Best Collection?

mweb08

mweb08

Well-Known Member
Which zoos have the best collection? The only thing besides simply comparing collections that should be considered is the public's ability to view all the animals. So obviously a zoo shouldn't get credit for animals they have off-exhibit. To a lesser degree, I think a zoo should be docked some when they only give people a limited opportunity to view animals such as the safari ride at DAK or the tram at the Bronx.
 
It differs on what your priorities lie. Some zoo's are stronger in reptiles or birds, but weaker in other divisions. But since i'm a small mammal enthousiast, I can't think of any zoo that comes close to Prague...

I loved the collection of Walsrode (birds), Dvur Kralové (african hoofstock) and Dortmund (south america) because of their specialisation, but their limitations are obvious... I haven't been to Berlin Zoo, but from what i know about it's collection it easily deserves a mention here.
 
Best collection...

... all over the World: Zoo Berlin and Beijing Zoo

... in USA (and North America): San Diego Zoo
... in Canada: Toronto Zoo (not seen personally)

... in Brazil (and probably South America): Sao Paulo Zoo (not seen personally)

... in Germany (and Europe): Zoo Berlin
... in France: Zoo de Beauval, St. Aignan sur Cher
... in Holland/Netherlands: Rotterdam Zoo
... in Belge: Zoo Antwerp
... in Great Britain: Chester Zoo (not seen personally)
... in Czech Republic: Prague Zoo
... in Russia: Moscou Zoo (not seen personally)
... in Danemark: Kopenhague Zoo
... in Switzerland: Basle Zoo (hard to say for a zurich citizen)
... in Austria: Tiergarten Schoenbrunn Vienna
... in Italy: Bioparc Rome? (has reduced many species the last two decades)
... in Portugal: Lisbon Zoo

... in Australia: Melbourne Zoo (not seen personally)

... in Singapore: Singapore Zoo
... in Malaysia: Negara Zoo Kuala Lumpur
... in China: Beijing Zoo (not seen personally)

... in South Africa (and Continent Africa): National Zoo Pretoria

But this is based on the terme of "best collection" ONLY! Best exhibits, best design, best care a. s. o. could be others!

PS: Best collection for an Aquarium/Oceanarium: Shedd in Chicago.
 
Honestly, I'm over people complaining about monoral or tram rides. The Bronx monorail has some of the best exhibits for the animals and for 'naturalism' that I've ever seen. I don't have that urge to stare at an animals for a few hours that everyone else here seems to have, I guess.

Contenders for collection in the US are all the usual suspects: San Diego, Cincinnati, Bronx, Columbus, etc.
 
zoomaniac said:
Best collection...

... all over the World: Zoo Berlin and Beijing Zoo

... in USA (and North America): San Diego Zoo
... in Canada: Toronto Zoo (not seen personally)

... in Brazil (and probably South America): Sao Paulo Zoo (not seen personally)

... in Germany (and Europe): Zoo Berlin
... in France: Zoo de Beauval, St. Aignan sur Cher
... in Holland/Netherlands: Rotterdam Zoo
... in Belge: Zoo Antwerp
... in Great Britain: Chester Zoo (not seen personally)
... in Czech Republic: Prague Zoo
... in Russia: Moscou Zoo (not seen personally)
... in Danemark: Kopenhague Zoo
... in Switzerland: Basle Zoo (hard to say for a zurich citizen)
... in Austria: Tiergarten Schoenbrunn Vienna
... in Italy: Bioparc Rome? (has reduced many species the last two decades)
... in Portugal: Lisbon Zoo

... in Australia: Melbourne Zoo (not seen personally)

... in Singapore: Singapore Zoo
... in Malaysia: Negara Zoo Kuala Lumpur
... in China: Beijing Zoo (not seen personally)

... in South Africa (and Continent Africa): National Zoo Pretoria

But this is based on the terme of "best collection" ONLY! Best exhibits, best design, best care a. s. o. could be others!

