America's Top 100 Zoos & Aquariums

sooty mangabey said:
There are still a few answers that are baffling me here! It’s a case of trying to think what the answers might be, and also trying to think which zoos might appear in the appendix. For example, that “SkyDome“ one – that might be a description of something like the Lied jungle, but I’m pretty sure that Omaha will make it into the top 100.
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I created a list, but since I already bought a copy, I didn't submit it. I more wanted to see how many I could guess correctly. That being said, I would definitely not win as I can only manage to take a guess at 13 of them and if I got all of them correct I would be very surprised. The other 7 I have absolutely no idea what they could be. How someone managed to guess 14 correctly is beyond on me! I will echo the others and say I believe Sky Dome is the Reptile Gardens though.
 
Hail of trumpets- the book was delivered today...and im very pleased with it. All orders will be going out in the next day or so. I will also add that Amazon (UK) will be selling at the recommended retail price which is £5 more than the IZES website offer...even then it might be up to two weeks before it appears on their site.Perhaps now ,or the next day or so it would be appropriate to bring the quiz to an end. Thanks to all for their interest and participation.
 
Since there haven't been any quiz submissions for a full week, and now that the book is being shipped out to those that have put in their orders, it is time to announce that the winner of the competition is none other than @sooty mangabey. Congratulations! He will be receiving a FREE BOOK...and I would like to thank all of the participants who sent me their answers for the quiz. 'Sooty' correctly named 15 out of the 20 zoos in the quiz.

The Top 20 Specialist Collections and Smaller Zoos are summarized with exactly one paragraph each at the back of the book. Many fill a niche market and are specialized in terms of representing a certain type of animal, or showcase a particular geographical area, or are simply good enough to have a spotlight shined down upon them via a couple of seasoned zoo enthusiasts.

We were deliberate with our choices and we ended up with an insect zoo, a lemur center, two zoos with massive acreage that are partially seen via 'safari-like tours', 3 reptile zoos, 4 bird zoos, 4 aquariums and 5 excellent little zoos.

Here are the answers:

1- Nearby is the location of one of the world's great tennis tournaments.

Queens Zoo (New York, New York)

2- This establishment has an aviary for White-tailed Sea Eagles.

Alexandria Zoological Park (Alexandria, Louisiana)

3- This is a visible figurehead of a noted marine scientific organization on the West Coast.

Birch Aquarium (La Jolla, California)

4- For those with a sweet tooth.

ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park (Hershey, Pennsylvania)

5- This small, specialist facility is located in a park that once was home to a zoo with elephants, but the zoo ended up moving to a less central location.

Tracy Aviary (Salt Lake City, Utah)

6- Currently closed to the public as a major renovation is taking place.

International Crane Foundation (Baraboo, Wisconsin)

7- Located in a town with an unusual two-word name that sounds rather British.

Sylvan Heights Bird Park (Scotland Neck, North Carolina)

8- Spadefish!

North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores (Pine Knoll Shores, North Carolina)

9- The largest zoo in North America.

The Wilds (Cumberland, Ohio)

10- This facility has a cafe that serves up rather unusual fare in addition to burgers and sandwiches.

Audubon Butterfly Garden & Insectarium (New Orleans, Louisiana)

11- Banana Slugs and Rubber Boas are on display in one building here.

Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (Eatonville, Washington)

12- This facility is also known for its high-quality traveling exhibitions.

Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland (Allenwood, Pennsylvania)

13- Sky Dome.

Reptile Gardens (Rapid City, South Dakota)

14- This facility is located in a city of less than 3,000 people.

Alaska SeaLife Center (Seward, Alaska)

15- Once the home of a legendary rattlesnake expert (not Laurence Klauber).

Staten Island Zoo (New York, New York)

16- Once it had them all...but due to taxonomic changes now it doesn't.

St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park (St. Augustine, Florida)

17- This facility is just shy of 3 acres in size and almost entirely indoors.

