List of major United States zoos

[CGSwans]

To all you American zoo afficionadoes, I'm looking to make a definitive list of what I am about to define as "major" American zoos. To meet that hurdle, a zoo needs to meet the following criteria:
- At least 30 non-domestic mammal species on display, as well as reasonably sizable bird and reptile collections.
- At least eight of the following 15 big drawcard species: Elephants (any), rhinos (any), zebras, giraffes, hippos, orangutans, chimpanzees, gorillas, lions, tigers, bears (any), pinnipeds (any), giant pandas, dolphins or penguins.
- Participation in at least 30 SSP programs.
- Annual visitation consistently above 750,000 people (if known).

I can guess many zoos that will meet these criteria - San Diego, Bronx, Woodland Park, Henry Doorly, Columbus, Brookfield, Miami, Cinncinnati, Fort Worth, Los Angeles and the list goes on. But I'll be interested to see if any zoos that are not on my radar turn up.

 

[snowleopard]

Buy the book "America's Best Zoos", and I'm not just suggesting that because I email the authors all the time. There are comprehensive and extremely detailed reviews of the best 60 zoos in the United States, and then smaller reviews of another additional 37 American zoos that are classified as the "best of the rest". In the back of the book there are 20 categories listing the 10 best zoos (Asian animals, insects, birds, cats, etc) and the book is probably the most definitive assessment ever published in regards to the zoos within America.

 

[Arizona Docent]

There is one criteria I do not see on your list: acreage. Should a zoo be of a certain size to make the list?

Since SSP participation is one of your criteria, that narrows it down basically to AZA accredited institututions, which makes your job a bit easier. You can go to Association of Zoos and Aquariums and get a list of their facilities and then narrow it down from there. (There are a couple specialized non-AZA places that participate in SSP's, but they are places that specialize in one type of animal - such as the cats at Exotic Feline Breeding Compound - so they would not meet your other criteria anyway.).