The first match in which I have visited both zoos in their entirety, and therefore feel comfortable in providing an overview.
Starting off with London's offerings, then moving on to Whipsnade and then to Burgers'.
ZSL:
Southern Tamandua, Rodriguez Flying Fox, Linnaueus' Two-toed Sloth, Southern Three-banded Armadillo:
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@Mr.Weasel - a really impressive, open-fronted exhibit within the Clore Pavilion. As well as the sloths, tamanduas and flying foxes, there are also some non-category primates, as well as a tortoise, with the sakis in particular bringing a lot of life to the enclosure. Being a rainforest house, the humidity is of course very commendable, but the real highlight is the sheer amount of climbing on offer - a network of branches, ropes and live trees which span not only every corner of the main enclosure, but also into the visitor pathways that surround it. The sloths and tamanduas breed fairly well here, with the latter being a highlight - subspecies-pure nominates, the only ones known to be of that status in Europe.
Malagasy Giant Jumping Rat:
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@MagpieGoose - the smaller of the two enclosures for the species in 'Night Life,' with the larger of the two being shared with Pottos and Moholi Bushbabies. I think both the enclosures are excellent with soil, hollow logs and overhanging branches for retreats, and clever use of lighting to allow the animals to retreat at the back of the enclosure, or remain very visible in the foreground should they prefer.
Unsurprisingly, the other enclosures in Night Life aren't all too well documented, but they are all rather standard. A spacious Northern Treeshrew enclosure (if they have moved in yet, which I am not sure), nondescriept Eurasian Harvest Mouse and Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec enclosures, and unfortunately, your classic glass tunnel network for Naked Mole-rats which I truly believe is insufficient for the species offering them nothing whatsoever in terms of burrowing options.
Cape Porcupine:
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@gulogulogulo - not really much to say here. A decent amount of space and plenty of privacy, but it is pretty much average.
Bennett's Wallaby:
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@LaughingDove - this enclosure is often criticised for being a misuse of a huge and very historic space, but if you brush that aside and consider it solely as a wallaby enclosure, then it is excellent. Multiple, interconnected grassy pastures, shared with emus, featuring many mature trees and the historic Mappin Terraces as a scenic backdrop.
The only other species at London is the Large Hairy Armadillo, who are offshow in the Cassons. Now moving onto Whipsnade...
Cape Porcupine and Aardvark:
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@ajmcwhipsnade - we have already discussed this enclosure in the Berlin / ZSL thread given that it also holds meerkats, but I must reiterate how good it is. 1,500 sqm is bigger than most zoos' lion enclosures, and here it is for porcupines and aardvarks! The hard-packed substrate to facilitate sufficient digging is brilliant, as is the shrubland feel being very densely planted, but never overgrown - what impresses me most is how mostly native lookalikes have been used, and yet it does feel like a savannah.
Bennett's Wallaby and Patagonian Mara:
No photos here, because it is the entire zoo - all 240 hectares of it! The animals are free-ranging in the woodlands and sprawling fields of Whipsnade, an as such have what is surely the best enclosure for either species in the world. And not just for the animals. For the visitors, the occasional glimpses of a wallaby head between the bushes, or watching maras graze on a distant field, is a mesmerising experience.
Hazel Dormouse:
Again no photos here because they are offshow, but I feel as though a special mentioned is merited for the reintroduction work ZSL do with this species. See
here for more info.
Burgers':
West Indian Manatee:
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@KevinB - a brilliant species, and they are displayed incredibly well. I believe this is one of the (if not the outright?) largest enclosures for the species in Europe, by both surface area and volume. It is also a real aesthetic triumph, with the excellent lighting, surrounding mangrove foliage, and the free-flying birds and butterflies all making for a far more tropical-feeling enclosure than most other habitats for the species in Europe. There is underwater viewing, too, and it would be wrong to discuss the Mangrove and not to touch on the excellent
in situ work that the zoo performs in Belize working with the species.
Aardvark:
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@KevinB - Burgers' is very well-known for their breeding success with aardvarks over the years, having been, I believe, the first European zoo to breed the species. This success deserves much praise, but unfortunately, their current enclosure in the Bush does not. Really rather poor, in my opinion, with substrate that doesn't really facilitate digging, and an overuse of concrete that makes the whole thing feel unattractive and immersion-breaking in the otherwise-excellent Bush.
Capybara:
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@KevinB - not sure if I like this enclosure, having never seen it in person, or at least not with capybaras in it (my visit fell in the very brief window between the first capybaras passing away and new ones arriving), I can't speak too much from experience here. I like the pool (once held manatees) which is far more than what most zoos offer this relatively semi-aquatic species, but the land area strikes me as far too small for the species, with no grass whatsoever for an animal that actually grazes...
Lyles' and Rodriguez Flying Fox, Seba's Short-tailed Bat:
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@Kalaw - I praised the flying fox enclosure at London, but there isn't even a contest. The flying foxes at Burgers' are free-flight in a 1.3 hectare tropical house; few enclosures in the world can even compare to this. I don't need to elaborate, it is just amazing.
The Seba's also have another, rather nondescriept enclosure in the Bush-Desert tunnel, pictured below:
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@Mr Gharial
North American Porcupine and Black-tailed Prairie Dog:
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@KevinB - a huge enclosure that covers a large portion of the amazing Desert. A fair amount of substrate for the prairie dogs to dig in and some small trees for the porcupines to climb on. The two species also share with peccaries, who moved in after my visit.
Cactus Deermouse:
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@KevinB - a fairly standard, but by no means poor, nocturnal enclosure for a very rare species in the tunnel that connects the Bush and Desert.
Merriam's Kangaroo-rat:
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@felis silvestris - also in the Bush-Desert tunnel. A little small, but for such a tiny taxa it still isn't poor by any means. Burgers' is one of just two holders of this species in Europe.
Hispid Cotton Rat:
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@felis silvestris - another small, but not poor enclosure. I quite like the design with the branch in front of the window that connects to a raised portion I believe hidden to visitors.
Swamp Wallaby:
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@KevinB - an average-sized, but very attractively-designed, wallaby enclosure. Not comparable to either ZSL collection's offerings for wallabies, but still very pleasant.
Now this is a really, really tough call. By far the hardest decision I have had to make in this tournament so far. When I first saw it, I thought that the manatees, the fruit bats in the Bush, and the rarities in the Bush-Desert tunnel rendered it an easy win for Burgers'. But then I thought about the free-ranging wallabies and mara at Whipsnade, the unbelievable porcupine and aardvark enclosure, and the presence of some fairly poor enclosures at Burgers' (aardvark and capybara); but then London has a poor enclosure of its own in the mole-rats.
For me, I have settled on a 3-2 win for ZSL, which I believe is equal in exhibit quality (the bats in the Bush are nice, but the free-rangers at Whipsnade are in a league of their own), and marginally superior in species count. However, once you consider the quality of said collection it becomes a little more interesting, with Burgers' having three major rodent rarities, plus manatees! I still feel as though ZSL have the edge for now, but may be prompted to change soon - those manatees are irresistible!
