THE POLL: Which zoo exhibit has the best landscaping design?

Which zoo ehibit has the best landscaping design?

  • Jaguar exhibit at Woodland Park Zoo

    Votes: 5 11.4%

  • Monkey Islands at Chester Zoo

    Votes: 6 13.6%

  • Burgers Desert

    Votes: 5 11.4%

  • Congo Gorilla Forest at Bronx Zoo

    Votes: 10 22.7%

  • The Tropical Rainforest section in the Philadelphia Zoo's McNeil Avian Center

    Votes: 2 4.5%

  • Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney´s Animal Kingdom

    Votes: 10 22.7%

  • Spectacled bear/coati at Zurich Zoo

    Votes: 5 11.4%

  • Nortern trails, Woodland Park Zoo

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Snow leopard exhibit at Zurich Zoo

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Kubu River Hippos at Werribee Zoo

    Votes: 1 2.3%
  • Total voters
    44
  • Poll closed .
taun said:
Yes and no, every picture has the opportunity to be misleading. However several photo's from various angles and offsets should sort it out and confusion of what the picture is showing. The best way to judge anything is by seeing it themselves.
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I get your point, taun. But surely you would agree that at least the "overview" kind of pictures - the ones where we see all of or nearly all of the enclosure - gives us enough information to form an opinion about it and thereby have reason to go public with our opininon?

Please note that I often - whenever I am in doubt - ask the photographer for an estimate about the size of the enclosure in question (one of my main concerns as you and other regular ZooChatters will know...).
 
snowleopard said:
I've seen 6 of the exhibits in person, and I'm voting for Congo Gorilla Forest at the Bronx Zoo. Spectacular! Thanks for organizing this fun event Dan!:)
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My pleasure, snowleopard! Actually I have had a hunch, ever since I initiated the idea, that the Bronx exhibit would eventually win the poll! Judging from the early voting this might very well be the case.

However, being such a sucker for brilliant big cat exhibits (probably due to my childhood traumatic memories of the carnivore house in Copenhagen Zoo in the 1960s), I simply couldn´t help but nominate that spectacular one in Woodland Park.... :)
 
Dan said:
My pleasure, snowleopard! Actually I have had a hunch, ever since I initiated the idea, that the Bronx exhibit would eventually win the poll! Judging from the early voting this might very well be the case.

However, being such a sucker for brilliant big cat exhibits (probably due to my childhood traumatic memories of the carnivore house in Copenhagen Zoo in the 1960s), I simply couldn´t help but nominate that spectacular one in Woodland Park.... :)
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Thank you for nominating it Dan, it is one of my favorites! I have seen some pretty bad cat exhibits as well as at my home Cleveland Zoo the snow leopards are confined to a cage no bigger than a kitchen.
 
BlackRhino said:
Thank you for nominating it Dan, it is one of my favorites! I have seen some pretty bad cat exhibits as well as at my home Cleveland Zoo the snow leopards are confined to a cage no bigger than a kitchen.
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Thanks, BlackRhino! You and I have had some very fierce exchange of views here at ZooChat and as you know I have suggested that we better ignore each other, but I would be perfectly happy to make peace with you*.

How about that?

You would have to live with the fact of me bringing up the subject of Swedish legislation now and then, but whatever....

* = I am, in fact, right now, particularily interested in the current debate between you and many other foumsters about the new elephant exhibit in San Diego...
 
I voted for Kilimanjaro in Disney's animal kingdom. I love it ( from what I have seen)
 
Dan said:
I get your point, taun. But surely you would agree that at least the "overview" kind of pictures - the ones where we see all of or nearly all of the enclosure - gives us enough information to form an opinion about it and thereby have reason to go public with our opininon?
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Anyhow, we need more people to explain their choices esp. if they have experienced them.

Otherwise this could become a two-way thread. ;)
 
I voted for Kilimanjaro Safari at Disney.

