...changed my vote on account of Vienna having larger collection and diversity (but except for the elephant shrew - in a beautiful building no less - and armadillo nothing with wow factor, for me, that Zurich doesn't have), but Zurich's hyrax, agouti, flying fox, capybara & giant anteater, (Swinhoe's) squirrel, and koala enclosures distinctly outshining Vienna's (also excellent) corresponding enclosures.
ZooChat Cup finals: Vienna vs Zurich
- Thread starter CGSwans
- Start date
The pictures you show of he Capybara and Anteater enclosure of Vienna do it no justice, aa they show only a small proportion, I would say both indoor and outdoor are clearly better than Zurich.
The Rat house in Vienna is also an underrated gem with large enclosures for the inhabitants and a good use of a former Hippo house.
The Rat house in Vienna is also an underrated gem with large enclosures for the inhabitants and a good use of a former Hippo house.
I suspect the below review might have something to do with this:
While the naturalistic interpretation of Zurich's koala enclosure might be somewhat off, I argue that at least Zurich is (abundantly) using natural elements in its koala enclosure. This separates it from every other koala enclosure I have seen, including Vienna, which is more reminiscent of a summer home patio, than a natural environment. However, despite the perhaps off-context theming and a certain weirdness resulting from this at Zurich's enclosure, I find it the decidedly most pleasant koala enclosure I have seen so far.
The likely reason for the intriguing groundworks of the enclosure are apparent (?) plans for a future ground-dwelling cohabitant in the enclosure.
Zurich enclosure on the left <-> Vienna enclosure on the right
I suspect the below review might have something to do with this:
While the naturalistic interpretation of Zurich's koala enclosure might be somewhat off, I argue that at least Zurich is (abundantly) using natural elements in its koala enclosure. This separates it from every other koala enclosure I have seen, including Vienna, which is more reminiscent of a summer home patio, than a natural environment. However, despite the perhaps off-context theming and a certain weirdness resulting from this at Zurich's enclosure, I find it the decidedly most pleasant koala enclosure I have seen so far.
The likely reason for the intriguing groundworks of the enclosure are apparent (?) plans for a future ground-dwelling cohabitant in the enclosure.
Zurich enclosure on the left <-> Vienna enclosure on the right
It was my review quoted, so here is my opinion of the Zurich koala house. The decoration is pure fantasy. No koala, or for that matter red-necked wallaby, ever lived in an environment that resembles that depicted by the exhibit. They could have depicted it as the moon and it would have been no less realistic than the current exhibit. The easiest way to improve it would be to go in and paint everything olive green. The Vienna exhibit was described as resembling a house patio. At least koalas do on occasion sit on home patios.
Having said that there was absolutely nothing wrong with Zurich's husbandry, and it was an excellent exhibit from the point of view of the koalas (who of course would be oblivious to the decoration).