Cities in need of zoos

twilighter said:
The animal rights activists stood against the idea and the project was abandoned.
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More like "animal incompetentist", most of the people who call themselves like that think that animals will die happily in a bed surrounded by loved ones and that nature is like a field trip where you take food from home and go around like you own the place; 70% of the time said "activists" are the reason new zoos won't open, they don't even inform themselves about the conservation efforts that zoological structures make
 
Mickey said:
More like "animal incompetentist", most of the people who call themselves like that think that animals will die happily in a bed surrounded by loved ones and that nature is like a field trip where you take food from home and go around like you own the place; 70% of the time said "activists" are the reason new zoos won't open, they don't even inform themselves about the conservation efforts that zoological structures make
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That is a totally fair assessment of the situation!
 
SwampDonkey said:
While I can certainly appreciate the love of Kansas....Olathe and Overland Park are suburbs and Lawrence is an exurb of Kansas City...while they may be defined cities in their own right, they are solidly in the orbit of Kansas City - Overland is surrounded by KC on two sides.

The Kansas City Zoo is actually really close to both Overland Park (under 9 miles) and Olathe (about 20 miles), they are all on the south side of Kansas City metro area. Lawrence is only 30 miles from Topeka zoo and 47 from Kansas City Zoo. I don't think that they should invest in their own institutions.

The Kansas metro isn't really large enough to support a multi-institution environment like WCS in the New York metro.



The number of AZA zoos really is great for the size of the state, it is something to be proud of.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this with us.
 
Finland pretty much only has three good zoos so basically any large city like Turku, Oulu or Jyväskylä should get more than a small petting zoo.
 
Alright, let me throw in another US state, a neighbor of two states I covered earlier Texas and Arkansas, Louisiana.

Cities in Louisiana that could use a major AZA-Accredited zoo include the following;

Shreveport - Population of 187,593 at the city level, and a population of 237,848 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level.

Lake Charles - Population of 84,872 at the city level and a population of 216,785 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level. They have a state university, McNeese State University which used to have a natural history collection, why not a zoo?

Lafayette - Population of 121,374 at the city level and 241,753 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level. They have a good science museum with extensive natural history exhibits, why not a zoo?

Houma - Population of 33,406 at the city level and 109,580 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level.

And

Hammond - Population of 20,019 at the city level and 121,097 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level.
 
UngulateNerd92 said:
Alright, let me throw in another US state, a neighbor of two states I covered earlier Texas and Arkansas, Louisiana.

Cities in Louisiana that could use a major AZA-Accredited zoo include the following;

Shreveport - Population of 187,593 at the city level, and a population of 237,848 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level.

Lake Charles - Population of 84,872 at the city level and a population of 216,785 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level. They have a state university, McNeese State University which used to have a natural history collection, why not a zoo?

Lafayette - Population of 121,374 at the city level and 241,753 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level. They have a good science museum with extensive natural history exhibits, why not a zoo?

Houma - Population of 33,406 at the city level and 109,580 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level.

And

Hammond - Population of 20,019 at the city level and 121,097 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level.
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I will say that the zoo already in Monroe,
Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, the Louisiana Purchase Zoo & Gardens does need to work towards becoming AZA accredited.
 
Arizona Docent said:
Las Vegas, Nevada, is absolutely number one. Tourists go to Vegas for other reasons, but a million people live there. There is next to nothing for kids and families to do (I lived there four months - an awful city).

Spokane, Washington maybe. Cat Tales is nearby, but not a proper zoo.

Flagstaff, Arizona, even though nearby Williams has the new Bearizona.

Yuma, Arizona. Not much for families there either.

Blythe, California. Not a big city, but no attractions for a couple hundred miles. Could also pick up tourists who spend the night (as many do) going from Los Angeles to Phoenix.

Eugene, Oregon. I know nothing about this city except they do not have a zoo.
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I spent half an hour once trying to find the Spokane zoo in pre-internet days before I realized I had an old guidebook and the zoo was closed.
 
Alright, let me throw in another US state, a neighbor of two states I covered earlier Arkansas and Louisiana, Tennessee.

Cities in Tennessee that could use a major AZA-Accredited zoo include the following;

Clarksville - Population of 166,722
at the city level, and a population of 237,848 at the city level and 220,069 at the Metropolitan
Statistical Area level.

