Chester Zoo Chester: Most talked about zoo in the world?

C

chesterfan

Active Member
Was looking over some of the ZooChat stats and was amazed at how Chester has significantly many more photo's, threads and posts than any other zoo in the world!!!

It made me wonder....why do we think that Chester is the most talked about zoo on the planet? (well, according to ZooChat!).

What do you all think?
 
chesterfan said:
Was looking over some of the ZooChat stats and was amazed at how Chester has significantly many more photo's, threads and posts than any other zoo in the world!!!

It made me wonder....why do we think that Chester is the most talked about zoo on the planet? (well, according to ZooChat!).

What do you all think?
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Because it's the best :D (opinion). It is definately the best UK zoo, though I'm suprised if they have more than places like San Diego and Bronx etc.

(Ironically, you've added to the number of topics :))
 
Paix said:
I think its just because Zoochat members are mainly British.
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...and because there are so many stupid posts and threads about imaginary situations at Chester (seemingly in large part due to the number of young UK members), whereas most zoos on the forums have posts and threads founded in reality. (The reference by Javan Rhino regarding San Diego and the Bronx being a case in point - there are far fewer US members than UK ones, and a far smaller proportion seem to be children, so there will less posts overall but a higher percentage of the posts and threads will actually have a point).
 
Chlidonias said:
...and because there are so many stupid posts and threads about imaginary situations at Chester (seemingly in large part due to the number of young UK members), whereas most zoos on the forums have posts and threads founded in reality. (The reference by Javan Rhino regarding San Diego and the Bronx being a case in point - there are far fewer US members than UK ones, and a far smaller proportion seem to be children, so there will less posts overall but a higher percentage of the posts and threads will actually have a point).
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Ahh, but those 'your vision' topics are fun to let your imagination go wild ;p. After all, not everything on here has to be serious (coming from a 19 year old, so not a child). In my opinion it should be alright on here to balance the 'imaginary' with the 'serious,' however it should be made very obvious if something isn't fact, and it is indeed a 'fun topic.'
 
Chester certainly dominates the threads in the UK Forum. I have noticed this consistently over the last four years or so and often wondered why though I have still not come up with any really plausible theory.
 
What surprises me is the lack of talk about London. Maybe it's just a case of who happens to be on here.
 
Could it just be that it is the largest collection in the UK and most of zoochat users are from the UK or is that to much like logical sense? This tread is pretty pointless.

Can we stick to real news please?
 
It's not that much bigger than London, though - so where are the London threads?

It's easy enough to not click on a thread if you think it's pointless. That's what I usually do with the 'vision' threads.
 
Chester is a great zoo, but it is not the most talked about in Asia, nor in North America nor in South America and I guess not in Australia. Africa I can't guess.

As to what we ought to discuss here: one of the great aspects of this Forum is how it accommodates so many interests: obsessive zoo fans, young people who like to dream about zoos, zoo travelers, zoo professionals, animal enthusiasts in general...etc. Even the occasional lost "animal rights" person :rolleyes:
Enjoy the threads that interest you and smile over the rest. Someone's having a good time.
 
Zooplantman said:
As to what we ought to discuss here: one of the great aspects of this Forum is how it accommodates so many interests: obsessive zoo fans, young people who like to dream about zoos, zoo travelers, zoo professionals, animal enthusiasts in general...etc. Even the occasional lost "animal rights" person :rolleyes:
Enjoy the threads that interest you and smile over the rest. Someone's having a good time.
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Agree entirely and it's very easy to filter out the things that aren't of interest.

I was thinking about Chester's popularity and I wonder if its central location has a big part to play, many centres of population aren't that far away and it's a big magnet to zoo enthusiasts across the North West (which is has a bigger population than many European countries), Wales and the Midlands.

London on the other hand, despite being in the middle of an enormously populous region might actually be less accessible. if you live in outer London or the wider south east and drive it might be as easy if not easier to access the many collections in the rest of the south of England than getting to Regent's Park.
 
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Little Lion Man said:
This tread is pretty pointless.

Can we stick to real news please?
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Not every thread has to be about 'real news'. Real news goes in lots of other threads.

