Your Top 5 Zoos (out of 50 plus visited)

After some thinking, I guess it must be these five:
1. Berlin Zoo
2. Prague Zoo
3. Cologne Zoo
4. Walsrode Weltvogelpark
5. Bronx Zoo

In no particular order. Deciding which one is my absolute favorite is honestly too difficult.

And yes, my list may give away that I have a soft spot for zoos with enormous collections, and that I haven't been to most of the really notable zoos yet (I haven't been to Berlin Tierpark, Zurich, Chester, Burgers, Pairi Daiza, Wroclaw etc. yet, not to mention that Bronx is the only zoo outside of Europe I've visited).
 
Hard choice, even when I only have visited 58 facilities. So being totally subjective and considering only how much I enjoyed my visits:

1.- Weltvogelpark Walsrode
2.- San Diego Zoo
3.- Zoomarine Albufeira
4.- Zoo-Aquarium Berlin
5.- SeaWorld San Diego
 
pipaluk said:
They still had Jaguar at Berlin zoo when I was there in June 2017, but the Tierpark didn't have them. I think both have probably got rid of them (possibly temporarily) due to the major renovation of both carnivore houses.
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I photographed the last Jaguar at the Zoo when I visited in September 2018, but he died not too long after.

~Thylo
 
Given that I visited my 50th zoo on the first day on this month, according to the first post in this thread I have now gained the right to post in here.

This list is by preference and enjoyment far more than by objective criteria of quality.

My top five would be as follows:
1) Burgers' Zoo
2) GaiaZoo Kerkrade
3) Zoo Planckendael
4) Diergaarde Blijdorp/Rotterdam Zoo
5) Zoo Antwerpen
 
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FunkyGibbon said:
'Favourite' (defined by how much I enjoyed my visit)

1) Frankfurt
2) Singapore Night Safari
3) Melbourne
4) Jihlava
5) Howletts

'Best' (some attempt at objectivity)

1) Zurich
2) Prague
3) Chester
4) Leipzig
5) Walsrode

Honourable mention to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, which was a little unlucky not to make it onto either list.
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I look at this now and feel obliged to make a correction:

1) Frankfurt
2) Singapore Night Safari
3) Melbourne
4) Tama
5) Jihlava​
 
aardvark250 said:
May I ask why Tama squeeze in?What change?
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Nothing changed really, that first list is based on how much I enjoyed the visit, rather than trying to assess the zoo objectively. Tama hasn't stuck in my head in quite the same way as some of the others but it was still one of my best zoo days, so having been reminded of that recently I think it has earned its spot.
 
Sticking to traditional ‘zoo’ collections, as I don’t think that, say, a Walsrode can be meaningfully compared to a Berlin, let alone an Apenheul or an Oceanografic:
1. Chester
2. Burgers
3. San Diego
4. Zurich
5. Berlin Zoo

Honourable mentions go to Bronx, SD Safari Park, Prague, Singapore, Zoorasia and the Melbourne of my youth, though not the Melbourne of today. I suspect Bronx stands a very good chance of edging into the top five on a revisit, whereas I’m not sure San Diego would fair quite as well, Africa Rocks being a big unknown.
 
Just passed the 50 mark. Now I can finally join:D It's based on joy when visiting, not by sheer quality of the zoo.
1. Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation: amazing collection and a great 7 weeks experience
2. Cabárceno Natural Park: stunning spacious enclosures and perfect for photography
3. Beekse Bergen: for childhood memories
4. Chester Zoo: wonderful zoo with great collection
5. Burgers Zoo: for the many hours running around as a child in the Bush to find every species

Close contenders for me were ZooParc de Beauval, WWT Slimbridge, Dierenpark Emmen and Walsrode.
 
1. Tierpark Berlin
2. Zoo Berlin
3. Trowunna Wildlife Park
4. Alice Spring Desert Park incl. Nocturnal Tour
5. Singapore Night Safari
 
Even after visiting nearly 230 zoos in 35 countries this list didn't take me very long to narrow down. The top 5 came to me quickly I just needed to determine the order. I've visited each of these zoos multiple times, at least 3 times for each European location and easily double digits for each of the Californian duo.

1. San Diego Zoo
2. Berlin Zoo
3. San Diego Wild Animal Park
4. Plzeň Zoo
5. Tierpark Berlin

Honorable mentions: Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, Singapore Zoo & Night Safari, Prague Zoo, Miami Zoo, Chapultepec Zoo, Columbus Zoo, Bronx Zoo

If you're familiar with my contributions on this site then you know my focus is mammals. Each of these locations have had (and currently have) fantastic mammal collections with many impressive exhibits.

Visiting San Diego numerous times as a child (along with my local Bronx Zoo and the Miami Zoo) definitely helped shape my life-goal and hobby into what it is today. Between the two San Diego collections it felt like I was able to see close to half of the ungulates on the planet (at least based on taxonomy in the 1990s.) San Diego Zoo's mix of perfect weather and ideal animal specimens made for unrivaled greatness. The Wild Animal park was a dream for a kid who always wished to visit Africa on an actual safari. And like Berlin having both collections near the same city is an embarrassment of riches.

