How many zoos have you visited? (poll 2)

How many zoological parks have you visited?

  • 1-9

    Votes: 71 14.4%
  • 10-24

    Votes: 155 31.4%
  • 25-49

    Votes: 99 20.1%
  • 50-99

    Votes: 83 16.8%
  • 100-199

    Votes: 50 10.1%
  • 200-299

    Votes: 16 3.2%
  • 300 or more

    Votes: 19 3.9%

  • Total voters
    493
Zoos are outside and typically focus on land animals. Aquariums are inside and typically focus on aquatic animals.

A zoo I went to the other day is almost entirely indoors. So even though it has more species than a lot of places, including an entirely outdoor place I went to the next day, it doesn't count as a zoo because it isn't outside?
 
A zoo I went to the other day is almost entirely indoors. So even though it has more species than a lot of places, including an entirely outdoor place I went to the next day, it doesn't count as a zoo because it isn't outside?

Well that's why it's called an indoor zoo.
 
Zoos are outside and typically focus on land animals. Aquariums are inside and typically focus on aquatic animals.

I guess someone should tell Mystic and New York that they're not aquariums but actually zoos. And that the Montreal Biodome isn't a zoo, but an aquarium. For shame.

Aquariums are zoos in the broader definition of the word in which we also count herpetariums, safari parks, butterfly gardens, exotic petting zoos, insectariums, living museums, and aviaries as zoos.

If one wants to further specify--and complicate--by splitting animal exhibitions into separate categories then fine, but even then I don't think you can create a more specific definition for the word that excludes all the aforementioned collections. And how does one separate a roadside zoo, a private zoo, and a zoological garden? They're all zoos, and aquariums are zoos. It's a little trivial to try and insist otherwise.

But no more trivial than trying to insist that western Connecticut doesn't count as New England, or even Connecticut, but actually as New York City because, if you exclude Greenwich, it ~feels~ like NYC....

~Thylo
 
Aquariums aren't zoos. They're like them, but they're aquariums, not zoos. I'm confusing myself :confused:

Personal I would consider a typical aquarium to be more of a zoo than those mammal parks that call themselves zoos. Aquariums tend to have a greater diversity of animal life on display, the idea that they're not zoos stems from the view that non-mammalian animals are some how inferior.
 
Here's my list. Collections in italics are not open to the public in the manner of a traditional zoo, though may have opportunities for private tours. I didn't include them in my count-up.


Australia and NZ: 16(17)

Adelaide Zoo
Monarto Safari Park
Melbourne Zoo
Werribee Open Range Zoo
Taronga Zoo
Gorge Wildlife Park
Cleland Wildlife Park
Urimbirra Wildlife Park
Perth Zoo
Rainforest Habitat
Australia Zoo
Kuranda Koala Gardens
Sea World
Dreamworld
Hahndorf Farm Barn
Animals Anonymous HQ
Auckland Zoo



Europe: 10 (11)

Monkey World
ZSL London Zoo
Bristol Zoo Gardens
Twycross Zoo
Chester Zoo
Artis Zoo
Burgers Zoo
Planckendael
Zoo Antwerp
West Midland Safari Park
AAP Primadomus



North America: 2 (4)

Oregon Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo
Chimps Inc./Freedom for Great Apes
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest




Africa: (1)

Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary
 
Zoos and Aquariums I've ever visited:
1. Guangzhou Zoo, China
2. Melbourne Aquarium, Australia
3. Ocean Dream Samudra, Indonesia
4. Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, Japan
5. Ragunan Zoo, Indonesia
6. Sea World Ancol, Indonesia
7. Singapore Zoo, Singapore
8. Sydney Wildlife World, Australia
9. Taman Safari Bogor, Indonesia
10. Zoo Berlin, Germany
Not considered a zoological facility, but housed a collection of animals:
1. Taman Buah Mekarsari, Indonesia
2. Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, Indonesia
For a Zoochatter, it's quite only a few. But living in Indonesia and still being a teenager (13), it's very hard for me to visit zoos around the world as I still have to rely on my parents, and sometimes they don't want to let me.
Update: As of October 2020, I'm proud to add Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Centre (2018), New Zealand and Copenhagen Zoo (2019), Denmark as part of my collection of visited zoos! I've also visited Agroventures Adventure Park (now named Velocity Valley) in New Zealand along with Legoland Billund in Denmark which aren't considered full zoological facility, but does contain some exotic animals in it (Legoland has a Sea Life facility too).

Edit: Forgot to add Bali Taman Safari, Indonesia for some reason.
 
I have been to 22 places that I would actually call a 'zoo' (or aquarium or safari park) I am not counting nature centers because that would be stretching things a bit, but feel free to do so yourself. This number would have probably been up by 5-10 if covid had not hit, I was really planning on going all out this year :( Haven't been to a zoo since june of 2019, it is rough.

Major zoos:
Brookfield zoo, IL
Lincoln park zoo, IL
Saint Louis zoo, MO
Denver zoo, CO
San diego zoo, CA
San diego zoo safari park, CA
Indianapolis zoo, IN
Knoxville zoo, TN
Tampa's Lowry park zoo, FL

Smaller zoos:
Cosley zoo, IL
Phillips park zoo, IL
Scovill zoo, IL
Aikman's wildlife adventure, IL
RainForest discovery adventure zoo, TN
Alligator and wildlife discovery center, FL
Naples zoo (as an infant), FL

Aquariums:
Shedd Aquarium, IL
Ripley's aquarium of Canada, ON, CA
Downtown aquarium Denver, CO
sea world San Diego, CA
Georgia aquarium, GA
Florida aquarium, FL
 
I've been to 24 zoological institutions. I'm including zoos, aquariums, petting zoos (those are not part of any zoo, they're separate institutions) and scientifical instititutions. So, let's go!
Brazil
-Rio de Janeiro zoo;
-Rio de Janeiro's marine aquarium;
-Fazendinha Estação Natureza RJ (petting zoo, but with some wild and exotic animals, located in the city of Rio de Janeiro);
-Volta Redonda zoo;
-Aparecida do Norte aquarium;
-São Paulo zoo;
-São Paulo safari park/Zoo Safari (right next to the zoo);
-São Paulo aquarium;
-Fazendinha Estação Natureza SP (another petting zoo with some wild and exotic animals, owned by the same institution as the Rio de Janeiro one, located in the city of São Paulo);
-Instituto Butantan (scientifical institution, located in the city of São Paulo);
-Parque da Água Branca's aquarium (an aquarium inside a park, located in the city of São Paulo)
-Zooparque Itatiba;
-Sorocaba zoo;
-Santos Aquarium;
-Acqua Mundo Guarujá (Guarujá);
-Belo Horizonte zoo;
-Curitiba zoo;
-Parque das Aves (Foz do Iguaçu);
-Balneário Camboriú zoo;
-Beto Carrero World's zoo (Penha);
Portugal
-Lisbon zoo
-Lisbon Oceanarium
-Zoo Santo Inácio (Porto/Vila Nova de Gaia)
-Sea Life Porto.
 
I visited the Zoo Santo Inácio on July 2018, I loved it. It was one of the best zoos I have ever visited, up to this day. There, I saw many animals for the first time in my life.
 
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