It is the best exhibit that i've seen and despite the fact that there is limited viewing of some of the animals, that is not what the poll is about ;)
 
Ugh, this is difficult. I must say though, I personally love the Jaguar Exhibit at the Woodland Park Zoo. The foliage and stream is amazing and the jaguars love it. I might have voted the Bronx Congo because the pics were epic, but I'm biased for the Woodland Park Zoo because I've actually seen the exhibit. =/
 
oh and congo gorilla forest gets one more vote! :eek: its a close one between the congo and the serengeti! :)
 
Dan said:
You are refering to very sensitive subject here at ZooChat.

Some forumsters suggest that it is not reasonable to have opinions about an enclosure unless you have seen it with your own eyes.

I, and other forumsters, disagree...
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It seems that if you love zoos, and if you have seen photos, or videos, and/or if you have heard other people's descriptions of and opinions about an exhibit, it would be impossible for you NOT to have an opinion!

It is good to always qualify opinions, though, by letting others know that your opinions are not based on first-hand experience.
 
Yeah, well .... I totally get your point, Zoo Visitor, but on the other hand it would be kind of tiresome to always have to qualify each and every statement made here at ZooChat by saying "although I have no first-hand experience...." etc.

I don´t know....

Personally, I can not help but to be pretty damned irritated by "the purists" here at the site who claim that unless you have inspected an exhibit by yourself, you are absolutely forbidden to have any opinion whatsoever about it.

What if we would apply this rigid principle to everything in history?

- I would not be allowed to have an opinion on The French Revolution because I did not experience it first-hand?

- I would not be allowed to have an opionion about the architectural quality of The Chrysler Building on Manhattan because I haven´t seen it with my own eyes?

I would not be allowed to.... etc, etc, etc (choose your own example).

I think that this argument in general is used far to much here at ZooChat; often as a cheap shot from people who can´t stand when others have different opinions. And very often as a way to silence criticism against exhibits/enclosures that to others - such as me - happen to seem obviously flawed for one reason or the other.

To make use of the most extreme example (from human history) that I can think of, if only to make my point (hopefully) perfectly clear:

I have not been to Auschwitz, but I think that I am entitled to have an opinion about what went on there in the 1940s. I will base this opinion on what I have read about the place, the pictures I have seen etc.
_____________

In short - and this is in no way directed towards you, Zoo Visitor - can we cut this crap about only being allowed to have opinions about zoo exhibits that we have have seen first-hand?

_____________

Always keen to promote the Western principle of free speech, I am very much looking forward to your answers to this post of mine! :cool:
 
Dan said:
Yeah, well .... I totally get your point, Zoo Visitor, but on the other hand it would be kind of tiresome to always have to qualify each and every statement made here at ZooChat by saying "although I have no first-hand experience...." etc.

I don´t know....

Personally, I can not help but to be pretty damned irritated by "the purists" here at the site who claim that unless you have inspected an exhibit by yourself, you are absolutely forbidden to have any opinion whatsoever about it.

What if we would apply this rigid principle to everything in history?

- I would not be allowed to have an opinion on The French Revolution because I did not experience it first-hand?

- I would not be allowed to have an opionion about the architectural quality of The Chrysler Building on Manhattan because I haven´t seen it with my own eyes?

I would not be allowed to.... etc, etc, etc (choose your own example).

I think that this argument in general is used far to much here at ZooChat; often as a cheap shot from people who can´t stand when others have different opinions. And very often as a way to silence criticism against exhibits/enclosures that to others - such as me - happen to seem obviously flawed for one reason or the other.

To make use of the most extreme example (from human history) that I can think of, if only to make my point (hopefully) perfectly clear:

I have not been to Auschwitz, but I think that I am entitled to have an opinion about what went on there in the 1940s. I will base this opinion on what I have read about the place, the pictures I have seen etc.
_____________

In short - and this is in no way directed towards you, Zoo Visitor - can we cut this crap about only being allowed to have opinions about zoo exhibits that we have have seen first-hand?

_____________

Always keen to promote the Western principle of free speech, I am very much looking forward to your answers to this post of mine! :cool:
Click to expand...