It is interesting how Chester dominates the UK Forums. It means that more people post information/discussion about Chester than all the other UK zoos. But why? Here's a few possible reasons;

1. It is near a large area of urbanisation(Manchester/the North West) so more Zoochatters live in that area and visit Chester regularly than at other Zoos. So more people report on the goings-on there. Although London is an ever greater urban area, the Zoo in Central London is probably, certainly nowadays, much less of a 'family visit' location being expensive to reach for average people.

2. Because Chester is a vibrant zoo with constant news, it creates more discussion than anywhere else.

3. Threads about Chester have a knock-on effect and create yet more discussion threads.
 
It could also be because England is quite compact in terms of area. What is it like 50 million people in an area the size of Victoria? That means a lot of people, especially zoochatters who go just for the zoo, would get the oppurtunity to visit Chester Zoo. In a larger country maybe this wouldn't be possible. Perth Zoo is too far to go just for the zoo and I'm sure many Australian members would feel the same but if I lived in england and a zoo could be no more then 1,00kms away then maybe I could travel to see more zoos.
 
It's true about the small size of England. I did a rough look at some statistics and the regions surrounding Chester (North West England, North Wales, West Midlands and East Midlands) have a combined population of approximately 16 million people who might view it as an easy day-trip destination regardless of zoo-obsessiveness and if you are a zoo fan it is relatively easy to get to from anywhere in the country.
 
But the argument about England's size should hold true for being able to visit Zoos all around the country.

It doesn't explain(to me) why Chester Zoo dominates the UK forums so much.
 
Pertinax said:
But the argument about England's size should hold true for being able to visit Zoos all around the country.

It doesn't explain(to me) why Chester Zoo dominates the UK forums so much.
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My explanation would be that it is pretty much the biggest zoo in the country, is easily accessible to enthusiasts and has a lot going on in terms of development and news.
 
Shirokuma said:
My explanation would be that it is pretty much the biggest zoo in the country, is easily accessible to enthusiasts and has a lot going on in terms of development and news.
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Put it that way and yes, it sounds a very plausible explanation;).
 
Precisely, its because of it being Briatain's biggest zoo. It is a zoo where many things do indeed happen. Mind you that can be said of many British forums....

It does surprise still nonetheless as to the number of posts, pictures and threads it has compared to any other British zoo!!

Fineally I'd like to conclude that if London and Whipsnade were merged into 1 then that would be a close 2nd!!
 
I went to Chester Zoo in 2003 and liked it. However, as an observer of the British zoo scene from a distance (hence with no emotional connection to any specific zoo) and an avid Zoochat user, I have sometimes felt like Zoochat Members' interest in the place actually does come closer to an obsession. And please consider this for a few moments before you deem me a Chester Zoo hater and respond accordingly.

The proof is only a few clicks away; click on 'Zoos' under 'Stats' in the same bar as 'Gallery' and 'Forums'. Chester Zoo is the winner in all three categories: Zoos with the most photos (3261), Zoos with the most threads (390), and Zoos with the most Posts (9778). Not even Snowleopard with his photos from Woodland Park Zoo (2829) comes close in the first category. And despite all the Aussies here (Zoochat was originally an Australian forum) Taronga Zoo is far behind in the second category (126).

While many of the galleries allow for a pleasant browse-through, Chester's doesn't, unless you have all the time in the world; you must be looking for something specific and use the search feature. And while there is nothing wrong with it, there can't be a single corner in the zoo that doesn't have a photo here. So should the Chester Zoo gallery be made a read-only gallery or continue to allow additions?

Why is Chester Zoo so popular among UK zoo enthusiasts? Probably there are dozens of reasons, large and small, and those with enough time might try to complete a list from all 390 threads. I guess those who are younger simply like it because it is an excellent zoo; but those who are a bit older probably like it for a larger reason as well.

I make this comment on the basis of following the British zoo scene from a distance for years, chiefly through IZES newsletters and by talking to zoo friends in the UK. British zoos went into a period of stagnation where most news seemed to be about cut-backs and new major exhibits seemed few and far between. But somehow Chester Zoo seemed to be among few that were actually doing something, always building and adding. It seems that the British zoo scene is probably as healthy as it can be these days, but those who are 20 years old or older still haven't forgotten the period when Chester was their only hope, and continue to favour it most for that reason.
 
Baldur said:
So should the Chester Zoo gallery be made a read-only gallery or continue to allow additions?
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I make a point with Chester of trying to only upload photos of changes or new arrivals - there are, as you say, plenty of photos of the rest of the zoo!
 
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