The book that I cowrote, titled America’s Top 100 Zoos & Aquariums, contains reviews and photos of 80 zoos and 20 aquariums. There are 35 out of the 80 zoos that currently display pinnipeds and 12 out of the 20 aquariums that display pinnipeds.
The weekly lists that I've done so far:
71 out of the 80 zoos have giraffes
61 out of the 80 zoos have rhinos
54 out of the 80 zoos have elephants
48 out of the 80 zoos have penguins (plus 16 out of 20 aquariums)
35 out of the 80 zoos have pinnipeds (plus 12 out of 20 aquariums)
22 out of the 80 zoos have common hippos (plus 12 have pygmy hippos)
When compiling these lists, I was pleased to see so many new pinniped exhibits that have been built in the past dozen years. Columbus, Como Park, Fresno Chaffee, Henry Vilas, Louisville, Omaha, Riverbanks, Saint Louis, Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Tulsa, Utah’s Hogle Zoo and Wildlife World Zoo, along with Georgia Aquarium and New England Aquarium, make it 14 facilities that have all built brand-new pinniped exhibits in the past dozen years.
However, there are at least 6 zoos that I’ve visited in the past dozen years that used to have pinnipeds and now they are gone. ABQ BioPark, Cincinnati, Detroit, El Paso, Gladys Porter and San Francisco. I have seen pinnipeds at all those zoos.
It’s also interesting to note that the DFW area (Dallas World Aquarium, Dallas Zoo, Fort Worth Zoo), which is home to an extraordinary number of species in a 30-minute radius, is completely devoid of pinnipeds. No wonder Dallas Zoo has tentative plans for a pinniped pool in its Master Plan!
The 35 zoos (in the book) that currently have pinnipeds:
Audubon
Birmingham
Bronx
Brookfield
Central Park
Cleveland
Columbus
Como Park
Denver
Fort Wayne
Fresno Chaffee
Henry Vilas
Houston
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Lincoln Park
Los Angeles
Louisville
Memphis
Milwaukee County
Minnesota
North Carolina
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Oregon
Pittsburgh
Point Defiance
Riverbanks
Roger Williams Park
Saint Louis
Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Toledo
Tulsa
Utah’s Hogle
Wildlife World
The 12 aquariums that have pinnipeds:
Aquarium of the Pacific
Georgia Aquarium
Moody Gardens
Mystic Aquarium
New England Aquarium
New York Aquarium
Oregon Coast Aquarium
Seattle Aquarium
SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld San Antonio
SeaWorld San Diego
Shedd Aquarium
Narrowing down the list to my 10 favourites took me an incredibly long time, testament to the fact that there are a lot of great pinniped exhibits in American zoos. I definitely prefer a more naturalistic backdrop, with mock-rock riverbanks and a Pacific Northwest vibe. That being said, the interesting exhibit designs at zoos such as Riverbanks and Hogle are excellent.
My 10 favourite pinniped exhibits in American zoos/aquariums (alphabetical ranking):
Fresno Chaffee
Memphis
North Carolina
Omaha
Oregon
Oregon Coast Aquarium
Riverbanks
Saint Louis
Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Utah’s Hogle
The weekly lists that I've done so far:
71 out of the 80 zoos have giraffes
61 out of the 80 zoos have rhinos
54 out of the 80 zoos have elephants
48 out of the 80 zoos have penguins (plus 16 out of 20 aquariums)
35 out of the 80 zoos have pinnipeds (plus 12 out of 20 aquariums)
22 out of the 80 zoos have common hippos (plus 12 have pygmy hippos)
When compiling these lists, I was pleased to see so many new pinniped exhibits that have been built in the past dozen years. Columbus, Como Park, Fresno Chaffee, Henry Vilas, Louisville, Omaha, Riverbanks, Saint Louis, Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Tulsa, Utah’s Hogle Zoo and Wildlife World Zoo, along with Georgia Aquarium and New England Aquarium, make it 14 facilities that have all built brand-new pinniped exhibits in the past dozen years.
However, there are at least 6 zoos that I’ve visited in the past dozen years that used to have pinnipeds and now they are gone. ABQ BioPark, Cincinnati, Detroit, El Paso, Gladys Porter and San Francisco. I have seen pinnipeds at all those zoos.
It’s also interesting to note that the DFW area (Dallas World Aquarium, Dallas Zoo, Fort Worth Zoo), which is home to an extraordinary number of species in a 30-minute radius, is completely devoid of pinnipeds. No wonder Dallas Zoo has tentative plans for a pinniped pool in its Master Plan!
The 35 zoos (in the book) that currently have pinnipeds:
Audubon
Birmingham
Bronx
Brookfield
Central Park
Cleveland
Columbus
Como Park
Denver
Fort Wayne
Fresno Chaffee
Henry Vilas
Houston
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Lincoln Park
Los Angeles
Louisville
Memphis
Milwaukee County
Minnesota
North Carolina
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Oregon
Pittsburgh
Point Defiance
Riverbanks
Roger Williams Park
Saint Louis
Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Toledo
Tulsa
Utah’s Hogle
Wildlife World
The 12 aquariums that have pinnipeds:
Aquarium of the Pacific
Georgia Aquarium
Moody Gardens
Mystic Aquarium
New England Aquarium
New York Aquarium
Oregon Coast Aquarium
Seattle Aquarium
SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld San Antonio
SeaWorld San Diego
Shedd Aquarium
Narrowing down the list to my 10 favourites took me an incredibly long time, testament to the fact that there are a lot of great pinniped exhibits in American zoos. I definitely prefer a more naturalistic backdrop, with mock-rock riverbanks and a Pacific Northwest vibe. That being said, the interesting exhibit designs at zoos such as Riverbanks and Hogle are excellent.
My 10 favourite pinniped exhibits in American zoos/aquariums (alphabetical ranking):
Fresno Chaffee
Memphis
North Carolina
Omaha
Oregon
Oregon Coast Aquarium
Riverbanks
Saint Louis
Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Utah’s Hogle
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