Though unlikely, in my opinion, they absolutely should have to be! Mandatory.
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Cities in need of zoos
- Thread starter elefante
- Start date
Though unlikely, in my opinion, they absolutely should have to be! Mandatory.
Alright, I've got more cities in Texas that need a zoo.
Lubbock - Population of 258,870. Lubbock for quite a long time has been wanting to establish a zoo, and they are certainly large enough. Hayes Caldwell the director of the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, Smith County, Texas he attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock and was telling me about them having wanted a zoo for as long as they have. They have on their campus, the Museum of Texas Tech University which has extensive natural history exhibits, as does Lubbock Lake Historic Site. Here is a concept design for a zoo in Lubbock; https://slspartnership.com/projects/master-planning/lubbock-zoo/
Laredo - Population of 262,491. From older issues of the International Zoo Yearbooks, there is a reference to a facility in Laredo, and it even had Arabian mountain gazelles (Gazella arabica). I think it would be nice to see a major AZA accredited zoo established in Laredo.
College Station - Population of 120,511. Despite having Aggieland Safari Park nearby in Bryan, that facility in my brutally honest opinion is very sub-par and they need a proper AZA accredited zoo that is scholarly, scientific, and conservation oriented in structure.
Amarillo - Population of 199,371. Technically they already have the Amarillo Zoo, but that place is very sub-par in my opinion. Again, they need a proper AZA-accredited zoo that is scholarly, scientific, and conservation orientated in structure.
Midland - Population of 176,832. They used to have a zoo in the past, and one of the species they kept were Guanaco (Lama guanicoe). You can read a bit more about it here; Did You Know Midland Had a Zoo?
Odessa - Population of 123,334
Wichita Falls - Population of 104,683. Like Beaumont, they used to have a zoo in the past, but unfortunately they had to ship out/transfer their collection out to the Fort Worth Zoo. Species kept there included Asian elephants, Tigers, Kangaroos, American alligators etc. You can read more about it here; TSHA | Wichita Falls Municipal Zoo
San Angelo - Population of 101,004. Angelo State University has an extensive natural history collection that I have personally toured (though no public museum) on its campus, so why not a zoo?
Texarkana - At the metropolitan statistical area level, the population is 150,098 people. There used to be a zoo, and some of the species kept there were California sea lions, Spider monkeys, Lions, and Jaguars. You can read more about it here; Log into Facebook | Facebook and Texarkana's Spring Lake Park Celebrates 100 Years - Texarkana FYI
I might have more from Texas coming, but I have to do some deeper research.
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I have to say, this thread is quite fun! It gets my imagination flowing...
In Texas's neighbor to the west and Arizona's (my home state) neighbor to the east, New Mexico, there are 3 cities that I feel each need a major AZA accredited zoo, and those are as follows;
Las Cruces - Population of 103,432 at the city level and 218,195 at the metropolitan statistical area level. The Las Cruces Museum of Nature & Science is a nice facility with live animal exhibits, and a place I have enjoyed my visits to, but they still need a major AZA accredited zoo. Being that people in the Las Cruces area really enjoy their hiking trails and surrounding nature, I feel like a zoo could further enrich those experiences for the area's residents.
Santa Fe - Population of 84,683 at the city level and 150,358 at the metropolitan statistical area level. I think they are large enough to support an AZA accredited zoo, and being the state's capital, it would be good that they have one.
Farmington - Population of 44,372 at the city level and a population of 123,958 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level.
In Texas's neighbor to the west and Arizona's (my home state) neighbor to the east, New Mexico, there are 3 cities that I feel each need a major AZA accredited zoo, and those are as follows;
Las Cruces - Population of 103,432 at the city level and 218,195 at the metropolitan statistical area level. The Las Cruces Museum of Nature & Science is a nice facility with live animal exhibits, and a place I have enjoyed my visits to, but they still need a major AZA accredited zoo. Being that people in the Las Cruces area really enjoy their hiking trails and surrounding nature, I feel like a zoo could further enrich those experiences for the area's residents.
Santa Fe - Population of 84,683 at the city level and 150,358 at the metropolitan statistical area level. I think they are large enough to support an AZA accredited zoo, and being the state's capital, it would be good that they have one.
Farmington - Population of 44,372 at the city level and a population of 123,958 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level.
I did indeed visit and was pleasantly surprised. While they don't have as large or as diverse a collection of the nearby Lupa Zoo, every single outdoor enclosure at Forest Park was of good quality (the indoors was closed on my last visit). It's certainly not a mega-zoo but it's definitely a good one and could likely obtain AZA accreditation if they wanted it/could afford it.
~Thylo
I will say that I think they should make and effort and try to apply for achieve AZA accreditation.
Ok, so now for another neighbor of both Texas and New Mexico, here is a list of cities in Oklahoma that need a major AZA accredited zoo.
Lawton - Population of 93,025 at the city level and a population of 120,749 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level.
