Bizarre Rankings of Zoos/Aquariums

[Astrotom3000]

I thought that at first, but the The Wilds was put really high despite supposedly not allowing children.

Wait, WHAT? Does it really? I just checked their website and didn't see anything of the sort.

There are much bigger problems with these lists.

However, there are a lot of things about both lists that most people on here would universally agree upon, such

I know these lists have much bigger problems; I only brought up ZooTampa and Jacksonville because I just visited those 2 zoos last month and can actually speak from personal experience there (not so much with the other entries).

On the subject of SeaLife, I personally would not put any of them in the Top 5 either; I have been to both the Charlotte-Concord and Orlando locations and while they are small-but-decent facilities (I enjoyed Charlotte more than Orlando), they come nowhere close to something like Shedd, Georgia, Baltimore, or even Tampa. That said, I did look up Minnesota and its multiple tunnels and freshwater exhibits do intrigue me.

 

[birdsandbats]

Wait, WHAT? Does it really? I just checked their website and didn't see anything of the sort.




I know these lists have much bigger problems; I only brought up ZooTampa and Jacksonville because I just visited those 2 zoos last month and can actually speak from personal experience there (not so much with the other entries).

On the subject of SeaLife, I personally would not put any of them in the Top 5 either; I have been to both the Charlotte-Concord and Orlando locations and while they are small-but-decent facilities (I enjoyed Charlotte more than Orlando), they come nowhere close to something like Shedd, Georgia, Baltimore, or even Tampa. That said, I did look up Minnesota and its multiple tunnels and freshwater exhibits do intrigue me.

No, they do allow children, it’s just that the list claims they don’t.

 

[Forge]

It's hard for the lists to load for me (and the page is covered in ads), so for an easier viewing experience, here's that first list:

50. Rodger Williams Park Zoo
49. Rosamond Gifford Zoo
48. Cameron Park Zoo
47. Point Defiance Zoo
46. McCarthy's Wildlife Sanctuary
45. Fort Wayne Children's Zoo
44. Promised Land Zoo
43. Sedgwick County Zoo
42. Toledo Zoo
41. Cape May County Zoo
40. Como Park Zoo
39. Columbus Zoo
38. Riverbanks Zoo
37. Jacksonville Zoo
36. ZooTampa
35. Pittsburgh Zoo
34. Phoenix Zoo
33. Indianapolis Zoo
32. Oakland Zoo
31. Alaska Zoo
30. Minnesota Zoo
29. Kansas City Zoo
28. Denver Zoo
27. Philadelphia Zoo
26. Virginia Zoo
25. Dallas Zoo
24. Houston Zoo
23. Smithsonian National Zoo
22. Woodland Park Zoo
21. Bronx Zoo
20. Brookfield Zoo
19. Fort Worth Zoo
18. Zoo Miami
17. Oklahoma City Zoo
16. Lion County Safari
15. Lincoln Park Zoo
14. Bear County USA
13. Memphis Zoo
12. Audubon Zoo
11. Cincinnati Zoo
10. San Diego Zoo (the zoo and safari park are combined as one entry here)
9. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
8. The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens
7. The Wilds
6. Brevard Zoo
5. Out of Africa Wildlife Park
4. Safari West
3. Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
2. Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo
1. St. Louis Zoo

That is... a list. I honestly don't even know what to say. I think it's pretty clear that the author has visited few, if any of these zoos (at least not recently). They say that the Cat Complex at Omaha is still open and that The Wilds doesn't allow children (what?). Given how crazy this list is I'm shocked ASDM made the list, as it doesn't usually make this type of list, although the placing is ridiculous obviously.

I also want to highlight this part from the Indianapolis Section:

"And don't miss the Simon Skjodt International Orangutan Center, which is one of the most important zoo exhibits in the world. It is a center for research into the cognitive abilities of great apes, a truly memorable experience".

Brookfield’s place in this list seems grossly overestimated. As my home zoo for many years, it is horribly outdated in many respects and it’s collection seems to have been going steadily downhill. Would love to see it deserve the ranking it got but there is NO way that Columbus and Bronx are not as good as Brookfield.

 

[birdsandbats]

Brookfield’s place in this list seems grossly overestimated. As my home zoo for many years, it is horribly outdated in many respects and it’s collection seems to have been going steadily downhill. Would love to see it deserve the ranking it got but there is NO way that Columbus and Bronx are not as good as Brookfield.

I kind of disagree with you, I think Brookfield is still a great zoo that is vastly underrated. Probably not as good as Bronx but I would put it at the same level or even above Columbus.

However, these are minor personal preferences and this isn't even really the problems I was talking about being on the list.

 

[Forge]

I kind of disagree with you, I think Brookfield is still a great zoo that is vastly underrated. Probably not as good as Bronx but I would put it at the same level or even above Columbus.

However, these are minor personal preferences and this isn't even really the problems I was talking about being on the list.

That’s fair! There are quite a few great things there. Just really feels like a shell of what it used to be, to me.

 

[OkapiFan]

50 Best Zoos in the U.S., Ranked

This afternoon, I stumbled across this article of the Top US Zoos. Reading it, it quickly became how bizarre this list was, with Bronx Zoo not hitting the Top 20, and the Out of Africa Wildlife Park in the Top 5. It also contained multiple factual errors (Toledo Zoo has the world's only underwater Hippo viewing) that only made the article more bizarre and laughable. The site also has an aquarium ranking, with omitted Shedd and Georgia from the top 20, and claimed that Shedd Aquarium only had 5 gallons of water! Both are definitely funny, and confusing, reads.

35 Best Aquariums in America, Ranked

Has anyone here ever found a bizarre ranking of Zoos or Aquariums on line before?

I feel personally attacked by the fact that the North Carolina Zoo isn't on this list.

 

[Dr Bright N04]

I'm shocked that the Brevard zoo is so high. It is really good mind you, but it is interesting to put it in the top ten.

 

[SusScrofa]

I very much enjoyed Lion Safari and Out of Africa, but they sure as hell aren't ahead of Bronx, SD or Miami for me. Then again, comparing Safari Parks to traditional zoos isnt the best imo, two different experiences.

 

[Alex Bensky]

Bronx no. 21 and Como Park--nice little zoo--ahead of Toledo? This list is useless. I'm not sure I'd put St. Louis at the top of the list but at least it's a very good zoo.

 

[15399]

Bronx no. 21 and Como Park--nice little zoo--ahead of Toledo? This list is useless. I'm not sure I'd put St. Louis at the top of the list but at least it's a very good zoo.

Yeah- after #2 is where the list starts to fall apart.