Top 10 Best Zoos (Independent Newspaper)

The article does give the list, in no particular order, in an image gallery:

Marwell
Paignton
Bristol
Chester
Howletts
ZSL London
ZSL Whipsnade
Edinburgh
Welsh Mountain Zoo
Colchester

I'd possibly contend that Welsh Mountain Zoo isn't *quite* in the top 10, and suggest that Cotswold Wildlife Park deserves to be in the list instead, but otherwise the list is reasonably fair.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
The article does give the list, in no particular order, in an image gallery:

Marwell
Paignton
Bristol
Chester
Howletts
ZSL London
ZSL Whipsnade
Edinburgh
Welsh Mountain Zoo
Colchester

I'd possibly contend that Welsh Mountain Zoo isn't *quite* in the top 10, and suggest that Cotswold Wildlife Park deserves to be in the list instead, but otherwise the list is reasonably fair.
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Personally i would substitute WMZ for Belfast zoo.

(Really is time Chester had a second park)
 
Yeah, Belfast really deserves a place too - maybe swap that out for Colchester :p
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Marwell
Paignton
Bristol
Chester
Howletts
ZSL London
ZSL Whipsnade
Edinburgh
Welsh Mountain Zoo
Colchester

I'd possibly contend that Welsh Mountain Zoo isn't *quite* in the top 10, and suggest that Cotswold Wildlife Park deserves to be in the list instead, but otherwise the list is reasonably fair.
Click to expand...

There you go the image gallery was not working for me hence why I could not see the zoos on it.

Pretty good list. Glad Bristol is on it as probably my favourite small zoo.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Yeah, Belfast really deserves a place too - maybe swap that out for Colchester :p
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You have to be joking!
Colchester is easily top 10, if Belfast doesn't replace Welsh Mountain, I'd suggest Marwell should go from the list, or even London or Bristol rather than Colchester!!
 
pipaluk said:
You have to be joking!
Colchester is easily top 10, if Belfast doesn't replace Welsh Mountain, I'd suggest Marwell should go from the list, or even London or Bristol rather than Colchester!!
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Not joking :p I actually enjoyed my visit to Marwell a lot more than I did Colchester.

But this would be a boring site indeed if we all agreed on everything :p
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Not joking :p I actually enjoyed my visit to Marwell a lot more than I did Colchester.

But this would be a boring site indeed if we all agreed on everything :p
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Agreed, there would be nothing to discuss apart from meerkat births!
I might well enjoy a visit to RSCC or Hamerton more than some on the list, but I'm not sure that actually makes them better zoos though!
 
TeaLovingDave said:
I'd possibly contend that Welsh Mountain Zoo isn't *quite* in the top 10, and suggest that Cotswold Wildlife Park deserves to be in the list instead, but otherwise the list is reasonably fair.
Click to expand...

Wot, no Twycross either?:confused:

I haven't been to WMZ for many years but remember a rather indifferent collection with not brilliant enclosures and very much in the lower league. Twycross has its faults we know but I would have thought it boasts the larger animal collection. I should have thought both Twycross and Cotswold come in above WMZ. Maybe they wanted to give Wales a mention, as they have with Scotland.
 
I would certainly agree with this list, although having never been WMZ, I'd substitute it for Cotswolds also!
 
I would substitute Port Lympne for Howletts. And I would add Highland Wildlife Park to the list. Of course as a small carnivore lover RSCC is one of my all time favorites anywhere, but I agree that from an objective standpoint it might not have enough to be considered one of the best "all around" as far as appeal for everyone.
 
Personally my top 10 are...

Colchester zoo
Banham zoo
Africa alive!
paignton zoo
Chester zoo
Whipsnade zoo
Yorkshire wildlife park
Longleat safari park
Woburn safari park
Paradise wildlife park
 
How is this top 10 credited?
Visitor experience?
Breeding success?
Financial success?
Conservation work?
Husbandry standards?
Aesthetics?
 
Welsh Mountain and Paignton are the only places on the list I have any desire to visit these days, although having just read the book about Colchester I may be tempted (I'd have preferred it in Frank and Helena Farrar's days though). Looking at the list, it is quite a few years since I visited some of the places - Regent's Park 1999, Whipsnade 1998, Marwell 1999, Edinburgh 1996, Howletts 1998, Colchester 1999, with Chester and Bristol now seven years ago.
 
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I think someone wants a time machine to help him visiting his favourite zoos :) Actually it's not a bad idea, but I'd go in the other direction - would anyone like to join me for a trip to Chester in 2050 next week? ;)

Alan
 
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Top 10 Best Zoos

I remember Colchester Zoo from the 1960s. Some bits of it did not compare favourably with Palmer's Pet Stores.
Obviously they had a lot of species, but I remember seeing my first Tayra and Grison both stereotyping like anything, and a large indoor aviary labelled 'Birds of Paradise' full of more than one species of Cardinal, not a BOP in sight. The indoor 'Exotic Bird Gallery' was full of exciting and dramatic species, but in rather small flights which would not pass nowadays.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
The article does give the list, in no particular order, in an image gallery:

Marwell
Paignton
Bristol
Chester
Howletts
ZSL London
ZSL Whipsnade
Edinburgh
Welsh Mountain Zoo
Colchester

I'd possibly contend that Welsh Mountain Zoo isn't *quite* in the top 10, and suggest that Cotswold Wildlife Park deserves to be in the list instead, but otherwise the list is reasonably fair.
Click to expand...

According to TripAdvisor WMZ is in the top ten!
 
gentle lemur said:
I think someone wants a time machine to help him visiting his favourite zoos :) Actually it's not a bad idea, but I'd go in the other direction - would anyone like to join me for a trip to Chester in 2050 next week? ;)

Alan
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Imagine YWP in 2050 also! I would love to go back to London zoo in the late 1800's just to get a glimpse of how it was in those days, i would also love to visit collections that had closed by the time I started visiting zoos!
 
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