I was actually intending to add an index post to the start of this thread for you - as I did for the "must-see US collections" thread which @pachyderm pro produced recently.
Europe's 100 must see exhibits
- Thread starter lintworm
- Start date
I was actually intending to add an index post to the start of this thread for you - as I did for the "must-see US collections" thread which @pachyderm pro produced recently.
61. Boddenaviary
Vogelpark Marlow, Germany
Opened: 2002
Size: 5000 square metres
Inhabitants: wide array of European waders, ducks, black-headed gull, common tern and several passerines.
European coastal bird aviaries are quite common, but they don’t quite capture the full land- and soundscape of the coast. This aviary, based on a nearby national park, with its characteristic bodden lagoons, is different. Apart from its size and thus the ability to house large groups of multiple species, there is something else that stands out. This aviary houses a small breeding group of black-headed gulls, which are an excellent addition as omnipresent gulls create the sound of the coast. This aviary can be divided in basically two parts, the first area is the lagoon with its many water and coastal birds. The second area is the shrubland just inland, both of which are dominant areas in the national park this aviary is based on. Where the lagoon is full of birds, the shrubland feels a bit empty though, with only several passerine species and partridges. This is Germany's second largest aviary and one that is not only conceptually good by highlighting local habitat, but also attractively landscaped and with interesting species.
@lintworm
@lintworm
@lintworm
@lintworm
@lintworm
Similar exhibits: For gull aficionados there is no better place than Tierpark Berlin’s gull aviary. Other good wader bird aviaries include the ones in Zoo Berlin, Germany, and in Naturzoo Rheine, Germany. The former includes a wave machine, while the latter stands out due to its huge flocks. The waterscapes aviary in Slimbridge WWT, UK, is also worth mentioning here which covers a range of UK wetland habitats.
Tierpark Berlin
@lintworm
Zoo Berlin
@Paul Kalisch
Naturzoo Rheine
@Maguari
Vogelpark Marlow, Germany
Opened: 2002
Size: 5000 square metres
Inhabitants: wide array of European waders, ducks, black-headed gull, common tern and several passerines.
European coastal bird aviaries are quite common, but they don’t quite capture the full land- and soundscape of the coast. This aviary, based on a nearby national park, with its characteristic bodden lagoons, is different. Apart from its size and thus the ability to house large groups of multiple species, there is something else that stands out. This aviary houses a small breeding group of black-headed gulls, which are an excellent addition as omnipresent gulls create the sound of the coast. This aviary can be divided in basically two parts, the first area is the lagoon with its many water and coastal birds. The second area is the shrubland just inland, both of which are dominant areas in the national park this aviary is based on. Where the lagoon is full of birds, the shrubland feels a bit empty though, with only several passerine species and partridges. This is Germany's second largest aviary and one that is not only conceptually good by highlighting local habitat, but also attractively landscaped and with interesting species.
@lintworm
@lintworm
@lintworm
@lintworm
@lintworm
Similar exhibits: For gull aficionados there is no better place than Tierpark Berlin’s gull aviary. Other good wader bird aviaries include the ones in Zoo Berlin, Germany, and in Naturzoo Rheine, Germany. The former includes a wave machine, while the latter stands out due to its huge flocks. The waterscapes aviary in Slimbridge WWT, UK, is also worth mentioning here which covers a range of UK wetland habitats.
Tierpark Berlin
@lintworm
Zoo Berlin
@Paul Kalisch
Naturzoo Rheine
@Maguari
When Sapporo city's Maruyama zoo built their new elephant enclosure, I have read translations of news articles that said that the city made research on Scandinivian zoos to learn how to keep an elephant herd alive at Hokkaido. I wouldn't be surprised if this was one of the (or just,the) elephant enclosure Sapporo studied to build their elephant house.59. Elephant enclosure
Zoo Copenhagen, Denmark
Opened: 2008
Size: 8800 square metres
Inhabitants: Asian elephant
In their core zoos are cultural institutions that exist for the benefit of humans. It is therefore maybe somewhat surprising that modern star architects haven’t found their way into zoos more often. Especially the historical city zoos in Europe are places where architecture and the natural world come together and where the question on how humans have viewed nature over time is central. Whereas modern architecture in other cultural institutions has long been dominated by the star architects of its time, zoos have often been a step to far. This may be because apart from architecture, animal welfare is crucial and that is a whole different cup of tea. The elephant house in Copenhagen shows that star architects, in this case Norman Foster, can have a role in the modern zoo. Subtly integrated in the landscape, the elephant house with its stunning domes combines modern elephant husbandry with a beautiful design. Is this enough to keep elephants in a city zoo in the future, maybe, but with well over 1000 square metres of accessible space for the elephants indoor, it is still one of the larger of its kind in Europe. But it shows a possible synergy between architecture and animals. Not every modern zoo exhibit with a star architect is a match made in heaven though, as the nearby giant panda pit shows.
