The best zoo country in the world

What is the best zoo country in the world ?

  • United States

    Votes: 43 38.4%

  • Germany

    Votes: 39 34.8%

  • United Kingdom

    Votes: 7 6.3%

  • The Netherlands

    Votes: 10 8.9%

  • France

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Australia

    Votes: 1 0.9%

  • Singapore

    Votes: 5 4.5%

  • Other

    Votes: 7 6.3%
  • Total voters
    112
  • Poll closed .
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If disregarding human population this is an easy choice for me: USA followed by Germany and the Netherlands.
If divided by population: Singapore* (~5 mio. people) followed by the Netherlands (~15 mio) and Czech Republic (~10 mio).

* Singapore's position is based on the assumption that the new Marine Life Park, which I still haven't had the chance to visit, is a world class aquarium (~top 10 worldwide). If it isn't and Singpore has to rely on zoos+birdpark, the Netherlands would take the lead.

I am stunned that several people here would go for the Czech Republic. While Prague is impressive, Liberec has quite a lot of dark spots and the latter is probably not the only one of its kind in the country.
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That depends on how you rate things. The final note in my comment in Best Continents for Zoos applies. After all, while I rate USA as #1 zoo country, they have their share of bad facilities too, notably some "roadside zoos" that are far more problematic than Liberec.
 
Taisha said:
Singapore: Also it is recommendable to participate in the daily orangutan breakfast
Luckily this misuse is out of practise nowadays. The orangutans forced on the show were kept hungry "to behave" in the right way.
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Hate to disappoint you but breakfast with orang utans is still ongoing. I don't know where you've gotten the impression that the orangs are starved for the "show". Just because feeding is timed with the breakfast program doesn't mean the apes are starved, its just conditioning them to feed at a certain time. You really don't know much about how Singapore Zoo manages its orangs do you?
 
I voted Germany. The United States alone is nearly comparable to Europe as a whole. To be fair we should a least divide America regionally, ala America's Best Zoos (travel guide). I was going to say The Netherlands, specifically for Rotterdam, Arnhem, and Beekse Bergen in a country smaller than New England, and that doesn't take into account Emmen and Amsterdam. However, in the end I went with Germany. Great Zoos. The clinchers were the outstanding, beautiful Zoo Guidebooks I remember at almost every zoo I visited and the (overlooked?) Wild Parks. I loved those small, little wooded Zoos filled with European Native, Introduced, and Rare Breed Domestic Animals. I loved them.
 
Zooish said:
Hate to disappoint you but breakfast with orang utans is still ongoing. I don't know where you've gotten the impression that the orangs are starved for the "show". Just because feeding is timed with the breakfast program doesn't mean the apes are starved, its just conditioning them to feed at a certain time. You really don't know much about how Singapore Zoo manages its orangs do you?
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Well, when I was on a visit to Singapore Zoo three years ago there was nothing like breakfast with orangutans.
I was not surprised as I had received information from BOS (or COP?) that after negotiations with the zoo, the shows had been abolished.
Shame, if they really should still take place, even more as I appreciate Singapore so much, I would have voted for them in the poll.
 
I think it's a shame that this is a private poll, would've been interesting to see just how many people voted for their own country. :p
 
I think on balance I would say Germany because of a combination of modern innovation, historical heritage, wide number of specialist and general collections including wildpark native fauna collections, easy access and interesting species.
 
Definitely Germany - just one reason i'm hoping to move there in a couple of years.
 
I voted for the US for all the usual reasons, but agree that it depends on what criteria you use. I'd be interested to see a chart showing number of "largish" zoos as compared to population, but it would be difficult to compile. From what I've read, it seems like Germany would win on numbers per capita and Singapore per square mile. I've only been to 7 zoos in Germany and was unsuccessful in routing my trip to Oz in 2011 through Singapore.
I've enjoyed reading this discussion, as subjective as it is.
I'd like to add a few favorites that I'm not sure were mentioned:
First, in Norway, I love the zoo in Kristiansand
In Finland - the zoo in Helsinkini is on its own island!
In Australia - Lone Pine, Werribee, Western Plains, Melbourne Aquarium, National Zoo
In the US - Tennessee Aquarium (it's designed with you walking down a ramp in the middle, so feels like you're "in" the aquarium"), Zoo Atlanta, Seattle (they've been doing "natural" exhibits for decades), Caldwell Zoo... well too many really
 
lintworm said:
Both Netherlands and Czech republic would win when it comes to major zoos per capita.
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From a little googling, just counting members of the EAZA

Germany - Population 82 million, number of zoos: 51
Czech Republic - Population 10 million, number of zoos: 13
Netherlands - Population 17 million, number of zoos: 22

and interestingly to me

France - Population 65 million, number of zoos: 50

So, if you're looking at just EAZA zoos, Czech Rep. and Netherlands do seem to be in the lead. Do these countries have as many non-EAZA zoos as Germany does per capita?


USA - Population 314 million, AZA zoos 221
 
So, if you're looking at just EAZA zoos, Czech Rep. and Netherlands do seem to be in the lead. Do these countries have as many non-EAZA zoos as Germany does per capita?


For the Czech Rep. I don't know butif we count all the smaller zoos, aquaria, Repile-house, butterfly-gardens, birdgardens and so on, I guess Germany wins :
Germany total zoo-related collections about 600
The Netherlands total zoo-related collections about 70
 
Germany by far !!!, the Berlin Zoo has the largest animal collection in the world and Tierpark Berlin has an extraordinary collection of Ungulates, Serengeti Park seems like a cool place, as for Cologne Zoo if they still had Saigas, they would be a land mark for us zoo and wildlife nerds, Duisburg Zoo is the only place outside of Peru and Venezuela to see Amazon river dolphins, Hagenbeck Tierpark is where modern zoo design started, you just cant beat germany !!!
 
ungulate nerd said:
Germany by far !!!, the Berlin Zoo has the largest animal collection in the world and Tierpark Berlin has an extraordinary collection of Ungulates!
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I remember taking a zoo class years ago and the instructor said both Berlin zoos had amazing collections because of the competition. If one zoo got something, the director of the other just had to have it, too.
 
Talli said:
I remember taking a zoo class years ago and the instructor said both Berlin zoos had amazing collections because of the competition. If one zoo got something, the director of the other just had to have it, too.
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I doubt that this has even happened ages ago.
By the way both institutions have been presented by the same much disputed director for years now.
The strategy is to show different collections if possible.
 
@Taisha, there will have been such a competition in the time there was still a big wall dividing the city....
 
Its the US, and that isn't jingonism. Its the fact because of sheer size and its Western standards that Chindia doesn't possess. Europe produces those standards but european countries are now more the equivalent of US states than they are countries.
 
tschandler71 said:
Its the US, and that isn't jingonism. Its the fact because of sheer size and its Western standards that Chindia doesn't possess. Europe produces those standards but european countries are now more the equivalent of US states than they are countries.
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Agreed. France and Ukraine are no more different in language, geography, culture, what have you, than states as Massachusetts and Connecticut.

...
 
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