Zoochat awards 2008

kiang

kiang

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Its that time of year again, time to reflect on the year that has passed, all that has happened in the world of zoos and wildlife collections.

So i thought why not create a range of awards for our favourite subject, so i need some help.

1. Should the nominations be worldwide or continental?
2. What categories should we have?

I thought for a start if we broke it down into continents or even the major zoo countries, that our contributers know so well, and then put the winners against each other for an ultimate winner.

Now for categories, how about the following,

1. Best new exhibit for 2008
2. Most important birth for 2008
3. Most important new arrival
4. Most significant news from a zoo
5. Best zoo

This is just an outline if anyone has any ideas please throw them in, this is just a bit of fun, so maybe nothing will come of it, but i may give us all a chance to wrack our brains and come up with our own highlights of the year we can share with each other.

We may not have visited every zoo in our country (snowleopard excepted), but if you feel strongly enough about an exhibit or birth from another zoo stick it on.

Tell me what you think first of all and then maybe we can move on with the first and maybe not the last of the Zoochat awards.
 
Most important birth for 2008: Shoebills :)
Don't know how successful this has been though, didn't one, maybe more, die?
 
If this does become a popular thread then perhaps it could be broken up into continents, as there are plenty of North American and European ZooChatters who are well travelled and extremely knowledgeable in their respective areas but haven't seen as many zoos overseas. I also must not forget the Aussies and many others that make this website a roaring success. My area of expertise for 2008 was obviously limited to North America:

Best North American Zoo: San Diego is a no-brainer for many of us, but there might be others that will suggest either the Bronx or Omaha.

Best New North American Exhibit: Minnesota Zoo's "Russia's Grizzly Coast" is outstanding (grizzlies, amur leopards, sea otters and wild boar) and gets my vote, but "Budongo Trail" at the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland is supposedly the largest chimpanzee enclosure on the planet and appears to be equally spectacular. The Bronx Zoo's renovation of the old lion house into "Madagascar" is also quite impressive.

Most Important New Arrival: Miami Metrozoo opened "Amazon and Beyond" to the tune of $50 million, but an additional 600 animals added to that zoo certainly constitutes an important new set of arrivals.

Significant News at a North American Zoo: I was thrilled to learn that the Detroit Zoo gained community support and guaranteed funding for the future. That zoo has arguably the best Arctic set of habitats on the planet, the largest chimpanzee exhibit in North America, a fantastic Amphibiville complex, and many other enormous enclosures. It is an underrated zoo and has struggled financially, and so to have secure funding for the future has been a monumental achievement. Also, the Oregon Zoo gaining $125 million in bonds has been major news. There are 2 new sets of exhibits opening in 2009 at that zoo, and then with the zoo bond there will be huge renovations/expansions with their chimps, polar bears and elephants. That zoo also hosts the AZA conference next year.
 
kiang said:
1. Should the nominations be worldwide or continental?
Click to expand...

Continental! Not many members have good experience with Europe and N America and Asia.

kiang said:
1. Best new exhibit for 2008
2. Most important birth for 2008
3. Most important new arrival
4. Most significant news from a zoo
5. Best zoo
Click to expand...

Off top of my head for Europe:
1. Budongo in Edinburgh
2. Shoebills in Parc Paradisio!
3. ?
4. Wild breeding of reintroduced Bald Ibis in Spain and Austria.
5. Arnhem?
 
1. Budongo
2. shoebills or writhed hornbill
3. Gharials at Prague
4. ?
5. Chester or Zurich
 
2008 American Zoo Awards

Best African Exhibit: Kilimanjaro Safari at DAK

Reason:While Africa at Kansas City Zoo may have closer viewing and more time to view certain exhibits,Kilimanjaro Safari has the coutry's largest elephant exhibit,a diverse amount of animals living together and beautifal natural suroundings with no visible,ugly barriers.The safari jeep also gives even closer encounters.

Runner-Up: Africa at Kansas City Zoo

Reason:While extremely large and very outstanding,it just can't compete with the fact that Kilimanjaro Safari allows you to roam amongst the animals.


