The IZES Guide to British Zoos & Aquariums is a book that was published in 2009, and it is an essential piece of literature for any zoo enthusiast interested in the zoological collections contained within England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Author Tim Brown has visited over 500 zoos worldwide, and thus he is well respected within the zoo community as someone who has seen practically every major zoo and aquarium on the planet. He is honest in his assessment of many exhibits (calling certain enclosures “ugly”) and he makes it known that he has little time for either the Sea Life aquariums or almost all safari parks.
Odds n’ Sods Comments:
- The reviews are fairly basic and unassuming, with a nice blend of history and current activity at each establishment. I actually would have preferred lengthier reviews, as many of the aquariums and smaller wildlife parks often have only 1-2 paragraphs.
- Britain is only a tiny slice of the world in terms of geographical area, but the sheer volume of captive animal collections is astonishing. There are 154 reviews, but another 109 institutions are mentioned under the heading “Smaller Wildlife Attractions” at the back of the book. How does such a tiny set of nations have so many zoos and aquariums? However, many of the establishments are quite puny in size and there are loads of Sea Life aquariums, “sanctuaries” and falconry centers that are often 2 acres or less.
- Of the 154 zoos/aquariums reviewed there are 99 that are 29 acres or smaller in size (64% of the establishments). Zoo Atlanta, in the United States, is frequently named as a small-scale zoo as it operates on only around 40 acres. In fact, a few years ago the zoo put forth a proposal for it to move to a larger area but that decision went against the facility. In Britain if one were to discount the huge safari parks there are actually very few zoos that are more than 40 acres in size, and the trend is for smaller acreage facilities that are packed with animals.
- Another interesting fact is the plethora of “new” zoos, as 71 out of the 154 establishments (46%) opened in 1986 or later. That means that almost exactly half of Britain’s zoological parks are 25 years old or newer, which is astonishing if one considers that Britain is famous for its historic tourist attractions. What has happened to create 71 new zoos, aquariums and wildlife parks in the past quarter century?
- Another intriguing fact is that many British zoos have had a variety of name changes over the years, and I didn’t collect the statistics but some facilities have had 3-4 different names!
- How many major British zoos do NOT have meerkats or Asiatic small-clawed otters? Also, lemur walk-throughs are a dime a dozen but what impresses me is that not all of them feature the ring-tailed species and Britain has a great number of rare lemurs on display.
- According to Tim Brown the Blue Planet Aquarium is Britain’s best, although he frequently writes that Britain lacks the mega aquariums that are quite common in nations such as the United States and Japan. Where is Britain’s equivalent of Georgia, Shedd or Monterey Bay? Whatever happened to Biota?
I enjoyed the honesty in the reviews, and here are a few choice tidbits from the book:
- “animals displayed so uninspiringly” (Axe Valley Bird & Animal Park)
- “an untidy mess” (Beaver Waterworld Zoological Gardens)
- “ramshackle appearance” (Borth Animalarium)
- “uninspiring in its aspirations” (Lakeland Wildlife Oasis)
- “unremarkable indeed over-hyped” (Longleat Safari Park)
- “much of the collection is housed to an uninspiring level whilst substantial sums of money have clearly been spent on rhetoric” (Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm)
- “I can remember little about it” (Portsmouth Blue Reef Aquarium)
- “very uninspiring” (Rhyl Aquarium)
- “I would however argue that the word ‘adequate’ is debatable for much of this establishment” (Wales Ape & Monkey Sanctuary)
- “amongst the worst in the country” (Wales Ape & Monkey Sanctuary)
Odds n’ Sods Comments:
- The reviews are fairly basic and unassuming, with a nice blend of history and current activity at each establishment. I actually would have preferred lengthier reviews, as many of the aquariums and smaller wildlife parks often have only 1-2 paragraphs.
- Britain is only a tiny slice of the world in terms of geographical area, but the sheer volume of captive animal collections is astonishing. There are 154 reviews, but another 109 institutions are mentioned under the heading “Smaller Wildlife Attractions” at the back of the book. How does such a tiny set of nations have so many zoos and aquariums? However, many of the establishments are quite puny in size and there are loads of Sea Life aquariums, “sanctuaries” and falconry centers that are often 2 acres or less.
- Of the 154 zoos/aquariums reviewed there are 99 that are 29 acres or smaller in size (64% of the establishments). Zoo Atlanta, in the United States, is frequently named as a small-scale zoo as it operates on only around 40 acres. In fact, a few years ago the zoo put forth a proposal for it to move to a larger area but that decision went against the facility. In Britain if one were to discount the huge safari parks there are actually very few zoos that are more than 40 acres in size, and the trend is for smaller acreage facilities that are packed with animals.
- Another interesting fact is the plethora of “new” zoos, as 71 out of the 154 establishments (46%) opened in 1986 or later. That means that almost exactly half of Britain’s zoological parks are 25 years old or newer, which is astonishing if one considers that Britain is famous for its historic tourist attractions. What has happened to create 71 new zoos, aquariums and wildlife parks in the past quarter century?
- Another intriguing fact is that many British zoos have had a variety of name changes over the years, and I didn’t collect the statistics but some facilities have had 3-4 different names!
- How many major British zoos do NOT have meerkats or Asiatic small-clawed otters? Also, lemur walk-throughs are a dime a dozen but what impresses me is that not all of them feature the ring-tailed species and Britain has a great number of rare lemurs on display.
- According to Tim Brown the Blue Planet Aquarium is Britain’s best, although he frequently writes that Britain lacks the mega aquariums that are quite common in nations such as the United States and Japan. Where is Britain’s equivalent of Georgia, Shedd or Monterey Bay? Whatever happened to Biota?
I enjoyed the honesty in the reviews, and here are a few choice tidbits from the book:
- “animals displayed so uninspiringly” (Axe Valley Bird & Animal Park)
- “an untidy mess” (Beaver Waterworld Zoological Gardens)
- “ramshackle appearance” (Borth Animalarium)
- “uninspiring in its aspirations” (Lakeland Wildlife Oasis)
- “unremarkable indeed over-hyped” (Longleat Safari Park)
- “much of the collection is housed to an uninspiring level whilst substantial sums of money have clearly been spent on rhetoric” (Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm)
- “I can remember little about it” (Portsmouth Blue Reef Aquarium)
- “very uninspiring” (Rhyl Aquarium)
- “I would however argue that the word ‘adequate’ is debatable for much of this establishment” (Wales Ape & Monkey Sanctuary)
- “amongst the worst in the country” (Wales Ape & Monkey Sanctuary)
