Girafarig
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the tidbit! Probably going to make Wisconsin #1.
What is the worst state for zoos? U.S.A edition.
Girafarig
Well-Known Member
Push everything back and put Wisconsin at #1. I’m going to switch Vermont with Wyoming. Take Iowa off the list as it has a healthy amount of good zoos.
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National Mississippi Aquarium too. Beaver Park's Old McDonald Farm, and Storybook Hill Children's Zoo are here too. And the Des Moines Science Center if you count that. We have a serious lack of zoos here.
And Omaha is literally 500 metres away from Iowa so that should probably be taken into consideration if we're taking this seriously...
Eh, I'm taking it by attractions in the actual state. You have a point though, the fact that Omaha is so close to me is why I call it my home zoo
Girafarig
Well-Known Member
I’ve updated the list to take off Iowa. Only 500 meters away. Geez didn’t know it was that close.
Not that this is bad, but North Carolina kinda has a different approach to zoos than most other states. Where most other states would have a zoo in every major city, North Carolina has one AZA-accredited zoo sort of in the center of the state, which could be a four or five hour drive from the outer banks or the extreme west of NC.
I've seen the NC Zoo's website, there have been some tv episodes about it, and I've read some comment. It looks like a good zoo and perhaps I'm spoiled because I live within walking distance of the Detroit Zoo, but yes, I'd be a little irked at having to drive a couple of hundred miles to visit a taxpayer-supported zoo.
Yeah I watched the Seasons of the Zoo episodes on it and I've been there several times but it is an inconvenience. Also, based on the Secrets of the Zoo Columbus and Tampa seasons I was surprised at how dilapidated some of the backstage areas at the NC Zoo are. It is a good zoo and has some good animals but I wish that there were zoos in major cities across the state instead.
Nevada has no real zoo to speak of. It does have a solid aquarium. (Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay). There are some decent animal exhibits at some other casinos, but nothing that rates
being called a proper zoo.
being called a proper zoo.
Animal Ark. There's also a group working on bringing an AZA zoo to Vegas.
I thought this thread is about the worst place for a zoo to be. I mean, Alaska is certainly a bad place for a zoo that wanted to display creatures from tropical settings, as well as many northern states such as Minnesota.
The title clearly says state, not place. A northern state can display tropical species quite well, just indoors most of the year. While a zoo in, say, Indonesia, might have a harder time keeping a polar bear or an musk ox alive and well outdoors...
Yeah, the title clearly says state, which I thought would be which of these states are geographically the worst for a zoo to grow in. Alaska's extremely cold climate would definitely be a challenge for a zoo to grow, especially since you practically can't display animals that came from, say, Sub-Saharan of Africa outdoors.
Edit: And to make it a bit clearer, most of the thread talks about which states have the least amount of zoos/states that have the most bad-quality zoos.
You can display animals from, say, Sub-Saharan Africa outdoors, depending on the species and the (heated indoor) holdings.
Mountain View Conservation and Breeding Centre Society
It's a challenge, but it has been accomplished for quite a few species. And at that, quite often better than for most cold-loving species in (sub) tropical zoos.
Thank you for this absolutely necessary clarification. Have you, by chance, ever been to Alaska and its zoos?
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I've never even step a foot in US, let alone in Alaska lol (I'm still 16 and I still need to rely on my parents to go on a vacation, and a trip to US maybe off our budget for now). But I do know the existence of Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, a pretty darn popular zoo in Alaska. I've also read the history of an African Elephant named Maggie there, which I think would not be a suitable conditions for her.
Then you should ask, say, @Pleistohorse and others who have actually been to "darn good" Alaska Zoo and other zoos in Alaska before falling for a fallacy of composition.
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I mean, I guess it wouldn't be wrong for me to say that a full blown African Savannah exhibit like in many zoos wouldn't be suitable for a zoo in very cold place to be built.