Wow, that's a shame. I wish I could have seen the aquarium at that time, it sounds like it would have become one of my favorite zoos. Out of curiosity did they keep any deepwater cisco species at that time?
Most Underrated Zoos
- Thread starter Yi Qi
- Start date
I don't think they had any deepwater species, but the smallest of the three Isle Royale tanks was for schooling species and had common cisco mixed with smelt.
I'd consider the Buttonwood Park Zoo underrated. There is a phenomenal collection of rarities (Nancy Ma's Night Monkey, Sora Rail, Magellan Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Philippine Duck, Southern Lapwing, Montezuma Quail, etc.) and does a lot of incredible breeding work, particularly with waterfowl and new world primates. The zoo lacks many of your standard charismatic megafauna (no big cats, no giraffes, etc.) but has two elderly Asian elephants and a number of other popular species, like red panda, river otters, black bear, harbor seal, and five callicthrid species. All of the exhibits are high quality and the species list is superb. The zoo also has an incredible masterplan and has made great progress in recent years, including the additions of pudu and red panda, many new waterfowl species, adding a nature play area, and opening the new Rainforest Building. The masterplan also calls for adding big cats, giant anteater, Bush Dogs, Indian rhino, Atlantic puffins, and three more primate species.
Because it's an aquarium...
Aquariums are zoos. If they aren't, where would you draw the line?
Ha ha. I suppose you're right. I guess anything that labels itself as an aquarium is not a zoo to me.
I would consider an aquarium as a zoo, the dictionary definition of a zoo is "an establishment which maintains a collection of wild animals, typically in a park or gardens, for study, conservation, or display to the public", it doesn't distinguish whether the animals are aquatic or not.
Karlsruhe Zoo, Schwerin Zoo and Augsburg Zoo in Germany. All three have pretty pleasant zoo grounds, a fairly good collection with some rarities and almost no really bad enclosures.
Wuppertal might slightly underrated as a top zoo, at least among the general public
Wuppertal might slightly underrated as a top zoo, at least among the general public
Jambi
Well-Known Member
There are a couple of zoos in my area of the UK that I would consider underrated; the Lake District Wildlife Park and Safari Zoo Cumbria, I re-visited both recently.
Lake District Wildlife Park is small, with mostly smaller animals such as monkeys, otters and birds, but you can often get a good look at most of the animals, with many such as goats and sheep coming all the way up to the fence to greet you (though granted, this is mostly because the goats and sheep are so used to being hand-fed by guests that they'll come up to anyone who passes by whether they have food or not). You can also get around the entire site in two hours or less, and while many see this as a problem in zoos, personally I'm fine with it.
Safari Zoo Cumbria has a bit of a bad reputation mostly because of its history, there was a long period where they had issues with animal neglect and abuse accusations, a keeper was killed by a tiger some years ago, and the zoo's former owner is Joe Exotic levels of crazy from what I've heard, but since the place was abought out by another company in 2017 it's improved a lot. The enclosures are a much better quality, there's been an expansion that's doubled the zoo's size and allowed for much larger enclosures and more animals, and there are plenty of walkthroughs that let you get really up close to some animals. Their gift shop is also one of the biggest and best I've ever seen.
Lake District Wildlife Park is small, with mostly smaller animals such as monkeys, otters and birds, but you can often get a good look at most of the animals, with many such as goats and sheep coming all the way up to the fence to greet you (though granted, this is mostly because the goats and sheep are so used to being hand-fed by guests that they'll come up to anyone who passes by whether they have food or not). You can also get around the entire site in two hours or less, and while many see this as a problem in zoos, personally I'm fine with it.
Safari Zoo Cumbria has a bit of a bad reputation mostly because of its history, there was a long period where they had issues with animal neglect and abuse accusations, a keeper was killed by a tiger some years ago, and the zoo's former owner is Joe Exotic levels of crazy from what I've heard, but since the place was abought out by another company in 2017 it's improved a lot. The enclosures are a much better quality, there's been an expansion that's doubled the zoo's size and allowed for much larger enclosures and more animals, and there are plenty of walkthroughs that let you get really up close to some animals. Their gift shop is also one of the biggest and best I've ever seen.
Fanfin anglerfish
Well-Known Member
Mine is the Phoenix zoo. I hear basically what it sounds like in space (no sound) about the Phoenix zoo. That’s sad. Even the Wildlife world zoo in the same state is talked about more!
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Bengal Tiger
Well-Known Member
Scovill Zoo, it has flaws, but it is a really cool place. It helps fund some really cool conservation projects. Miller Park Zoo, it also has flaws, but it’s a great place, and even does some breeding for SSPs.
Wildwood Zoo is hands-down the most consistently high-quality zoo I've ever visited. I'm the only one I've ever heard talk about it.
I also think Toledo is underrated. It's easily one of America's (and the world's) best zoos.
I also think Toledo is underrated. It's easily one of America's (and the world's) best zoos.
Dr Bright N04
Well-Known Member
Brevard zoo is very nice. I have not herd a thing about the WNC nature center. Riverbanks zoo is decent. The Florida Aquarium, CMA, and MOTE Aquarium are all fine places.
I do agree with you but what really put me off with the Toledo Zoo, especially during covid, was the people. The people, guests, were quite rude even when I was taking pictures which set me off from the zoo.
When my family visited during the pandemic, we were, to say the least, very disappointed on the degree to which the zoo was successfully enforcing COVID protocol.
Bengal Tiger
Well-Known Member
That’s is disappointing.
SusScrofa
Well-Known Member
Not sure if there's already a thread, but what are some of the zoos you feel are underrated?
Here in the US, the mainstream media always lists San Diego and Bronx as the two greatest zoos, and while they're both phenomenal, I do feel Miami ranks right up there with both of them: Both elephant species, the 3 major great apes, black rhinoceros (and off-exhibit Indian rhino soon to be shown), a great bovid selection, and a very nice native species exhibit are just some highlights. As a bonus, the zoo is so affordable, only $22 to enter and they take 50% off on AZA reciprocity.
LA zoo is another great facility that gets overlooked by San Diego. While LA does need to fix up some of its enclosures and is going overboard at the moment with some of its COVID social distance protocols (forget about getting a good view of most primates and small cats), the species selection is very extensive and there are a few mammal species you can only see here, at least in America.
Here in the US, the mainstream media always lists San Diego and Bronx as the two greatest zoos, and while they're both phenomenal, I do feel Miami ranks right up there with both of them: Both elephant species, the 3 major great apes, black rhinoceros (and off-exhibit Indian rhino soon to be shown), a great bovid selection, and a very nice native species exhibit are just some highlights. As a bonus, the zoo is so affordable, only $22 to enter and they take 50% off on AZA reciprocity.
LA zoo is another great facility that gets overlooked by San Diego. While LA does need to fix up some of its enclosures and is going overboard at the moment with some of its COVID social distance protocols (forget about getting a good view of most primates and small cats), the species selection is very extensive and there are a few mammal species you can only see here, at least in America.