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locations, but also a great number that have closed down for financial reasons or they had simply become decrepit and outdated and refused to modernize.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.
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.
They are as follows:
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