Summarizing
With the list of 50 zoos complete, see the complete list
HERE, it is time to broaden the horizon a bit again. I am aware that everybody here would have made a different list and some of my choices were rather unconventional and potentially worthy zoos have been left out. I still stand behind all my choices and hope that I have made you think. But, partly based on the number of likes, choices like Chemnitz, Odense, Helsinki and Parc des Felins might be somewhat unpopular. In this post I will name some zoos that could have been included alternatively.
In the list there is no real safari park, though both Dvur Kralove and Highland Wildlife Park have extensive drive-throughs. There are however multiple good safari parks on the continent of which
Safaripark Beekse Bergen, Netherlands
, Réserve Africaine de Sigean, France, and
Woburn Safari Park in the UK are particularly noteworthy.
Additionally the number of specialist zoos was relatively small and there are multiple good bird parks like
Parc des Oiseaux Villars les Dombes and
Vogelpark Marlow that could be considered. I did not include any reptile zoo as I am not aware of any that is better than some of the big zoos like Wroclaw, Cologne or Prague. Only two aquariums made the list as well and both
Oceanario, Lisbon, and
Den Bla Planet in Copenhagen deserve a mention. If it was not for the new ocean tank in Nausicaa, the Oceanario would have made it.
Aquatis, Lausanne, deserves an honorary mention as it is the only large aquarium that is almost completely freshwater.
There are other unique concepts that did not make the list such as
Living Coasts, Torquay in the UK, which shows an often underrepresented habitat, the aviaries aboveground are amazing, but they are somewhat let down by the aquarium belowground.
The
Yorkshire Wildlife Park, UK, is also interesting as it presents mammals with a simple approach in very spacious enclosures.
Hamerton Zoo Park, UK, is also simple in design but has all the rarities a Zoochatter would ever want, the recent arrival of Tiger quolls only confirms that.
There are several zoos that have a clear speciality that would be possibly worthy of inclusion such as
Zoo Tallinn, Estonia, with an astonishing collection of Caprines, or
Eskilstrup krokodille zoo, Denmark,
Ferme aux Crocodiles Pierellatte, France and
Protivín krokodýlí zoo, all with large crocodile collections.
City zoos were well represented but both
London Zoo, UK, and
Zoo Budapest, Hungary, did not make the cut. London has long been one of the most important zoos in Europe but its current state does not reflect that anymore. Budapest on the other hand has also been unable to successfully transform into a modern zoo, but here the heritage is very clear, just the animals are left behind.
Zoo Moscow, Russia, is another city zoo that is missing, basically because enclosure quality is much below Western standards and there is nothing too much out of the ordinary, except the insane amount of reptile species.
I was keen to show something of overall zoo history and both
Zoo Madrid, Spain, and
Allwetterzoo Munster, Germany were considered for their use of concrete, an essential feature in the 70s and 80s. Wilhelma Stuttgart is however also full of examples of this style and can combine it with both an interesting collection and an amazing horticultural department.
Of all the Erlebniszoos
Zoo Hannover, Germany, is the most notable exclusion and the list does not feature any real overthemed zoo, though a combination of both Leipzig and Valencia would come closest.
Then there were several zoos that are consistently very good, but that do not stand out enough to make the list. This list most notably includes
Tierpark Hellabrunn Munich, Germany,
Zoo Basel, Switzerland,
Dierenpark Planckendael, Belgium,
Gaiazoo, Netherlands,
Zoo Zlin-Lesna, Czech Republic,
Nowe Zoo Poznan, Poland,
Zoo Kolmarden, Sweden,
Zoo Dublin, Ireland,
CERZA Lisieux, France, and
Parco Natura Viva, Italy. Hellabrunn could be considered as the original Geo-zoo, but this concept has been done more consistent in Diergaarde Blijdorp, though enclosure-wise Tierpark Hellabrunn is very good and many Hoofstock enclosures are among the prettiest in Europe.
