Help choose my 100th zoo

@ZM I agree the Berlin zoo and Tierpark require a whole day each, the city at least two full days

@AD: have you been to Chicago? Brookfield, Lincoln Park, and Shedd aquarium as well as a nice city make this an excellent zoo destination
 
Arizona Docent said:
I have never been strongly interested in Berlin (either zoo) because exhibit quality is important to me and I hear it is lacking (especially for my beloved cats).
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Of course, your mileage may vary on that one :p personally I think there is nothing wrong whatsoever with any of the small cat exhibits at Zoo Berlin - the other cat exhibits vary from good to poor.

I'd discuss the number of excellent non-cat exhibits too, but as it is not unknown for you to skip the bulk of a collection if those areas do not contain cats, I'll just point you to my comprehensive trip report as a counterbalance for the more critical viewpoints :p

http://www.zoochat.com/109/german-adventures-tea-loving-dave-april-358566/

zoomaniac said:
@TeaLovingDave: Well, it depends on how much you would like to see (and take pictures) of both...
For first time visitors who are interested in history and/or architecture, I would strongly recommend more then just a half day for a sightseeing tour (it's not Northumberland...;)).
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You obviously underestimate how much there is to see in Northumberland :p it's one of the largest counties in the United Kingdom and contains a *lot* of historical sites, as well as a lot of areas for wildlife watching!
 
Arizona Docent said:
I have never been strongly interested in Berlin (either zoo) because exhibit quality is important to me and I hear it is lacking (especially for my beloved cats). Still I could feasibly combine it with Vienna...

.
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If you want to see the main sights, Berlin can be seen in a day. I spent two full days there. I had a walking tour with my hostel (Amstel house, would recommend extremely highly) which took me from Moabit, to the Hauptbahnhof, the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Tor, the Holocaust memorial, the Sony Centre, the Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Opera house/church, the museums quarter and alexanderplatz. I also managed to see the topography of terror. If you would like to spend an extended period of time in museums (DDR, CPC, Museum Island) you may need more than a day. On my second day I went to the Zoo which, in my opinion, if you are brisk and not fussed with photograph (both of which, understandably, I doubt you are) then you will be able to do it in 6-7 hours, but that does not include the birdhouse or the aquarium.

If money was no object, I would recommend doing Vienna, getting a train to Prague and seeing a few of the Czech collections, going on to Leipzig and then Berlin. An EURail pass would come in handy here. Prague is a lovely city which I would recommend allocating at least a day to exploring, while Vienna, while good, I would not suggest is a loss if you did not have time to explore the city.

If non zoo related attractions were also high on your list for the trip, I think the above, as well as the tour of the Low Countries already stated would be extremely good. Amsterdam is my all time favourite city.

Hope this is helpful, if a bit dreamy.
 
Vienna is a great shout, but for 101, how about Prague, with it's fabulous and slightly better housed Javan leopards?
 
@ Pygathrix - I have never been to Chicago, one of America's great historic cities. That is an intriguing idea.

Ok to all, I will give Berlin a closer look.
 
New York City is another great historic American city, perhaps THE great American city. I was there on a whirlwind weekend in 2001 and visited Bronx Zoo but not much else. I could do all the WCS zoos and make Central Park number 100. In my opinion it is America's first zoo (contrary to Philadelphia's claim). I could also possibly splurge (lots of money) for a private photo shoot with the king cheetah at LEO in nearby Greenwich (assuming I go before she is too old or dies).
 
TeaLovingDave said:
You obviously underestimate how much there is to see in Northumberland :p it's one of the largest counties in the United Kingdom and contains a *lot* of historical sites, as well as a lot of areas for wildlife watching!
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Not to mention having County Durham on the doorstep. But of course the one thing the area lacks is large zoos :p

For my part the suggestion of Vienna -> Prague (& Plzen) -> Leipzig -> Berlin sounds like a winning one, although realistically it will take two weeks if you do the zoos and the cities justice.
 
Falanouc said:
I would recommend Durrel Wildlife Park, for its stunning exhibits (stand-out ones include the tamarins; lemur and orangutan exhibits are great too).
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Have to agree with you and GL.

DWP is the only zoo I have ever visited that talks about its in situ efforts and they it's been so successful they are no longer required!

I actually visited DWP the same week as Falanouc we were both equally excited however more than 30 years apart in age!
 
I might suggest the Audubon Zoo and the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans. The Audubon Zoo is a very unique zoo in one of the most unique cities of the world.
 
