ZooChat Cup Match #11: Odense v Ostrava

[CGSwans]

And the category is... birds! One Czech zoo has already made it through on the strength of its bird collection, and Ostrava looks to be strong too. But Odense was once described to me as 'small, but perfectly formed'. Does it overcome Ostrava on quality, then?

The concept behind this poll is explained here:
ZooChat Cup

In summary, the rules of the game are as follows:
- You may choose whatever criteria you like to decide how to vote, as long as it only relates to the category above.
- You can use whatever resources you like to inform your vote, including Zoolex, Zootierliste, the ZooChat gallery, trip reviews, zoo maps, books and wherever else. You don't have to have visited both zoos to vote.
- Votes are public and can be changed at any time before the poll closes.
- The aim of the game is to provoke debate. Post explaining why you voted the way you did, and why others should join you.
- Voting closes in seven days.
- The one thing you can't do is vote based on anything other than the relevant category.

 

[lintworm]

Ostrava would easily win this one based on the collection. But Odense has the joker:

(By Toddy; more pictures in the Odense gallery)

The Kiwara aviary to quote from Toddy:

The interior of the walkthrough Kiwara African Aviary in Odense Zoo, Denmark. Straight in front is the main lake in which the greater flamingos live. This aviary is the first phase of the Kiwara savannah project in Odense Zoo and opened in October 2009. The aviary is a 100 meters long (300 ft.), 35 meters wide (115 ft.) and 16 meters tall (53 ft.) creating a total space of 56.000 cubic meters (1.830.000 cubic ft.), thus being one of the biggest in Northern Europe. The main attractions in the aviary are the greater flamingos and pink-backed pelicans. The other species flying freely in here are African spoonbill, hammerkop, sacred ibis, cattle egret, Egyptian goose and helmeted guineafowl. The main purpose of this aviary was to give the birds in here the possibility of flying which is quite unusual for zoos holding pelican and flamingos. As a result Odense Zoo no longer clips the wings on their birds. The aviary itself is quite beautifully done and does a great job educating people about especially pelicans and flamingos. October 2009

This can thus be considered a revolutionary step in terms of large bird husbandry and I am quite sure Ostrava has nothing to match with that.

 

[Hvedekorn]

Have been to Odense, but not to Ostrava, so I'm using Zootierliste and the gallery for the latter.

If I was only judging by collections, Ostrava would indeed win by a landslide. Odense has an alright collection of stork-like birds (storks/ibises/herons/egrets) - at least the best such collection in Denmark - but beyond that it practically only has ABC's (ostriches, flamingos, pelicans, penguins, a few parrots), with the most interesting species being Inca tern (for some odd reason housed in a rainforest aviary). Ostrava has a much larger collection and more rarities.

However, Odense's bird exhibits shine brightly. The two walkthrough aviaries (Kiwara for African birds and Oceanium for South American birds) are world-class, and so is the exhibit for subantarctic penguins. The savanna exhibit (where the ostriches live) is very nice as well. The remaining bird exhibits are more average, but fully sufficient. Ostrava also seems to have some nice exhibits (for example the Papua walkthrough aviary), but it doesn't seem like any of them quite reach the level of Odense's standout exhibits. A couple of them need improvements (especially the eagle owl aviary, but some of the bird of prey aviaries also look a bit bare).

As for now, I'm giving an edge to Odense, but it's a tiny edge because of Ostrava's superior collection. I'm not voting yet - I'll see if anyone can make a better case for Ostrava.

If anything, Odense will lose the contest once their stork/ibis/heron/egret collection shrinks again (it already shrank - and they lost all their crane species - when they decided to stop pinioning their birds). They've also lost a bit too many of their South American birds (sunbitterns, West Indian whistling ducks etc.) in recent years.

 

[HOMIN96]

Ostrava would easily win this one based on the collection. But Odense has the joker.

I suppose the winters in Odense are not mild enough to allow them be there whole year so, as a zookeeper let me just say: Holy hell! That´s a stuff of nightmares when it comes to catching the birds and moving them into wintering area

 

[CGSwans]

As for now, I'm giving an edge to Odense, but it's a tiny edge because of Ostrava's superior collection. I'm not voting yet - I'll see if anyone can make a better case for Ostrava.

Remember that you can lodge your vote for Odense and then change it later if you wish.

 

[Vision]

I voted for Ostrava, but that's mainly because I was quite fond of their bird collection when visiting, and because of the collection that seemed superior according to a quick comparison on zootierliste. I'm still very willing to change my vote as I learn more about Odense.

About that Kiwara aviary: it certainly looks and sounds very intriguing, but do the flamingos actually use the flight space available to them? I've been to a few zoos with large aviaries that hold unclipped flamingos, but I've never actually seen any flamingos flying in them. Also, @HOMIN96 raises an interesting question as well; how long (if at all) are the birds locked indoors in the winter, and what is their winter accommodation like? I suppose the same question has to be asked about Ostrava as well!

 

[sooty mangabey]

Ostrava is a long way from perfect, but it is, on balance, an excellent zoo, with lots of pleasing rid exhibits: the African aviary in the Chimpanzee House, and the Papua-flavoured walk-through aviary behind the Monkey House stand out. There are some good - if basic - Birds of Prey aviaries too. I've not been to Odense - but I feel confident casting my vote for Ostrava.

 

[HOMIN96]

how long (if at all) are the birds locked indoors in the winter, and what is their winter accommodation like? I suppose the same question has to be asked about Ostrava as well!

You can take a look at Odense winter exhibits in its gallery here. They are directly in the aviary (so it elimates most of the problems during catching) and look pretty good to me.

As for Ostrava, flamingo winter area is a bit worse than Odense, but still alright and other winter areas for tropical birds are off-show so I cant really tell.

 

[Chlidonias]

About that Kiwara aviary: it certainly looks and sounds very intriguing, but do the flamingos actually use the flight space available to them? I've been to a few zoos with large aviaries that hold unclipped flamingos, but I've never actually seen any flamingos flying in them.

Flamingoes breed more successfully when full-winged because they are more balanced during mating than when pinioned. Regardless of whether the birds actually fly around in the aviary, having them full-winged is better for them.

 

[FunkyGibbon]

Odense is a fantastic medium sized zoo, really maybe the best I've visited, but it does fall into the mammal trap. The aviary already discussed is great but there isn't a huge amount beyond that. Assuming Ostrava has a decent all-round collection, I'd really want to vote for that.

 

[CGSwans]

Are there other zoos that keep unpinioned flamingoes in large flight aviaries? If Odense were the first movers on this I'm inclined to vote for this innovation. Otherwise it's hard to justify a vote for a 29 species collection vs a 126 species one (per ZTL).

How good is the Antarctic penguin exhibit, Funky?

 

[FunkyGibbon]

The penguin exhibit was undergoing a renovation last summer so I saw it at a truly terrible time. I've been surprised at the praise for it in this thread, but I couldn't comment.

 

[CGSwans]

The penguin exhibit was undergoing a renovation last summer so I saw it at a truly terrible time. I've been surprised at the praise for it in this thread, but I couldn't comment.

Fair enough.

I'm parking my vote with Ostrava for now, but will revisit if more information comes forward about the innovativeness of this flamingo aviary. I've seen flamingoes in aviaries before, but not large enough for them to fly around in - and for all I know they were pinioned anyway.