Are zoos expensive?

Ned said:
I don't buy anything in zoo gift shops because I'm not 12 years old.
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Agreed, but only to a certain extent. A mug with an uninteresting animal picture, or placemats with the zoo's logo are nothing for me, and neither are the same plushes or animal figures you can get in all zoo gift shops, but some zoos really do try to offer some more interesting things...
Leipzig's gift shop had books with overviews (going 5 years in the past) of a year worth of construction and animal news, complete with full list of all species on-show (I think Plzen does this as well). Antwerp sells postal cards and posters with the original artwork from the 1930's. Artis sells original historic animal signage (though unfortunately at very high prices). Burgers' Zoo and Apenheul both sell a lot of the important and well-known 'zoo books'. Paris Vincennes had a lot of architectural books, describing everything from the old zoo to the new zoo and everything in between, complete with concept sketches etc. I don't often buy things, but I always take a look in gift shops just in case there is a hidden gem lying around...

About the sandwiches, I always plan to take those with me but always forget to, so I usually just end up eating in a zoo cafe anyways (or buying something right before I enter, which is what I often do in Antwerp). :p
 
Ned said:
I don't buy anything in zoo gift shops because I'm not 12 years old.
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Yes, I'm usually like you, but with one exception, zoo books! I find that lots of zoos neglect to have many of these, instead opting for animal plushes and mugs (which is probably financially smart as the vast majority of zoo-goers are children), but when a zoo has them, I jump at the chance to get them. San Diego is a great example, as while they have the usual zoo shop items, they also have a decent selection of books (including an awesome history book of the zoo).
 
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Vision said:
Agreed, but only to a certain extent. A mug with an uninteresting animal picture, or placemats with the zoo's logo are nothing for me, and neither are the same plushes or animal figures you can get in all zoo gift shops, but some zoos really do try to offer some more interesting things...
Leipzig's gift shop had books with overviews (going 5 years in the past) of a year worth of construction and animal news, complete with full list of all species on-show (I think Plzen does this as well). Antwerp sells postal cards and posters with the original artwork from the 1930's. Artis sells original historic animal signage (though unfortunately at very high prices). Burgers' Zoo and Apenheul both sell a lot of the important and well-known 'zoo books'. Paris Vincennes had a lot of architectural books, describing everything from the old zoo to the new zoo and everything in between, complete with concept sketches etc. I don't often buy things, but I always take a look in gift shops just in case there is a hidden gem lying around...

About the sandwiches, I always plan to take those with me but always forget to, so I usually just end up eating in a zoo cafe anyways (or buying something right before I enter, which is what I often do in Antwerp). :p
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I must admit that I was very tempted by the book in Vincennes but didn't get it. I have looked on the internet for it since and will hopefully get a copy at some point.
 
I don’t think you have to be 12 years old to want to buy something from a zoo gift shop. Who wouldn’t want a postcard depicting a beautiful shot of one of their favourite animals? I bought a little photograph book yesterday in Jihlava which I’m pretty certain wasn’t aimed at children. I also like to buy a magnet from each zoo I visit so that I can stick them all over my fridge to brighten up my home and to remind me of the amazing visits I’ve had to various places all over the world on a daily basis. And yes, of course I also enjoy buying plushes, especially ones of animals that you don’t often see in this form. I bought an ostrich from Prague Zoo last week which I thought was excellent. As for food, I can eat a sandwich on any day of the week, I want my zoo trip to be a treat for me and for it to be special. So I will tend to buy as many drinks, ice creams, meals or whatever as I fancy, because it just adds to my enjoyment.
 
Ned said:
Admittedly, you don't have to be 12 to buy souvenirs in a zoo gift shop but I'm halfway to a telegram from The Queen and plush toys and fridge magnets just don't do it for me anymore.
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Surely you're into the ideal demographic for the mugs, teacloths and novelty old-style sweet packets that are oft popular in gift shops
 
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I haven't reached that point yet, another fifteen years until I'm into teacloths and mugs, its something I'm looking forward to.
Perhaps one zoo branded incontinence pads as well?
 
I rather like the gift shop at Monkey World as, alongside the usual cuddly toys and packets of biscuits, there are all sorts of other random things. I have a Monkey World glasses case, and got my mother a Monkey World spoon rest, just because it's a Monkey World spoon rest. I also have three really nice Monkey World keyrings as I keep getting tempted.
 
I think that the most expensive zoos are here in Spain, given the limited -and not very varied- number of species that are generally kept (especially if we compare several zoos among them). All the zoos here seem to have chimpanzees, zebras, baboons, lions, tigers, ostriches, cranes, pythons, and mainly goats or other farm animals...Sorry? You have a zoo not a farm...

Most of the wild "mammal groups" are many ungulates of uninteresting species, such as the Spanish red deer, the mouflon, the camel dromedary or something like that.

Many of these species are hybrids.

We can not find many birds, (great lack of species of ducks / geese or passerines) or reptile species common in European zoos. That happens even in the "main" zoos like Barcelona, Madrid (the reptile house is now closed) or Valencia. And the prices of general admission tickets at the box office are too expensive for the "standard of living" common in the country. BCN (€ 21.40), MAD (€ 23.55), VLC (€ 23.80), Benidorm (€ 31.00)

In the example: I paid about 20 to 25 € in the Dutch zoos, but the collections have a very remarkable number of species that I have never seen in Spain.

Or in France or Germany, the prices are similar or cheaper than in my country, but even so the collections are more complete and interesting for me.

Many of this Species are hybrids.