National Aviary (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

18- Next year will be the 20th anniversary celebration.

Great Lakes Aquarium (Duluth, Minnesota)

19- This establishment was the first zoo in the USA to charge a conservation entrance fee.

Zoo Boise (Boise, Idaho)

20- This place has released more than 1,000 peer-reviewed publications and is open by appointment only.

Duke Lemur Center (Durham, North Carolina)
 
Had I bothered submitting my guesses I'd have got 12 :)
 
snowleopard said:
Since there haven't been any quiz submissions for a full week, and now that the book is being shipped out to those that have put in their orders, it is time to announce that the winner of the competition is none other than @sooty mangabey. Congratulations! He will be receiving a FREE BOOK...and I would like to thank all of the participants who sent me their answers for the quiz. 'Sooty' correctly named 15 out of the 20 zoos in the quiz.
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I got 10 of the ones I guessed at correct. 11 if you count knowing International Crane Foundation would be on the list, but having no idea which one it was. I guessed the Jackson Zoo for the one that was the ICF.
 
FunkyGibbon said:
Were there any that nobody got?
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Without going through all of the submissions, and thus reporting back anecdotally, there were perhaps 3 answers that no one got correct.

Question #5 (Tracy Aviary) is one that no one got at all and I admit that it was very difficult.

Question #7 (Sylvan Heights Bird Park) is one that probably no one got and that place has one of the most extensive waterfowl collections in the world.

Question #18 (Great Lakes Aquarium) is one that no one got and that Minnesota facility is almost entirely focused on species from the Great Lakes (Huron, Ohio, Michigan, Erie, Superior) area.
 
snowleopard said:
Question #18 (Great Lakes Aquarium) is one that no one got and that Minnesota facility is almost entirely focused on species from the Great Lakes (Huron, Ohio, Michigan, Erie, Superior) area.
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This is one I actually did get on my list! Not that you'd know that since I didn't submit my list! If no one got it I'm very pleased with myself! It was actually pure luck though. I was just googling random places that came to mind and checking what year they opened. I only really googled this place is because it's in Minnesota, where I live. When I wrote it down I thought it was wrong, even though it definitely fits as a specialist facility. Pleasantly surprised that it was included!
 
snowleopard said:
Without going through all of the submissions, and thus reporting back anecdotally, there were perhaps 3 answers that no one got correct.

Question #5 (Tracy Aviary) is one that no one got at all and I admit that it was very difficult.

Question #7 (Sylvan Heights Bird Park) is one that probably no one got and that place has one of the most extensive waterfowl collections in the world.

Question #18 (Great Lakes Aquarium) is one that no one got and that Minnesota facility is almost entirely focused on species from the Great Lakes (Huron, Ohio, Michigan, Erie, Superior) area.
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Untrue! I got #5
 
snowleopard said:
Since there haven't been any quiz submissions for a full week, and now that the book is being shipped out to those that have put in their orders, it is time to announce that the winner of the competition is none other than @sooty mangabey. Congratulations! He will be receiving a FREE BOOK...and I would like to thank all of the participants who sent me their answers for the quiz. 'Sooty' correctly named 15 out of the 20 zoos in the quiz.

The Top 20 Specialist Collections and Smaller Zoos are summarized with exactly one paragraph each at the back of the book. Many fill a niche market and are specialized in terms of representing a certain type of animal, or showcase a particular geographical area, or are simply good enough to have a spotlight shined down upon them via a couple of seasoned zoo enthusiasts.

We were deliberate with our choices and we ended up with an insect zoo, a lemur center, two zoos with massive acreage that are partially seen via 'safari-like tours', 3 reptile zoos, 4 bird zoos, 4 aquariums and 5 excellent little zoos.

Here are the answers:

1- Nearby is the location of one of the world's great tennis tournaments.

Queens Zoo (New York, New York)

2- This establishment has an aviary for White-tailed Sea Eagles.

