As someone who has visited a tremendous number of zoos in the United States, it seems to me that both lions and tigers are ubiquitous, and thus found in every nook and cranny wherever one looks. Out of curiosity I decided to see which mammal is more common in major American zoos, and to my surprise the tiger won the battle.
My starting point was the book America's Best Zoos (2008: Nyhuis & Wassner), and I went through the 60 zoos to figure out which ones held either lions or tigers, or in many cases both types of mammal. I've visited 59 out of the top 60 zoos and so I've actually seen the exhibits with my own eyes, but please feel free to point out any errors in my calculations as animal collections are an ever-changing form. Some of the zoos below have tentative plans to add either lions or tigers to the collection in the near future, but I only included a couple that were already under construction and therefore guaranteed.
Tigers: There are 53 out of the 60 zoos with tigers, plus Woodland Park is currently constructing a new Malayan Tiger complex to make it 54 out of 60. The 6 zoos that will still lack tigers are: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Binder Park, Jacksonville, Maryland, North Carolina and Roger Williams Park.
Lions: There are 51 out of the 60 zoos that have lions, although Utah's Hogle Zoo will make it 52 in 2014 when its African Savanna precinct opens. The 8 zoos that will still lack lions are: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Binder Park, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Nashville, Point Defiance, Roger Williams Park and Utah's Hogle Zoo.
Overall, there are only 3 zoos that have neither lions or tigers: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Binder Park and Roger Williams Park. In fact, Binder Park (even with its spectacular Wild Africa complex), lacks elephants, rhinos, hippos, otters, meerkats, lions, tigers or any great apes.
My starting point was the book America's Best Zoos (2008: Nyhuis & Wassner), and I went through the 60 zoos to figure out which ones held either lions or tigers, or in many cases both types of mammal. I've visited 59 out of the top 60 zoos and so I've actually seen the exhibits with my own eyes, but please feel free to point out any errors in my calculations as animal collections are an ever-changing form. Some of the zoos below have tentative plans to add either lions or tigers to the collection in the near future, but I only included a couple that were already under construction and therefore guaranteed.
Tigers: There are 53 out of the 60 zoos with tigers, plus Woodland Park is currently constructing a new Malayan Tiger complex to make it 54 out of 60. The 6 zoos that will still lack tigers are: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Binder Park, Jacksonville, Maryland, North Carolina and Roger Williams Park.
Lions: There are 51 out of the 60 zoos that have lions, although Utah's Hogle Zoo will make it 52 in 2014 when its African Savanna precinct opens. The 8 zoos that will still lack lions are: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Binder Park, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Nashville, Point Defiance, Roger Williams Park and Utah's Hogle Zoo.
Overall, there are only 3 zoos that have neither lions or tigers: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Binder Park and Roger Williams Park. In fact, Binder Park (even with its spectacular Wild Africa complex), lacks elephants, rhinos, hippos, otters, meerkats, lions, tigers or any great apes.