And the winner is ...Vienna! I had no immediate travel plans, but on a whim I looked up the British Airways site last night. They are having some amazing winter deals right now from several US cities. Sadly Phoenix is still full price, but Los Angeles has great deals and I can use air miles on Southwest to do the short one hour hop from Tucson to Los Angeles.

I will spend several nights in Salzburg and a few nights in Vienna. My main photographic interest is winter architecture, but I will have time to visit zoo in Salzburg (number 99) and historic zoo in Vienna (number 100). I have no time and zero interest in adding any more zoos, so please do not reply with suggestions. Trip will be early February.

Now I have to figure out which three new zoos out here to visit to make up numbers 96 and 97 and 98...
 
I'm glad that you chose Vienna...a wonderful decision! Now you'll first need to find 3 local zoos to boost your lifetime total:

Look no farther than the 18 "zoos" in your own state:

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (Tucson)
Bearizona (Williams)
Butterfly Wonderland (Scottsdale)
Camel Farm (Yuma)
Grand Canyon Deer Farm (Williams)
Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary (Prescott)
Keepers of the Wild (Valentine)
Navajo Nation Zoo (Window Rock)
Oasis Sanctuary (Cascabel)
OdySea Aquarium (Scottsdale)
Out of Africa Wildlife Park (Camp Verde)
Phoenix Herpetological Society (Scottsdale)
Phoenix Zoo (Phoenix)
Reid Park Zoo (Tucson)
Sea Life Arizona (Tempe)
Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center (Scottsdale)
Superstition Serpentarium (Apache Junction)
Wildlife World Zoo (Litchfield Park)
 
Great choise Arizona Docent ! Should really be a great zoo ( never been there myself ( :( ) and zoo-historical it of course can't be topped by any other zoo. Am sure you will have a great time but I'm also sure you will report about it ;) !
 
Whilst in Salzburg watch out for wild Wallcreeper - I am given to understand that in the winter months they are not uncommon on the buildings within the city.
 
Snowleopard is the source for all zoos obscure and unkown. The biggies in Arizona of course I have already visited. Of the ones I have not, there are only two I would potentially be interested in: Bearizona and Navajo Nation Zoo. Even those are not a burning desire, but they are both in northern Arizona and could be done together. Grand Canyon Deer Farm is in the same town as Bearizona but by all accounts it is a kiddie petting zoo and I will not waste my time there just to add another number to the list. Other possibilities include San Diego area - the wolf center in the hills and the sea interpretive center south of town.
 
In going over my list, I realized I left out the two aquariums in San Diego - Sea World and Birch Aquarium. So I am actually at 97. Since Salzburg will be 99 and Vienna 100, I only need one new one before my trip. (I also need to go over the list again and rack my brain to make sure there are no other facilities I left off).
 
I did remember another one for my list, so now I am at 98 and do not need any new visits before Austria. The one I blocked out of my memory (for good reason) is the short lived American Wilderness Experience inside a southern California mall: The Mall Zoo
 
I just found another missing zoo (which I visited at the beginning of the year): Jacksonville Zoo. Now I am up to 99!
 
As I've told you in private message, I think you would love North Carolina since it is one of the best around and has plenty of space for all its animals (even ocelots), which is a common issue you have with zoo exhibits. Another place I could see you liking is Detroit since it has many naturalistic habitats and spacious exhibits.
 
North Carolina has always looked intriguing, but I do not foresee ever being in that state. Detroit I am virtually certain I will never find myself in. My dilemma now (as stated earlier) is I was unknowingly already at 99. I recreated my list from scratch just to make sure this count is accurate, which it is.

My trip is already set for first five nights in Salzburg and last three nights in Vienna (though I think hotels are refundable and I could switch it around). Since I do not want to move things, do I skip Salzburg Zoo to keep Vienna number 100 or do I make Salzburg Zoo 100 and let Vienna be 101, marking a magic start to the next 100? Since this is a zoo forum of course you will all tell me I need to do both. I am not as "into" zoos as I used to be, but Salzburg does have some nice hillside big cat habitats and snow leopards and pumas in the snow is definitely an enticement...
 
Boy I am glad someone bumped this thread, which forced me to take a second look at my hotel itinerary on Expedia. I am usually very detail oriented and I cannot believe there is a night in the middle for which I have no room! (I skipped a day and booked Vienna for two nights instead of three). So I have to redo something anyway, which may cause a major reworking. (Or I may just add that night in nearby Halstatt, which I had planned on doing as a half day anyway).
 
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