It's been nearly four years since a zoochat member with a shoebill avatar created a thread all about their continents 50 must see zoos, and now a zoochat member with a shoebill avatar will create a thread about their countries 50 must see zoos. Who would have guessed!
It's about time we have a spiritual successor to the much acclaimed, metaphorically award-winning project crafted by the hands of @lintworm known as Europe's 50 must-see zoos. The zoos of the United States don't have quite the legacy that European zoos have built over many centuries, but it's the next best place for a zoo nerd and with hundreds and hundreds of institutions there is so much to see. This thread has been a long time coming. It's been something I originally wanted to do back when the Europe thread was ongoing. However, I was very much in over my head and quickly realized I lacked the knowledge and experience to execute this project to it's fullest extent. I had decided to abandon the idea indefinitely. After community interest in Europe's 50 Must See Zoos became relevant again during Thread of the Year Champions, my motivation to do the project was resurrected along with it. For anyone who's had the pleasure of reading that thread this will be a very similar bout, but for anyone who hasn't read it (in that case, what's wrong with you?
check it out here) this is what you can expect.
I've selected 50 American Zoos that I have deemed to be a "must-see" facility based on a variety of factors which will be explained depending on the zoo. Every zoo will be summarized with general information and highlights along with five pictures of the zoos most notable areas. All information is based on personal visits, discussions and photos from this forum, and various books with "America's Top 100 Zoos & Aquariums" coauthored by @snowleopard and @Tim Brown being particularly useful. There is no American equivalent to zootierlist so all of the species counts will be estimates based on recent accounts and species lists. As a result, there will be some discrepancies between the total species count and the actual number of species on exhibit, so I ask for your understanding in this regard.
I sincerely hope this thread proves to be just as valuable as both a resource and a catalyst for discussion as its European counterpart. Every zoo will be covered alphabetically by state.
It's about time we have a spiritual successor to the much acclaimed, metaphorically award-winning project crafted by the hands of @lintworm known as Europe's 50 must-see zoos. The zoos of the United States don't have quite the legacy that European zoos have built over many centuries, but it's the next best place for a zoo nerd and with hundreds and hundreds of institutions there is so much to see. This thread has been a long time coming. It's been something I originally wanted to do back when the Europe thread was ongoing. However, I was very much in over my head and quickly realized I lacked the knowledge and experience to execute this project to it's fullest extent. I had decided to abandon the idea indefinitely. After community interest in Europe's 50 Must See Zoos became relevant again during Thread of the Year Champions, my motivation to do the project was resurrected along with it. For anyone who's had the pleasure of reading that thread this will be a very similar bout, but for anyone who hasn't read it (in that case, what's wrong with you?
check it out here) this is what you can expect.I've selected 50 American Zoos that I have deemed to be a "must-see" facility based on a variety of factors which will be explained depending on the zoo. Every zoo will be summarized with general information and highlights along with five pictures of the zoos most notable areas. All information is based on personal visits, discussions and photos from this forum, and various books with "America's Top 100 Zoos & Aquariums" coauthored by @snowleopard and @Tim Brown being particularly useful. There is no American equivalent to zootierlist so all of the species counts will be estimates based on recent accounts and species lists. As a result, there will be some discrepancies between the total species count and the actual number of species on exhibit, so I ask for your understanding in this regard.
I sincerely hope this thread proves to be just as valuable as both a resource and a catalyst for discussion as its European counterpart. Every zoo will be covered alphabetically by state.
