Best and Worst Zoo Maps

Oh, you could have used a Vipera ammodytes, anatolica or barani instead. ;)
I wouldn't recommend to build any restaurant within a zoo exhibit. Not only because of hygienic or olfactory reasons; given the inhabitant(s) of the exhibit, it might even be a rather short and painful culinary experience for the guests (who might end up becoming dinner themselves). ;)
Nevertheless, a Turkish restaurant in a zoo would be quite a novel idea. :D
 
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lintworm said:
The new Antwerp map is better imo:
b6fc491794e641a128077ef9b77d938894cb8717752b8a308e4c08eac2398fbe5c9a8ade5254e542_rw_1200.jpg
b6fc491794e641a128077ef9b77d938894cb8717752b8a308e4c08eac2398fbe5c9a8ade5254e542_rw_1200.jpg


I personally also really like the maps from Artis:
artis_kaart_2017.jpg__1920x0_q85_subject_location-959%2C676_subsampling-2.jpg

https://www.artis.nl/media/filer_public_thumbnails/filer_public/9e/de/9edee9db-138a-4ba5-b0e7-b05b49a8681b/artis_kaart_2017.jpg__1920x0_q85_subject_location-959,676_subsampling-2.jpg

And the one from Hellabrun is also not bad:
tierparkplan-2014.jpg

source: tiergarten.de

One of the worst zoo maps for anyone who was not a German zoo enthusiast were those from Tierpark Berlin....
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I like this idea for a thread. For the Antwerp Zoo maps, I like the second/lower one better as I feel it more accurately depicts the site plan and has more attention to detail which makes it easier for someone like me to navigate, but I can kind of see how it would be hard to follow for laymen zoo visitors.
 
UngulateNerd92 said:
I like the second/lower one better as I feel it more accurately depicts the site plan and has more attention to detail which makes it easier for someone like me to navigate
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I think the second one is of Artis, not Antwerp :D
But yes, I think I like that one better as well. :)
 
amur leopard said:
I think the second one is of Artis, not Antwerp :D
But yes, I think I like that one better as well. :)
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My bad, I had a brain fart there. Being that both zoos are around the same size/acerage and are both in large cities and have a similar layout, that is why made such a mistake.
 
UngulateNerd92 said:
My bad, I had a brain fart there. Being that both zoos are around the same size/acerage and are both in large cities and have a similar layout, that is why made such a mistake.
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Don't worry, I do it as well sometimes! Antwerp and Artis are actually the two I confuse the most! :D :)
 
LA Zoo changed theirs, although I'm not sure when. It looks like the San Diego Zoo map from the late 90's/early 00's
ZooMap-Reduced.jpg
 
ZPA said:
LA Zoo changed theirs, although I'm not sure when. It looks like the San Diego Zoo map from the late 90's/early 00's
ZooMap-Reduced.jpg
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That is because San Diego Zoo and Los Angeles Zoo used the same map design company during that time. The company was Reineck and Reineck. As you will see, they did map designs for other zoos (ie Denver, San Francisco, Bronx, Minnesota etc.)

Reineck and Reineck: Zoo Maps
 
ZPA said:
LA Zoo changed theirs, although I'm not sure when. It looks like the San Diego Zoo map from the late 90's/early 00's
ZooMap-Reduced.jpg
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This map changed recently, I’d say during this month and I think they switched back because this was their old map prior to their previous iteration that was just straight to the point. My guess it was changed back is due to it clearly pointing out closures of exhibits, playgrounds, and lunch spots. Although I love their previous map that was very colorful and nicely designed, this is a more clear as to where things are. They kept this older map from the 90’ and early 00’s for the ADA accessibility as well even prior to their new map that’s been switched back for this one.
 
I just wish that I could see the enclosure layout in the Apenheul's map instead of the simplified route.
 
Maps I like:
Phoenix Zoo - it is colorful and represents the zoo quite well. Downside is that it doesn't list the animals - it only provides pictures (and while everyone can tell a zebra and giraffe, it is difficult to distinguish gazelles from antelopes or differentiate the many different bird species.
Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, TX is actually a good map because it does list the specific species at the zoo in an interactive-based way - using icons to pinpoint on the map where the species are located with numbers that coincide with a numbered list.

Maps that are terrible:
Denver Zoo - WHO. EVER. THOUGHT. THAT. WAS. GOOD? - wow, everything about it is terrible. It looks like the zoo is tiny, they highlight the shopping and the food over the animals themselves (and it's really the food that brings you to a zoo?). They barely list any of the animals, so again you are pretty much going by pics - but at least in Phoenix Zoo you have good illustrations whereas with Denver you have horrible clip art (actually, that is a put down to clip art - so I apologize).
St Louis Zoo map - now here is a map that one would think was good - but actually turns out to be bad. It has a lot of information - maybe too much. It sections the zoo into groups with animals listed in each - but it is unusable as a map! Shouldn't you be able to navigate with a.... zoo map?
 
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