How Many Zoos Did You Visit In 2024?

How Many Zoos Did You Visit In 2024?

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Zoofan15

Zoofan15

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
How Many Zoos Did You Visit In 2024?

I’m in the 5-9 bracket; technically eight facilities as the ninth was the ruins of the Beaumaris Zoo, which closed in 1937.

New Zealand:

Auckland Zoo
Hamilton Zoo
Wellington Zoo
Orana Wildlife Park

Australia:

Taronga Zoo
Sydney Zoo
SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium
Adelaide Zoo
Beaumaris Zoo (defunct)
 
Just the five for me this year although multiple visits to four of these.

Zoos
Healesville Sanctuary
Melbourne Museum
Melbourne Zoo
Moonlit Sanctuary
SEALIFE Melbourne Aquarium
 
I made a total of thirty-five visits to seven different zoos or aquariums:

1. Colchester Zoo - 23 visits
2. ZSL London Zoo - 6 visits
3. Call of the Wild Zoo - 2 visits
4. The Bug Parc - 1 visit
5. The Deep - 1 visit
6. Jimmy's Farm - 1 visit
7. Maldon Promenade Petting Zoo - 1 visit (first-time visit)
 
I visited fifteen collections throughout 2024, a relatively medium figure for me to hit, my record is twenty-six different collections in a year.

1. Blackpool Zoo - 4 visits
2. South Lakes Safari Zoo
3. Lakes Aquarium
4. Wild Discovery
5. Dudley Zoo
6. Hoo Farm
7. Bridlington Animal Park
8. Sea Life Scarborough
9. The Deep
10. Filey Bird Garden and Animal Park
11. Bugtopia Hornsea
12. Lotherton Hall
13. Yorkshire Wildlife Park
14. Chester Zoo
15. Blue Planet Aquarium

I've found that unfortunately, I've become quite stagnant this year in terms of collections visited, I've not really ventured further than the North aside from a Bank Holiday Friday trip to Dudley/Hoo Farm. 2025 is already looking much more promising, with a trip to the Cotswold's planned with three new collections to be visited. I intend to visit Chester Zoo more in 2025 and as such Blackpool Zoo where my yearly membership wasn't really worth it as such in 2024 due to the lack of visits.

2024 was the first year since 2021 where I've not visited a collection abroad either, I did plan on visiting Terra Natura Benidorm back in November but those plans never came to fruition. South Lakes Safari Zoo officially closes tomorrow, so that will be a collection that I do not visit in 2025, however, my current plans are for the following:

April; Cotswold Wildlife Park, Cotswold Falconry Centre and Crocodiles of the World - *new*
May; possible whale watching in Norway, alternatively, two collections in Europe.
July; Terra Natura Benidorm and Mundo Mar Benidorm - *revisits*
August; both ZSL collections - *revisits*
 
This year wasn't very productive with zoo visits for me. Unless there's something I've forgotten, it was only four collections for me this year, though I visited 3 out of 4 multiple times.

1. Taronga Zoo Sydney - a lot (20-30 or more)
2. Sydney Zoo - 3 visits (maybe more)
3. Taronga Western Plains Zoo - 2 visits (4 days)
4. Monsoon Garden (Darwin) - 1 visit

Fortunately, 2025 should be a better year for zoo visits, with a visit to Mogo Wildlife Park planned in January, and a trip to Cairns in July where I should be able to visit a couple of new collections (hoping for both Cairns Aquarium and Hartley's Crocodile Adventures). There will also undoubtedly be many more visits to Taronga Zoo Sydney as I am a volunteer there, and at least one visit each to Sydney Zoo and TWPZ. Hopefully Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park too if I can.
 
I did 14 different places this year, broke my record of 13 from last year.

1. Melbourne Zoo
2. Werribee Open Range Zoo
3. Ballarat Wildlife Park
4. ballarat Bird World
5. Sea Life Melbourne
6. Batemans Bay Birdland
7. National Zoo and Aquarium
8. Mogo Zoo
9. Taronga Zoo
10. Wild Life Sydney Zoo
11. Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park
12. Sydney Zoo
13. Sea Life Sydney
14. Symbio Zoo
 
United Kingdom:
ZSL London Zoo - 3 visits
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo - 1 visit
Tropiquaria Wildlife Park - 1 visit
Sea Life Weymouth - 1 visit
Exmoor Zoo - 1 visit

Germany:
Tierpark Dessau - 1 visit
Tierpark Wittenberg - 1 visit
Zoo Dresden - 1 visit

Czechia:
Prague Zoo - 1 visit

France:
Marinarium de Concarneau - 1 visit
Océanopolis Brest - 1 visit

So all in all, 14 visits to 11 zoos, a decent year. However, 7 of those 11 were first-time visits, which is quite a good number for me, and 6 were overseas, a personal record.

Sadly, 2025 is likely going to be a rather modest year for zoo visits, at least for the first half.
 
I visited a small amount of zoos in 2024 as this was my first year on Zoochat.