@FunkyGibbon
@Toddy
@lintworm
@lintworm
I think that Copenhagen, while Denmark is Scandinavian country, isn´t THAT cold (even if norther than Sapporo and surely colder than elephant natural habitat
)
62. Darwineum
Zoo Rostock, Germany
Opened: 2012
Size: 2.5 hectares
Inhabitants: western lowland gorilla, Borneo orangutan, short-beaked echidna and many other small mammals, reptiles, fish and invertebrates.
All zoos celebrate the diversity of life, but few zoos celebrate how this life came to be. The Darwineum does just that and takes visitors on a journey from the origin of earth to humans. It naturally all starts with the superhero of evolution: Charles Darwin and a display of Galapagos tortoises. What follows is a highly sophisticated exhibition that takes one from the origin of life to the emergence of the great apes. From a central rontunda, there are 8 alcoves that mix clever education and animal displays to follow the development of life through time from single celled organisms, past jellyfish, fish, reptiles right up to mammals. Following this more museumlike part is a large greenhouse for gorilla and orangutan with many smaller species on the side as next step towards humans. Both apes have access to multiple outdoor enclosures with full access to living trees. The building itself finishes with a final exhibition on cultural evolution. The ape accomodation is good, but it is the museum parts that let this building shine. Without overwhelming visitors there is a very clear story through time and for each exhibition fitting animal species were found. This naturally includes living fossils like horseshoe crabs and nautilus, but also exhibits that draw the general public like a large coral reef tank.
@lintworm
@lintworm
@lintworm
@lintworm
@lintworm
@lintworm
Similar exhibits: none. The former Dierenpark Emmen, the Netherlands, did have the Biochron, which was an even more extensive museum on evolution, with some exhibits on the side. But this museum, although slightly outdated has not been replaced in the new zoo.
Zoo Rostock, Germany
Opened: 2012
Size: 2.5 hectares
Inhabitants: western lowland gorilla, Borneo orangutan, short-beaked echidna and many other small mammals, reptiles, fish and invertebrates.
All zoos celebrate the diversity of life, but few zoos celebrate how this life came to be. The Darwineum does just that and takes visitors on a journey from the origin of earth to humans. It naturally all starts with the superhero of evolution: Charles Darwin and a display of Galapagos tortoises. What follows is a highly sophisticated exhibition that takes one from the origin of life to the emergence of the great apes. From a central rontunda, there are 8 alcoves that mix clever education and animal displays to follow the development of life through time from single celled organisms, past jellyfish, fish, reptiles right up to mammals. Following this more museumlike part is a large greenhouse for gorilla and orangutan with many smaller species on the side as next step towards humans. Both apes have access to multiple outdoor enclosures with full access to living trees. The building itself finishes with a final exhibition on cultural evolution. The ape accomodation is good, but it is the museum parts that let this building shine. Without overwhelming visitors there is a very clear story through time and for each exhibition fitting animal species were found. This naturally includes living fossils like horseshoe crabs and nautilus, but also exhibits that draw the general public like a large coral reef tank.
@lintworm
@lintworm
@lintworm
@lintworm
@lintworm
@lintworm
Similar exhibits: none. The former Dierenpark Emmen, the Netherlands, did have the Biochron, which was an even more extensive museum on evolution, with some exhibits on the side. But this museum, although slightly outdated has not been replaced in the new zoo.
