Can a zoo be too big?

[15399]

Personally I don't care if you can see an entire zoo in one day. If you plan accordingly, it's possible to know where in the zoo the species you care about are, and prioritize which sections of the zoo you visit so that you don't miss exhibits/species you care about.

 

[Nix]

Oh most definitely! Pretoria Zoo in South Africa is one of the biggest Zoos in the world, Usually when I go I don't go to the Aquarium or Savanna section (Specifically the Savanna section because most animals kept here I see on a almost daily basis)

 

[TeaLovingDave]

My opinion is simple: if a zoo can't reasonably be done in one day, it's too big.

You say that, but I would never say Tierpark Berlin, Zoo Berlin, Pairi Daiza or Zoo Prague were "too big" - and all of them are pushing the one-day mark to breaking point..... and beyond, in the case of Tierpark literally the only reason I got everything done at Pairi Daiza was the fact I visited during the summer, when they open until very, very late!

 

[Coelacanth18]

You say that, but I would never say Tierpark Berlin, Zoo Berlin, Pairi Daiza or Zoo Prague were "too big" - and all of them are pushing the one-day mark to breaking point.....

That's sort of my original point though the ideal for me would be that a zoo isn't pushing the one-day mark to breaking point, since I'd either have to a) accept it as a 2-day venture, or b) very diligently plan a route and keep to a strict schedule so that you can see everything in a day... neither of which sounds as good to me as visiting a zoo that takes most of the day, leaving some time for a meal break and lingering longer in some areas.

For clarification, I'm not going to fault great zoos for being too great; I'm not of the opinion that the Berlin zoos or Prague should actively downsize. Nor would I refuse to visit them because they're potentially too big to comfortably do in one day; they're among my top targets for a European trip. But if you were to ask me for an ideal zoo size, it would most likely be smaller than those three.

 

[ChIkEn NuGrEt]

In my opinion, a zoo cannot be too large as long as they offer of multiple-day passes or some sort of overnight lodging.

 

[Jana]

A zoo can be too big for its own good.

A zoo can have too many infrastructure that it can´t finance itself anymore trough tickets/donations/grants in its present location and quality. It leads to a loop of dilapitation of infrastructure and that decreases further visual experience for visitors and kills ticket sale and donations. A slow painful death. Example - Usti nad Labem currently.

Or a zoo can have an unwiselly spaced out exhibits where visitors must run longer distances without seeing a single exhibit or paths are flanked with large pens where inhabitants are invisible or unattractive. This complain used to be common in Brno zoo before they more developed areas around main street up the hill in recent years.

 

[Ursus]

I personally think a zoo is too large when they reach the point where you have to take 2 full days for a zoo to walk through it comfortably.

I personally am not the biggest fan of the idea to have to stay over at a hotel in a zoo. Because that would make the zoo trip end up being very expensive! Daytickets + Hotel + food ... and perhaps even a souvenir...
This all will definitely make a zoo less attractive for me to visit since you'll be paying a lot of money and require two days to visit to get the full experience.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

That's sort of my original point though the ideal for me would be that a zoo isn't pushing the one-day mark to breaking point, since I'd either have to a) accept it as a 2-day venture, or b) very diligently plan a route and keep to a strict schedule so that you can see everything in a day... neither of which sounds as good to me as visiting a zoo that takes most of the day, leaving some time for a meal break and lingering longer in some areas.

Well, the answer is to view such a collection as two collections being visited, aided by the fact that on the second day you'd be seeing completely different exhibits until the end of the day, when mopping-up of things you wanted a second attempt at could be done

I personally am not the biggest fan of the idea to have to stay over at a hotel in a zoo. Because that would make the zoo trip end up being very expensive! Daytickets + Hotel + food ... and perhaps even a souvenir...
This all will definitely make a zoo less attractive for me to visit since you'll be paying a lot of money and require two days to visit to get the full experience.

In my experience there are always cheap hostels near a zoo in the surrounding area - so staying in expensive on-site hotels is never required!

 

[aardvark250]

One zoo that is too big is De Paay. From the comments and photos that I've seen, that zoo shouldn't be occupying any space at all. Anything larger than my toilet is too big for them.

 

[Azamat Shackleford]

Zoos with way too much of a walking distance without any rest breaks or exhibits are my definition of too big. Toronto is guilty.