Alexandria Zoological Park (Alexandria, Louisiana)

3- This is a visible figurehead of a noted marine scientific organization on the West Coast.

Birch Aquarium (La Jolla, California)

4- For those with a sweet tooth.

ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park (Hershey, Pennsylvania)

5- This small, specialist facility is located in a park that once was home to a zoo with elephants, but the zoo ended up moving to a less central location.

Tracy Aviary (Salt Lake City, Utah)

6- Currently closed to the public as a major renovation is taking place.

International Crane Foundation (Baraboo, Wisconsin)

7- Located in a town with an unusual two-word name that sounds rather British.

Sylvan Heights Bird Park (Scotland Neck, North Carolina)

8- Spadefish!

North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores (Pine Knoll Shores, North Carolina)

9- The largest zoo in North America.

The Wilds (Cumberland, Ohio)

10- This facility has a cafe that serves up rather unusual fare in addition to burgers and sandwiches.

Audubon Butterfly Garden & Insectarium (New Orleans, Louisiana)

11- Banana Slugs and Rubber Boas are on display in one building here.

Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (Eatonville, Washington)

12- This facility is also known for its high-quality traveling exhibitions.

Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland (Allenwood, Pennsylvania)

13- Sky Dome.

Reptile Gardens (Rapid City, South Dakota)

14- This facility is located in a city of less than 3,000 people.

Alaska SeaLife Center (Seward, Alaska)

15- Once the home of a legendary rattlesnake expert (not Laurence Klauber).

Staten Island Zoo (New York, New York)

16- Once it had them all...but due to taxonomic changes now it doesn't.

St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park (St. Augustine, Florida)

17- This facility is just shy of 3 acres in size and almost entirely indoors.

National Aviary (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

18- Next year will be the 20th anniversary celebration.

Great Lakes Aquarium (Duluth, Minnesota)

19- This establishment was the first zoo in the USA to charge a conservation entrance fee.

Zoo Boise (Boise, Idaho)

20- This place has released more than 1,000 peer-reviewed publications and is open by appointment only.

Duke Lemur Center (Durham, North Carolina)
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Well, thank you very much! I’m delighted! It’s the first thing I’ve won since getting a copy of a book about the Tower Menagerie at a Bartlett Society quiz, several moons ago - and then I was helped by having Brian Foster on my team.....
 
All back orders for the book will be completely despatched by tomorrow. American buyers should note that ,at this time of ,year transatlantic packages are on the fringes of Christmas post so please be a little patient. I really must thank everyone whose photographic contribution made this possible. As a limited edition publication brimming with over 700 pictures it could not have happened if we had been forced to pay for imagery. And ultimately,hopefully, you will be contributing to conservation via the profit. Thanks once more.
 
The vexed subject of postage abroad continues,particularly outside Europe. Even though my main business is mail order we still find things out we didnt know. For instance, a few people ordered the Sheridan book on European zoos as well as America`s Top 100 Zoos & Aquariums..this is good of course but we found out that the upper limit of weight is different outside of Europe and the maximum to say,the U.S.,or Australia for that matter,is only 2 kilos - both books weigh more than that combined, so we had to send them in separate parcels. Crazy but true. Nor could we send them combined by carrier because the cheapest rate for that was over £40! So,in short,if you ordered two or more books look out for separate packages if you are not in Europe.
 
And dont even mention Amazon to me! Yes,at user level,the easiest way of buying online without a doubt,i use them personally a lot. But at vendor level, a mire of bureaucracy,obstacle,systems and fees.It will go on Amazon UK eventually im sure(but not U.S. Amazon im afraid) but it will have to be at the r.r.p. of £29.99 rather than the price of £24.99 on www.izes.co.uk.
 