I think that Copenhagen, while Denmark is Scandinavian country, isn´t THAT cold (even if norther than Sapporo and surely colder than elephant natural habitat
A quick look at Maruyama’s elephant house shows a clear inspiration from Copenhagen.
You clearly mean to show the full diversity of exhibit types, not necessarily the overall best exhibits.
Darwineum's educational content was attractively presented but disappointingly shallow for me – essentially, the history of life was at the level of a primary / secondary school. Like many zoos, it aimed for the lowest common denominator and was boring to people who saw already any film about history of life on Discovery Channel. I have a feeling that good museums manage to do it better - both the basic narrative, but also more advanced bits.
One original piece which I liked was a small reference to laboratory animals and genetically modified animals in the last hall. Hundreds of thousands of lab animals provide important service to mankind, but this is completely unknown topic for the public.
Last edited:
I actually really liked the evolution museum part, the ape greenhouse was closed due to COVID during my visit, but from pictures it indeed doesn't look to be the best, but that was also not the reason for including it.
I think that zoos and museums attract quite a different audience and that the relatively light, but attractive, approach in Rostock would work quite well. There is some nerdy stuff in the building too but the general public is often surprisingly unaware of what we think is basic stuff. So for them an accessible area with not too much information, without dumbing it down, which they did not do imo, would be far more effective. I feel that many zoos miss the point of what they aim to do with their education. Too often zoo signs either contain 0 information or they are just a boring list of useless facts. By making it too elaborate, you just scare people and they will ignore it anyway as people don't seem to like classical teaching a lot... My feeling was that the Darwineum got their basic message correct in a way that most people would learn something if they would have any inclination to do so. Maybe that is secondary school level (though we never learnt about evolution in such detail in the Netherlands), but at least it is accessible and people can't complain that they came to a zoo and ended up in a museum...
Hi Lintworm, going off-topic: many people mistake complex things and things presented in a boring way. Good exhibits explain very complex topics in a simple way and using eye-catching examples. Poor educators, who cannot explain very well, are scared of complex topics. But their pupils have no problem with complex topics: they memorize complex rules of computer games, 100s of Harry Potter characters and objects, or 100s of species of animals...
I did teaching practice at primary schools. One of my classes watched a programme that included information about how pesticides affect the thickness of the shells of birds' eggs. I was able to tell the class about things I learned in my Zoology degree. Children can understand complex topics as long as it is stated in language they understand.
A pleasant return to this thread and two geographic neighbours in numbers 61 and 62, both of which I saw only last year due to the welcome return of Zoohistorica. Just a couple of comments therefore. The Boddenaviary at Marlow...an excellent place without a doubt, but would have been far better at double the height - it feels rather like a tomato-growers greenhouse without the glass(and is probably re-purposed from such a structure,Marlow...without huge start up capital,did a lot of that kind of thing). But its a worthy inclusion. The Darwineum...interesting too to focus on the museum aspect. The ape hall, whilst very good, somehow seems disconnected from the evolution story,as if it was merely convenient to represent it as the apex of such a journey. And,as the image shows,the constant backdrop of canyons for apes hardly represents the true wild habitat of these animals...perhaps it would be less of a lie to have something more man-made - as at Stuttgart for instance.
57. Borgoriwald
Zoo Frankfurt, Germany
Opened: 2008
Size: 8200 square metres
Inhabitants: Western lowland gorilla, Bonobo, Sumatran orangutan, Red-capped mangabey, Fischer’s turaco, golden-breasted starling
The massive gorilla outdoor enclosure could be called a white elephant, as it is rarely used by the apes, but still takes up some prime real estate. What is certainly not a white elephant is the indoor housing of all the apes. Zoo Frankfurt has a long tradition with great apes but the original house was extremely outdated, despite the breeding success. The new house is all but outdated. It provides spacious indoor enclosures, which can easily be subdivided and in the case of the gorilla, the enclosure is basically a giant circle, following the Apenheul principle to allow maximum movement and conflict avoidance. Contrary to many zoos the orangutans are actually mostly arboreal here, making full use of the tall cages which are well equipped with enrichment and climbing options. This is an impressive house due to its dimensions alone, but the inhabitants were clearly not forgotten either with plenty of compartmentalisation options and enrichment. One should hope however that they never exchange their bonobo with chimpanzees, as the name of the house would then become Chorgoriwald, which sounds like a sausage-gorilla hybrid.