Massachusetts
Franklin Park Zoo - 2 visits
Museum of Science - 2 visits
New England Aquarium - 2 visits
Southwick’s Zoo - 1 visit
Stone Zoo - 3 visits
Nevada
Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay - 1 visit
New York
Central Park Zoo - 1 visit
Rhode Island
Roger Williams Park Zoo - 1 visit
Vermont
V.I.N.S. - 1 visit
United Kingdom
London Zoo - 1 visit
 
1. Zoo Zurich (SUI)
2. Zoo Basel (SUI)
3. Walter Zoo Gossau (SUI)
4. Zoo and Aquarium Berlin (GER)
5. Tierpark Berlin (GER)
6. Tampa Zoo (USA)
7. Florida Aquarium Tampa (USA)
8. Busch Gardens Tampa (USA)
9. Loro Parque Tenerife (SPA)

Not that many, no new one, but I'm still very happy with that.
 
I made 83 visits to 24 collections, all in the UK, though my Slimbridge visits were for wild birds as much as the captive collection.

New Forest Wildlife Park, Hawk Conservancy Trust and WWT Arundel were first time locations for me.
  1. Africa Alive
  2. Banham
  3. Beale Park
  4. British Wildlife Centre
  5. Chester
  6. Colchester
  7. Cotswold Wildlife Park
  8. Drayton Manor Zoo
  9. Dudley
  10. Hamerton
  11. Hawk Conservancy trust
  12. Jimmys farm
  13. Johnsons of Old Hurst
  14. Linton
  15. LWP
  16. New Forest Wildlife Park
  17. Shepreth
  18. Thrigby Hall
  19. Twycross
  20. Watatunga
  21. WWT Arundel
  22. WWT Slimbridge
  23. YWP
  24. ZSL Whipsnade
My most frequently visited zoos / collections were:
  1. ZSL Whipsnade: 17
  2. CWP: 14
  3. Slimbridge: 13
  4. Hamerton: 9
Having decided to split my days out in 2024 between zoos and wildlife, I also visted 21 other locations; 8 RSPB, 1 other WWT and then other nature reserves and trusts plus a couple of deer parks, all on multiple occasions. I also had access to a private estate for photography of Chinese Water Deer among other things which has been brilliant and a great place to visit even in the evening after a zoo! I hope to do the same sort of split in 2025, all being well.
 
11 zoos, ten of them being new collections. All of them being in Germany:

Tierpark Hellabrunn
Zoo Augsburg
Zoo Wasserstern
Tiergarten Nürnberg
Wilhelma
Tiergarten Ulm
Schildkröten und Reptilienzoo Neu Ulm
Vogelpark Olching
Zoologischer Garten Hof
Wildpark Poing
Tiergarten Straubing
 
I made 14 visits to 8 collections this year.

1. Colchester Zoo - 7 visits
2. Banham Zoo
3. Hertfordshire Zoo
4. Howletts Wild Animal Park
5. The Big Cat Sanctuary
6. Hamerton Zoo Park
7. ZSL Whipsnade Zoo
8. ZSL London Zoo

In terms of number of zoos and total visits, objectively an improvement on 11 visits to 6 in 2023 (although the 2 day trip to Chester that year was a real highlight), and hopefully leaves steady progress to be improved on next year, though possibly not in raw volume of visits.
 
I only visited seven, but four of them were new:

Wellington Zoo (Wellington, NZ)
Wildlife Foxton Trust (Foxton, NZ) – NEW
National Aquarium (Napier, NZ)
Featherdale Wildlife Park (Sydney, Australia) – NEW
Kunming Zoo (Yunnan, China) – NEW
Yaojiaping Rescue Centre (Yunnan, China) – NEW
Chengdu Zoo (Sichuan, China)
 
Compared to most other people here, I have visited a lower number of zoos, but I am very satisfied with my amount nonetheless:

Ireland
  • Dublin Zoo (Two visits)
  • Fota Wildlife Park (Three visits)
United Kingdom:
  • Belfast Zoo (One visit)
  • SeaLife London (One visit)
  • ZSL London Zoo (Two visits)
 
I have visited a decent amount of zoos this year, new zoos will be bold.

• Detroit Zoo
• Toledo Zoo
• Busch Gardens Tampa
• Epcot (Aquarium)
• Zoo Atlanta
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (30 minute visit to find okapi)
• Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
• Reptarium
• Wilderness Trails Zoo
• Potter Park Zoo
• Belle Isle Aquarium
• Brookfield Zoo
• North Carolina Zoo
• Alligator Adventure
• Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach
• African Safari Wildlife Park
• Mackinac Island Bug Zoo
• Cincinnati Zoo
 
34 this year! including 11 new* collections (in bold).