Norman - Population of 124,880. They are home to the University of Oklahoma (OU) which has the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History on its campus. Despite being as close as it is to Oklahoma City, I think a zoo would be a nice addition to Norman. They have a major natural history museum, why not a zoo?
Broken Arrow - Population of 110,198. Despite being close to Tulsa, again, I think a zoo would be a nice addition to that city.
Lawton - Population of 93,025 at the city level and a population of 120,749 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level.
Norman - Population of 124,880. They are home to the University of Oklahoma (OU) which has the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History on its campus. Despite being as close as it is to Oklahoma City, I think a zoo would be a nice addition to Norman. They have a major natural history museum, why not a zoo?
Broken Arrow - Population of 110,198. Despite being close to Tulsa, again, I think a zoo would be a nice addition to that city.
Now for another neighbor of both Texas and Oklahoma, here is a list of cities in Arkansas that need a major AZA accredited zoo.
Fayetteville - Population of 93,949 at the city level and a population of 239,187 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level. They are home of the University of Arkansas and their famous team/mascot the Razorbacks.
Fort Smith - Population of 87,891 at the city level and a population of 127,827 at the metropolitan statistical area level.
Jonesboro - Population of 78,394 at the city level and a population of 124,042 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level.
Hot Springs - Population of 38,797 at the city level and 100,730 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level. Hot Springs National Park is located in close proximity.
Fayetteville - Population of 93,949 at the city level and a population of 239,187 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level. They are home of the University of Arkansas and their famous team/mascot the Razorbacks.
Fort Smith - Population of 87,891 at the city level and a population of 127,827 at the metropolitan statistical area level.
Jonesboro - Population of 78,394 at the city level and a population of 124,042 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level.
Hot Springs - Population of 38,797 at the city level and 100,730 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level. Hot Springs National Park is located in close proximity.
Los Angeles and the adjoining areas are complicated. Much of South Los Angeles county, Riverside, San Bernadino, Santa Ana (had a small city) Anaheim, and Orange County were all farmland sixty years ago. Los Angeles zoo was put in a place that worked well for the populations of Malibu, Santa Monica, Los Angeles City, and Burbank. So the Los Angeles area faces a major zoo issue. Similar to New York Los Angeles has four counties, unlike New York the zoos of these four countries are not evenly distributed at all. It has four two in Or age County, one in Los Angeles, and one in San Bernadino. San Bernadinos is up in the mountains and hard for the main population to access, contrast to the two in Orange which is the smallest of the counties. Not to mention San Bernadinos and one of Orange County’s zoos are dedicated to only native fauna. So overall it’s difficult for most of the south and eastern populations of the Los Angeles area to get to a good zoo.
And the Aquarium problem is even worse. Los Angeles only has one aquarium in the southwest corner. So the north and eastern areas lack in a large aquarium.
Now before you say Los Angeles doesn’t need all of those zoos and aquariums keep this in mind. Los Angeles metropolitan population is 28 million whereas New York metropolitan area is 23 million. If anyone needs new zoos or a WCS like organization it’s Los Angeles for sure.
And the Aquarium problem is even worse. Los Angeles only has one aquarium in the southwest corner. So the north and eastern areas lack in a large aquarium.
Now before you say Los Angeles doesn’t need all of those zoos and aquariums keep this in mind. Los Angeles metropolitan population is 28 million whereas New York metropolitan area is 23 million. If anyone needs new zoos or a WCS like organization it’s Los Angeles for sure.
Where did you find these numbers from? what I'm seeing is New York City's metropolitan population is 20.1 million and Los Angeles' is 13.2 million from the 2020 US Census.
What do you think the odds are that any of these places would get zoos?
That is a difficult question to answer, but feel free to private message me about this because I do have deeper complex ideas about this topic that I would prefer not to discuss in detail in the public forum. All I am going to say is that I recently published a book pertaining to this. Fair and interesting question though. Due to their overt interest that they expressed for a long time, Lubbock would be the likliest at this time, but as far as I understand the situation, finding the funding to jumpstart it is the main issue, but sustaining it would actually be a non-issue.
Your using just the Los Angeles-Anaheim-Long beach census, I am using the census for greater Los Angeles which moves into Riverside and San Bernadino. The greater Los Angeles Population(without Los Angeles Metropolitan) is 18.7 mil, then I added the county of Los Angeles with 10 million which was my mistake. I should have added the metropolitan area of 13 million. So the true number would end up at around 31 million. This does include a fifth county, Ventura which is part of the greater area but I didn’t mention earlier because of its proximity to Los Angeles Zoo and Santa Barbara Zoo.
No, you shouldn't have added anything
the 18.7 million in the greater LA area includes the 13 million living in the metropolitan area. The combined population of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties is roughly 18.65 million.Two actually, though one of them is much smaller.
That's pretty common though - most coastal cities have their aquarium by the water, not on the inland edges of the metro area. NYC also only has one aquarium, though they may have more in the metro area depending on how far out you consider it to be.
