Top Ten Zoos According to USA Travel Guide

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Buckeye092

Well-Known Member
USA Travel Guide :: Hotels, Resorts and Beyond

Scroll halfway down the page to see the top ten zoos.

I'm curious as to what people think of the ranking. The Columbus Zoo is listed as #1. I only think this is because of the addition of Zoombezi Bay, although it's quite funny to see San Diego Zoo as #2 on anything.

Thoughts, agreements, or disagreements?
 
I hugely disagree with four on the list: Cincinnati, Lion Country, Philadelphia, and Fort Worth. Those four don't make any sense being on any top 10 list.
 
While I generally disagree with that list as a whole, I do like that they listed my Phoenix Zoo as number 4.
 
When it comes to such lists, one can always be divided

I thought this part

"but the percentage chance that you will be mercilessly injured by an animal in the United States is lower than just about anywhere else in the world"

was exceptionally funny. What about the thousands of fatal motor vehicle collisons with deer in the US every year? And what about islands without any or very few larger/potentially dangerous animals? Most parts of Europe (if you don't count domestic livestock and escaped zoo animals)? Antarctica (Ok, maybe the occasional angry leopard/elephant seal...)? The likeliness of being "mercilessly injured" by an animal should be even smaller there, shouldn't it? :)
 
The list is a joke. Apart from San Diego and Columbus I would not agree with the other 8 zoos that constitute the ranking. My top 12 North American zoos that I have visited (in order): San Diego, Bronx, Omaha, Columbus, Woodland Park, Miami, San Diego WAP, Detroit, Oklahoma City, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Denver and Minnesota.
 
BlackRhino said:
I hugely disagree with four on the list: Cincinnati, Lion Country, Philadelphia, and Fort Worth. Those four don't make any sense being on any top 10 list.
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While I agree with most of you on some of the silly choices on this list, and any such list which omits Omaha is useless, but on the other hand, don't sell Fort Worth short! It's an excellent zoo, and I'd likely put it on MY Top Ten list! Also, Cincinnati would be a definite contender for Top 15, if not Top 10.
 
I am confused as to what is so great about the Fort Worth Zoo. Don't get me wrong I am sure Fort Worth is a great zoo, but there are plenty more that are better. I have heard their best exhibit Texas Wild! had most of the money spent on visitor anemities rather than animals. I am all for making visitors feel like they are in that country, but I think the animals should always come first since they are the ones living in the habitats.
 
BlackRhino said:
I am confused as to what is so great about the Fort Worth Zoo. Don't get me wrong I am sure Fort Worth is a great zoo, but there are plenty more that are better. I have heard their best exhibit Texas Wild! had most of the money spent on visitor anemities rather than animals. I am all for making visitors feel like they are in that country, but I think the animals should always come first since they are the ones living in the habitats.
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I agree that animals' NEEDS should come first. While I'll admit that I've only seen a (detailed) video of Texas Wild!, I did not see any animals who were suffering or lacking. To each his own, but some are simply bothered when a zoo spends any amount of money on anything that is more for the enjoyment of human visitors. This is why Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo is often ripped by some -- they've built a lot of fun rides for kids. (And for this, they were rewarded by being named the #1 best zoo for children by Child Magazine!)

Back to Fort Worth: I need to explain that MY focus with zoos is in seeing them becoming much more of a tourist attraction than they are now. This will not only sell more of our books, but even more so, it will bring in more dollars to the zoos, so they can continue to improve their outdated exhibits and concentrate on conservation and education. When it comes to making zoos tourist attractions, very few exhibits exemplify this better than Fort Worth's Texas Wild! It not only presents an extremely complete look at all of Texas's wide variety of wildlife (present and past), but it also exposes visitors to the human environments that Texas is famous for, including an amazing Old West Texas town.

Beyond Texas Wild!, FW's World of Primates is the only place in America where you can see all four of the great ape species, all in a very nice indoor/outdoor rain forest exhibit. Their Asian Falls habitat is very pretty, with Asian elephants, Indian rhinos, white Bengal and Malayan tigers, and sun bears. They already have one of the nation's largest collections of reptiles, which they are updating this year with the new Museum of Living Art. In the back of our book, where we acknowledged zoos for being among the "Top Ten" in the USA in various categories, we put Fort Worth on 5 of these Top 10 lists: North American animals, primates, reptiles, pachyderms, and insects. I wouldn't be embarrassed at all to put this zoo on a list among the very best in America.
 
