How many zoos have you visited that are now closed?

vogelcommando said:
Dealing with the same subject : https://www.zoochat.com/community/threads/visits-to-zoos-that-dont-exist-anymore.337755/
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Next to the collections I already mentioned in the other thread a few more collections I visited but which no longer exist :
- Fasanerie De Rooie Hoeve - the Netherlands
- Het Arsenaal - the Netherlands
- Klein Costa Rica - the Netherlands
- Aquatopia - Belgium
- Vogelpark Het Zwin - Belgium
- Brussels Aquarium - Belgium
- Serpentarium Blankenberge - Belgium
- Büsumer Meereswelten - Germany
- Falkenhof Schalkholz - Germany
 
Neil chace said:
No closed zoos since I started keeping track in 2020, but prior to that I've visited at least two. One is the Zooquarium on Cape Cod, which I visited on multiple family vacations, and on one vacation we went to find it had closed. The other was a small reptile zoo in Rhode Island that I have very little memory of, and do not remember the name of. All I know is that it's not there anymore, and I remember alligators, people holding a big snake, and getting to feed an African Spurred Tortoise.
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Same here, as I remember going to both places. The small reptile zoo was Regal Reptiles in Providence, went there for one of my birthdays. I'm pretty sure the owner of the facility was not a good person (like not really want to mention the crimes on his record) and he tried to open a new store in Pawtucket but is also permanently closed. Good riddance.

I do remember almost getting bit by one of the tortoises, that was not a fun experience.
 
Off the top of my head I can recall 17 establishments that fit this category. Some disappeared a very long time ago.

I've visited two major zoos that have closed their centre city locations and moved to much larger premixes and in doing so have become very different zoos:
  • Bristol Zoo, United Kingdom
  • Emmen Zoo, Netherlands
The following are medium size collections that have closed completely:
  • Mugga Lane Zoo, Canberra, Australia
  • Alma Park Zoo, Brisbane, Australia
  • Bacchus Marsh Lion Park, Vic Australia
  • Leeds Castle Aviaries, United Kingdom
  • Sorrento Aquarium, Vic. Australia
  • Southern Oceans Aquarium, Christchurch NZ
Then there are some small to very small fauna parks, some of which existed for very short periods of time:
  • Arthurs Seat Fauna Park, Vic, Australia
  • Ace Hi Fauna Park, Vic, Australia
  • The Big Worm, Vic, Australia
  • Golden River Fauna Park, Vic Australia
  • Fauna Park near Dookie, Vic. Australia
  • Living Wings and Things, Bendigo, Vic, Australia
  • White Hills Botanic Gardens Zoo, Bendigo, Vic, Australia
  • Silverton Fauna Park, NSW, Australia
  • Fauna Park, Huon Peninsula, Tas, Australia
 
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Dassie rat said:
  • Basildon Zoo
  • Brighton Dolphinarium (now Brighton Sealife Centre)
  • Bristol Zoo
  • Broxbourne Zoo (now Paradise Park)
  • Clacton Seaquarium
  • Cricket St. Thomas
  • Crystal Palace Children's Zoo
  • Dusit, Bangkok
  • Exmouth Aquarium
  • Exmouth Zoo (where I saw my first olingo)
  • Gatwick Zoo
  • Glasgow Zoo
  • Kilverstone
  • Lambton Lion Park, Durham
  • Mole Hall
  • Rare Species Conservation Centre
  • SERPO, Delft
  • Southport
  • Ventura
  • Verulamium, St Albans
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I forgot Brescia, Milan, Tropical Wings and Verona
 
1. Catskill Game Farm (New York)
2. Benson’s Wild Animal Park (New Hampshire)
3. Mohegan Park Zoo (Connecticut)
4. Bates Woods Zoo (Connecticut)
5. Houlton Game Farm (Maine)
6. King’s Dominion Safari (Virginia)
7. International Wildlife Safari Park (Texas)
 
Demstrup Mini Zoo is, to my knowledge, the first zoo I was ever taken to and the zoo I visited most often as a small kid. It closed sometime in the late 90s.

Of others, I can think of the zoo in Ayamonte, Spain, which officially closed in 2019 (I believe it closed de facto before that by getting rid of its last animals), Aquaria Vattenmuseum which closed in 2018, Vildtfarm Nord which closed in 2008, and Hjortdal Dyrefarm which closed last year (the latter two were not licensed zoos, just visitor farms with some exotics).
 
snowleopard said:
After spending a considerable amount of time updating my master list of 551 different zoos/aquariums that I've visited in my lifetime, I was genuinely surprised to find out that 24 of them no longer exist! There are plenty of zoos that have changed their names over the years, or switched locations, but also a great number that have closed down for financial reasons or they had simply become decrepit and outdated and refused to modernize. I have a list of them at the end of this post.

