Have only been to ZSL of the two, but this seems like a comfortable win for Köln, which all but entirely spells elimination for ZSL, even if they do win their final fixture against Beauval. In the previous tournament that used this six-per-group system, no zoo progressed with fewer than three wins, and ZSL has been able to claim just one of four - a particular shame seeing as they were surprisingly close in both of their first two. In theory, it
is still possible to qualify, but very unlikely. As lintworm points out, the order of the matches is random, so keeping track of the standings is impossible.
Even still, I am, for the time being, going to give two consolation points to the English collection as opposed to one. The Whipsnade aquarium is brilliant - very small, but all tanks tastefully done, and the focus on smaller, rarer fish very welcome, with the same applying to the few relevant offerings in the adjacent Butterfly House. On balance between visitor and animal experience, Whipsnade also has the best hippo enclosures that I have seen for both species. London has a coral reef tank and a few other notable displays in 'Tiny Giants' (invertebrate house), as well as some very nice aquatic offerings in SLoRA (the new reptile house), a great penguin enclosure, and some really nice walkthroughs throughout (there are even some waterfowl in the main portion of 'Blackburn Pavilion,' which should render my all-time favourite zoo exhibit eligible). That said, both ZSL zoos, especially Whipsnade, have one major downside which has to be taken into account - an abundance of pinioned birds. I doubt that Köln is any different in this regard, and hence I haven't marked ZSL down for it, but if I am wrong in that assumption then it could be the final straw in prompting me to switch to a 4-1.
A few photos for ZSL to hopefully prompt some others to switch to 3-2.
Aquarium (Whipsnade):
@MagpieGoose - Madagascan tank.
@MagpieGoose - part of the semi-onshow 'breeding rooms,' where endangered fish such as pupfish are kept and bred.
Although it is small (only around ten to fifteen main tanks and a myriad of smaller ones), the whole aquarium is very tastefully done. Never overstocked, but fish always in large enough numbers. The focus is on endangered smaller species most of which breed here, and the landscaping is usually perfect. In several of the paludariums (can't remember whether or not the Madagascan one pictured above is one of them) small reptiles roam the terrestrial portion.
Hippo enclosures (Whipsnade):
@Green_mamba - larger of the two Common Hippo outdoor enclosures. I know that Köln has underwater viewing, but from what I can tell there is no grass, and the outdoor area doesn't even have a pool! Whipsnade's is huge with plenty of grass coverage, multiple, very deep pools and good separation options.
@MagpieGoose - larger (I think) of the two Pygmy Hippo outdoor enclosures, both excellent.
Penguins and waterfowl:
Spread throughout the zoo and sadly mostly pinioned (flightless penguins being an exception, of course), but in aesthetically appealing enclosures.
@Green_mamba - Northern Rockhopper enclosure, shared with a few ducks including European Eider. The whole area is a netted, walkthrough aviary, but as the ducks predate the netting (an avian influenza precaution) they are sadly still flight-restricted. Hopefully future generations of ducks will not be. African Penguins are also kept in a similar enclosure nearby.
@MagpieGoose - huge Wattled Crane (formerly moose) enclosure.
Tiny Giants (London):
@gulogulogulo - coral reef tank, some live, some replica.
@yousuf89 - Sunburst Diving Beetle enclosure, a personal favourite of mine with a sliding magnifying glass for better viewing.
Blackburn Pavilion (London):
Have already covered this in a previous thread, I will quote my description of it there here. This time, the species which render the main walkthrough viable are Hottentot Teal, Sunbittern and Black-winged Stilt. Some will, understandably, perceive it as less significant due to a relative low abundance of category relevant species, but I disagree as, with a large water feature in the centre and all three species kept in large numbers, they tend to constitute a great deal of my enjoyment of the walkthrough on visits. Blacksmith Lapwing are kept in some of the zoo's external aviaries.
SLoRA (London):
SLoRA (an abbrieviation of 'the Secret Life of Reptiles and Amphibians') is indeed a very strong display educationally with detailed signage and semi-onshow breeding rooms. The most noteworthy features outstanding landscaping and at times abnormally large size of the enclosures are the most striking features, as well as the fact that many of the animals are endangered and some of them (Laos Warty Newts, Mallorcan Midwife Toad, Sardinian Brook Salamander and Big-headed Turtle being relevant here) breed at the zoo.
Another great feature is actually the water quality throughout, funnily enough! Clearly, a lot has been spent on filtration, and I suspect the Bristlenose Catfish that inhabit a few of the tanks also have a part to play.
The following photos are probably less than a third of what counts for this category at SLoRA:
@amur leopard - very good Philippine Crocodile pool.
@Maguari - pair of outstanding Chinese Giant Salamander enclosures.
@Dr. Loxodonta - housing the only Lake Oku Clawed Frogs in Europe and some very interesting algae.
@amur leopard - Roti Island Snake-necked Turtle enclosure with a very deep pool.
@amur leopard - Mallorcan Midwife Toad, with tadpoles in the pool and adults visible carrying eggs on their back on land.
Bird Safari (London):
@twilighter - a simple, but very large and well-stocked walkthrough aviary for a few pelcaniformes and ducks, backdropped by the historic Stork and Ostrich House.
Penguin Beach (London):
@amur leopard - huge Humboldt Penguin enclosure.
Into Africa (London):
@MagpieGoose - one of two similarly sized and very nice Pygmy Hippo enclosure. As only one individual is currently held, I believe both areas can be accessed and they therefore have double the space seen above.
The above overview doesn't show anywhere near the entirety of either zoo's offerings, but it does show the most noteworthy features. Other than the pinioned waterfowl, nearly everything ZSL has here is really good, with several rarities, breeding successes, and evocative displays. ZSL also performs a great deal of
in situ conservation work around the River Thames. Couple that with some areas of weakness for Köln (many pinioned birds of its own, seemingly weak sea lion and penguin enclosures), and I feel as though ZSL definitely deserves two points, although I may change to 4-1 if someone provides a similar overview for Köln.
to avoid any accusations of leaning on the scales when allotting match position or category (for instance, front-loading the Cup with more exciting matches to ensure early participation, or to ensure one collection or another had a time-based advantage) both values were assigned randomly before things kicked off.
