Where are the outstanding small zoos of the world?

DavidBrown

DavidBrown

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Some of us were discussing the Bristol Zoo in the UK and how it is small but high quality. There seemed to be a consensus that Bristol found a nice balance of large and popular animals (gorillas, lions, seal, penguins), smaller representatives of popular groups (okapis, pygmy hippos), and multi-species exhibits (aquarium, reptile house, invertebrates). Maguari noted that they have several rare species including Aye-Aye, Pallas' Bats, Livingstone's Bats, Christmas Island Blue Crabs, Paddlefish, and Black Lion Tamarin.

Where are the outstanding small zoos in the world? I am defining "small" as under 15 acres.

What kind of high quality exhibits and collections have been developed in small zoos? Are there any outstanding small zoos with megafauna species in them like giraffes, elephants, rhinos, or river hippos, or is part of being an outstanding small zoo learning to live without these species due to space constraints?

What do you think specifically makes an outstanding small zoo outstanding?

The only outstanding small view that I have visited is the Central Park Zoo in New York City which balances a handful of popular species (polar bears, seal lions, snow leopards, Japanese macaques) with a tropical house containing multiple species (e.g., leaf-cutter ants, lemurs, anaconda) and a polar house featuring penguins and puffins. Are there any other really good small zoos in the US?
 
I was very impressed with Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney with their extensive bird collection.

One of my favourite small zoos is Mogo Zoo on the New South Wales south coast (about 4 hours drive south of Sydney) - the intimacy and relative remoteness gives you a feeling like you are almost alone with the animals.
 
Here's where the blurry line between "zoos" and "aquariums" makes it difficult to answer the question. The Oregon Coast Aquarium includes extensive outdoor exhibits for mammals, nicely set on a small site but one that feels very different from a standard indoor aquarium. On a similar note, Dallas World Aquarium packs an amazing collection of South America terrestrial (and some aquatic) species on a two-city block site.

England's "Living Coasts" is another compact but excellent "zoo/aquarium" with a major outdoor component.
 
Maybe Antwerp Zoo? I'm actually not sure if it's under 15 acres or a bit larger. It is quite the physically small zoo, but it has a big and very nice collection.

Or does small also mean a small collection, like in under 200 species? Bristol Zoo has 100-something as far as I know.
 
Antwerp Zoo is about 10 hectares, so about 25 acres.

A really nice small zoo is Dierenpark de Wissel (Netherlands), at 5 acres they show about 70 species, the biggest being vicuna and pygmy hippo. But they have an outstanding collection of smaller primates, small carnivores and marsupials. Highlights in the collection are tree kangaroo, potoroo, narrow-striped boky, silvery marmoset and agile mangabey.
 
"Small zoos" for me are usually REALLY small zoos like the privately owned exotic "farmzoos" found scattered around in Europe and America.

However, another acre-wise very small zoo that is still a "big player" in Europe is Zoo am Meer in Bremerhaven, Germany. This little zoo by the sea was completely rebuilt in 2004 with the new name "Zoo am Meer" (it was formerly called Tiergrotten Bremerhaven) and houses species such as chimpanzees, polar bears, polar foxes, polar hares, South American sea lions, South African fur seals, harbour seals, humboldt penguins, raccoons, pumas, marmosets, Asian short-clawed otters and keas. And all this in just 2.9 acres.
 
Bristol zoo is probably the best small zoo in the UK, it covers about 12 acres but has several notable exhibits including Seal And Penguin Coast, Zona Da Brazil and decent enclosures for gorillas, Asiatic lions, okapis and several primate species along with others. It also has a decent collection of reptiles, fish, inverts and Twilight World! Hope this helps :)
 
Bristol is an excellent little zoo. I went there with my non-zoo person sister last year and we spent all day there. She particularly enjoyed the presentations and animal shows which I usually skip. The landscaping and gardens make it feel bigger than it is. I do feel though that as I believe someone else said, it's becoming a bit too playground-ised and I hope that this trend doesn't go too far.
 
Another small zoo that I feel deserves a mention is Birmingham Nature Centre, nothing spectacular but all the enclosures are nicely done except maybe the small mammal house. There aren't any amazing rarities but the site is very small, say about 2-3 acres tops but in recent years the collection has progressed from mainly native/European fauna to exotics and it's a pleasant afternoon out for the family. Lost count of how many times I went as a child and now I have my own (step)kids I still enjoy going.
Not sure how overseas zoochatters will feel about it but I think it's great. And it's a fairly cheap entry fee as well...
 