Birmingham Nature Centre
WWT Slimbridge
Puxton Park
Noahs Ark Zoo Farm
National Marine aquarium Plymouth
Hamerton Zoo
Folly Farm
Manor Wildlife Park
Animal Farm Adventure Park (Brean)
Axe Valley Wildlife Park
Loro Parque, Tenerife
Jungle Park, Las Aguilas Tenerife
Monkey Park, Tenerife
North Somerset Bird of Prey Centre
Exmoor Zoo
Bristol Aquarium
SEA Life Weymouth
Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre
West Midlands Safari Park
Hoo Farm
Paradise Wildlife Park / Hertfordshire Zoo
Cedars Nature Centre
Dudley Zoo
Blue Planet Aquarium
Chester Zoo
Wild Place Project
Chew Valley Wild Animal Park
Cassiobury Farm
Peak Wildlife Park
Whipsnade
Johnson's of Oldhurst
Marwell Wildlife
Avon Valley Wildlife Park
Welsh Mountain Zoo

*Loro Parque i did visit when i was very young but nice to see it with a new perspective.

Highlights;
- Hippo feeding experience at Whipsnade (highly recommended)
- Zorilla at Cedars Nature Centre
- Dudley Zoo keeper for the day experience (again highly recommended)

Low Lights;
- Picton closing shortly before i planned to visit.

Looking ahead to 2025;
- likely a slow year for new collections with no international travel planned.
- confirmed plans to visit Longleat and Woburn Safari Parks only.
- loose plans for ZSL London, Beale Wildlife Park and Drusillas
- hoping to visit at least 5 new collections , likely in the South Coast (Looe Monkey Sanctuary, Paradise Park, Sea Life Gweek possibly) or Lake District possibly.

Happy new year to you all!
 
One of my lowest years for zoo visiting ever, with only 15. Bolded zoos are ones I visited for the first time:

1. Mariposario Alas del Destino
2. Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary
3. Manitowoc Lincoln Park Zoo
4. NEW Zoo
5. Stevens Point Herpetological Society
6. Irvine Park Zoo
7. Milwaukee County Zoo
8. Shamba Safari
9. Brookfield Zoo
10. Wildwood Wildlife Park
11. Sea Life Minnesota
12. Snake Discovery
13. Minnesota Zoo
14. Sustainable Safari
15. Bruemmer Park Zoo
 
This year I've visited 14 different animal collections. The total in 2022 was 17 and in 2023 it was 15, so a slight decline.
Collection new to me are in bold

Bangkok Snake Farm
Plantasia, Swansea
Manor Wildlife Park
Folly Farm Zoo
New Forest Wildlife Park
Paradise Park, Hayle
Reptle Zone, Filton (this is a collection of (mostly) venomous snakes kept above a reptile shop)
Paignton Zoo
Shaldon Zoo
Chester Zoo
Cotswold Wildlife Park
Noah's Ark Farm Zoo
The Bristol Zoo Project
Bristol Aquarium
 
This year, I visited 29 different zoological facilities, which is a record for me. This included 19 new facilities that I have visited for the first time. Of the remaining 10 facilities that I have visited previously, 4 of them are facilities that I have only been to as a kid, so this year's visits are the first I have done since I got into the hobby.

New facilities are in bold. Facilities that I have previously visited in the distant past are in italics. The list is in order of first visit of the year.
  • North Carolina Zoo (Asheboro, NC)
  • Greensboro Science Center (Greensboro, NC)
  • Adventure Aquarium (Camden, NJ)
  • American Museum of Natural History (New York, NY)
  • Philadelphia Zoo (Philadelphia, PA)
  • Smithsonian National Zoo (Washington, D.C.)
  • The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore (Baltimore, MD)
  • Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (Washington, D.C.)
  • National Aquarium in Baltimore (Baltimore, MD)
  • Lehigh Valley Zoo (Schnecksville, PA)
  • Elmwood Park Zoo (Norristown, PA)
  • Turtle Back Zoo (West Orange, NJ)
  • Bergen County Zoo (Paramus, NJ)
  • SeaLife New Jersey (East Rutherford, NJ)
  • Central Park Zoo (New York, NY)
  • New York Aquarium (Brooklyn, NY)
  • Prospect Park Zoo (Brooklyn, NY)
  • Queens Zoo (Queens, NY)
  • Bronx Zoo (New York, NY)
  • Staten Island Zoo (Staten Island, NY)
  • Jenkinson's Aquarium (Point Pleasant Beach, NJ)
  • Lakota Wolf Preserve (Columbia, NJ)
  • North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (Raleigh, NC)
  • Walnut Creek Wetland Center (Raleigh, NC)
  • Museum of Life and Sciences (Durham, NC)
  • Reptile Gardens (Rapid City, SD)
  • Clark Park Nature Center (Fayetteville, NC)
  • North Carolina Estuarium (Washington, NC)
  • Sylvan Heights Bird Park (Scotland Neck, NC)
Unlike previous years, where most of my credits were in the Southeast, I got to experience many Northern zoos this year, and it was definitely interesting seeing how much Northern zoos differ from Southern zoos; not just in collection, but also in atmosphere and character. I had to temporarily relocate to PA to help with family matters, so it gave me a massive opportunity to visit a whole bunch of zoos, including two that I visited as a kid and have been dying to revisit.
 
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