@twilighter
@lintworm
@lintworm
@lintworm
@FunkyGibbon
Similar exhibits: The second large great ape house that has received lots of praise is Pongoland, Zoo Leipzig, Germany. And while its outdoor enclosures are mostly great, all indoor enclosures seem designed for chimpanzees and lack the compartmentalization and separation options it would need. This is most visible for the orangutans, which also lack climbing equipment and thus these apes spend most time on the ground.
@FunkyGibbon
@Toddy
@Toddy
I have to agree with you there, an really outstanding enclosure. I loved observing our nearest relatives in their spacious outdoor exhibits. The only downer for me was that the great ape house, i was excited to see, was closed due to covid restrictions.
As similar enclosure complex comes the Darwineum in Rostock in my mind. It has nice and lush outdoor islands for the apes and spacious open indoor enlosures, with mostly natural grass as substrate. The viewing possibilities vary from glass panels in a height from up to 3 meters to viewing over a, for the apes accessible, dry moat
@lintworm
@lintworm
@Dianamonkey
@Animal
@Animal
It is indeed a strange construction, which would not be repeated nowadays...
For some reasons many zoos seem to find it impossible not to hide bare walls with fake mock rock, indeed giving that canyon impression. It doesn't add anything imo and I am also more of a fan of the modernist Stuttgart/Basel approach than faking it like this.
Maybe have a look at number 62 in the list
New posts will follow soon, but I am currently on holiday
4. European herpetofauna exhibits
Freilandterrarium Stein, Germany
Opened: from 1971 onwards (with renovations)
Size: n.a.
Inhabitants: ~15 European amphibian and reptile species.
Great exhibits do not need a wow-factor or show the most sexy species. It can be just as worthwhile when something small is done well. The open air terrarium of Stein, near N|urnberg, is a little gem, it shows only European species, most of them native to Germany. The individual terraria are relatively simple "boxes", placed in such a way to provide optimum amounts of sun or shade for their inhabitants. A good terrarium can be a beautiful diorama of the native habitat of the species on display and that is the case here. Combine that with showing the beauty of native species and it is worth a detour when visiting Nürnberg
Unfortunately there is no Zoochat gallery for this collection, there are however some pictures on their website (or via google images):
Freiland-Aquarium und -Terrarium Stein
The terraria are somewhat similar in design as the ones in Tiergarten Schönbrunn
Similar exhibits: A number of zoos also display native amphibians and reptiles in pretty outdoor terraria. Good examples include Tierpark Dählhölzli Bern, Switzerland, Tiergarten Schönbrunn Vienna, Austria, Alpenzoo Innsbruck, Austria, and Zoo Augsburg, Germany.
Zoo Augsburg
@Sun Wukong
Tiergarten Schönbrunn
@LaughingDove
Tierpark Dählhölzli
@TheoV
Although I selected the Freilandterraria in Stein for this post, I could just as easily have picked the open air terraria of the Alpenzoo Innsbruck, Austria, of which there were until recently also no pictures in the gallery.
The open air terraria is located on a very steep sunny hillside and features 8 terraria, which showcase different landscapes of the Alps, from river to alpine meadow. These terraria are, bar the one for smooth snake, very generously sized and all are attractively landscaped with natural rocks and stones (some even with fossilized ammonites) and alpine flowers. As an example here are the occelated lizard terrarium based on the lower slopes of the Mediterranean French Alps and the European adder terrarium based on a high Alpine area
Occelated lizard for scale in the centre right of the picture.
European adder terrarium
You mean apart from the photographs I uploaded around six years ago showing every single terrarium?
You mean apart from the photographs I uploaded around six years ago showing every single terrarium?
You mean the ones not actually in the Alpenzoo gallery but in a private album and labelled DSCF2214 without any further explanation. You cannot expect anyone to count those
You mean the ones not actually in the Alpenzoo gallery but in a private album and labelled DSCF2214 without any further explanation. You cannot expect anyone to count those
Well, to be fair they were all originally uploaded for use in the accompanying walkthrough account, which served as label enough at the time
been intending to rename them for some time now.