There are 5 Canadian zoos that are now all gone. Polar Park (originally known as Alberta Game Farm) opened in 1959 and circa 1980, when I would visit regularly as a very young child, the zoo had 90 ungulate species at a single time. It was the Berlin Tierpark of North America! Polar Park, Alberta Wildlife Park and Stanley Park Zoo all closed down in the late 1990s, during an era when zoos began to undergo dramatic changes for the new century.

There are 13 zoos in America that are now all gone. At least 7 of them were aquariums or had aquatic elements, and due to dwindling attendance numbers and financial issues they all permanently closed down. I only ever visited 5 zoos in redneck Arkansas (most in 2015) and already 3 of them are gone. Of the 13 U.S. facilities that have closed, not a single one of them will be missed. In fact, I could make a list of several dozen more American zoological establishments that need to permanently shut down. That nation has plenty of the very best zoos in the world, but also loads of roadside, junky zoos that are essentially obsolete in Western Europe.

There are 3 Aussie zoos, all located in the southwest corner of Western Australia, that I would visit frequently between 1986 and 1988, when I lived there as a young child, and they are all closed as well.

And that leaves two Dutch zoos and a Belgian zoo, all visited by me in 2019 and now all gone. Serpentarium Blankenberge (Belgium) is a real loss, as I counted 89 species there and the attention to detail with the terrariums was very impressive.

24 Closed Zoos/Aquariums:

Polar Park (Edmonton, AB, Canada)
Alberta Wildlife Park (Edmonton, AB, Canada)
Stanley Park Zoo (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Rainforest Reptile Refuge (Surrey, BC, Canada)
Mountain View Conservation Centre (Langley, BC, Canada)

National Aquarium (Washington, D.C., USA)
Portland Aquarium (Oak Grove, OR, USA)
Oregon Undersea Gardens (Newport, OR, USA)
World Aquarium (St. Louis, MO, USA)
G W Exotic Animal Park (Wynnewood, OK, USA)
National Park Aquarium (Hot Springs, AR, USA)
Northwest Arkansas Reptile Museum (Berryville, AR, USA)
Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (Gentry, AR, USA)
Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden & Mirage Aquarium (Las Vegas, NV, USA)
Feline Conservation Center (Rosamond, CA, USA)
Morro Bay Aquarium (Morro Bay, CA, USA)
Jo-Don Farms (Franksville, WI, USA)
Special Memories Zoo (Greenville, WI, USA)

Busselton Oceanarium (Busselton, WA, Australia)
Marapana Wildlife World (Karnup, WA, Australia)
Glen Karaleea Deer Park (Donnybrook, WA, Australia)

Het Arsenaal Aquarium (Vlissingen, Netherlands)
Klein Costa Rica (Someren, Netherlands)

Serpentarium Blankenberge (Blankenberge, Belgium)

How many zoos and aquariums have others seen that are now gone forever? Of course, I've also visited a long list of brand-new facilities, but there is a degree of nostalgia when looking over my list of 24 establishments that are no longer around.
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Out of the 80+ zoo/aquariums that I've been to the only ones now closed that I know of are Sea World of Ohio and Jungle Larry's African Safari at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky OH. Cedar Point also had a small aquarium and dolphin arena that are now closed. Has any other zoo chatter been or remember these places?
 
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The only now-closed places I've been to are two small facilities that were in Illinois.

Serpent Safari: A small reptile zoo in Gurnee that I visited at least a few times when I was very young. Closed circa 2013.

Wildlife Discovery Center: A nature center in Lake Forest located on a historic farm property. I visited once last year and actually really enjoyed this place that had some surprises like Orinoco crocodile and Komodo dragon. It closed just a few months ago after the owner retired.
 
Of the 30 facilities I have visited as of this writing, I have been to 2 that have since closed. There may be a third facility on Long Island that I visited as a kid that may or may not be closed, but I cannot remember the name of the place. I believe it's the Long Island Game Farm (which is actually still operating), but I am not 100% sure.
  • Long Island Reptile Museum (Hicksville, NY)
    • Opened 1995, Closed 2004.
    • I only ever visited this facility as a kid when I still lived on Long Island, so I have basically have very little recollection of it. However, according to an article from Audobon Herpetologist Robert W. Mendyk, the facility was an all-encompassing, top-to-bottom disaster. In short, the museum had poorly-designed exhibits and utilities, brought in more animals than they had the space and resources to care for, and suffered from constant financial struggles that resulted in them being unable to pay staff (leading to high staff turnover), veterinary services (they went through 10 different practices and vets were warning others to stay away from them), and even for basic operational and utility costs, resulting in animal deaths when their heat were shut off, for example. This place wasn't closed down due to said financial troubles or low attendance; they were forced to shut down by Nassau county officials due to building and fire code violations. 9 years may not seem like a lot, but even then, it's still surprising the LIRM lasted that long given its issues. Ironically, 2004 is also the same year I moved from NY to NC.
    • You can read the article here -> https://www.researchgate.net/public...ed_reptile_zoo_The_Long_Island_Reptile_Museum.
  • Triangle Metro Zoo (Wake Forest, NC)
    • Opened 1998, Closed 2006.
    • This facility actually existed not far from where I currently live. Sadly, it was a shining example of a roadside zoo in every sense of the term. Small and terrible enclosures, and basically no facilities because the barn they had that contained the gift shop and restrooms burned down shortly after opening and were never rebuilt. Practically hidden in an unassuming forested area near residential developments, the zoo closed due to financial issues as they were never able to attract visitors partly due to being unable to advertise with billboards along nearby Capital Blvd, so most people probably were never even aware of the facility. I visited this facility with my family in 2004 or 2005 (can't remember exactly which year). The year it closed was also the first year I would visit the North Carolina Zoo, and the rest is history.
 
