Short-Giraffe
Active Member
Here's my thoughts on ranking the zoos I've visited (year listed is my most recent visit):
1. Bronx Zoo (2023): Far and away the best zoo I've visited. With very few exceptions, every exhibit at this zoo stands out. Both the collection and quality of exhibits is outstanding.
2. Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo (2024): My visit to Omaha's zoo was immediately after a small snow storm, which while making the newly completed African section less impressive, the zoo's Asian Highlands exhibit was fantastic with a fresh layer of snow on the ground. From the guest's perspective, the Desert Dome and Lied Jungle are a spectacle, but I found many of the animal enclosures to be underwhelming in both. Omaha's Madagascar exhibit was a letdown, though I found Kingdom of the Night to be the greatest nocturnal house I've been to.
3. St. Louis Zoo (2024): Another great zoo without many drawbacks. The zoo's reptile house was fantastic, as was the primate house. The maze of hoof stock yards was equally enjoyable. The least impressive aspect of the zoo was certainly the big cat exhibits, which suffered from poor viewing and small enclosures. The zoo's penguin and puffin enclosure was also small for the inhabitants, but the open air viewing of the birds made for the best viewing of those species that I've seen.
4. North Carolina Zoo (2021): Easily home to the largest enclosures I've seen. The indoor exhibits, while lacking the awe of the outdoor exhibits, are still very good. I was fortunate enough to visit before the Aviary shut down, which was my favorite indoor exhibit at this zoo.
5. Nashville Zoo (2024): The last zoo on my list that lacks any major disappointing exhibits. This entire zoo has a great layout, and is enjoyable to just walk through and take in the ambience. The exhibits are equally impressive, and all of an appropriate size.
6. National Zoo (2022): This zoo has some great hits but a few misses. The Asian Trail is spectacular, without a single bad exhibit. The American Trail, while less immersive, is still a well done complex. However, I thought the zoo's Orangutan's got the short end of the stick. While the O-line is fun to watch, the two exhibits on either end of the line were very small and lacking complexity. The newly opened Paws and Claws exhibits also had small exhibits for the inhabitants.
7. Cincinnati Zoo (2024): Overall, a solid zoo that lacks any truly memorable exhibits. Birds of the World and Manatee Springs were my personal standout exhibits. However, the Rhino Reserve was disappointing, and the Reptile House was underwhelming.
8. Georgia Aquarium (2021): Obviously, Ocean Voyager was incredible to see in person. I also thought the rest of the exhibits (minus the Sea lions and dolphins) were quite good. However, both the sea lions and dolphin exhibits are so bad that I couldn't justify ranking any higher.
9. Zoo Atlanta (2024): A nice mid sized zoo. I found the exhibits for the smaller primates were fantastic, I was less impressed by the gorilla and orangutan exhibits. The rest of Asia was overall fine and the newer Africa section was equally unmemorable. Their bird collection is quite large, though besides the Living Treehouse, the wire enclosures spread around near the children's zoo were not great for either the birds or visitors.
10. Riverbanks Zoo (2023): Excluding mammals, Riverbanks zoo is fantastic. Their bird house, while lacking the quantity of exhibits that the Bronx or Cincinnati have, make up for it in quality. Meanwhile, the newly renovated ARC is one of my favorite reptile houses. However, the front grottos are very poor, as is the Conservation Outpost. The rest of the mammal exhibits are more passable, with the gorilla exhibit edging near greatness.
11. Zoo Knoxville (2021): Now that Zoo Knoxville no longer has elephants, if I were to revisit it likely would move up on my list. The newly opened ARC is a splendid reptile house. The Asian Trek is also of high quality, as is the nearby Panda Village. The African side of the zoo was brought down by a rather poor elephant enclosure, and while most of this section is underwhelming, I was impressed by the size and privacy of the gorilla and chimpanzee outdoor enclosures.