PS: Best collection for an Aquarium/Oceanarium: Shedd in Chicago.
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Well done!
 
tigertiger said:
Honestly, I'm over people complaining about monoral or tram rides. The Bronx monorail has some of the best exhibits for the animals and for 'naturalism' that I've ever seen. I don't have that urge to stare at an animals for a few hours that everyone else here seems to have, I guess.

Contenders for collection in the US are all the usual suspects: San Diego, Cincinnati, Bronx, Columbus, etc.
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I'm not complaining, I'm simply saying I'd rather be able to see elephants, rhinos, tigers, etc for longer than 30 seconds, and it would be nice if I could be stationary while viewing them.
 
It's got to be Berlin zoo. It actually has everything lol. For diversity in the UK I'd probably say Chester?
 
Woops, my bad!
 
Does anybody have figures for largest and most diverse collections? It would be interesting to compare numbers. Is San Diego still top in collection diversity?
 
Just a few I can think of...

Cincinatti
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Wild Animal Park
DAK
Toronto
Columbus
Omaha
Los Angleles
 
As far as a collection of animals goes, I hate to admit that San Antonio has one of the larger collections, especially birds.
 
San Diego Zoo I believe still has the most animals in its collection. But since this is animal on display, I still think SDZ is still on their. Bronx Zoo has a lot on display. What about National Zoo? They have a lot of animals but a lot of them aren't on display. Anyone got the numbers?

Also how are we grading "best" collection? Should we start naming off best reptile, bird, ungulate, bear, and cat collections? Who has the most major species that are iconic to the common public? (ex: giraffes, elephants, tigers, bears)

Also, do animal ambassadors count? They aren't on exhibit but the public still sees them in talks at the SDZ.
 
Well people can break it upon into groups if they like. I'm looking at it more from a perspective of what zoos have the species list you'd be most excited about seeing. So I certainly think elephants, tigers, panda bears, rhino's etc are much important than a thomsons gazelle.
 
I think even if you count worldwide, San Diego may be best (although I've heard Berlin rivals their count). But if we're talking U.S., there is absolutely, positively no question whatsoever that San Diego is #1 for species count. Even if you break into categories, they would win most because they are thorough in every area (huge bird collection, huge reptile collection, huge monkey collection, etc, etc).

Even ardent zoo/animal lovers will likely come across animals you've never heard of walking through this zoo.
 
mweb08 said:
I'm not complaining, I'm simply saying I'd rather be able to see elephants, rhinos, tigers, etc for longer than 30 seconds, and it would be nice if I could be stationary while viewing them.
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You could go on an African or Asian safari then :p.

I'd much rather see animals that are happy in captivity with great environments than be able to see an animal stationary. Monorail rides might be annoying in the scale period but they aim to bring an 'adventure' to the zoo.
 
Arizona Docent said:
I think even if you count worldwide, San Diego may be best (although I've heard Berlin rivals their count). But if we're talking U.S., there is absolutely, positively no question whatsoever that San Diego is #1 for species count. Even if you break into categories, they would win most because they are thorough in every area (huge bird collection, huge reptile collection, huge monkey collection, etc, etc).

Even ardent zoo/animal lovers will likely come across animals you've never heard of walking through this zoo.
Click to expand...

However, much of SD's collection is 'behind the scenes.' For example, Columbus is, in my mind, a very 'cat-less' zoo. However, they have numerous species behind the scenes. I'll just never see them, you see.

Cincinnati definitely trumps for insects while I think categories such as cats, amphibians and water creatures are definitely up for the taking v. San Diego.
 
tigertiger said:
You could go on an African or Asian safari then :p.

I'd much rather see animals that are happy in captivity with great environments than be able to see an animal stationary. Monorail rides might be annoying in the scale period but they aim to bring an 'adventure' to the zoo.
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The point is seeing both of those things is better than just one. Like at the SDWAP, you can at least view the fields while walking and the tram stops to view the animals. Plus, the elephants can be viewed in a large exhibit off the ride, unlike at the Bronx or DAK.
 
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