European (Tea)Cup - League B - Copenhagen vs Zagreb

Copenhagen vs Zagreb - ECTOTHERMS

  • Copenhagen 5/0 Zagreb

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Copenhagen 4/1 Zagreb

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Copenhagen 3/2 Zagreb

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    24
  • Poll closed .

TeaLovingDave

Moderator
Staff member
15+ year member
This time round we shall be dealing with the debut match for a pair of zoological collections which are each located outside the more well-trodden zoological roads of Western and Central Europe, one in the gateway to the Scandinavian peninsula to the north, and the other in the gateway to the Balkans in the southeast; the category under discussion is an interesting one I feel, and one which we haven't looked at so far - ECTOTHERMS.

You all know the drill by this point - debate, discuss and attempt to convince others of your opinion, vote, and above all else enjoy!
 
I'll give it until the evening to allow others to provide their opinions and feedback, but having visited both collections in the last 18 months I should be able to provide a methodical breakdown of the relative merits of each in this regard :)
 
If Zagreb has any chances for a Win in this premier league of European zoos, it's in this category. Beautifully displayed Reptile collection full of zoological rarities. Outstanding Olm cave display. Tropical house with Komodo Dragon and whole building dedicated to Microworld.

Copenhagen also has what to offer in their Tropical zoo building. There are very nice sections with reptiles, amphibians, fishes and intresting turtle collection. In the same building is nicely presented rare gem - West African Crocodile. In addition Copenhagen has whole educational building dedicated mainly to Geko conservation.

Still, I will go 3-2 for Zagreb on the start.
 
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Didn't see Zagreb getting 3 points from me in any category, but a quick perusal of ztl and the gallery on here has convinced me that they are the more worthy collection in this category, and that's despite my personal preference for an unusual Crocodilian.
 
I haven't been to both zoos now, but both have been on my longlist for 2025. Zagreb was on the list because of the herps. Hellbender, Olm, and a large collection of reptiles with some really nice species too. Copenhagen has a few nice species, but neither the amount nor the rarities like Zagreb. I think i will go with a 4:1 for the Croatian Zoo.
 
Not having been to any European zoos I haven't been tuned in to this game so far, but I happened to know about Zagreb's ectotherm prowess already as they've exchanged animals with the Los Angeles Zoo multiple times.

I did a quick skimming of ZTL and it appears that Zagreb has about a 5-to-1 advantage over Copenhagen on herp taxa (194 vs 40) and many of Zagreb's are rare in Europe while Copenhagen's is more tilted towards common species. This wouldn't mean an automatic win if Zagreb had poor presentation, but I actually quite like the looks of their tropical house:

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I am curious about the gecko conservation building at Copenhagen @twilighter mentioned, but I couldn't find any photos or other information about it. The exhibit photos I saw for that zoo's herps overall seem good, but not any more so than what I see for Zagreb.

I'll vote 4-1 Zagreb for now, but I could swing 3-2 for a compelling argument.
 
Not having been to any European zoos I haven't been tuned in to this game so far, but I happened to know about Zagreb's ectotherm prowess already as they've exchanged animals with the Los Angeles Zoo multiple times.

I did a quick skimming of ZTL and it appears that Zagreb has about a 5-to-1 advantage over Copenhagen on herp taxa (194 vs 40) and many of Zagreb's are rare in Europe while Copenhagen's is more tilted towards common species. This wouldn't mean an automatic win if Zagreb had poor presentation, but I actually quite like the looks of their tropical house:

full

full

Taken by @LegoOwl

I am curious about the gecko conservation building at Copenhagen @twilighter mentioned, but I couldn't find any photos or other information about it. The exhibit photos I saw for that zoo's herps overall seem good, but not any more so than what I see for Zagreb.

I'll vote 4-1 Zagreb for now, but I could swing 3-2 for a compelling argument.

Many of the Zagreb reptiles are unfortunately not on display or ZTL is probably not exactly up to date, but collection is indeed very interesting. The pictures that you shared are from the Tropical hall and many of those exhibits are actually occupied by mammals. The rarest species are in different building in this hall:
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Those are the few pictures that I found from Gecko building at Copenhagen:
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Many of the Zagreb reptiles are unfortunately not on display or ZTL is probably not exactly up to date, but collection is indeed very interesting. The pictures that you shared are from the Tropical hall and many of those exhibits are actually occupied by mammals.

