I would be interested in hearing the opinions of
@Kalaw - although voting is still in the early stages, and we haven't had much discussion to break down the relative strengths of the two collections beyond the comment from
@lintworm so far, the fact he has voted so
quickly in favour of Zurich against the general trend makes me hope he may be able to present some persuasive arguments which will liven up the debate and perhaps even sway others to his side!
Unfortunately, I have nothing of the sort. I just felt as though Zürich, which I have visited, had a lot of strength in this category, while I wasn't particularly astonished by any of Basel's offerings, having not visited the latter collection. Having looked into it further, Basel seems to be far ahead both in terms of quality of the enclosures and the interesting species on offer. When I recalled that Zürich also has multiple pinioned waterfowl in Selenga (and would have even more if Pantanal wasn't under construction), I concluded that this Swiss derby does tip in Basel's favour after all.
That said, I do still believe that this is a strength of Zürich and they are unlucky to be marginally outclassed by Basel, so I will provide something of an overview of the collection's offerings, in part to deter any potential 4-1 switches, and also so that anyone who hasn't visited the collection can cast a slightly more informed vote.
Exotarium:
A random assortment of displays for smaller species, mainly cold-blooded. The first storey is an aquarium as well as the indoor area for mammals of the adjacent Pantanal display (not sure if this part is still open). The second storey is a hall for reptiles, as well as a series of rainforest displays, including many for amphibians, that I believe has been altered quite considerably since my visit, and now serves as an onshow research centre. The third storey is a continuation of this. There is also an assortment of aviaries around the perimeter of the building.
@Kalaw - one of two highly impressive paludariums, with this one holding mudskippers, archerfish and moonfish. The other houses Electric Eels. The water level here varies throughout the day.
@antonmuster - the larger and more attractive of the two gorgeous coral reef aquaria, some of the best landscaped that I have ever seen. In terms of aesthetics and attention to detail (although obviously not size) it is at least on par with the world-renowned one at Burgers', in my opinion.
@Gil - Yellow Anaconda terrarium.
@Kalaw - I am not sure if it is still here, but this huge, multi-storey, open-fronted Amazon Milk Frog enclosure, which presumably only had the light gradient as a means of contaiment, was possibly my favourite part of the building.
@Kalaw - a walkthrough for Scarlet Ibis and Boat-billed Heron adjacent to the Exotarium. Very nicely done, but somewhat wasted on just two bird species.
@Kalaw - a really attractive penguin enclosure, which I believe holds Humboldts in the summer and Kings in the winter.
@antonmuster - a far less attractive, all-indoor penguin enclosure, housing Kings in the summer and Humboldts in the winter, I believe.
Eurasian Otters:
@Kalaw - larger of the two outdoor enclosures.
@Philipine eagle - underwater viewing.
For me, this is one of the more underrated areas of Zürich, both as an enclosure and as a building. To quote how I detailed it in the Vienna thread:
"The otter enclosure, along with the small adjacent native species aquarium, is one of Zürich's hidden gems in my eyes. Like most of the older buildings at Zürich, it is a rather unpleasant brutalist structure, and yet one that has been rendered very attractive by having been completely overgrown, with mature trees shading it and all manners of bushes growing off the roof. Wild herons nest on the roof, and the dullness of the grey concrete brings out the greenery that surrounds it. The building's roof can also be circumnavigated, allowing for multi-level viewing, and the pool is massive by area, and mostly of a sufficient depth, with very clear underwater viewing to top it off."
Harbour Seals:
@Kalaw - main enclosure (there is a small separation pool to the left)
@FunkyGibbon - underwater viewing
Another enclosure that has already been described in the Vienna thread, so quoting how I described it there:
"A rather deep pool and a sufficient land area with multiple rocks, some reaching into the pool - a good feature of this enclosure that many seem to be lacking is the presence of some shaded land areas and some more exposed land areas, so the seals can chose whether or not they want sunlight. The enclosure isn't amazing, and other than the infamous Ape House (which it is immediately adjacent to, incidentally) is probably Zürich's worst enclosure, but that says more about Zürich than this enclosure is it is actually rather good. The only real issue it has is from a visitor's perspective - the really poor underwater viewing, which consists of just two or three wooden portholes besides the entrance to the Ape House, which were bad enough in the small morning crowds, but when I returned to this enclosure in the late afternoon, it was too busy to see through them."
European aviaries:
@Kalaw - the only of the three that counts, holding Northern Bald Ibis and Eurasian Spoonbill. A very spacious and nicely done aviary.
Masoala Regenwald:
An exhibit that needs no introduction, considered by many to be the very greatest zoo exhibit on the planet for its ambition, beauty, and evocation of a particular ecosystem, the Masoala Peninsula in Madagascar. And with eleven species of waterfowl as well as Black-bellied Sliders and four species of fish in the large pools, it should very much be taken into consideration for this vote! For me, this in and of itself would be enough to earn Zürich two consolation points. A particular highlight is being able to watch the rarely kept Wattled Jacana walking through or nesting upon the floating vegetation throughout the lake while enjoying lunch in the overlooking restaurant.
@twilighter - overview of the hall.
@Goura - the view from restaurant alluded to.
Selenga Eurasian Wetlands:
In some ways a reason to vote against Zürich. A bizarre, enclosed patch of wetland that is teeming with wildlife (nesting White Storks, for example), but also with rather redundant captive birds which have been flight-restricted as a result of the display being open-topped. Pleasant enough for visitors, but my dislike of pinioning birds means that this whole place struck me as a waste of a very attractive portion of the zoo. It is, however, possibly the greatest European Pond Turtle enclosure in the world!
@twilighter
A real shame as I am very fond of Zürich, and unless we witness a remarkable remontada it now looks set to go three defeats for three! Who could have seen that coming when the tournament commenced?
