San Diego Zoo San Diego: The Perfect Zoo?

My issue with the map/layout of the zoo isn't so much that the text is small, but that I have absolutely no idea what exhibit is what. The map has different sections listed as certain exhibits, but then the zoo signs themselves then seem to split them up into sub-exhibits? Then I see people here calling certain areas by different names (especially in the gallery). Then there's the fact that "Hippo Trail" and "Tiger Trail" and what not are listed as such on the map, but are really apart of or different parts of entirely different exhibits.

~Thylo
 
m30t said:
I believe it was in December last year that their last polar bear passed away. If you look in the Bronx galley on here I’m pretty sure there is a photo of a sign in front of the former exhibit indicating that the zoo has no plans to hold polar bears in the near future.
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If you watch the Bronx Zoo's TV show on Animal Planet called "The Zoo", it aired an episode about the polar bear, at the end it said he passed away after filming the episode. It was also said that he was the last the zoo will house.
 
I agree about the map/layout. I love the beautiful illustrations of the animals, but it didn’t help me navigate the zoo, and I got turned around a couple of times in the Lost Forest zone. Normally I don’t have a problem with confusing layouts, as it means I can backtrack and take more time seeing everything, but San Diego is massive, and if you’re doing the zoo in a day then you need all the time you can get.
 
My visit to San Diego Zoo was pre-Africa Rocks, which might change things, but as things stood in 2015 I’d say it’s behind Chester and Burgers but ahead of Bronx, Zurich and Berlin, and certainly ahead of Singapore as Asia’s best hope and Taronga as Australia’s. San Diego and Prague are similar enough that trying to pick between them is a whole thread in itself.

It’s certainly not perfect, though I suspect it’s the best generalist zoo in the world for reptiles (Noting that I haven’t been to Fort Worth), and perhaps for birds too. What edges Chester and Burgers ahead for me is that there are almost no flaws to either, whereas Elephant Odyssey is a conspicuous flop.
 
FunkyGibbon said:
Whilst not the same as it being the best zoo in America/the world, I think this is very true. There is a mythology about the place that is unlike any other.
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I like how you frame that. I would however contend that Berlin and Singapore have created/marketed a comparable mythology for themselves and that San Diego's in fact is not (or no longer) unlike any other - with perhaps Bronx, Vienna, and Sydney as a second tier of zoos with 'mythological reputation'.
 
antonmuster said:
I like how you frame that. I would however contend that Berlin and Singapore have created/marketed a comparable mythology for themselves and that San Diego's in fact is not (or no longer) unlike any other - with perhaps Bronx, Vienna, and Sydney as a second tier of zoos with 'mythological reputation'.
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No, San Diego stands alone. Us nerds talk in hushed tones of Vienna and Berlin, but nobody else does. Whereas if I were to ask my non-zoonerd Australian friends to name the most famous zoo in the world I’m confident some, at least, would come up with San Diego. And with all due respect to a wonderful city, it’s not exactly well known outside the US like New York, Singapore, Berlin and Vienna are either.
 
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Time to put my two cents in! I visited San Diego last summer when only the penguin exhibit was open from Africa Rocks. It was by far, the best experience I’ve had at any zoo as a guest. Almost all exhibits were above average or state of the art quality aside from the run of bear grottos and old monkey cages between Sun Bear Forest and the Outback which are in desperate need of renovation. Urban Jungle needs a revamp but the yards are manageable for the species they house and I understand that most of them except the giraffes and rhinos are used as outreach animals and they do not spend all their time in those exhibits. Even the much maligned Elephant Oddysey was of high quality in my opinion. I think the concept is outstanding and the species list is like nothing you’ll see in any other zoo’s elephant area. I do agree that the yards are dry and could use some greenery that makes the rest of the zoo so exotic looking and that the lion exhibit seems small (but I don’t think they plan on breeding or adding more lions so the exhibit is suitable for the two they had). The atmosphere is amazing and you could probably spend all day just looking at the plant life. Some of the best botanical work I’ve ever seen. I think the layout does a great job of conforming to the Billy terrain and using it for amazing vistas and exhibit designs. Everyone else has noted the expansive reptile and bird collection which I don’t believe can be matched by any other zoo (except maybe Fort Worth’s MOLA which I have yet to see).

So is it perfect? Hell no. No zoo is perfect. The nature of a zoo is that it will keep improving as care improves and we learn more about how to house animals in captivity. But, it is without a doubt to me, the best zoo in the US. There are some legitimate complaints about it though. There is a vast mysticism about the zoo that is hard to ignore when trying to make an unbiased opinion. I do not agree with those who say the map is hard to read or that there are too many species to see and that should knock the whole zoo down a few points. I saw the whole zoo (except most of Africa Rocks) and arrived around an hour after it opens and left around 4 (I think it closed at 7 that day). I even had time to go on the bus tour to go around the whole zoo again. I also had no issues with the map and I think it was wonderfully designed and I never got lost or didn’t know how to find a certain exhibit. I personally believe those are very nit-picky and most people would not use those arguments against other zoos and I think people are using them because it’s hard to find other flaws with the zoo. You are free to think that but I personally don’t find them to be legitimate arguments against SDZ as a whole.