We cannot find many birds, (great lack of Species of ducks / geese or paserine) or common reptile Species in European zoos. That occurs even in the "main" zoos such as Barcelona, Madrid (the reptile house is now closed) or Valencia . And the prices of general admission tickets at the box office are too expensive for the "standard of living" common in the country. BCN ( € 21.40), MAD (€ 23.55), VLC (€ 23.80), Benidorm (€ 31.00)

In example : I paid about 20 to 25 € in Dutch zoos, but the collections have very remarkable number of species I never seen in Spain.

Or in Germany o France, the prices are similar or most cheap that in my country, but still the collections are most completes and interesting for me.
 
KEEPER said:
Most of the wild "mammal groups" are many ungulates of uninteresting species, such as the Spanish red deer, the mouflon, the camel dromedary or something like that.
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I’ve only ever visited one Spanish zoo, so I don’t have much of a point of comparison. But personally, I do actually love a mouflon!
 
Although apparently people do eat mouflon meat . . . it sounds rank to me, but then again I absolutely despise lamb at the best of times.
 
beccasunbear said:
Me too - well, lamb and duck. Far too greasy for me. I can’t say I’ve ever tried rat!
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It's a delicacy in north-east Thailand where my ex-wife came from. Clean rats from the rice fields during the harvest season.

A bed of rice with a whole bbq rat, two fried eggs, a mug of black tea and a glass of orange juice whilst sitting out in the spring sunshine was the perfect breakfast. I really miss that but not the wife! :cool:
 
Vision said:
Agreed, but only to a certain extent. A mug with an uninteresting animal picture, or placemats with the zoo's logo are nothing for me, and neither are the same plushes or animal figures you can get in all zoo gift shops, but some zoos really do try to offer some more interesting things...
Leipzig's gift shop had books with overviews (going 5 years in the past) of a year worth of construction and animal news, complete with full list of all species on-show (I think Plzen does this as well). Antwerp sells postal cards and posters with the original artwork from the 1930's. Artis sells original historic animal signage (though unfortunately at very high prices). Burgers' Zoo and Apenheul both sell a lot of the important and well-known 'zoo books'. Paris Vincennes had a lot of architectural books, describing everything from the old zoo to the new zoo and everything in between, complete with concept sketches etc. I don't often buy things, but I always take a look in gift shops just in case there is a hidden gem lying around...

About the sandwiches, I always plan to take those with me but always forget to, so I usually just end up eating in a zoo cafe anyways (or buying something right before I enter, which is what I often do in Antwerp). :p
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In the US I've been seeing more and more zoos try to offer nicer items to try to get more adults to buy. This ranges from higher quality T-shirts with more fashionable designs to straight up high-end items. I used to have a really nice T-shirt from the Houston Zoo, it was woman's size so it fit me nicely, it was made of that really soft cotton fabric, and it had a pretty, stylish design. Unfortunately I lost it. These days I don't really buy T-shirts because I already have so many, but if I were inclined to get a souvenir shirt, having options that look good make me much more likely to buy.

Side note, I LOVE stuffed animals, but I have so many already that I try not to buy more. But the Houston Zoo has some super tempting red river hog plushies, and I don't have many ungulates, and I think all of the ones I do have are horses and mythical variations of horses...
 
Buldeo said:
If I may, I believe you're arguing from a localist perspective; i.e., somebody who can and does, in this example, visit ZSL - London on a regular basis. I'm approaching it from a tourist's perspective for whom a trip to, in this example, ZSL - London is a once in a decade chance.

In this instance, the tourist is likely to spend the entire day at the zoo. As such, they're likely a captive audience; food is going to be required irrespective of cost especially if children are involved. Souvenirs are likely as well. Dubious plastic tchotchkes or otherwise. I'm not going to fault the visitor on their choice of consumption at this point in time.

I personally find ZSL - London to have plenty of value for it's cost, but for the typical visitor from North America, Disney and Disneyland are a known commodity. It won't be the exact same thing, but you know you're going to have a high quality experience. ZSL - London? They have lions. The typical North American tourist can see those at home for infinitely less at their home zoo. It's the specialized traveler, the one that posts here on Zoochat, that cares that ZSL- London's lions are Asiatic with a new whizbang exhibit.
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Yeah, I imagine that most zoos that are popular tourist destinations are ones that have species that are popular and well-known but not very common (or at least widespread) in zoos. It's more of a time thing than a money thing, most people (particularly Americans) are fairly limited in how often they can travel, and how far they can travel, and zoos won't be high priority for most of them unless the zoo offers something that seems new and exciting to them.

Batto said:
You're addressing a very important point that is a constant topic of discussion when it comes to the pricing policy of zoos. On the one hand, a zoo should be open to all people to serve its function in the education of the public. So if you exclude people because they cannot afford the admission, you also exclude them from said option to educate themselves. On the other, zoos, in particular the ones that are not subsidized, have to be run like any other efficient business to keep on going. To find a middle ground, some zoos are offering special reduced entrance fees or even free admission for certain groups (I think Moscow Zoo is probably one of the most generous zoo in regard to the many social groups they allow in for free) or random "Choose how much you want to pay" events (like Münster Allwetterzoo). Others advise their local resident visitors to get annual passes to save money on repeated visits - which isn't usually a great option for the random perambulating zoo visitor. And a few noteworthy zoos are even free of admission, like the National Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo or the lovely Heimattiergarten Schönebeck.

The silliest way to determine the entrance fee in a zoo that I've encountered so far was in Rome many years ago, when the local zoo charged children as adults if they were taller than a certain predetermined height...^^
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Some major theme parks offer reduced ticket prices to residents, higher prices for everyone else. I suppose a zoo could do that, but really only if the zoo is a major tourist attraction, and I'd say that there are only a handful of zoos that many tourists really go out of their way to visit.
 
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