Murfreesboro - Population of 152,769 at the city level.

Johnson City - Population of 71,046 at the city level and 133,001 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level. They have the Gray Fossil Site & Museum at East Tennessee State University, so why not a zoo?

And

Cleveland - Population of 47,356 at the city level. Population of 108,620 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level.
 
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Again, let me throw in another US state, a neighbor of Tennessee, Kentucky.

Cities in Kentucky that could use a major AZA-Accredited zoo include the following;

As was mentioned in this thread earlier, Lexington - Population of 322,570

Bowling Green - Population of 72,294 at the city level. 134,554 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level.

And

Elizabethtown - Population of 31,394 at the city level. 155,572 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level.
 
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UngulateNerd92 said:
Alright, let me throw in another US state, a neighbor of two states I covered earlier Arkansas and Louisiana, Tennessee.

Cities in Tennessee that could use a major AZA-Accredited zoo include the following;

Clarksville - Population of 166,722
at the city level, and a population of 237,848 at the city level and 220,069 at the Metropolitan
Statistical Area level.

Murfreesboro - Population of 152,769 at the city level.
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These are both suburbs and exurbs of Nashville, so not really in the position to open a major facility, but I could envision a small place in Clarksville.
Johnson City - Population of 71,046 at the city level and 133,001 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level. They have the Gray Fossil Site & Museum at East Tennessee State University, so why not a zoo?
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This actually makes some sense and would be great for the area. The metro area also includes Kingsport, Elizabethton, and then across the border there is Bristol VA and Boone NC.
Cleveland - Population of 47,356 at the city level. Population of 108,620 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level.
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Way to close to Chattanooga Zoo, it is only a 20-30 minute drive away.

UngulateNerd92 said:
As was mentioned in this thread earlier, Lexington - Population of 322,570
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Yeah, Lexington makes sense. The population could support it and the city is growing.

Elizabethtown - Population of 31,394 at the city level. 155,572 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level.
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Too close to Louisville. Many people that work in Louisville or over in the distilleries in Bardstown commute from Elizabethtown. It's a really easy 40 minute drive to the zoo.

I have driven through a fair amount of Kentucky, and it is a really rural state, the population numbers can be deceiving. The interstate system is not really crowded, and the cities tend to be fairly close to other much larger cities outside of the state. For example, it is only about an hour drive from Lexington to Cincinnati and also from Bowling Green to Nashville.

Louisville and Lexington are the only real cities, the rest are more properly towns. But it is a really pretty state, well worth a visit.
 
UngulateNerd92 said:
Johnson City - Population of 71,046 at the city level and 133,001 at the Metropolitan Statistical Area level. They have the Gray Fossil Site & Museum at East Tennessee State University, so why not a zoo?
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Johnson City is usually grouped with the Tri-Cities area. This area does have zoos. There's Bays Mountain in Kingsport and Bright's Zoo in Limestone, both quick drives from the city :)
 
They also have some interesting species like Tayra, Azara's Night Monkey, and Silvery Cheeked Hornbill from a quick skim of the gallery.
 
ThylacineAlive said:
Brights Zoo also has Banded Civet from Nashville but they're pretty much impossible to see there.

~Thylo
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Can second this, tried to see them like five times. They also have black backed jackals, cape vultures, southern white faced owl, black necked aracari, channel billed and red billed toucans, red handed tamarins, white fronted capuchin, lowland paca which are of interest
 
I know Florida is already packed to the brim with facilities, but I think Broward County, where I live (Fort Lauderdale, Davie, Hollywood and other surrounding cities) would be a good place to open up a legitimate zoo. There's just the small Flamingo Gardens and that's it. The county has significantly grown in size especially over the last few years and there's a good mix of families and young people to attract a crowd. The other big counties, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach, both have institutions. But they are both somewhat far away (avg 1 hour by car).
 
MonkeyBat said:
Johnson City is usually grouped with the Tri-Cities area. This area does have zoos. There's Bays Mountain in Kingsport and Bright's Zoo in Limestone, both quick drives from the city :)
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It's off topic for a zoo thread but Johnson City also has the Museum of Ancient Brick." I was there a few years ago during a minor league trip and that's what it is--lots of ancient bricks.
 
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