Tim Brown said:
And dont even mention Amazon to me! Yes,at user level,the easiest way of buying online without a doubt,i use them personally a lot. But at vendor level, a mire of bureaucracy,obstacle,systems and fees.It will go on Amazon UK eventually im sure(but not U.S. Amazon im afraid) but it will have to be at the r.r.p. of £29.99 rather than the price of £24.99 on www.izes.co.uk.
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Be careful with Amazon.. I only used them once for a pair of volumes from the US. Only one book was sent/arrived, and it turned out the vendor never had the second, but advertised and charged for the complete set of two. Neither he nor Amazon was interested and neither would honour it. eBay would have refunded me as a buyer...
 
When is the best time to order the book since there are many pre-orders for it already and when will we hear whose images made it into the book?
 
I have not posted on this thread in a week, but an update is needed. I know that a number of people placed an order before the books were even back from the publishers and we sold more than 80 copies right off the bat. That number has since grown. However, there are still a lot of zoo nerds that have not placed an order and I would urge them to do that soon so books can arrive before Christmas. I have yet to receive my personal shipment, but it appears that I'll have it within the next 24 hours. After many years of working on the book, it is fine for me to wait a little longer to get my hands on a hardcover of the magnum opus.

When I do have a book in my hands, I intend to go through the whole thing, page by page, and count all the photos inside. At that point I'll then record each individual who supplied photo(s) and I'll contact people to let them know how many photos they have in the book. I know a bunch of the folks who supplied photos have already ordered copies, but there are others who are waiting to see if their photographic submissions made the final cut. I guess that makes sense, as some people might not have normally bought the book...but if they know that they have some of their photos inside then they will possibly order a couple of books in order to hand out Christmas gifts! ;)

As was briefly mentioned weeks ago, the lack of interest from American zoos has been duly noted. One would think that a major zoological facility that was in a book of the best in the nation (admittedly a subjective list) would order a dozen copies for their gift shop. We did contact many zoos and aquariums while in the process of writing the book, often to inquire about specific information in regards to the zoo, with a lack of interest from one and all. Many zoos supplied us with a list of species, or gave us numbers for their annual attendance, but they didn't actually want to purchase any copies. Ha! We plan on trying again with letters sent out to all 100 zoos/aquariums in the book and hopefully we get a response or two.

I have found in my travels that many American zoos have large, impressive-looking gift shops that are mainly filled with cheap merchandise. However, while in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany this summer I noticed smaller, less grandiose gift shops...but far more zoo literature is to be found in those western European nations in comparison to the USA. Guidebooks, practically unheard of in North America outside of a handful of zoos, are far more common in Europe. The ultimate irony is that while the response from American zoos while writing the book has been bleak, just last week a regular German bookstore emailed with an interest in purchasing some copies of the American zoo book. Ironic? The bookstore is not even affiliated with any zoo, but their possible interest is a testament to the high regard of zoos in German culture.

On a side note:

@Andrew Swales I honestly think that Amazon is incredible and I've never had a problem at all. I just looked up my account and between my wife and I we order (on average) two packages from Amazon per week. That's approximately 100 parcels delivered to our house per year and I cannot think of a single problem that we've ever had. I order the occasional zoo book, together we order Christmas and birthday presents for our 4 kids (cheaper, easier and faster to order online and with Amazon Prime the boxes are on our doorstep within 24 hours!) and my wife is always ordering food and household products whenever Amazon has a deal on. She raves about it, because she'll click a few buttons and get cheap deals on stuff that is then on our doorstep when we come home from work the next day and it saves us going shopping. Our house has a very steep driveway in a quiet lane and thus we've never had an issue with theft of packages.
 
I collected zoo and farm guidebooks as a child in England, and it's one thing I really miss. DWA has a little "bookshop", at least, but it's mostly kids books and a few common adult texts that can be found anywhere (and one book about giant otters that was a bit out of my price range, sadly). It seems gift shops here are increasingly using the same few companies to supply their stock, which is so boring for people who go to different zoos. I especially like buying crap and sometimes only get a magnet, and a few places have barely had those!

I know my dad would purchase a copy if any of my photos made it, he dutifully purchases anything I'm in and displays it in his home.
 
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