ZooChat Cup Group D2: Plzen vs Zurich

[TeaLovingDave]

You have a few mistakes in some of the exhibit sizes, but those are not really major issues.

Quite; as far as the North American exhibits go, the maps provided are merely a general guide to location, position and rough sizes rather than an actual argument about the precise size of the exhibits apart from anything else, the low map resolution and thick tree cover makes it quite hard to determine the margins of some areas, and the method I used to draw the maps doesn't allow for "dead space" to be left between exhibits!

This has indeed happened. Other conservation programmes for relevant species are:

• Protection and monitoring of Corn Crake in district of Plzen
• Reintroduction of Barn owl and Little Owl in Czechia
• Planting endangered species of plants (as Plzen is a botanical garden too)
• Monitoring and protection of Amphibians during spring migration.

Excellent I hoped you'd be able to throw something of this ilk into the thread!

One minor correction for my exhibit discussions - on flicking through my photographs and notes from October 2019 and comparing them to my more complete June 2017 notes in order to check I hadn't omitted any exhibits, I realised I rather heavily understated the relevance of one particular exhibit to the category at hand:

Just along from here, there is a large and high-quality aviary for Eurasian Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus fulvus), among other non-category species:

This aviary contains several category-relevant taxa at present, rather than the single species I originally suggested:

Waldrapp (Geronticus eremita)
Eurasian Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus fulvus)
Garganey (Anas querquedula)
Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus)
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia livia)
Marbled Teal (Marmaronetta angustirostris)
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

 

[TeaLovingDave]

It is certainly not my idea to undermined Plzen preservation role. What I am trying to express is , that Zurich have bit stronger conservation commitment.

I think that, since you posted this yesterday, HOMIN96 and myself may have demonstrated that given the local Czech conservation programmes and Europe-wide programmes which Plzen is involved in, along with the breeding success they have had with many of the category species and the general quality of the exhibits in question, every single point you raised as a reason why Zurich is superior in this category to Plzen (conservation, exhibit quality, specific species held) is something that Plzen actually shares.

Of course, I'd be very much interested in hearing your thoughts on the points I raised upthread in a broader sense you may well disagree with me on some of my opinions, which could have a bearing on your stance overall.

 

[twilighter]

I like Plzen very much and enjoyed my visit there. What made me lean towards Zurich is the, imo, bigger dedication to conservation practices and significant donations from Zurich zoo friends society. Besides that, I felt little bitter taste from some of the Plzen husbandary, but don't want to turn this in to negative statement. After fantastic reviews @TeaLovingDave and @HOMIN96 presented I have to admit with respect that Plzen excels in this competition. I still feel that Zurich deserves a point and will change my vote to 2:1 for Plzen. Happy new year to everyone