Best State for Zoos

[snowleopard]

It has been quite intriguing to re-read this thread now that it has been re-opened and the polls have shown a tight 4-way race between California, Ohio, Texas and Florida. Many months ago (on the second page) I posted a long response detailing my top 5 choices and I have not changed my mind since then. As "jbnbsn99" has pointed out there is a fair amount of bias in the poll as many folks have simply voted for their hometown state and the zoos that they are familiar with.

I've been fortunate enough to have personally visited 5 out of Ohio's 7 AZA-accredited attractions (Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo and Akron); 5 out of 6 in Tennessee (just missing Ripley's Aquarium); 9 out of 16 in Texas (other than SeaWorld I've seen all of the big guns); 20 out of 24 in California; and yet only 4 out of 17 AZA-accredited institutions in Florida. I hope to rectify that latter fact by touring at least 7 Florida attractions this upcoming summer, but other than that state I've seen most of the major zoos/aquariums across America. That still doesn't matter when it comes to an individual's personal choices, but it certainly helps me to narrow down my options.

This is such a subjective and intriguing thread, and I still feel as if overall Texas is the #1 state for zoos. What would change things is if California's two mega zoos (the San Diego parks) were combined with places like The Living Desert, Oakland and Los Angeles but then included with the top-notch California aquariums such as Monterey Bay, Aquarium of the Pacific, Steinhart, Birch, Aquarium of the Bay and San Diego SeaWorld. Both Florida and California would benefit from the inclusion of aquariums in the poll, and Texas and Ohio would both probably suffer in the poll as a consequence. Should someone re-post the whole thing to include both zoos and aquariums? This is fun!

 

[siamang27]

One could be created for just aquariums, too. If so some of these states will probably be switched with other ones. I believe California would win that one though, but who knows?

 

[SusScrofa]

I never have been to Ohio, but very impressed that a relatively less populous and touristy state has so many well-regarded zoos like Columbus, Toledo, Cincinnati, Akron and Cleveland.

Haven't been to Texas but not surprised it ranks so high, given its size and more lax rules. Dallas (both zoo and aquarium) and Houston were recommendations I will look into.

Florida has the amazing and affordable Zoo Miami. Honestly think it ranks up there with Bronx and SD and half the price of those institutions. Palm Beach and Naples are really solid smaller zoos, and there's Lion Country Safari which has a very nice drive thru though its zoo section is 'meh' and I feel the safari would benefit from more predators (hyena, leopard, cheetah). On the Aquarium side you have Seaworld Orlando (more of a theme park of course). Miami Seaquarium has very nice shows, but the cetacean tanks are really not very good and its quite a small and pricey facility, with very few fish species. Definitely need to visit DAK and perhaps Busch Gardens and Zoo Tampa as well.

I've been to the big 3 southern California zoological institutions (SD, SD Safari Park and LA). All are excellent, though LA still needs to update some of their enclosures and the COVID protocol of barricading off the primate and feline enclosures make viewing difficult at this time. I haven't been to the northern part of the state, but just those three alone make Cali a top contender. Monterey Bay is suoposed to be another can't-miss facility, and I've heard good things about Sacramento.

I haven't been to any NYS zoos outside of NYC, though I've heard very positive things about Buffalo. Bronx needs no introductions of course, its a top tier facility. While there are 4 other zoos, these are very small. Limited spacing and very strict regulations in NYC will do that. I've recently been to Prospect and Central Park and they are nice little facilities to view animals for a couple of hours, but not "full zoo" experiences. I visited Staten Island zoo as a child/teen multiple times but havent been there in over 15 years, although I think its similar to the other two. Supposedly has a world-renowned reptile house. Queens zoo is one that I haven't been to ever, but it actually offers many unique animals to NYC that the other zoos in the area, even Bronx, don't offer, like Spectacled Bear and Pronghorn. Also seems to have more of a large mammal selection then the other small NYC zoos. Theres also the NY Aquarium which I've been to... the less I speak of it the better. Although Bronx is a contender for best zoo in the USA, I don't think the other NYC facilities are can't-miss places, so unless upstate and west NY have many awesome and underrated facilites, I don't think it would be on the level of the above states.

Based on zoos I've been to, I think California would be the best state, followed by Florida (its very close if I'm allowed to count SeaWorld even though its an aquarium theme park)