visited Prague?

I have not.

However, I do plan to visit in a few years' time after the San Diego and Monterey trip and Berlin, Leipzig, Chester and a few other places. I have however visited Chester before, and after looking through the whole Prague gallery I can assure you that I do know what the enclosures look like.
Note: I did not immediately start off with a pre-set idea of who I wanted to win, I don't do that. It is only now that I have looked through both galleries and species lists that I am making my mind up.
And here are the other enclosures:

OK Prague is one of the only zoos in the world with brown hyenas, and they don't house them in meagre accommodation either. This immense exhibit is basically devoted to the species. They have isolation areas, connecting areas and containment areas. It is truly immense.


This massive cheetah exhibit is very suitable for the species. Probably one of the best enclosures for the species in the world apart from Beauval's.


This is another large enclosure and lots of places to hide (for Asiatic lions) I know you can't see the enclosure very well, but it is good in other photos.


An average enclosure for Javan leopards. Could do with a little more space but enough places to hide.


This is the Malayan tiger exhibit and I genuinely think it is a good enclosure. It has cover, it has a massive pool for these water-loving cats and it is far enough away to give the cats some privacy.


This is a massive exhibit for maned wolves. Very nice exhibit overall, representing the Pampas well.



The Siberian tiger exhibit is also very nice, simulating the Russian taiga. Although you can't really see the exhibit, it is large and spacious.


Also, Prague's species list basically blows Chester's out of the water:
If you delete all species that are in both collections...

Amur leopard
Brown hyena
Cape fur seal
Central African ratel
Caracal
Eurasian wolf
Fennec fox
Fishing cat
Geoffroy's cat
Indochinese clouded leopard
Indochinese smooth-coated otter
Jaguarundi
Javan leopard
Malayan tiger
Maned wolf
North American river otter
Northern raccoon
Oncilla
Palawan leopard cat
Philippine palm civet
Polar bear
Siberian tiger
South African bat-eared fox
South American coati
Sri Lankan rusty spotted cat
Tayra
White-nosed coati
Yellow mongoose

African wild dog
Asian small-clawed otter
Fossa
Giant otter
Grandidier’s Vontsira
Jaguar
Northern Narrow-striped boky
Scottish wildcat
Spectacled Bear
Sun bear

3 subspecies of tiger, 2 of leopard, brown hyenas... what more can you ask for?

 

[pipaluk]

I have not.

However, I do plan to visit in a few years' time after the San Diego and Monterey trip and Berlin, Leipzig, Chester and a few other places. I have however visited Chester before, and after looking through the whole Prague gallery I can assure you that I do know what the enclosures look like.
Note: I did not immediately start off with a pre-set idea of who I wanted to win, I don't do that. It is only now that I have looked through both galleries and species lists that I am making my mind up.
And here are the other enclosures:View attachment 420213
View attachment 420215
OK Prague is one of the only zoos in the world with brown hyenas, and they don't house them in meagre accommodation either. This immense exhibit is basically devoted to the species. They have isolation areas, connecting areas and containment areas. It is truly immense.

View attachment 420214
This massive cheetah exhibit is very suitable for the species. Probably one of the best enclosures for the species in the world apart from Beauval's.

View attachment 420212
This is another large enclosure and lots of places to hide (for Asiatic lions) I know you can't see the enclosure very well, but it is good in other photos.

View attachment 420216
An average enclosure for Javan leopards. Could do with a little more space but enough places to hide.

View attachment 420217
This is the Malayan tiger exhibit and I genuinely think it is a good enclosure. It has cover, it has a massive pool for these water-loving cats and it is far enough away to give the cats some privacy.

View attachment 420218
This is a massive exhibit for maned wolves. Very nice exhibit overall, representing the Pampas well.

View attachment 420219

The Siberian tiger exhibit is also very nice, simulating the Russian taiga. Although you can't really see the exhibit, it is large and spacious.


Also, Prague's species list basically blows Chester's out of the water:
If you delete all species that are in both collections...

Amur leopard
Brown hyena
Cape fur seal
Central African ratel
Caracal
Eurasian wolf
Fennec fox
Fishing cat
Geoffroy's cat
Indochinese clouded leopard
Indochinese smooth-coated otter
Jaguarundi
Javan leopard
Malayan tiger
Maned wolf
North American river otter
Northern raccoon
Oncilla
Palawan leopard cat
Philippine palm civet
Polar bear
Siberian tiger
South African bat-eared fox
South American coati
Sri Lankan rusty spotted cat
Tayra
White-nosed coati
Yellow mongoose

African wild dog
Asian small-clawed otter
Fossa
Giant otter
Grandidier’s Vontsira
Jaguar
Northern Narrow-striped boky
Scottish wildcat
Spectacled Bear
Sun bear

3 subspecies of tiger, 2 of leopard, brown hyenas... what more can you ask for?

Worth noting also that 4 of Chester's are offshow too! How many of Prague's are offshow? Offshow shouldn't necessarily be discounted, but I don't think they should carry quite the same weight as what you can see. Take out the offshow species and Prague has well over twice as many and interesting species too! If Chester didn't have good exhibits this would be 3-0 Prague for me. I voted 2-1 though

 

[pipaluk]

And again a competition from which I only know 1 collection personaly. At Prague Zoo I found the carnivore collection quite impressive with a number of rare and rarely seen species and even a lifer on subspecies level ( Palawan leopard cat ). Some of the enclosure were very large ( Cheetah , Brown hyena - althrough the species himself was not visuable ), others were a little bit small and one - the Polar bear was IMO very small.
Overall I found it one of the better carnivore-collections I've seen and because I've not seen Chesters carnivore-collection myself - althrough there's written quite a lot about here on ZooChat - I'll give a 2-1 score for Prague.

You haven't voted though!

 

[amur leopard]

Worth noting also that 4 of Chester's are offshow too! How many of Prague's are offshow? Offshow shouldn't necessarily be discounted, but I don't think they should carry quite the same weight as what you can see. Take out the offshow species and Prague has well over twice as many and interesting species too! If Chester didn't have good exhibits this would be 3-0 Prague for me. I voted 2-1 though

Which ones are offshow from Chester? This could be very significant...

 

[pipaluk]

Which ones are offshow from Chester? This could be very significant...

Grandidiers Vontsira
Narrow striped Boky
Javan Mongoose
Scottish Wildcat
I think

 

[snowleopard]

Is Prague, a strong candidate for the best zoo in Europe, really going to tumble out of the competition? Is it the luck of the draw that is seeing zoos like Prague, Pairi Daiza, Miami and Burgers all get booted...or what other explanation can there be? Burgers' Zoo has superb exhibits but not a huge collection of animals, but those other zoos are massive, all-day zoos with not only lots of species but also very good exhibits. This tournament is throwing up some curveballs and that is making things very exciting.

 

[amur leopard]

Is Prague, a strong candidate for the best zoo in Europe, really going to tumble out of the competition? Is it the luck of the draw that is seeing zoos like Prague, Pairi Daiza, Miami and Burgers all get booted...or what other explanation can there be? Burgers' Zoo has superb exhibits but not a huge collection of animals, but those other zoos are massive, all-day zoos with not only lots of species but also very good exhibits. This tournament is throwing up some curveballs and that is making things very exciting.

I would say it point blank is the best zoo in Europe...
I think Prague does certainly deserve to get close to winning this competition, which is part of the reason why I am campaigning for it...