European (Tea)Cup - PRESTIGE LEAGUE - Vienna vs Leipzig

[TeaLovingDave]

Another nice broad category with plenty of scope for discussion - CARNIVORES.

Enjoy

 

[amur leopard]

I'm not sure I agree - certainly the tiger and leopard exhibits are far bigger in Vienna! As a matter of fact the Berlin outdoor big cat exhibits are pretty tiny all around, and while I agree that there are other aspects, having a leopard or jaguar in 200-250sqm and tigers in under 500sqm is questionable for such a good zoo. Vienna has their tigers in around 1100sqm, leopards in 650sqm and cheetahs in over 1800sqm. Undeniably the presentation aspect is better in Reich der Jaeger but from that perspective I'd rather be a big cat in Vienna.

From the bear perspective I believe Vienna eclipses Berlin too - granted the excellent giant panda exhibit but Vienna's isn't bad, and their polar and spectacled bear exhibits are a league above what Berlin has to offer otherwise. Wolves are better housed in Vienna by quite some margin, in far more immersive conditions, and the Vienna lynx exhibit is similarly excellent.

Add to this the coatis in with the spectacled bears (in what is probably the one of the best exhibits for the species on the continent), a better Red panda exhibit than in Berlin, a substantially better dwarf mongoose exhibit in the East Africa house, and while Berlin has a supreme small carnivore collection, I don't believe the gulf between the zoos on small carnivores is quite as large as some may think.

I'd rather be a carnivore in Vienna, but would love to hear from others who disagree.

Briefly touched on what Vienna has to offer in this regard in the post above, but I believe Leipzig is a very different beast to Berlin. Much larger enclosures for the most part, predominantly of good quality...

For those who need a reminder of what counts for Leipzig in this category: lions, cheetahs, tigers, leopards, ocelots, fishing cats, snow leopards, giant otter, maned wolf, red pandas, sea lions, spotted hyena and sloth bear. Going for a 3-2 Leipzig right now, tentatively, but I believe it is close.

 

[remar]

Isn't this already the third time carnivors for Vienna?

I believe that a 3:2 in either direction is justifiable. I would consider Viennas Spectacled bear (and coati) exhibit as one of the best bear exhibit at a city zoo.

Despite Leipzigs underwater view for the tigers, i wouldn't consider their large cat exhibits special at any way (Maybe even a little bit small for the two leopard species, regarding the opening date) but they are still better than the counterparts at Vienna.

On the other hand Leipzigs giant otter exhibit is pretty strong, the rest of the exhibits at Gondwanaland are not that good.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Isn't this already the third time carnivors for Vienna?

Correct - I think something went wrong somewhere in my logic diagram constructed to (I hoped) ensure no overlap of categories for this round, and I didn't notice until you pointed this out today!

On the other hand Leipzigs giant otter exhibit is pretty strong, the rest of the exhibits at Gondwanaland are not that good.

I don't think "pretty strong" is an accurate statement personally - although the exhibit *looks* good and appears at first glance to be reasonably large, from memory a decent chunk of the exhibit is hot-wired off and doesn't allow access to the inhabitants.

 

[remar]

I don't think "pretty strong" is an accurate statement personally - although the exhibit *looks* good and appears at first glance to be reasonably large, from memory a decent chunk of the exhibit is hot-wired off and doesn't allow access to the inhabitants.

Probably the land area? From what i remember the pool is definitely one of the better for giant otters. Especially as it is useable the whole year.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Vienna - 38/80 points - 47.500%
Leipzig - 42/80 points - 52.500%