I saw these exhibits during my visit in July 2019, and agree they are excellent. They also make good use of the terrain. I also thought the terraria at Bern Zoo were excellent.Although I selected the Freilandterraria in Stein for this post, I could just as easily have picked the open air terraria of the Alpenzoo Innsbruck, Austria, of which there were until recently also no pictures in the gallery.
The open air terraria is located on a very steep sunny hillside and features 8 terraria, which showcase different landscapes of the Alps, from river to alpine meadow. These terraria are, bar the one for smooth snake, very generously sized and all are attractively landscaped with natural rocks and stones (some even with fossilized ammonites) and alpine flowers. As an example here are the occelated lizard terrarium based on the lower slopes of the Mediterranean French Alps and the European adder terrarium based on a high Alpine area
Occelated lizard for scale in the centre right of the picture.
European adder terrarium
63. Kiwara Savanna + Kopje
Zoo Leipzig, Germany
Opened: 2004 (savanna) & 2015 (kopje)
Size: 3.5 hectares
Inhabitants: Rotschildt’s giraffe, black rhino, cheetah, Grevy’s zebra, Thomson’s gazelle, lesser flamingo, Ansell’s mole rat and more
Though opened ten years apart The kopje and savanna work as one cohesive whole. The savanna focuses around one large mixed-species enclosure which is loosely based around East African species. Side enclosures include Europe’s most successful lesser flamingo breeding colony and a spotted hyena enclosure that is cleverly separated from the main enclosure by a hidden moat. The kopje area consists of three black rhino enclosures, one of which is connected to the main savanna for smaller species. The main enclosure here is a mixed enclosure of black rhino and cheetah. Although patas monkeys were originally planned here as well, they thankfully received their own enclosure. This long and somewhat narrow savannah is one of the more beautiful of what is possibly Europe’s most common mixed-species enclosure. Part of its success is how it is linked with the adjacent Rosental public park, which gives a feeling of space and connects the zoo with its city. This might well be the only place where one can see Thomson’s gazelle for free in Europe. Although the views from the park are not as tree free as they were when the savanna did not yet exist and this was a set of simple paddocks for camels and bisons and the like.
@Zebraduiker
@SL70
@LaughingDove
@LaughingDove
@Toddy
Similar exhibits: There are African savanna exhibits everywhere and there are too many to list all the good ones that did not make the list (yet). Another interesting one that connects the zoo with its city is located in Artis, Amsterdam, the Netherlands:
@JamesB
Zoo Leipzig, Germany
Opened: 2004 (savanna) & 2015 (kopje)
Size: 3.5 hectares
Inhabitants: Rotschildt’s giraffe, black rhino, cheetah, Grevy’s zebra, Thomson’s gazelle, lesser flamingo, Ansell’s mole rat and more
Though opened ten years apart The kopje and savanna work as one cohesive whole. The savanna focuses around one large mixed-species enclosure which is loosely based around East African species. Side enclosures include Europe’s most successful lesser flamingo breeding colony and a spotted hyena enclosure that is cleverly separated from the main enclosure by a hidden moat. The kopje area consists of three black rhino enclosures, one of which is connected to the main savanna for smaller species. The main enclosure here is a mixed enclosure of black rhino and cheetah. Although patas monkeys were originally planned here as well, they thankfully received their own enclosure. This long and somewhat narrow savannah is one of the more beautiful of what is possibly Europe’s most common mixed-species enclosure. Part of its success is how it is linked with the adjacent Rosental public park, which gives a feeling of space and connects the zoo with its city. This might well be the only place where one can see Thomson’s gazelle for free in Europe. Although the views from the park are not as tree free as they were when the savanna did not yet exist and this was a set of simple paddocks for camels and bisons and the like.
@Zebraduiker
@SL70
@LaughingDove
@LaughingDove
@Toddy
Similar exhibits: There are African savanna exhibits everywhere and there are too many to list all the good ones that did not make the list (yet). Another interesting one that connects the zoo with its city is located in Artis, Amsterdam, the Netherlands:
@JamesB