The book that I cowrote, titled America’s Top 100 Zoos & Aquariums, contains reviews and photos of 80 zoos and 20 aquariums. There are 71 out of the 80 zoos that currently display bears.
The 14 animal lists that I've completed in 2021:
71 out of the 80 zoos have bears
71 out of the 80 zoos have giraffes
69 out of the 80 zoos have lions
69 out of the 80 zoos have tigers
68 out of the 80 zoos have otters (plus 15 out of 20 aquariums)
66 out of the 80 zoos have zebras
61 out of the 80 zoos have rhinos
54 out of the 80 zoos have elephants
48 out of the 80 zoos have penguins (plus 16 out of 20 aquariums)
47 out of the 80 zoos have orangutans
45 out of the 80 zoos have gorillas
35 out of the 80 zoos have pinnipeds (plus 12 out of 20 aquariums)
25 out of the 80 zoos have chimpanzees (plus 7 zoos have bonobos)
22 out of the 80 zoos have common hippos (plus 12 have pygmy hippos)
I mentioned once before that San Diego lacked pinnipeds, and that Omaha had no chimpanzees or hippos, but Saint Louis had a "full collection". That continues here, as Saint Louis currently has 4 bear species. Not to be outdone, San Diego has 5 bear species (although some are in 1930s refurbished grottoes) and Omaha only sloth bears until the zoo potentially adds more in a North American zone near the new sea lion complex.
The 71 zoos (in the book) that have bears:
ABQ BioPark – polar
Akron – brown
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum – black
Atlanta – giant panda & sun
Audubon – black (coming in 2022) & sun
Binder Park – black
Birmingham – black
Bronx – brown
Brookfield – polar & brown & sloth
Buffalo – polar
Caldwell – black
Cameron Park – black
Central Park – brown
Cheyenne Mountain – brown & Asiatic black
Cincinnati – Andean
Cleveland – brown, black & Andean & sloth & sun
Columbus – brown & black & polar & sloth
Como Park – polar
Denver – brown
Detroit – polar & brown
El Paso – sun
Fort Worth – black
Fresno Chaffee – sloth (coming in 2022)
Gladys Porter – black & Andean
Great Plains – brown & black
Henry Vilas – polar & brown
Honolulu – sun
Houston – black
Indianapolis – brown
Jacksonville – black
John Ball – brown
Kansas City – polar
Knoxville – black
Lincoln Park – polar & black
Little Rock – brown & sloth
Los Angeles – black
Louisville – polar & brown
Maryland – brown
Memphis – giant panda & polar & brown & black
Miami – sloth
Milwaukee County – brown
Minnesota – brown & black
Montgomery – black
Nashville – Andean
North Carolina – polar & brown (coming in 2022) & black
Oakland – brown & black & sun
Oklahoma City – brown & black
Omaha – sloth
Oregon – polar & black
Philadelphia – Andean & sloth
Phoenix – Andean
Pittsburgh – polar
Point Defiance – polar
Reid Park – brown & Andean
Riverbanks – brown
Roger Williams Park – Asiatic black
Rosamond Gifford – Andean
Saint Louis – polar & brown & Andean & sun
San Antonio – black & Andean
San Diego Zoo – polar & brown & Andean & sloth & sun
San Francisco – brown & black
Sedgwick County – brown & black
Smithsonian’s National Zoo – giant panda & Andean & sloth
Tampa – black (coming in 2022) & sun
Toledo – polar & brown & Andean
Topeka – black & sun
Tulsa – brown
Utah’s Hogle – polar & brown
Virginia – Asiatic black & sun
Wildlife World – black
Woodland Park – brown & sloth
The 9 zoos (in the book) that do not have bears:
Busch Gardens
Dallas
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Fort Wayne
Living Desert
Sacramento
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Santa Barbara
Tanganyika Wildlife Park
Of those 9 zoos, Busch Gardens and Disney’s Animal Kingdom are huge theme park establishments that mainly focus on African fauna. San Diego Zoo Safari Park is mainly all African wildlife, although the facility could easily add a bear complex near Condor Ridge if it chose to. Dallas is a surprise, but that zoo also has a major focus on African animals. Sacramento is in limbo, but the other zoos could feasibly add bears. A black bear exhibit at Living Desert would fit in nicely within the North American half of the park, Fort Wayne possibly has space for a bear complex in the center of the zoo, and Tanganyika Wildlife Park has never seemed interested in bears whatsoever. Santa Barbara has had a couple of male gorillas for a decade or more and that exhibit would potentially make a nice future bear habitat and the land sits alongside the zoo’s California Trails zone. Just a thought!
The breakdown:
32 zoos with brown bears
29 zoos with black bears
19 zoos with polar bears (Alaska and Seneca Park are the only other zoos with polar bears in the U.S.)
13 zoos with Andean bears (there are perhaps 6 other zoos with the species in the U.S.)
11 zoos with sloth bears (there are maybe 7 other zoos with the species in the U.S.)
11 zoos with sun bears (Catoctin, Mesker Park and Pueblo also have sun bears in the U.S.)