I think it depends and, currently, I am participating in the discussions about elephant odyssey despite the fact that I have never visited either the zoo or the exhibit before. However, photos can be misleading and we should always try and listen to the opinions of those who have seen the exhibit first-hand.
 
redpanda said:
I think it depends and, currently, I am participating in the discussions about elephant odyssey despite the fact that I have never visited either the zoo or the exhibit before. However, photos can be misleading and we should always try and listen to the opinions of those who have seen the exhibit first-hand.
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I agree that photos can sometimes be misleading. That is one reason that I have become especially interested in recording videos - especially in zoos. Not only can you see the exhibit, but you can also hear the visitors, and that gives you a lot of information about the exhibit's overall appeal and success in doing what it was designed to do.
 
Dan said:
Yeah, well .... I totally get your point, Zoo Visitor, but on the other hand it would be kind of tiresome to always have to qualify each and every statement made here at ZooChat by saying "although I have no first-hand experience...." etc.

I don´t know....

Personally, I can not help but to be pretty damned irritated by "the purists" here at the site who claim that unless you have inspected an exhibit by yourself, you are absolutely forbidden to have any opinion whatsoever about it.

What if we would apply this rigid principle to everything in history?

- I would not be allowed to have an opinion on The French Revolution because I did not experience it first-hand?

- I would not be allowed to have an opionion about the architectural quality of The Chrysler Building on Manhattan because I haven´t seen it with my own eyes?

I would not be allowed to.... etc, etc, etc (choose your own example).

I think that this argument in general is used far to much here at ZooChat; often as a cheap shot from people who can´t stand when others have different opinions. And very often as a way to silence criticism against exhibits/enclosures that to others - such as me - happen to seem obviously flawed for one reason or the other.

To make use of the most extreme example (from human history) that I can think of, if only to make my point (hopefully) perfectly clear:

I have not been to Auschwitz, but I think that I am entitled to have an opinion about what went on there in the 1940s. I will base this opinion on what I have read about the place, the pictures I have seen etc.
_____________

In short - and this is in no way directed towards you, Zoo Visitor - can we cut this crap about only being allowed to have opinions about zoo exhibits that we have have seen first-hand?

_____________

Always keen to promote the Western principle of free speech, I am very much looking forward to your answers to this post of mine! :cool:
Click to expand...

This is the kind of thinking and discussion I really like. You certainly gave a well-thought-out, convincing response to anyone who thinks people should only be allowed to have opinions on something they have seen or experienced first hand.

I would like to add, though, that it would be helpful if more people who participate in this forum could post links to videos they have recorded at zoos. Videos can give everyone who can't visit those zoos a really good idea of what they are like - and watching and listening to them can sometimes be almost as good as being there in real life.
 
 
Thanks for commenting everybody! Great new photos from taun! Sorry about Journeymaven not being able to vote. Some kind of technical problem, it seems. Could Sim or any other of the moderators comment on this?

31 votes, nevertheless, so far! I am a it surprised that the three last brilliant nominations has not been voted for as yet:

Personally I am always in favour of big, spacious enclosures for hippos, as in the wonderful example from Werribee. A pity that this is such a rare phenomenon in zoos. But then again - it may not neccesarily be the biggest zoo landscaping marvel, which is what this particular thread is about, so maybe that explains it? A truly wonderful exhibit it is, though. I love it!

The Northern Trails exhibit speaks for itself, especially as far the quality of the landscaping design is concerned.

Finally, though I may not be as totally convinced about the snow leopard exhibit at Zurich as so many other forumsters seem to be, I am still surprised that it hasn´t been voted for.
 
I voted Disney's Animal Kingdom's Kilimanjaro Safari because I felt like I truly was in Africa. The placement of trees, like the Acacia were so natural looking. Like right out of an Animal Planet program taped there.
 
Philadelphia Zoo McNeil Avian Center

The wonderful new McNeil Avian Center is now opened to the public.

I just uploaded another video showing more scenes from the Tropical Rainforest section which I nominated for this poll.


I hope everyone will want to travel to Philadelphia to see this great new avian center!
 
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