12. Philadelphia Zoo (2021): I visited while the indoor bird exhibits were closed due to avian flu, which likely would improve my rankings. Across the board, the Philadelphia zoo was underwhelming. While the zoo 360 system is fun to witness, the exhibits on either end of the overhead trail is less impressive.
13. Milwaukee Zoo (2024): Excluding this zoo's very well done bird house, the rest of the zoo is missing quality. The many predator/prey exhibits make for good sightlines, the predator exhibits are quite small. I do, however, appreciate the many indoor holdings that are viewable to the public.
14. Greensboro Science Center (2021): The science center's animal exhibits are all of good quality, it mostly ranks lower on my list due to the smaller size. The aquarium is well done, minus the the room given to penguins. The outdoor exhibits are all of high quality, though (minus the small cats section) there was little to no connection between one exhibit to another.
15. Greenville Zoo (2024): A very small zoo, without anything worth writing home about. The primates certainly get the short end of the stick. However, the flamingo lagoon is quite scenic, and I found walking around the zoo to be enjoyable.
16. Chattanooga Zoo (2024): Another quite small zoo. Once again, no exhibits that stood out. I mainly ranked Greenville Zoo higher than Chattanooga as Greenville has a better layout than Chattanooga.
17. Mystic Aquarium (2023): While having a great beluga exhibit, the rest of the aquarium fails to come close. The main gallery lacks a cohesive pathway or connection between the various tanks. While home to a great collection of rescued seals, the exhibits are rather small and without great viewing opportunities. The penguin exhibit is likely the worst exhibit here.
18. Western North Carolina Nature Center (2021): Every exhibit here is of good quality, however, on my visit there were only eight species out (Covid meant the indoor reptile section was closed, and the birds of prey pathway was closed). The animals I did see, however, were in large and naturalistic enclosures.
19. Elmwood Park Zoo (2023): Even though it is last on the list, I found Elmwood Park Zoo to still be worth visiting. The main drawbacks I found were the disappointing indoor exhibits, lack of cohesion, and some smaller outdoor exhibits, particularly for the bison. The Trail of the Jaguar was very well done however.
1. Bronx Zoo (2023): Far and away the best zoo I've visited. With very few exceptions, every exhibit at this zoo stands out. Both the collection and quality of exhibits is outstanding.
2. Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo (2024): My visit to Omaha's zoo was immediately after a small snow storm, which while making the newly completed African section less impressive, the zoo's Asian Highlands exhibit was fantastic with a fresh layer of snow on the ground. From the guest's perspective, the Desert Dome and Lied Jungle are a spectacle, but I found many of the animal enclosures to be underwhelming in both. Omaha's Madagascar exhibit was a letdown, though I found Kingdom of the Night to be the greatest nocturnal house I've been to.
3. St. Louis Zoo (2024): Another great zoo without many drawbacks. The zoo's reptile house was fantastic, as was the primate house. The maze of hoof stock yards was equally enjoyable. The least impressive aspect of the zoo was certainly the big cat exhibits, which suffered from poor viewing and small enclosures. The zoo's penguin and puffin enclosure was also small for the inhabitants, but the open air viewing of the birds made for the best viewing of those species that I've seen.
4. North Carolina Zoo (2021): Easily home to the largest enclosures I've seen. The indoor exhibits, while lacking the awe of the outdoor exhibits, are still very good. I was fortunate enough to visit before the Aviary shut down, which was my favorite indoor exhibit at this zoo.
5. Nashville Zoo (2024): The last zoo on my list that lacks any major disappointing exhibits. This entire zoo has a great layout, and is enjoyable to just walk through and take in the ambience. The exhibits are equally impressive, and all of an appropriate size.
6. National Zoo (2022): This zoo has some great hits but a few misses. The Asian Trail is spectacular, without a single bad exhibit. The American Trail, while less immersive, is still a well done complex. However, I thought the zoo's Orangutan's got the short end of the stick. While the O-line is fun to watch, the two exhibits on either end of the line were very small and lacking complexity. The newly opened Paws and Claws exhibits also had small exhibits for the inhabitants.
