2025 Zoo Bucket List

I posted this on another thread but I'll post an edited version here.

Almost Certain:
Indianapolis Zoo, IN
Philadelphia Zoo, PA
Possible (from highest to lowest priority):
Bronx Zoo, NY
Adventure Aquarium, NJ
Unlikely But Not Unplausible (from highest to lowest priority):
San Diego Zoo, CA
San Diego Zoo Safari Park, CA
Audubon Zoo, LA
Mystic Aquarium, CN
Audubon Aquarium, LA
Buttonwood Park Zoo, MA
Zoo di Napoli, Italy
Ecotarium, MA
Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium, LA
Return Visits:
Brookfield Zoo, IL
Capron Park Zoo, MA
Franklin Park Zoo, MA
Museum of Science, MA
New England Aquarium, MA
Southwicks Zoo, MA
Stone Zoo, MA
Roger Williams Park Zoo, RI
Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences, VI
 
Usually about this time of year or early January I start kicking around ideas for my wife and my travels. Been spending more time getting the logistics of my trip to Spain in February though so haven't really finalized all of 2025 yet, but here goes.

Spain Trip
Zoo Barcelona
Bioparc Fuengirola

Annual April Weekend Kansas Getaway
Hutchinson Zoo (last notable one we haven't been to)
Topeka Zoo (Possible Revisit since Giraffe Exhibit Opened)
David Traylor (Possible Revisit since half zoo was closed last visit years ago)

Annual Memorial Day Roadtrip (Late May)
Usually go different direction from Omaha each year, last year was south, this year could be east
Cincinnati Zoo?
Louisville Zoo?
Mesker Park Zoo?

Annual Labor Day Trip/Wife's Birthday (Early September)
I usually let her pick our destination from some suggestions, Seattle has been a finalist last couple of years but have gone elsewhere
Woodland Park Zoo?
Seattle Aquarium?
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium?

Potential Early December Getaway (My Birthday)
Zoo Miami (Been trying to get here since 2022 but things came up)

Spain is 100% set. This tentative outlook would add 10 new zoological facilities to my life list that I haven't been to.
 
Would love to make a return visit to Shedd Aquarium this year - as for new zoos, I'm hoping to make it to Toledo and perhaps Detroit or Brookfield.
 
I don’t have any plans for zoo visits due to the uncertainty of life but it would be nice if I could visit:
  • Salzburg Hellbrunn
  • Welt der Gifte
  • Alpenzoo Innsbruck
  • Karlsruhe Zoo
  • Tierpark Oberwald
  • Heidelberg Zoo
  • And maybe the two small reptile zoos in southern Bavaria.
Obviously there’s more but I think I rather start with nearby facilities.

or revisit:
  • Zoo Berlin
  • Tierpark Berlin
  • Zoo Prague
As much as I want to such to see a handful of new exhibits and species, I think it’s fine to wait for some other projects to start or finish such as TP Berlin’s elephant house.
 
I only have one major European zoo left to visit, Chester Zoo.
But i will not be visiting in 2025. I will probably visit Pairi Daiza this summer if the new tropical house is finnished otherwise maybe Zooparc de Beauval. I want to see golden snub-nosed monkeys.
 
Chester Zoo in the UK to see their new "Heart of Africa". I have never been to Chester so it will be one off my UK bucket list.
I would also like to visit San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park for their Antelope species (As I am a massive hoofstock/ ungulate fan) as well as Prague Zoo and also Pairi Daiza.
 
I don’t really have a zoo bucket list because I don’t know where I am going when I am out of state however I would like to go back to the Omaha zoo and do the aquarium and the and orangutan exhibits along with the lower floor of the lied jungle as everything besides the aquarium was closed off when I went during Covid. But I would also like to see visit the Kansas City zoo and aquarium and hopefully I go there when the area where the lions are is finished with the work that is going on their and I would also want to go back to Lee G Simmons conservation park and wildlife safari.
 
MOG2012 said:
I posted this on another thread but I'll post an edited version here.

Almost Certain:
Indianapolis Zoo, IN
Philadelphia Zoo, PA
Possible (from highest to lowest priority):
Bronx Zoo, NY
Adventure Aquarium, NJ
Unlikely But Not Unplausible (from highest to lowest priority):
San Diego Zoo, CA
San Diego Zoo Safari Park, CA
Audubon Zoo, LA
Mystic Aquarium, CN
Audubon Aquarium, LA
Buttonwood Park Zoo, MA
Zoo di Napoli, Italy
Ecotarium, MA
Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium, LA
Return Visits:
Brookfield Zoo, IL
Capron Park Zoo, MA
Franklin Park Zoo, MA
Museum of Science, MA
New England Aquarium, MA
Southwicks Zoo, MA
Stone Zoo, MA
Roger Williams Park Zoo, RI
Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences, VI
Click to expand...
Just saying but I think you are going to like the Philadelphia zoo even though it’s been a long time since I’ve been there but I hope you have a great time there.
 
The only zoos that I'm pretty certain I'll end up visiting in 2025 are Brookfield, Lincoln Park, and the Shedd Aquarium, as those are what I would consider my local zoos. Other than those 3, I don't really have a concrete bucket list for the year because I don't really have much of an idea about what exactly I'll be doing. I imagine a large part of it is just going to boil down to where I attend grad school (assuming I get accepted), and since the vast majority of the programs I'm applying to are scattered across Europe, I'm kinda hoping I can have the opportunity to visit at least one or two European zoos next year. The only other places I think of as potential entries to my list would be either the Seattle Aquarium or Woodland Park Zoo, as I know I'll be in Seattle for a day or two.
 
MOG2012 said:
I posted this on another thread but I'll post an edited version here.