Well, no city needs zoos and aquariums... much as people on this site would disagree
The best number to capture the entirety of the major metro areas is the combined statistical area population, which in 2020 for NYC was 22.5 million and for LA was 18.8 million.
Combined statistical area - Wikipedia
That being said, within the NYC CSA are seven zoos (five in NYC, plus Turtle Back in NJ and Beardsley in Bridgeport, CT) plus at least four aquariums (Coney Island, Long Island, Sea Life in NJ and Norwalk, CT). This gets a little complicated since four of the five zoos in NYC and the Coney Island Aquarium are all run by the WCS and to some extent managed as a single institution. All in all, it may support an argument that the LA area could use (I am staying away from need) more such institutions, especially when you consider that the LA area is a lot less dense and spread out over a much larger geographical area, and you can add to it that the weather theoretically makes it less expensive to build many kinds of exhibits since not as many animal need both indoor and outdoor quarters. On the other hand, you have to factor in the proximity of the San Diego area facilities in terms of what the market would support. The only good zoo within an easy distance from NYC is Philadelphia, which is not good enough to divert you from a trip to the Bronx, and you would have go to either Boston or Baltimore for a good aquarium. If I had a choice of a modest zoo in Riverside and one of the San Diego area institutions, it would on many days be worth the extra time in the car to go to San Diego.
Combined statistical area - Wikipedia
That being said, within the NYC CSA are seven zoos (five in NYC, plus Turtle Back in NJ and Beardsley in Bridgeport, CT) plus at least four aquariums (Coney Island, Long Island, Sea Life in NJ and Norwalk, CT). This gets a little complicated since four of the five zoos in NYC and the Coney Island Aquarium are all run by the WCS and to some extent managed as a single institution. All in all, it may support an argument that the LA area could use (I am staying away from need) more such institutions, especially when you consider that the LA area is a lot less dense and spread out over a much larger geographical area, and you can add to it that the weather theoretically makes it less expensive to build many kinds of exhibits since not as many animal need both indoor and outdoor quarters. On the other hand, you have to factor in the proximity of the San Diego area facilities in terms of what the market would support. The only good zoo within an easy distance from NYC is Philadelphia, which is not good enough to divert you from a trip to the Bronx, and you would have go to either Boston or Baltimore for a good aquarium. If I had a choice of a modest zoo in Riverside and one of the San Diego area institutions, it would on many days be worth the extra time in the car to go to San Diego.
What about Mystic, CT?
I know there are "aquariums" in Rhode Island but not like Mystic levels of quality or quanity
I think Rhode Island is good with 1 beefy zoo, I'm just looking for the beefy aquarium, probably either in Newport or Westerly
I think Rhode Island is good with 1 beefy zoo, I'm just looking for the beefy aquarium, probably either in Newport or Westerly
Mystic serves as an aquarium for Rhode Island as well, being situated very close to the border. I'm not really sure where you could put a larger aquarium within the state where it would truly succeed given Mystic's close presence.
~Thylo
Fair question. Know it only by reputation--never been.
I've been many times, and it is certainly a very good Aquarium. It's also closer to NYC than either Baltimore or Boston. Personally I consider Mystic to be a better Aquarium than NEAQ in Boston, but both are very good and that's just my personal preference of style.
I think the entire state of Michigan could use the addition of some major aquariums. There are two aquariums in the state already (Sea Life Michigan and the Belle Isle Aquarium), but they are very small, and not many people go to them. Sea Life Michigan was very popular when it first opened where tickets would be sold out and you could only buy them online. Now when I walk by it today, it doesn't seem nearly as crowded as it used to be. Then there's the Belle Isle Aquarium which doesn't have much to show for except being one of the oldest aquariums in America.
I think having two major aquariums on opposite sides of the state would be a great idea. One would be in the Detroit metropolitan area, and the other will be near Grand Rapids. The Detroit Zoo had plans to build an aquarium in Detroit a few years ago, but I'm not completely sure what happened. It seemed like it was going to be very similar to the Polk Penguin Conservation Center. Also having a huge tourist attraction like an aquarium will help bring in more tourists every year. Less than 10% of Michigan's economy comes from tourism.
An aquarium in Detroit would seem weird considering there already is one, but the president of the Belle Isle Conservancy was very welcoming of the idea of bringing a large aquarium to the city.
I think having two major aquariums on opposite sides of the state would be a great idea. One would be in the Detroit metropolitan area, and the other will be near Grand Rapids. The Detroit Zoo had plans to build an aquarium in Detroit a few years ago, but I'm not completely sure what happened. It seemed like it was going to be very similar to the Polk Penguin Conservation Center. Also having a huge tourist attraction like an aquarium will help bring in more tourists every year. Less than 10% of Michigan's economy comes from tourism.
An aquarium in Detroit would seem weird considering there already is one, but the president of the Belle Isle Conservancy was very welcoming of the idea of bringing a large aquarium to the city.