7. Cincinnati Zoo (2024): Overall, a solid zoo that lacks any truly memorable exhibits. Birds of the World and Manatee Springs were my personal standout exhibits. However, the Rhino Reserve was disappointing, and the Reptile House was underwhelming.
8. Georgia Aquarium (2021): Obviously, Ocean Voyager was incredible to see in person. I also thought the rest of the exhibits (minus the Sea lions and dolphins) were quite good. However, both the sea lions and dolphin exhibits are so bad that I couldn't justify ranking any higher.
9. Zoo Atlanta (2024): A nice mid sized zoo. I found the exhibits for the smaller primates were fantastic, I was less impressed by the gorilla and orangutan exhibits. The rest of Asia was overall fine and the newer Africa section was equally unmemorable. Their bird collection is quite large, though besides the Living Treehouse, the wire enclosures spread around near the children's zoo were not great for either the birds or visitors.
10. Riverbanks Zoo (2023): Excluding mammals, Riverbanks zoo is fantastic. Their bird house, while lacking the quantity of exhibits that the Bronx or Cincinnati have, make up for it in quality. Meanwhile, the newly renovated ARC is one of my favorite reptile houses. However, the front grottos are very poor, as is the Conservation Outpost. The rest of the mammal exhibits are more passable, with the gorilla exhibit edging near greatness.
11. Zoo Knoxville (2021): Now that Zoo Knoxville no longer has elephants, if I were to revisit it likely would move up on my list. The newly opened ARC is a splendid reptile house. The Asian Trek is also of high quality, as is the nearby Panda Village. The African side of the zoo was brought down by a rather poor elephant enclosure, and while most of this section is underwhelming, I was impressed by the size and privacy of the gorilla and chimpanzee outdoor enclosures.
12. Philadelphia Zoo (2021): I visited while the indoor bird exhibits were closed due to avian flu, which likely would improve my rankings. Across the board, the Philadelphia zoo was underwhelming. While the zoo 360 system is fun to witness, the exhibits on either end of the overhead trail is less impressive.
13. Milwaukee Zoo (2024): Excluding this zoo's very well done bird house, the rest of the zoo is missing quality. The many predator/prey exhibits make for good sightlines, the predator exhibits are quite small. I do, however, appreciate the many indoor holdings that are viewable to the public.
14. Greensboro Science Center (2021): The science center's animal exhibits are all of good quality, it mostly ranks lower on my list due to the smaller size. The aquarium is well done, minus the the room given to penguins. The outdoor exhibits are all of high quality, though (minus the small cats section) there was little to no connection between one exhibit to another.
15. Greenville Zoo (2024): A very small zoo, without anything worth writing home about. The primates certainly get the short end of the stick. However, the flamingo lagoon is quite scenic, and I found walking around the zoo to be enjoyable.
16. Chattanooga Zoo (2024): Another quite small zoo. Once again, no exhibits that stood out. I mainly ranked Greenville Zoo higher than Chattanooga as Greenville has a better layout than Chattanooga.
17. Mystic Aquarium (2023): While having a great beluga exhibit, the rest of the aquarium fails to come close. The main gallery lacks a cohesive pathway or connection between the various tanks. While home to a great collection of rescued seals, the exhibits are rather small and without great viewing opportunities. The penguin exhibit is likely the worst exhibit here.
18. Western North Carolina Nature Center (2021): Every exhibit here is of good quality, however, on my visit there were only eight species out (Covid meant the indoor reptile section was closed, and the birds of prey pathway was closed). The animals I did see, however, were in large and naturalistic enclosures.
19. Elmwood Park Zoo (2023): Even though it is last on the list, I found Elmwood Park Zoo to still be worth visiting. The main drawbacks I found were the disappointing indoor exhibits, lack of cohesion, and some smaller outdoor exhibits, particularly for the bison. The Trail of the Jaguar was very well done however.