Almost Certain:
Indianapolis Zoo, IN
Philadelphia Zoo, PA
Possible (from highest to lowest priority):
Bronx Zoo, NY
Adventure Aquarium, NJ
Unlikely But Not Unplausible (from highest to lowest priority):
San Diego Zoo, CA
San Diego Zoo Safari Park, CA
Audubon Zoo, LA
Mystic Aquarium, CN
Audubon Aquarium, LA
Buttonwood Park Zoo, MA
Zoo di Napoli, Italy
Ecotarium, MA
Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium, LA
Return Visits:
Brookfield Zoo, IL
Capron Park Zoo, MA
Franklin Park Zoo, MA
Museum of Science, MA
New England Aquarium, MA
Southwicks Zoo, MA
Stone Zoo, MA
Roger Williams Park Zoo, RI
Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences, VI
Click to expand...
I'm going to my local zoos likely with a Chicago trip too (only outskirts). I'm likely having a trip to Indianapolis and either Philadelphia or New Orleans. I'm definitely going near Naples but I don't think it's worth it
 
I'm looking at something like this for new or otherwise noteworthy visits, but I could see some of these getting scrapped:
  • Sylvan Heights Bird Park
  • Virginia Zoo
  • Virginia Aquarium
  • Maryland Zoo
  • Philadelphia Zoo
  • Birmingham Zoo
  • Alabama Safari Park
 
My number one most likely focus next year is the Bronx Zoo, and very likely/hopefully tagging on the other WCS facilities and if things work out, possibly another northeast facility or two as well. This is a multipurpose trip involving meeting some friends, one of whom is also a big animal lover who hasn't visited even a halfway decent zoo in many years.

A few other priorities are Louisville, Henry Vilas and Peoria, all of which were intended for this and last year and got pushed off. My interest in each has lightened up a little but I'd still like to check them off. Louisville will likely be early in the year as I'd like to see the elephants before they depart.

Toledo, Columbus and revisiting Saint Louis or Indy are also possibilities that have been discussed, all of which might involve additional facilities based on how things unfold.

There are some other possible crazy plans that I'd be a little embarrassed to float and fail. A friend of mine is planning some international trips that I may accompany at least one.
 
Membership zoo visits:
  • Zoo Antwerpen
  • Zoo Planckendael
New zoos to visit:
  • Zoo Osnabrück
  • NaturZoo Rheine
  • Tierpark Nordhorn
  • Wildpark Gangelt
  • Zoo Krefeld
Zoos to revisit:
  • Grüne Zoo Wuppertal
  • Allwetterzoo Münster
  • ZooParc Overloon
  • Forestia
  • Cologne Zoo
  • GaiaZoo
  • Vogelpark Avifauna
  • Pakawi Park
  • Artis Royal Zoo
  • Pairi Daiza
 
With the following being my long-awaited 1000th post, I am glad to celebrate such a milestone by listing the following facilities that I may or may not visit in the new year.

Austin the Sengi said:
  • Nashville Zoo
  • Philadelphia Zoo
  • Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
  • Saint Louis Zoo
  • The Wilds
  • Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens
  • Brookfield Zoo Chicago
  • Zoo Dortmund
  • Chester Zoo
  • Auckland Zoo
Click to expand...
Out of the facilities I listed as a response for AlmightyKingPrawn’s Zoo Bucket List thread; the ones I think will be the most likely are Omaha, Nashville, Philadelphia, and/or Cincinnati.

Additionally, I have a few other candidates listed below; just note that these plans will gradually change overtime and may not come to be within the predicted timeframe:
  • Gladys Porter Zoo
  • Zoo Antwerpen
  • Brevard Zoo - revisit
  • ZSL London Zoo
  • Zoo Barcelona
  • ZooTampa at Lowry Park - revisit?
 
I'm not planning too much in 2025, my current zoo plans are as follows:

- May - London Zoo, this will be my first visit to London Zoo in 17 years, and I'm very excited.
- July - Chester Zoo, and I may also squish in a visit to the nearby Blue Planet Aquarium during the same trip.
- September - Telford's Exotic Zoo, I'm going to Telford for an event, so I intend on fitting in a visit to this zoo during that trip.

I also want to visit Tynemouth Aquarium, a place that's been on my radar for a few years at this point, some time in 2025, but I haven't decided exactly when I'll do this. Other than the above, I'll most likely re-visit places I regularly visit each year, such as Blackpool Zoo, Lakeland Wildlife Oasis and Lake District Wildlife Park.
 
PossumRoach said:
I don’t have any plans for zoo visits due to the uncertainty of life but it would be nice if I could visit:
  • Salzburg Hellbrunn
  • Welt der Gifte
  • Alpenzoo Innsbruck
  • Karlsruhe Zoo
  • Tierpark Oberwald
  • Heidelberg Zoo
  • And maybe the two small reptile zoos in southern Bavaria.
Obviously there’s more but I think I rather start with nearby facilities.

or revisit:
  • Zoo Berlin
  • Tierpark Berlin
  • Zoo Prague
As much as I want to such to see a handful of new exhibits and species, I think it’s fine to wait for some other projects to start or finish such as TP Berlin’s elephant house.
Click to expand...
I am hoping for Berlin and Prague zoos also if I can work out a trip to the UK as a starting point next year also
 
USZOOfan42 said:
Here’s mine (ordered in likelihood)
Guaranteed:
Detroit
Toledo
Columbus
Howell Nature Center

Almost Certain:
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Cincinnati Zoo
Minnesota Zoo

Possibly:
Pittsburgh Zoo
Tennessee Aquarium
Bronx Zoo
Central Park Zoo
Como Park Zoo
National Aviary
Click to expand...
My wife and I visited the Central Park and Queens Zoos 2 weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised
 
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