15 acres (6 hectares for those of us in the modern world who use metric!) is *very* small. Fuengirola Zoo gets in at something like 5 or 6 acres, but with gorillas, orang-utans, tapirs, leopards, tigers, gibbons and the like, there must be some pretty tiny exhibits there. So I suggest for a zoo to really earn a place on such a list, species lists should take second place to how well housed what animals they do have are housed.

Adelaide Zoo, at 8 hectares/20 acres, is a bit bigger than you've suggested as a size limit, but has good or excellent exhibits for white-cheeked gibbons, siamangs, orang-utans, Sumatran tigers, sun bears, giant pandas, Malayan and Brazilian tapirs and rock wallabies, along with almost 30 bird aviaries and many exhibits for smaller mammals. Exhibits for giraffes, African hunting dogs, sea lions, pygmy hippos, mandrills and baboons fall into the 'acceptable' range for larger animals. Only the lion and common hippo enclosures, to me, are too small, and the lions are ok if the pride of 1.2 are allowed to co-habit the entire set of exhibits. Adelaide does a lot well with limited space.
 
Palm Beach Zoo in Florida immediately comes to mind. Struck me as a great little zoo with some interesting species you wouldn't expect to find in a small U.S. zoo (i.e. Koala, Florida panther, Baird's tapir, etc). Wiki shows it's 23 acres now, which leads me to believe it has expanded since I was last there quite a few years ago, it sure had the feel of a small zoo.
 
Toddy;487755However said:
Zoo am Meer[/B] in Bremerhaven, Germany. This little zoo by the sea was completely rebuilt in 2004 with the new name "Zoo am Meer" (it was formerly called Tiergrotten Bremerhaven) and houses species such as chimpanzees, polar bears, polar foxes, polar hares, South American sea lions, South African fur seals, harbour seals, humboldt penguins, raccoons, pumas, marmosets, Asian short-clawed otters and keas. And all this in just 2.9 acres.
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I woudn't neccesarily praise having all these sp. in only 2.9 acres. What are the enclosure sizes like?
 
Toddy said:
However, another acre-wise very small zoo that is still a "big player" in Europe is Zoo am Meer in Bremerhaven, Germany. This little zoo by the sea was completely rebuilt in 2004 with the new name "Zoo am Meer" (it was formerly called Tiergrotten Bremerhaven) and houses species such as chimpanzees, polar bears, polar foxes, polar hares, South American sea lions, South African fur seals, harbour seals, humboldt penguins, raccoons, pumas, marmosets, Asian short-clawed otters and keas. And all this in just 2.9 acres.
Click to expand...

I woudn't neccesarily praise having all these sp. in only 2.9 acres. What are the enclosure sizes like?
 
lee456 said:
I woudn't neccesarily praise having all these sp. in only 2.9 acres. What are the enclosure sizes like?
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Like @Maguari I would suggest that you look at some photos first :)

The chimpanzee exhibits is fine, not brilliant and not bad either. The polar bear exhibit is outstanding and the exhibits for pinnipeds and penguins are also of very high quality. Other good exhibits include the ones for raccoons, pumas, snowy hares and polar foxes.
 
Had a quick look at the gallery and I do like to be proved wrong :) The polar bear enclosure is the only one that seems to be heavily shown and it looks average-large in size, but they do make excellent use of what they have! No fake show, a lot of different substrates and different levels. Without seeing the other enclosures I can't fully state that they are too small for the inhabitants, but if they follow the same suit as the polar bear enclosure then fair play. Good call on the small zoo choice.
 
Shirokuma said:
I think some good small zoos which may be a bit bigger than 15 acres are Newquay and Jersey (about 25 I think).

Also Shaldon Zoo which is one acre! about us

How about Landau Zoo in Germany? That looks quite small.

I know Central Park Zoo has been mentioned, how about Queens and Prosepect Park?
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I was thinking Newquay but since the African expansion I'm fairly certain it's about 17 or 18 acres now. Shaldon is a great little zoo, I think it often gets overlooked due to it being so close to Paignton!
 
Brum said:
Another small zoo that I feel deserves a mention is Birmingham Nature Centre, nothing spectacular but all the enclosures are nicely done except maybe the small mammal house. There aren't any amazing rarities but the site is very small, say about 2-3 acres tops but in recent years the collection has progressed from mainly native/European fauna to exotics and it's a pleasant afternoon out for the family. Lost count of how many times I went as a child and now I have my own (step)kids I still enjoy going.
Not sure how overseas zoochatters will feel about it but I think it's great. And it's a fairly cheap entry fee as well...
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Nope thats because all the species that would get a zoo nerds heart racing are all held off-show in the reptile house!!!
 
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