Just one for me as far as I am aware. The National Aquarium in Washington, D.C.
 
Discovery Island in Disney World is the only zoo I've visited that is now closed.
 
So far the only zoo I've visited that has since closed is Mountain View Conservation and Breeding Centre, and frankly I'm glad it did.

The centre was established in 1986 with the goal of breeding various endangered species, both native to Canadian and exotic, to help bolster wild populations. From my understanding the centre was somewhat successful in this endeavour, and certainly boasted an impressive collection of species, but the amount of neglect and abuse towards the animals that went on there (fair warning for that link, the descriptions of what went on are graphic) taints any memories I have of the place.
 
For me it's:

- Dierenpark Emmen (Netherlands)

- Dusit Zoo (Bankok, Thailand)

- Reptilienzoo Kirchberg (Germany)

- Zoopark Metelen (Germany) (closed 2011 / 2019 reopened with new management and new name)
 
American Wilderness Experience (California, USA)
Busch Gardens (California, USA)
California Alligator Farm (California, USA)
Douglas Wildlife Zoo (Arizona, USA)
Exotic Feline Breeding Compound (California, USA)
Japanese Deer Garden (California, USA)
Lion Country Safari (California, USA)
Marineland of the Pacific (California, USA)
Payson Zoo (Arizona, USA)
Rare Species Conservation Centre (Sandwich, England)
Secret Garden of Siegfried and Roy (Nevada, USA)
Southern Nevada Zoo (Nevada, USA)
Tiger Rescue (California, USA)
Turpentine Creek Wildlife Sanctuary (Florida, USA)
Wild Animal Orphanage (Texas, USA)
Wildlife Ambassadors (California, USA)
Wildlife Waystation (California, USA)
 
I began this thread just two months ago, but have since found out that two more places I've visited many years ago have now permanently closed down. My new list is here as I added on Glacier Ridge and San Angelo:

26 Closed Zoos/Aquariums:

Polar Park (Edmonton, AB, Canada)
Alberta Wildlife Park (Edmonton, AB, Canada)
Stanley Park Zoo (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
Rainforest Reptile Refuge (Surrey, BC, Canada)
Mountain View Conservation Centre (Langley, BC, Canada)

National Aquarium (Washington, D.C., USA)
Portland Aquarium (Oak Grove, OR, USA)
Oregon Undersea Gardens (Newport, OR, USA)
World Aquarium (St. Louis, MO, USA)
G W Exotic Animal Park (Wynnewood, OK, USA)
National Park Aquarium (Hot Springs, AR, USA)
Northwest Arkansas Reptile Museum (Berryville, AR, USA)
Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (Gentry, AR, USA)
Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden & Mirage Aquarium (Las Vegas, NV, USA)
Feline Conservation Center (Rosamond, CA, USA)
Morro Bay Aquarium (Morro Bay, CA, USA)
Glacier Ridge Animal Farm (Van Dyne, WI, USA)
Jo-Don Farms (Franksville, WI, USA)
Special Memories Zoo (Greenville, WI, USA)
San Angelo Nature Center (San Angelo, TX, USA)

Busselton Oceanarium (Busselton, WA, Australia)
Marapana Wildlife World (Karnup, WA, Australia)
Glen Karaleea Deer Park (Donnybrook, WA, Australia)

Het Arsenaal Aquarium (Vlissingen, Netherlands)
Klein Costa Rica (Someren, Netherlands)

Serpentarium Blankenberge (Blankenberge, Belgium)
 
Belgium
- Limburgse Zoo, Zwartberg, Genk
- "Frituur Zoo", Lochristi
Italy
- Verona Zoo
Netherlands
- Eindhoven Zoo ("Animali")
- Epe Zoo ("de Wissel")
- Emmen (Noorder Zoo)
- Wassenaar Zoo
Singapore
- Jurong Bird Park
Spain
- Matapozuelos Zoo (near Valladolid)
UK
- Glasgow Zoo
- Bristol Zoo
 
snowleopard said:
National Aquarium (Washington, D.C., USA)
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Tim May said:
I've also visited two North American collections that subsequently closed: Marineland (California) and Catskill Game Farm
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I hadn't realised that the National Aquarium (Washington) had closed. That makes three North America collections I've visited that have now closed:

(i) Marineland (California)
(ii) Catskill Game Farm
(iii) National Aquarium ( Washington)
 
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