Top 20 Most Popular ABC's to the public.
- Thread starter Fallax
- Start date
Among wild animals, I would estimate the following are the most popular:
1. Elephants
2. Hippos (if a zoo has both species, then only common hippos reach ABC status)
3. Giraffes
4. Rhinos
5. Cetaceans
6. Diurnal lemurs
7. Monkeys (with the exception of night monkeys and callitrichids - the former are too nocturnal, the latter are still popular, but too small compared to other primates to reach true ABC status)
8. Great apes
9. Kangaroos and larger species of wallabies
10. Koalas
11. Polar bears
12. Giant pandas
13. Other bears if there aren't any polar bears or giant pandas present (otherwise, they're still popular, but maybe not quite ABC)
14. Lions
15. Tigers
16. Pinnipeds
17. Penguins
18. Large constricting snakes (nothing smaller than a boa constrictor)
19. Crocodilians
20. Sharks
Domestics are not ABC's in the sense that they can draw guests who've never visited before (with the exception of small "farm zoos" which advertise that guests can get up close with the animals), but a petting zoo is probably the exhibit that average families spend the most time by (unless you count playgrounds as exhibits). I also find that among less popular animals, domestic variants are ignored much less. (Most average guests won't give a Hawaiian goose the time of day, but they'll often stop for a brief while to look at domestic geese)
1. Elephants
2. Hippos (if a zoo has both species, then only common hippos reach ABC status)
3. Giraffes
4. Rhinos
5. Cetaceans
6. Diurnal lemurs
7. Monkeys (with the exception of night monkeys and callitrichids - the former are too nocturnal, the latter are still popular, but too small compared to other primates to reach true ABC status)
8. Great apes
9. Kangaroos and larger species of wallabies
10. Koalas
11. Polar bears
12. Giant pandas
13. Other bears if there aren't any polar bears or giant pandas present (otherwise, they're still popular, but maybe not quite ABC)
14. Lions
15. Tigers
16. Pinnipeds
17. Penguins
18. Large constricting snakes (nothing smaller than a boa constrictor)
19. Crocodilians
20. Sharks
Domestics are not ABC's in the sense that they can draw guests who've never visited before (with the exception of small "farm zoos" which advertise that guests can get up close with the animals), but a petting zoo is probably the exhibit that average families spend the most time by (unless you count playgrounds as exhibits). I also find that among less popular animals, domestic variants are ignored much less. (Most average guests won't give a Hawaiian goose the time of day, but they'll often stop for a brief while to look at domestic geese)
You have missed the some of the most hated ones
:Slender tailed meerkat, otter and any type of small bear (coati/raccoon preferably).
You have missed the some of the most hated ones
Slender tailed meerkat, otter and any type of small bear (coati/raccoon preferably).
Oh dear, how could I forget the meerkats?
To clarify:
I wouldn't consider coatis and raccoons ABC's. Moderately popular if they're active, but they (especially raccoons) sometimes have a tendency to display the "ball-in-a-box" syndrome which is - as we all know - one of the reasons why many small mammals aren't too popular.
As for why meerkats and otters aren't on the list, well, PaleoMatt asked for only 20 ABC's. If the list had just five more entries, I'd surely have mentioned them. They only barely didn't make the cut because that while they're immensely popular during a visit, they don't seem to be big enough names to be popular before a visit (i.e. people probably won't visit a zoo just because it has meerkats and otters).
No zebras?
It's just my estimation (other people who've visited other zoos and observed other guests may estimate different things), and as I mentioned, I had to be a bit picky when the list can only feature 20 animals. Had it been a top 30, I had most certainly added zebras, meerkats, (active) otters, and wolves among others.
