I just got back from a long trip in Europe and Africa.
I only got around to visiting Three Zoos. Each quite different from one another...
The Copenhagen Zoo...
The facility as a whole is old, and feels somewhat neglected. The Primate building had a few good exhibits for smaller species, and the Polar Bear and wolf Exhibits weren't bad. But most of the others were either too small, or were depressing looking. I felt awful for the Elephants. The yard is fairly small, and with relatively little enrichment. The indoor area is alright, and the exhibit does do a great job about educating visitors about Elephants and Elephant conservation. But I'd like to see the zoo send the Elephants somewhere better and give the Elephant exhibit to the Rhinos. The Chimp exhibit was okay, I don't like exclusively indoor exhibits for great apes, but this one was big and stimulating enough to keep the Chimps minds and bodies active. The African savanna and pampas exhibits were pretty decent.
The Berlin Zoo..
It places high importance on the size of its collection, and not as much on the quality of each exhibit. Not that there were many bad exhibits, but I thought most could use a little improvement. The Elephant Exhibit was similar in quality to Copenhagen's, but home to a slightly larger herd, which is nice. Though an older exhibit, the Cat house was defenitely not bad. The Lion and Tiger grottos were fairly large, and lushly planted. At the time of my visit there were no Tigers, and only a pair of lionesses. Would be nice seeing a larger Pride at the zoo. The Bear Exhbits were okay, but I was appalled at how dirty the Polar Bears pool was at the time of my visit. The Nocturnal and small mammal exhibit was probably among my top 10 exhibits I've seen at any zoo. The Gorilla Exhibit was nice, but I feel like the Zoo should downsize the number of Orangutans it keeps, as to give each more room. The Bonobos could also do with an upgrade. Their exhibit seemed crowded. The Hippoairum was one of the best exhibits I've seen for hippos anywhere. A perk is that they have both species. In general, I was really impressed with the zoos hoofstock collection.
London...
I've been to the London Zoo before, but not since 2009. I barely recognized it now. The Zoo has scaled back its collection. No large pachyderms, Bears or substantial hoofstock. But the the Exhibits it does have, are mostly outstanding. Tiger Territory and Land of the Lions are both outstanding Big Cat Exhibits. Very spacious, natrualistic, educational and with many great viewing opportunities. The reptile house has an incredible collection, including many venemous species I've never seen before. The nightlife and rainforest exhibits are also fantastic. Bats, Pottos, Lorises, Aye-ayes, Bushbabies, tamparins, sloths, armadillos etc
I also enjoyed the walk-through spider exhibit, despite having arachnaphobia! The African Wild dog Exhibit is one of the largest I've seen for the species. Though only about 15 metres wide, I'm guessing it was about 130 meters long.
I only got around to visiting Three Zoos. Each quite different from one another...
The Copenhagen Zoo...
The facility as a whole is old, and feels somewhat neglected. The Primate building had a few good exhibits for smaller species, and the Polar Bear and wolf Exhibits weren't bad. But most of the others were either too small, or were depressing looking. I felt awful for the Elephants. The yard is fairly small, and with relatively little enrichment. The indoor area is alright, and the exhibit does do a great job about educating visitors about Elephants and Elephant conservation. But I'd like to see the zoo send the Elephants somewhere better and give the Elephant exhibit to the Rhinos. The Chimp exhibit was okay, I don't like exclusively indoor exhibits for great apes, but this one was big and stimulating enough to keep the Chimps minds and bodies active. The African savanna and pampas exhibits were pretty decent.
The Berlin Zoo..
It places high importance on the size of its collection, and not as much on the quality of each exhibit. Not that there were many bad exhibits, but I thought most could use a little improvement. The Elephant Exhibit was similar in quality to Copenhagen's, but home to a slightly larger herd, which is nice. Though an older exhibit, the Cat house was defenitely not bad. The Lion and Tiger grottos were fairly large, and lushly planted. At the time of my visit there were no Tigers, and only a pair of lionesses. Would be nice seeing a larger Pride at the zoo. The Bear Exhbits were okay, but I was appalled at how dirty the Polar Bears pool was at the time of my visit. The Nocturnal and small mammal exhibit was probably among my top 10 exhibits I've seen at any zoo. The Gorilla Exhibit was nice, but I feel like the Zoo should downsize the number of Orangutans it keeps, as to give each more room. The Bonobos could also do with an upgrade. Their exhibit seemed crowded. The Hippoairum was one of the best exhibits I've seen for hippos anywhere. A perk is that they have both species. In general, I was really impressed with the zoos hoofstock collection.
London...
I've been to the London Zoo before, but not since 2009. I barely recognized it now. The Zoo has scaled back its collection. No large pachyderms, Bears or substantial hoofstock. But the the Exhibits it does have, are mostly outstanding. Tiger Territory and Land of the Lions are both outstanding Big Cat Exhibits. Very spacious, natrualistic, educational and with many great viewing opportunities. The reptile house has an incredible collection, including many venemous species I've never seen before. The nightlife and rainforest exhibits are also fantastic. Bats, Pottos, Lorises, Aye-ayes, Bushbabies, tamparins, sloths, armadillos etc
I also enjoyed the walk-through spider exhibit, despite having arachnaphobia! The African Wild dog Exhibit is one of the largest I've seen for the species. Though only about 15 metres wide, I'm guessing it was about 130 meters long.
) but it really is a super zoo!
peta