Overall, I think much of the praise that San Diego gets is more than deserved as they are a leader in animal care, exhibit design, guest experience, and conservation and other zoos and their management can really only be jeolous of the support SDZ has received over the years and strive to reach the same level. No zoo I’ve been to does that.

*Note: I’ve never been to Bronx, but judging by this thread it’s a clear favorite to many. Based on what I’ve seen, I really want to visit at some point but I am still going with SDZ for my favorite based on the location, the botanicals, and the weather as I can’t make a fair judgement on the exhibits yet.
 
Chlidonias said:
Same. There are very few American zoos I have any interest in, and the Bronx is easily at the top. San Diego is amongst the ones I'd like to see, simply for its history, but if I could only see one zoo in the USA it would without a doubt be the Bronx.
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What are the others? I’m imagining a couple of idiosyncratic choices.

PS. By all means go to Bronx, but I can’t think of a person who would be *less* likely to find New York agreeable.
 
CGSwans said:
No, San Diego stands alone.
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...errr, yes, that's the claim I disagree with.

Virtually everyone I know who has visited Singapore, what did they talk about? What do people recommend to see when visiting Singapore? The gardens by the bay, marina bay sands, *and* the zoo.

For Berlin I think you are underestimating the iconic cultural status of the institution also among the common public - at least for German speaking regions. Think Knut, 'Die Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo', and the institutions's complex history with WWII, the cold war, and reunification. Also Berlin Zoo is very much a defining element of the historical epicenter of West Berlin, esp. now with the Bikini Berlin shopping center and how it further integrates the zoo into the city.
 
Chlidonias said:
Same. There are very few American zoos I have any interest in, and the Bronx is easily at the top. San Diego is amongst the ones I'd like to see, simply for its history, but if I could only see one zoo in the USA it would without a doubt be the Bronx.
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100 percent with you on this. Bronx is almost the last relic of an era when having rare and obscure species mattered to American zoos. On top of that, they have a really great park-like setting and incredibly well-thought out exhibits.

I love San Diego. I vacation there every year. It's weather is amazing and the zoo is great. Unfortunately, it just doesn't seem as great as it did when I first started going there 20 years ago, and many of the things they have that I want to see are hidden from public view.
 
antonmuster said:
...errr, yes, that's the claim I disagree with.

Virtually everyone I know who has visited Singapore, what did they talk about? What do people recommend to see when visiting Singapore? The gardens by the bay, marina bay sands, *and* the zoo.
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Yes, but do people talk about it before going, or only after? I agree though that Singapore is the one that comes closest.

For Berlin I think you are underestimating the iconic cultural status of the institution also among the common public - at least for German speaking regions. Think Knut, 'Die Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo', and the institutions's complex history with WWII, the cold war, and reunification. Also Berlin Zoo is very much a defining element of the historical epicenter of West Berlin, esp. now with the Bikini Berlin shopping center and how it further integrates the zoo into the city.
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That’s a very strong argument for Berlin’s local significance. But many zoos have cultural cachet within their own countries. San Diego’s name crosses borders in a way that Berlin’s doesn’t.
 
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As a midwester, it does seem that San Diego Zoo is the first one that people say after the zoo that is the closes to where they live. However, 2 other zoos make the list before any other zoo is mentioned, the St. Louis Zoo and the Columbus Zoo. These zoos seem to have an underrated national attention.

It seems more like the San Diego Zoo has done a great job of marketing itself. Its like when someone says University, Harvard comes to mind. There are other great schools out there but Harvard just has that reputation that other schools don't. The same goes for San Diego Zoo, they have that name power and thus with the name recognition comes the funds which supports the zoo. Everyone wants to say that they were part of building something that has a great name recognition.

Honestly, though until looking more into San Diego Zoo, I never knew that there was a Safari Park associated with the zoo. So they may have name recognition, however I feel that very little is actually known about the zoo other then its name/location/pandas?
 
CGSwans said:
No, San Diego stands alone. Us nerds talk in hushed tones of Vienna and Berlin, but nobody else does. Whereas if I were to ask my non-zoonerd Australian friends to name the most famous zoo in the world I’m confident some, at least, would come up with San Diego. And with all due respect to a wonderful city, it’s not exactly well known outside the US like New York, Singapore, Berlin and Vienna are either.
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This sums up San Diego's popularity perfectly. Whenever anyone finds out about my zoo obsession here in the southwest corner of Canada, one of the very first questions is "what is your favourite zoo?" Invariably the individual will say San Diego before I even have a chance to answer! There is no zoo on the planet that is more World-Famous than San Diego Zoo. Even many people that have never even been to San Diego already know that it is the greatest, or at least one of the greatest, zoos on the planet.
 
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