Which brings me to Berlin. Growing up with Walker's Mammal's of the World and feverishly checking the once public listings on the International Species Information System (name understandably now changed to ZIMS) led me to seriously envy the two collections at Berlin. It wasn't until a college graduation trip in 2010 when I was able to finally visit these two mammoths of institutions. They both completely lived up to the hype and act in total synergy together- both collection and exhibit-wise. The architecture at Berlin Zoo has no rival and Tierpark's spacious, herd filled exhibits are equally impressive. Unlike most zoos currently, I relished the continued choice of both Berlins to exhibit animals by taxonomy instead of geography.

In that same 2010 trip, I got to finally visit Czech Republic. My first two days to Plzeň remain my all time favorite zoo memory. I originally planned for one day here, but was so overwhelmed I needed to add the second day. Thanks to the incredible hospitality and patience of Tomas Pes (and the other keepers who helped me behind the scenes) I was able to increase my mammal life list by 99 species. This was remarkable considering my total count was already around 700 and the next highest increase around that time or since was 35 species at Berlin Zoo.
 
Great topic! As best is often very different than favorite, as at least one zoo on my list makes very evident. Having been to 90 zoos and aquariums now, my top 5 favorite places so far, are:
  1. St. Louis Zoo
  2. Detroit Zoo
  3. Como Zoo - Holds a special place as this was my childhood zoo, even more so than Minnesota was, because it was on the side of the Twin Cities I lived on and free so we went a lot more. The Sparky the Sea Lion shows were also terrific compared to the ones of today, but that may be just because I was a kid then.
  4. Shedd Aquarium
  5. Indianapolis Zoo
Of those St. Louis is the only one in my personal top 5 "best" for zoos and Shedd is my number 1 aquarium, but as I've been to very few aquariums, that is the most obvious choice. Detroit Zoo is just outside of the top 5 at #7 of the places I visited. Other notables for me would be Sedgwick County, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Louisville, National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, and San Diego Zoo Safari Park. (Edit: Swapped out Indianapolis for San Diego Zoo Safari Park. This is a hard list to make! I couldn't leave Indianapolis off the list though as I got very sentimental at that zoo watching the dolphins and the show as it reminded of what the Minnesota Zoo used to have with their dolphin program.)
 
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NSU42 said:
Great topic! As best is often very different than favorite, as at least one zoo on my list makes very evident. Having been to 90 zoos and aquariums now, my top 5 favorite places so far, are:
  1. St. Louis Zoo
  2. Detroit Zoo
  3. Como Zoo - Holds a special place as this was my childhood zoo, even more so than Minnesota was, because it was on the side of the Twin Cities I lived on and free so we went a lot more. The Sparky the Sea Lion shows were also terrific compared to the ones of today, but that may be just because I was a kid then.
  4. Shedd Aquarium
  5. Indianapolis Zoo
Of those St. Louis is the only one in my personal top 5 "best" for zoos and Shedd is my number 1 aquarium, but as I've been to very few aquariums, that is the most obvious choice. Detroit Zoo is just outside of the top 5 at #7 of the places I visited. Other notables for me would be Sedgwick County, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Louisville, National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, and San Diego Zoo Safari Park. (Edit: Swapped out Indianapolis for San Diego Zoo Safari Park. This is a hard list to make! I couldn't leave Indianapolis off the list though as I got very sentimental at that zoo watching the dolphins and the show as it reminded of what the Minnesota Zoo used to have with their dolphin program.)
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Never thought I'd seen anyone list Como ahead of Shedd!
 
birdsandbats said:
Never thought I'd seen anyone list Como ahead of Shedd!
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It's favorite, not best for that very reason! No way would Como be ahead of Shedd in a best ranking, but in terms of favorite it definitely is as my hometown zoo like I said. Shedd is hurt by the fact that while I enjoy aquariums, I definitely prefer zoos. The only reason Shedd really made the list is because it was the first major aquarium I'd been to and showed me what an aquarium can be. Before that the only aquarium I had visited was SEA LIFE in MN and whatever it was called beforehand.
 
NSU42 said:
It's favorite, not best for that very reason! No way would Como be ahead of Shedd in a best ranking, but in terms of favorite it definitely is as my hometown zoo like I said. Shedd is hurt by the fact that while I enjoy aquariums, I definitely prefer zoos. The only reason Shedd really made the list is because it was the first major aquarium I'd been to and showed me what an aquarium can be. Before that the only aquarium I had visited was SEA LIFE in MN and whatever it was called beforehand.
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Well then we're complete opposites...
 
1. Pairi Daiza
2. San Diego Zoo
3. Tierpark Berlin
4. Zoo Berlin
5. San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Honorable mentions: Leipzig, Taronga Zoo, Bronx Zoo, Wilhelma, Munich

I've not yet visited some of the other top zoo suspects - which I could imagine getting close to my top 5 list (e.g. Chester, Vienna, Beauval, Omaha, Prague, Pilzen, Wrolcaw, Burgers,...)
 
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