I dont see anything wrong with the list...especially when you see who made up the list. These 10 facilities can be considered destination or entertainment zoos and offer unique experiences to visitors and guests....something that would be a high priority for travel companies when comparing attractions.
 
okapikpr said:
I dont see anything wrong with the list...especially when you see who made up the list. These 10 facilities can be considered destination or entertainment zoos and offer unique experiences to visitors and guests....something that would be a high priority for travel companies when comparing attractions.
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And thats what we have to consider when we talk about top ten lists. It could be a top ten entertaining zoo list, or a top ten exhibit zoo list, or a top ten zoo collection list. Obviously this list was geared toward entertainment and fun, and affordability.
 
How can the list be valid without the Bronx Zoo and instead Lion County Safari in the #3 position? Laughable...hahaha. But having said that obviously all lists are purely subjective, and so what one person hails as a great zoo another might disregard as an average one. I think that the Fort Worth Zoo has some admirable qualities, such as the upcoming MOLA that will perhaps make it North America's #1 zoo for reptiles/amphibians. The Asian Falls area is well done in regards to the sun bears, tigers and Indian rhinos, but the elephant paddock is arguably one of the 5 worst elephant exhibits on the continent. There are some nicely constructed exhibits there but I just went through my list of zoos and I feel that I could name 25 zoos just in North America that are better than Fort Worth. In regards to the Cincinnati Zoo I've mentioned before that I think this zoo is perhaps in North America's top 5 in terms of the animal collection but only in the top 20 in terms of exhibitry. I suppose that it all depends on what one looks for in a zoo, and exhibitry ranks highly for me. My philosophy is that if we humans are having exotic animals spending their entire lives in captivity then we better construct some damn fine exhibits to ensure that they live in an enrichment-filled, naturalistic environment. Animals are wonderful to look at, but a barren, tiny enclosure tarnishes the image and doesn't educate visitors or provide a suitable lifestyle for the inhabitants.
 
3 out of 10 ain't bad. More than anything, the list shows that what most of American considers fun and entertaining isn't what most of this site would list as a good zoo.
 
I agree that San diego is not Number one, Columbus is a great zoo but i am not sure if he is number one. I Dont agree with Fort worth inclouded, tough it has alot of nice exhibits. The bronx is missed out, and the NZ in DC is also one that i love.
woodland park is also a great zoo that for some reason is out of this list.
 
top ten zoos

Of course there could never be a list like this that everyone agreed on. BUT, some of these are UNQUESTIONABLY out of place. Even though I live in Arizona, there is no way Phoenix is top ten or even top 25. Their only great ape exhibit, orangutans, is a metal and concrete monstrousity. Both of Tucson's zoos (Reid Park and Sonora Desert) are better than Phoenix. I haven't been to Lion Country Safari, but based on their website it is not very good at all. Certainly Florida's Busch Gardens blows it away. I was also extremely disappointed with Disney's Animal Kingdom when I visited (why don't they let you view the savannah when you're not on the ride?). Houston and Philadelphia are also questionable. I DO, however, like Fort Worth Zoo, although I agree the animal spaces in Texas Wild are too small (especially mountain lion and jaguar). If you include wildlife parks on the list, then my absolute number one is Northwest Trek. Lowry Park is also one of my favorites and Memphis is certainly better than many on this list.
 
Phoenix Zoo definitely seems like it could be a candidate for a top 10 list. The Monkey Village and Forest of Uco both have great exhibits.
 
Why would some of you question Lion Country's inclusion on this list? It was the first drive-through preserve type of zoo. It has the best chimpanzee exhibit in the country. They are at an F3 generation of white rhino breeding.
 
Kansas City's is very good - and it has Jane Goodall's blessing and all (as does Lion Country - she started "Chimpanzoo" there). Lion Country has 27 chimpanzees, nomadically housed on large islands with ages ranging from 3-72 (Little Mama). Of course, this isn't a competition but its about time LCS gets its due.
 
I'd like to have seen Woodland Park on the list.They have some great exhibitry and a decent collection to boot. I think one thing that this list illustrates is that the things a casual traveler views as good zoo attributes are noth the same as what a zoo enthusiast desires in a park. Rides and waterparks may turn on the public at large, but I could care less. I just want to see great habitats and diverse collections. On the other hand, if such amusement park amenities can increase revenue for zoos to put to use in exhibitry and infrastructure, then I welcome them (but won't partake).
 
groundskeeper24 said:
I just want to see great habitats and diverse collections. On the other hand, if such amusement park amenities can increase revenue for zoos to put to use in exhibitry and infrastructure, then I welcome them (but won't partake).
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Wow, groundskeeper, I was thinking I disagreed with you (again), but actually your attitude is PERFECT! I wish more shared it with you.
 
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