ZooChat Cup finals: Chester vs Omaha
- Thread starter CGSwans
- Start date
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
A quick Google will show you that Ernst D Lied was an Omaha businessman...
Yeah, I figured. I’ve had to introduce 86 matches so far in this tournament. You’ll forgive me for wanting to mix it up a little.
I'm a little surprised at the lack of replies, as this seems like a really interesting matchup. Omaha has the (controversial) Lied Jungle and perhaps a few other things? Chester has the Tropical Realm walk-through as well as what looks to be an amazing Jaguar exhibit.
I won't vote yet as this seems like a close match and yet very little has been said about either zoos merits.
I won't vote yet as this seems like a close match and yet very little has been said about either zoos merits.
I forgot about Islands. Going 2-1 Chester for now.
Enclosure-wise, from what I understand, this category should belong to Chester, but apparently people are forgetting the okapi and bongo enclosures at Omaha, which appear to be quite nice, and it also has a pretty nice collection of tropical species scattered across the zoo. 2-1 Chester for me, could go 3-0 if someone makes a compelling enough argument.
A few other points to consider in favour of Chester:
1) The excellent Jaguar complex, of which I have written at length in previous rounds.
2) The extremely good - and internationally significant - breeding record with Sulawesi Babirusa which Chester has established in the last decade. I'll be writing more about this, and the quality of the various exhibits which the species is displayed within across the collection, when I have time anon..... however, for now let it merely be noted that Chester quite literally saved the species in European collections near single-handedly, that it has spearheaded movements of stock both within Europe and with American collections to maintain this recovery, and that whereas in 2010 there were perhaps a dozen animals in the entirety of Europe (most geriatric) there are now something like 3x as many, with close to half of these at Chester.
Decent amount of people voting for Omaha, but no attempts to actually make the case for their being the superior collection in this regard; feedback and thoughts?
For what it's worth, I've seen those in person and wasn't particularly impressed. I like that they are well-shaded, but otherwise I didn't think them noteworthy.
Lied Jungle is undoubtedly one of the most amazing zoo exhibits I have ever seen: its size, layered structure, dense plantings, and highly active fruit bats make for a great building. It's not perfect, though; I wish it had more free-flying birds, and most enclosures I saw were just adequate. I had a higher opinion of the mammal enclosures than others that visited, though; I think the primates especially are doing just fine in there, with lots of climbing capacity.
There are other species that count throughout the zoo. I haven't seen photos of ROTRA, but Omaha's orangutan complex is regarded as one of the best in North America, I believe. The gorilla complex, while oddly designed, is very large both in size and troop, and is of average to above-average quality.