Best Asian Exhibit: Asia Trail at Smithsonian National Zoo

Reason: Asia Trail is voted number one by me becuase of its realness and its rarer inhabitants.All the animal exhibits are very real looking with alot of of overgrown grass and more natural rockwork.Also,there is no "abandoned village" affect to it. Everything looks like it is deep in the forest instead of like people come and cut the grass everyday.Also,the asian small-clawed otter exhibit and the giant panda habitat are especially outstanding because of there awesome landscaping.All the animal species on the trail are endangered animals.

Runner-Up: Asia Quest at Columbus Zoo

Reason: Although it has several spacious exhibits and a great animal diversity,It has a fakeness and perfectency to it that just doesn't appeal to me.Many of the exhibits here have a civilized look to them (many are in pretend abandoned warehouses and are unnatural looking),some have perfectly cut grass which just looks unwild and there are very little real trees and alot of fake trees which are very poor looking even for a fake tree.


Best South American Exhibit: Range of the Jaguar at Jacksonville Zoo

Reason:While I thought Amazon and Beyond was going to be the best,It is actually very poor looking and ugly from pictures.Range of the Jaguar has a great entrance area,an amazing jaguar habitat,a massive aviary and a great temple area.It also has an amazing species list and its weakest area only looks like its the River Edge area.

Runner-Up: South American Pampas at Sedgwick County Zoo

Reason:I know its not as beautifal as many south american exhibits but it has many spacious enclosures with a great list of pecies.It also is an acre in size and is covered in net which makes it a huge walkthrough aviary with displaying several other species.I just don't like the tons of barriers it contained withare also all visible and ugly.
 
Definitely continental:

My nominations for North America:

Best New Exhibit - New Steinhart Aquarium
New Birth - Virgin Komodo Dragon birth at Sedgwick Co. Zoo, Portland's Elephant birth, or Atlanta's Giant Panda
New Arrival - Georgia Aquarium's Manta Ray, San Diego's Pangolin, or White Oak's Sumatran Rhinoceros
Most Significant News - Fallout from the San Francisco Tiger Incident or the Lex Salisbury/Lowry Park Zoo controversy.
Biggest Disapointment - Los Angeles lack of Golden Monkeys
 
For the UK i would like to propose

New exhibit - Budongo, Edinburgh zoo
New birth - Visayan hornbill at Chester (1st from birds imported to kick start EEP)
New arrival - hooded seal at Gweek
Most significant news - the proposed giant panda arrival at Edinburgh zoo
Biggest disappointment - the continued mismangement at Twycross
 
Based on UK only, sorry if a bit biast!

1. Budongo Trail (Edinburgh Zoo)
2. Kiska the Amur Leopard (Marwell Zoo)
3. Hooded Seal (National Seal Sanctuary)
4. The project to combat the Amphibian Crisis
5. Edinburgh Zoo (Rare & Unusual Species, three fantastic state-of-the-art exhibits opening in one year)
 
1. Should the nominations be worldwide or continental?
Continental or country
2. What categories should we have?

4. Most significant news from a zoo - Detroit Zoo is the first to give up elephants, based soley on the needs of the animal.
5. Best zoo - Detroit Zoo
 
Detroit passed their problem elephants off to "sanctuaries" in 2005, and have replaced them with equally tropical, equally wide-ranging, but far-less controversial animals (white rhinos). This grandstanding copout may have made "Dr." Ron Kagan look good to animal rights groups, but it sure polarized the Zoo world.

And while the Detroit zoo certainly has some very good aspects, it is hardly the "best zoo" (well, arguably the best zoo in Michigan, though I'd take Binder Park myself).
 
reduakari said:
Detroit passed their problem elephants off to "sanctuaries" in 2005, and have replaced them with equally tropical, equally wide-ranging, but far-less controversial animals (white rhinos). This grandstanding copout may have made "Dr." Ron Kagan look good to animal rights groups, but it sure polarized the Zoo world.
Click to expand...
This just proves how little those animal rights groups actually know.
 
ecvogel said:
4. Most significant news from a zoo - Detroit Zoo is the first to give up elephants, based soley on the needs of the animal.
Click to expand...

Actually, London, Dudley, Edinburgh (Though they are planned to return) Zoos and Longleat Safari Park (But a reason that could've easilly have been fixed IMO) have given up elephants in this favour.
 
Marwell Dalek said:
Longleat Safari Park (But a reason that could've easilly have been fixed IMO) have given up elephants in this favour.
Click to expand...
But don't get me started on that :rolleyes:
 
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