Although it must be noted that a) a lot of unusual ectotherm taxa *are* on display even within the Tropical House and b) the photographs which @Coelacanth18 posted all show ectotherm exhibits :D overall I would estimate that between half and two-thirds of the ectotherm collection is onshow, with the majority of the offshow species comprising pit-vipers and Eurasian true vipers.

ZTL is actually pretty accurate for the collection, as it happens - after my last visit in May 2024 I dealt with those species which I was able to confirm were no longer present within the collection whatsoever.

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And now for the promised run-through of what Zagreb has to offer:

As @twilighter notes, one of the major highlights of the zoo as a whole is the vivarium building; the lower floor contains several exhibits for amphibians and invertebrates, whilst the upper floor contains the "Snakes of Croatia" exhibition (a near-complete set of all snake species native to the country, lacking only the European Blind Snake), the cave exhibit for Olm, and two of the offshow viper breeding rooms - one of which can be partially viewed through a window.

The exhibits are accompanied by a wide range of educational signage, including significant material covering the two major conservation projects undertaken by Zagreb relevant to the species displayed within this area - the Proteus Project, focusing on the wild and captive conservation of the Olm, and a captive breeding and reintroduction project for the native subspecies of the Meadow Viper. Along with the one or two individuals of the latter on-display within this area of the zoo, there is a fairly sizeable offshow population held throughout the various offshow viper rooms across the zoo - including both captive-bred individuals, and young born to females collected from the wild whilst gravid, the latter of which are reintroduced to the wild once fully-grown.

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This fire-safety floorplan of the upper floor of the vivarium provides a fairly good outline of the contents; the outer ring contains the exhibits for native snakes, the inner core is the dark cave exhibit for Olm, and the two offshow viper facilities are also visible:

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As regards the Tropical House, the following photographs provide a fairly good overview of the exhibit and signage standards found within, @Coelacanth18 having already provided pretty good general images:

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Beyond these two major exhibit hubs, there are other ectotherm species scattered throughout the zoo - most notably a handful of African species displayed in a small indoor area immediately-adjacent to the lion exhibit, and a small house for North American fish, reptiles and amphibians not far from the Tropical House:

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I'll do a run-through of Copenhagen tomorrow :) unless someone beats me to it!
 

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I'm echoing most of the above comments - I think this is a pretty clear victory for Zagreb (not that I have been, but am planning a trip at some point).

The olms really swing it for me. I also can't really bring to mind anything particularly special about Copenhagen's offering (when I visited c. 2021). It's probably lucky that Zagreb drew this category - it appears to be a real strength of the zoo.
 
Having trouble finding the camera SD card with my own Copenhagen photographs, so here are a few from the gallery showing the small handful of relevant exhibits:

West African Crocodile exhibit

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Invertebrates

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Caiman Lizard

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Mixed exhibit for dartfrogs and birds

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All very pleasant, but nothing that Zagreb doesn't do equally well and in greater quantity and diversity. As such, I reckon that I am safe in sticking with my 4/1 vote for Zagreb - but I'd be interested in any last-minute arguments for a 3/2 vote!
 
I based my scores on the number of species of reptiles, amphibians and fish found at Copenhagen or Zagreb but not both zoos with extra points for species found in up to 10 ZTL collections
Fish: Copenhagen 6 + 10 = 16; Zagreb 19 + 11 = 30
Amphibians: Copenhagen 8; Zagreb 32 + 26 = 58
Reptiles: Copenhagen: 18 + 2 = 20; Zagreb 146 + 229 = 375
Total: Copenhagen 32{ 12 = 44; Zagreb 197 + 266 + 463

I'm going for a 5-0 win for Zagreb
 
An interesting match, even if the result was fairly clear from early on:

Copenhagen - 31/120 points - 25.833%
Zagreb - 89/120 points - 74.167%

But it is still very much early days for both collections, despite the disparity in results here!
 
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