3 zoos with Asiatic black bears (and very few left elsewhere)
3 zoos with giant pandas (Atlanta, Memphis and Smithsonian’s National Zoo)
My 12 favourite bear exhibits in American zoos (alphabetical ranking):
Columbus – polar bear
Detroit – polar bear
Memphis – brown bear
Minnesota – black bear
Minnesota – brown bear
Nashville – Andean bear
North Carolina – polar bear
Oakland – brown bear
Saint Louis – Andean bear
Smithsonian’s National Zoo – giant panda
Smithsonian’s National Zoo – sloth bear
Woodland Park – brown bear
The 14 animal lists that I've completed in 2021:
71 out of the 80 zoos have bears
71 out of the 80 zoos have giraffes
69 out of the 80 zoos have lions
69 out of the 80 zoos have tigers
68 out of the 80 zoos have otters (plus 15 out of 20 aquariums)
66 out of the 80 zoos have zebras
61 out of the 80 zoos have rhinos
54 out of the 80 zoos have elephants
48 out of the 80 zoos have penguins (plus 16 out of 20 aquariums)
47 out of the 80 zoos have orangutans
45 out of the 80 zoos have gorillas
35 out of the 80 zoos have pinnipeds (plus 12 out of 20 aquariums)
25 out of the 80 zoos have chimpanzees (plus 7 zoos have bonobos)
22 out of the 80 zoos have common hippos (plus 12 have pygmy hippos)
I mentioned once before that San Diego lacked pinnipeds, and that Omaha had no chimpanzees or hippos, but Saint Louis had a "full collection". That continues here, as Saint Louis currently has 4 bear species. Not to be outdone, San Diego has 5 bear species (although some are in 1930s refurbished grottoes) and Omaha only sloth bears until the zoo potentially adds more in a North American zone near the new sea lion complex.
The 71 zoos (in the book) that have bears:
ABQ BioPark – polar
Akron – brown
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum – black
Atlanta – giant panda & sun
Audubon – black (coming in 2022) & sun
Binder Park – black
Birmingham – black
Bronx – brown
Brookfield – polar & brown & sloth
Buffalo – polar
Caldwell – black
Cameron Park – black
Central Park – brown
Cheyenne Mountain – brown & Asiatic black
Cincinnati – Andean
Cleveland – brown, black & Andean & sloth & sun
Columbus – brown & black & polar & sloth
Como Park – polar
Denver – brown
Detroit – polar & brown
El Paso – sun
Fort Worth – black
Fresno Chaffee – sloth (coming in 2022)
Gladys Porter – black & Andean
Great Plains – brown & black
Henry Vilas – polar & brown
Honolulu – sun
Houston – black
Indianapolis – brown
Jacksonville – black
John Ball – brown
Kansas City – polar
Knoxville – black
Lincoln Park – polar & black
Little Rock – brown & sloth
Los Angeles – black
Louisville – polar & brown
Maryland – brown
Memphis – giant panda & polar & brown & black
Miami – sloth
Milwaukee County – brown
Minnesota – brown & black
Montgomery – black
Nashville – Andean
North Carolina – polar & brown (coming in 2022) & black
Oakland – brown & black & sun
Oklahoma City – brown & black
Omaha – sloth
Oregon – polar & black
Philadelphia – Andean & sloth
Phoenix – Andean
Pittsburgh – polar
Point Defiance – polar
Reid Park – brown & Andean
Riverbanks – brown
Roger Williams Park – Asiatic black
Rosamond Gifford – Andean
Saint Louis – polar & brown & Andean & sun
San Antonio – black & Andean
San Diego Zoo – polar & brown & Andean & sloth & sun
San Francisco – brown & black
Sedgwick County – brown & black
Smithsonian’s National Zoo – giant panda & Andean & sloth
Tampa – black (coming in 2022) & sun
Toledo – polar & brown & Andean
Topeka – black & sun
Tulsa – brown
Utah’s Hogle – polar & brown
Virginia – Asiatic black & sun
Wildlife World – black
Woodland Park – brown & sloth
The 9 zoos (in the book) that do not have bears:
Busch Gardens
Dallas
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Fort Wayne
Living Desert
Sacramento
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Santa Barbara
Tanganyika Wildlife Park
Of those 9 zoos, Busch Gardens and Disney’s Animal Kingdom are huge theme park establishments that mainly focus on African fauna. San Diego Zoo Safari Park is mainly all African wildlife, although the facility could easily add a bear complex near Condor Ridge if it chose to. Dallas is a surprise, but that zoo also has a major focus on African animals. Sacramento is in limbo, but the other zoos could feasibly add bears. A black bear exhibit at Living Desert would fit in nicely within the North American half of the park, Fort Wayne possibly has space for a bear complex in the center of the zoo, and Tanganyika Wildlife Park has never seemed interested in bears whatsoever. Santa Barbara has had a couple of male gorillas for a decade or more and that exhibit would potentially make a nice future bear habitat and the land sits alongside the zoo’s California Trails zone. Just a thought!
The breakdown:
32 zoos with brown bears
29 zoos with black bears
19 zoos with polar bears (Alaska and Seneca Park are the only other zoos with polar bears in the U.S.)
13 zoos with Andean bears (there are perhaps 6 other zoos with the species in the U.S.)
11 zoos with sloth bears (there are maybe 7 other zoos with the species in the U.S.)
11 zoos with sun bears (Catoctin, Mesker Park and Pueblo also have sun bears in the U.S.)
3 zoos with Asiatic black bears (and very few left elsewhere)
3 zoos with giant pandas (Atlanta, Memphis and Smithsonian’s National Zoo)
My 12 favourite bear exhibits in American zoos (alphabetical ranking):
Columbus – polar bear
Detroit – polar bear
Memphis – brown bear
Minnesota – black bear
Minnesota – brown bear
Nashville – Andean bear
North Carolina – polar bear
Oakland – brown bear
Saint Louis – Andean bear
Smithsonian’s National Zoo – giant panda
Smithsonian’s National Zoo – sloth bear
Woodland Park – brown bear
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