Cities in need of zoos

elefante

elefante

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
The thread about the rumored zoo in Charlotte got me thinking about this. So where are some places you all think would be good ones to have zoos that don't? I know that most major metro areas have them. On the Charlotte thread Las Vegas was also mentioned. I think Kahului on Maui could support one as it is already a major tourist destination (although I'm not sure how Hawaii is with imported species). Can anyone else think of some others? This is just for fun.;)
 
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.
 
Wyoming doesnt have a aza zoo so cheyenne,wyoming.
Neither does Vermont or New Hampshire so Montpelier & Concord
West Virginia Morgantown and Charleston.
 
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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Yes Spokane DEFINITELY needs a proper zoo. It's really bizarre that there isn't a real zoo in the entire inland northwest region.
 
@jusko88, Cheyenne could possibly support one since it isn't far from the Front Range Corridor and is right off of I-80. I can't believe I didn't think of my own state.

@Arizona Docent I am surprised Spokane doesn't have one as there are no zoos in that area at all. Yuma seems like a good idea. Where is Blythe, CA?
 
Ituri said:
Yes Spokane DEFINITELY needs a proper zoo. It's really bizarre that there isn't a real zoo in the entire inland northwest region.
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I've read that there was once a zoo in Spokane that was on the footprints of the 1974 World's Fair area. This is the information that I could find about it: Spokane has history of its own zoo troubles - Spokesman.com - Jan. 18, 2009

Did anybody here visit the "Walk In The Wild Zoo"? I'm curious what it was like.

When I was very young I went to the Spokane's World Fair and I remember a wildlife pavilion with baby big cats and primates. I'm guessing that maybe this was the initial population of that zoo?
 
DavidBrown said:
I've read that there was once a zoo in Spokane that was on the footprints of the 1974 World's Fair area. This is the information that I could find about it: Spokane has history of its own zoo troubles - Spokesman.com - Jan. 18, 2009

Did anybody here visit the "Walk In The Wild Zoo"? I'm curious what it was like.

When I was very young I went to the Spokane's World Fair and I remember a wildlife pavilion with baby big cats and primates. I'm guessing that maybe this was the initial population of that zoo?
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Prior to Walk in the Wild, there was a zoo in Manito Park which went under during the Great Depression.
 
A new zoo (Phillips Park Zoo is already there but very small) in Aurora, IL because it is the second largest city in Illinois and already has a zoo but is very small and just farm and North American animals so they could just add on with more exotic animals. Also Lexington Kantucky could use a zoo since it is the third city in Kentuky even though it is fairly close to Louisville.
 
How about Austin, Texas I do not know much about it as we have only been to the airport here.We think of it as a college town,despite the fact its a state capital.

@Arizona Docent Eugene is also a collge town and it would be a interesting spot for a zoo.Perhaps Nike founder and University of Oregon Alum Phil Knight could help fund a zoo :D

Team Tapir
 
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Charlotte, North Carolina has over 700,000 people living there; Las Vegas, Nevada, has almost 600,000; and those are perhaps the two largest American cities without major zoos. However, Austin, Texas, has around 800,000 people and a small zoo that has earned less than flattering reviews on this site; and San Jose, California, has almost a million people and there is a terrific place for kids called "Happy Hollow Park & Zoo" but the zoo section of the facility can be seen in 30 minutes.
 
snowleopard said:
Charlotte, North Carolina has over 700,000 people living there; Las Vegas, Nevada, has almost 600,000; and those are perhaps the two largest American cities without major zoos. However, Austin, Texas, has around 800,000 people and a small zoo that has earned less than flattering reviews on this site; and San Jose, California, has almost a million people and there is a terrific place for kids called "Happy Hollow Park & Zoo" but the zoo section of the facility can be seen in 30 minutes.
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We never really felt the zoo in Austin discussed on here to be an actual zoo.We got the impression of more of a roadside/childrens farm type of thing.

Team Tapir
 
snowleopard said:
San Jose, California, has almost a million people and there is a terrific place for kids called "Happy Hollow Park & Zoo" but the zoo section of the facility can be seen in 30 minutes.
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From reading about the history of Happy Hollow, apparently they wanted to scale it up into a normal sized zoo with large animals like giraffes and elephants back in the 1960s (and did actually have several large animals like baby elephants, black bears, and lions into the 1980s), but have decided to stay with their children's zoo niche and let San Francisco and Oakland be the local "big zoos".
 
Do not forget there are actually two zoos in Austin, although both appear to be small and low quality and not someplace I would personally visit.

Blythe (for the person who asked) is at the Colorado River (which divides California from Arizona) on Interstate 10, which is why it is a good place to overnight driving from Los Angeles to Phoenix.
 
Arizona Docent said:
Do not forget there are actually two zoos in Austin, although both appear to be small and low quality and not someplace I would personally visit.

Blythe (for the person who asked) is at the Colorado River (which divides California from Arizona) on Interstate 10, which is why it is a good place to overnight driving from Los Angeles to Phoenix.
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This was an interesting note on the Capital Of Texas Zoo's website. Read the disclaimer: Home Page

I was the one who asked about Blythe and that location would be a good one for a zoo.
 
Lexington, Kentucky could use one. Lots of land, lots of people, and a long history of being the most choice place in the world to raise valuable animals (racehorses) might make my town an interesting candidate. If I ever come into a couple hundred million dollars, I'll look into it.:)
 
elefante said:
This was an interesting note on the Capital Of Texas Zoo's website. Read the disclaimer
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One of the largest review sites makes it almost impossible to post a positive review? That is about the most ridiculous thing I have heard.
 
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