Help a Zoo Chatter find a place to Study Zoos Abroad

[Otter Lord]

So quite a bit has changed... but long story short, the professor who was going to Namibia is now going to Cape Town and the professor who was going to Prague dropped Prague. The final presentations were moved to tomorrow instead of Monday too.

I'm thinking about going to Cape Town. I'm from San Diego so I love Mediterranean climates and ecology. I've been wanting to go to Cape Town the past few years for off-campus studio, but I figured it would not be an option. Excited to see bontebok in the fynbos, maybe some mountain zebra.

Unfortunately, Africa is kind of poor for zoos and Cape Town does not have one, so I might branch out and study landscape ecology. Cape Town seems to have a lot in terms of biodiversity monitoring and landscape ecology. I've been looking at their reserve system for a potential study subject. I think landscape ecology is a direction a lot of western zoos need to start advocating, especially because of its emphasis on local conservation. As a San Diegan, I can see how San Diego could benefit in terms of conservation from studying Cape Town's park system. I could also look into the design of the parks and how it interprets biodiversity, ecology, and animals for people. It'll probably be good to branch out and look outside of zoos.

Anyway, so I think I'm going to put Cape Town as my first choice and wait on the presentation tomorrow. Then I might have Amsterdam or Berlin as my second choice. I am excited at the thought of sketching wildlife and having sun again. I can also get cheap flights and go to the zoos in Johannesburg and Pretoria.

 

[condor]

for example, going from Prague to Pilsen by train seems to take several years (even though it is only about 100 miles between the two cities).

Formerly yes, but now it is less than 2 hours and there are many departures a day. See CD trains

What's transportation like in Prague to places like Ostrava?

Train connections comparably to Prague-Pilsen, see section above. Getting to major zoos in neighbouring Germany, Austria or Poland by land-based public transport takes quite a bit longer; almost 4 hours to Leipzig, almost 5 to Berlin or Vienna, and 6 to Wroclaw. Personally I would get a plane for the longer trips, but the price is obviously higher, even if sticking to budget airlines.

However, as much as I like the Czech zoos and zoos in and around Berlin, I think the choice is fairly easy: Netherlands. The overall selection with a fairly large number of zoos with exhibits worth checking places it ahead of the other (which also have zoos with exhbits worth checking, but not quite as many as the Netherlands).
Getting around in the Netherlands by public transport is very easy; perhaps the easiest place in the world together with Scandinavia. Using trains, you can reach pretty much all major zoos in the country from Amsterdam in ~2 hours or less, and in less than 3 you can reach several German Rhine-Ruhr zoos (Duisburg, Cologne, etc) or Antwerpen in Belgium. Getting around in Germany is almost as easy as in the Netherlands. There has been a move in the Czech Republic in recent years, but it is still not quite as easy as the other countries.

In daily living, the Czech Republic is cheaper than Germany, which is cheaper than the Netherlands, but they're all quite a bit cheaper than Scandinavia.

In northwestern Europe you'll get around with English easily. It is more problematic in parts of South and Eastern Europe. In Eastern, you'll find that the proportion speaking German often is equal to, if not higher, than the proportion speaking English.

Unfortunately, Africa is kind of poor for zoos and Cape Town does not have one

No zoo in the traditional form, but they do have the World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary (essentially a bird zoo with a few other animals), Two Oceans aquarium, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens (where I saw my first ever sugarbird, among others) and quite a few wildlife reserves in the vicinity.

Whereever you end up going, good luck. South Africa is a very beautiful country with a many places worth visiting if interested in nature

 

[condor]

Berlin zoos... I am having difficulty finding a legible zoo map for both.

Zoo: All sizes | photo - Berlin Zoo map | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
+ http://cartogis.de/parallel/osm-tourismus-service/cartogis-lageplan-zoo.JPG
(still shows the old instead of the new bird house, and giant panda; otherwise largely up-to-date)

Tierpark: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Lageplan_Tierpark_Berlin.jpg
(mostly up-to-date, except for a few minor move-arounds, notably incl. gerenuk in "Mhorr Gazelle" exhibit; the latter gazelle are now in the adjacent exhibit together w. addax).

Unless updates have been published in the last month or so, these are the newest maps available. I'm not aware of an English version of the Tierpark map.

 

[Cat-Man]

Bumping an old threat but what was the final decision Otter Lord?

 

[Otter Lord]

I went to Cape Town. I birded like crazy, still visited Namibia, and saw some Great White Sharks.

South Africa is probably the most beautiful place on earth. I would definitely recommend it to everyone.