Most overrated zoo
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Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
Could it be an age thing? I would have thought the phrase was in pretty common usage - maybe regional too, as we don't use 'ripper' or 'tickety-boo' in this area much...
I thought youngsters usually just grunted and swiped....
While I'm familiar with the phrase, I can't say I've ever heard anyone use the phrase "the Holy Grail of ____" 
~Thylo
~Thylo
Didn't Sir Galahad come across a dingo before one arrived at Hamerton?
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I think "holy grail" is probably more common in Britain because of the Arthurian cultural influence, but I've occasionally seen the phrase used over here too.
Getting back to zoos, I don't think I've ever seen San Diego refer to itself as the largest zoo, but it definitely markets itself as "world famous". It's also the rare zoo that prominently advertises itself outside its own immediate territory:
Clete Thomas of the Detroit Tigers makes a jumping catch at the wall... News Photo - Getty Images
I do wonder if San Diego has the most exhibits of any zoo in the US? It has somewhere on the order of 350-400 different on-show exhibits. The only other contender for that particular distinction has to be Bronx, but I don't know if anyone has had the fortitude to count all the enclosures in Bronx's many animal houses.
Getting back to zoos, I don't think I've ever seen San Diego refer to itself as the largest zoo, but it definitely markets itself as "world famous". It's also the rare zoo that prominently advertises itself outside its own immediate territory:
Clete Thomas of the Detroit Tigers makes a jumping catch at the wall... News Photo - Getty Images
I do wonder if San Diego has the most exhibits of any zoo in the US? It has somewhere on the order of 350-400 different on-show exhibits. The only other contender for that particular distinction has to be Bronx, but I don't know if anyone has had the fortitude to count all the enclosures in Bronx's many animal houses.
Bronx is a good guess, they just have so many animal houses. I've Toledo has a lot of exhibits but I've never visited. Perhaps Cincinnati?
As with species totals, I'd imagine any zoo with an extensive invert house is going to win on enclosure totals
I can attempt to put something together for Bronx but that'd obviously take some time. It also depends on how we've defining a single enclosure. Where does the 350-400 number come from for SDZ?
~Thylo
I can attempt to put something together for Bronx but that'd obviously take some time. It also depends on how we've defining a single enclosure. Where does the 350-400 number come from for SDZ?
~Thylo
That’s why I guessed CincinnatiAs with species totals, I'd imagine any zoo with an extensive invert house is going to win on enclosure totals
~Thylo
. Although Saint Louis has a large insect house as well so maybe they’re also a contender.
As with species totals, I'd imagine any zoo with an extensive invert house is going to win on enclosure totals
I can attempt to put something together for Bronx but that'd obviously take some time. It also depends on how we've defining a single enclosure. Where does the 350-400 number come from for SDZ?
~Thylo
The number for San Diego is from my last visit in 2017 plus parsing the lists that are occasionally posted on Zoochat. Doing a quick search @geomorph posted a complete list in 2013: List of Species On Exhibit 11-26-13 [San Diego Zoo]
The main changes since then would be Africa Rocks and children's zoo redevelopments. Proobably the number of exhibits is somewhat lower than 350 right now until the children's zoo reopens.
Of the other big exhibit zoos, Toledo is in the low 200s (based on adding exhibit numbers in my head), and Cincinnati is right around 200 (based on a recent post by @Moebelle). St. Louis has to be up there with its insect and reptile houses, but without an aquarium or proper small mammal house I can't imagine it makes it past the 200s. Omaha has been reducing exhibit numbers as well so I imagine it is in the 200s.
@Anteaterman posted a more recent list including Africa Rocks and other recent changes, if it helps 
As with species totals, I'd imagine any zoo with an extensive invert house is going to win on enclosure totals
I can attempt to put something together for Bronx but that'd obviously take some time. It also depends on how we've defining a single enclosure. Where does the 350-400 number come from for SDZ?
~Thylo
That’s why I guessed Cincinnati
Toledo has 271 individual enclosures.
This will sound like heresy to a lot of folk here. But in my opinion it is the Berlin Zoo. It is true that it is the biggest collection of the world. But this is part of the problem. This outdated mindset in the Berlin Zoo has created many problems. Many species, like the apes, have to smal and very outdated enclosres. Many of these species aswell don't play any role in conservation. Since they are either not endangered, or the population is not sustaineble. The modern zoo should strive to creat less, but larger enclosures. With an focus of endagered species in breeding programs. Bernhard Blaszkiewitz legacy still shows in this flawed insitution.
For all, I don't even care about rare or prestiges species that much. The most importent part of any zoo should be animal welfare. From the big Zoos of germany is the Berlin Zoo on my bottom of my list.
Even putting aside the fact I am personally very fond of Zoo Berlin, I think it can be empirically demonstrated that there are *several* large German collections which fall short of this collection in terms of animal welfare and enclosure size as regards great apes (to use the example you cite). Just off the top of my head, I would argue this applies to Duisburg, Krefeld (prior to the recent fire), Cologne to some extent, Wilhelma and Hannover.
Going beyond great apes into other animal groups, the counter-examples become even more numerous.
FunkyGibbon
Well-Known Member
Really? I will give you Wilhelma's orangutan enclosure, but the idea that overall great apes do better at Berlin than these two zoos I cannot understand at all.
Duisburg I agree with, and Heidelberg is also notably inferior although improving as we speak.
Well, that's why I said "to some extent" for Cologne - in their case it is the gorilla exhibit which I was thinking of. From memory, the Cologne bonobo exhibit is definitely superior.
As regards the ape housing at Wilhelma beyond the orangutan exhibit, from memory the outdoors exhibits are roughly equal in quality and size to those at Berlin, but the indoor exhibits are rather smaller (although they do provide more climbing equipment to be fair).
Compare:
Wilhelma
Berlin
FunkyGibbon
Well-Known Member
@TeaLovingDave you will have to remind me if you visited Stuttgart before or after the new Ape House opened.