I once read a section of a comedy book talking about 'Filler' Zoo animals, and how the only ones that the author felt his kids really cared about seeing were monkeys, penguins, lions, tigers, and meerkats, with otters getting an honorary mention. He suggests that the rest (giraffes, reptiles, etc) are just stops on the Big Five tour! (and to be honest, this is probably true of most young kids)
But my own list would go something like:
1. Lions
2. Tigers
3. Apes (in order: Chimpanzees>Gorillas>Orangutans)
4. Giant Pandas
5. Elephants
6. Meerkats
7. Monkeys and Lemurs (nominately Squirrel Monkeys and Ringtails)
8. Penguins (Emperor>King>Gentoo>Rockhopper>Other)
9. Whales and Dolphins (I think they've fallen out of public favour somewhat)
10. Giraffes
11. Rhinos
12. Zebras
13. Hippos
14. Bears (Brown>Polar>Black)
15. Other large cats (Jaguar>Leopard>Cheetah>Snow Leopard>Clouded Leopard)
16. Diurnal Small Carnivores (Red Panda>Honey Badger>Binturong>Mongooses)
17. Wolves and other large canines
18. Macaws, Toucans, and Parrots
19. Big reptiles as a whole (Crocodiles>Komodo Dragons>Large Tortoises>Large Constrictors)
20. Maybe large bovids? Such as Bison and Buffalo
There might be a few obvious ones I've missed. Flightless birds, birds of prey, pinnipeds, marsupials, camels, and deer get an honorary mention.
But my own list would go something like:
1. Lions
2. Tigers
3. Apes (in order: Chimpanzees>Gorillas>Orangutans)
4. Giant Pandas
5. Elephants
6. Meerkats
7. Monkeys and Lemurs (nominately Squirrel Monkeys and Ringtails)
8. Penguins (Emperor>King>Gentoo>Rockhopper>Other)
9. Whales and Dolphins (I think they've fallen out of public favour somewhat)
10. Giraffes
11. Rhinos
12. Zebras
13. Hippos
14. Bears (Brown>Polar>Black)
15. Other large cats (Jaguar>Leopard>Cheetah>Snow Leopard>Clouded Leopard)
16. Diurnal Small Carnivores (Red Panda>Honey Badger>Binturong>Mongooses)
17. Wolves and other large canines
18. Macaws, Toucans, and Parrots
19. Big reptiles as a whole (Crocodiles>Komodo Dragons>Large Tortoises>Large Constrictors)
20. Maybe large bovids? Such as Bison and Buffalo
There might be a few obvious ones I've missed. Flightless birds, birds of prey, pinnipeds, marsupials, camels, and deer get an honorary mention.
Apes, Bears, Crocodiles, Dolphins, Elephants..
.,,,,,,Elephants, frogs, geese, huge great snakes, ibex, Junglefowl, koalas, llamas, (sodding) meerkats, nyala, Owston's Civets, parrots, quail, rhinos, snakes (huge great ones), Tigers, unicorns (chubby), voles, wombats, yak, zebra. Dunnit.And you'd definitely end with zebra...
And you'd definitely end with zebra...
You lack imagination
and @FBBird lacks the letter "X" Alpaca, Binturong, Coyote, Dhole, Echidna, Fishing Cat, Gundi, Hyrax, Iberian Lynx, Jaguarundi, Klipspringer, L'Hoest's Guenon, Malayan Tapir, Numbat, Oribi, Pichi, Quelea, Ratel, Siamang, Thylacine, Urial, Volcano Rabbit, Wolverine, Xeric Grass Mouse, Yapok, ZORILLA
I don't think these are popular...........at all.
Alpaca certainly are
well, you know what they say. One out of twenty-six ain't bad.
In his later career Meat Loaf definitely let his standards slip!
Right. Abyssinian Blue-winged Goose, Blue Ross's Goose, Cackling Goose, Dusky Canada Goose, Elgas's White-fronted Goose, Ferruginous Duck, Giant Canada Goose, Hume's Pheasant, Ijima's Copper Pheasant, James's Flamingo, Kea, Lesser White-fronted Goose, Marsh Mongoose, Nile Crocodile, Owston's Civet, Peruvian Brown Pelican, Queen Alexandra's Parrakeet, Rufous and Black Elephant Shrew, Stoat, Temminck's Whistling Thrush, Unicorn (chubby, any species), Von der Decken's Hornbill, Walrus, Xenopus (any species), Yak, Zebra (ideally Mountain).You lack imagination
Alpaca, Binturong, Coyote, Dhole, Echidna, Fishing Cat, Gundi, Hyrax, Iberian Lynx, Jaguarundi, Klipspringer, L'Hoest's Guenon, Malayan Tapir, Numbat, Oribi, Pichi, Quelea, Ratel, Siamang, Thylacine, Urial, Volcano Rabbit, Wolverine, Xeric Grass Mouse, Yapok, ZORILLA
Actually, scrub Zebra, replace with Zoe's Band-tailed Imperial Pigeon.
Scrub Zebra? Are they better than Mountain Zebras?