ZooChat Cup Match #24: Plzen (7) vs Basel

[lintworm]

The terrariums in the bird islands for example, whilst being pathetic for the Siberian Flying Squirrel, are totally adequate for the mice that call most of them home

The collection might change quickly, but apart from the Flying squirrel, quite some tanks kept Garden dormouse based on memory and only few had Lemming of Mice (for which it is much better suited, though still on the small side imo.)

I sometimes feel I am a bit harsh on Plzen, that may have had partly to do with my mood when visiting it and the expectations I had of it beforehand. As Plzen was basically always praised here, the bar was set higher than it could fulfil. It also didn't help that it wasn't the best weather and there was a heavy metal festival going on in the Amphitheatre next door. The day prior I spent in Nuremberg with perfect weather and no heavy metal. There is hardly a zoo that can be more contrasting to Plzen and that visit was one of my most pleasant zoo visits in years. So Plzen had a lot to lose, though Prague the following day managed to compensate quite a lot.

 

[lintworm]

Agree with pretty much much all of this, especially the last sentence. I have a private list of the zoos I think are most likely to win (partially informed by my still privileged knowledge of the overall fixture), and had Plzen as my third favourite to win. Though it's seen off a challenge from Basel here, I think it's now in a fair bit of trouble, not least with a second round match-up with Beauval looming.

I don't think Plzen has a high chance of winning, it's performance in primates, but also hoofed animals, large carnivores and possibly ectotherms can certainly be beaten by quite some others. They won't be able to get small mammals or birds all the time. To me Chester and Prague are the favourites, with good allround zoos as Leipzig, Cologne and Wroclaw as dangerous outsiders.

 

[FunkyGibbon]

As a point of order, in my eyes off-show work seems totally legit as a factor to consider in this competition, although of course @pipaluk can discount it if they want to.
@lintworm has chosen a very courageous line on Plzen and the lack of outrage shows that there is a lot of latent sympathy for his position. However, I think the case may have been overstated. The terrariums in the bird islands for example, whilst being pathetic for the Siberian Flying Squirrel, are totally adequate for the mice that call most of them home. And the same is true for all the rodents in the Africa House, including the Jerboa which has rather more room to stretch its legs than in most places I've seen them. There is also the good bobcat enclosure up at the back of the zoo, and decent efforts for the hyraxes as well. I also didn't see much if any stereotyping on my own visit. That's not to say Lintworm isn't right, because I think he is. But I'm not at all convinced that he's right enough for this huge collection to be taken down by Basel, whose dwarf mongoose mix is a real selling point, but various ground squirrel mixes can be seen in other places.
Plzen will hold the line here I think but the seeds of its destruction have probably been sown....

What I like about this is that nine months later I can read this post and know that I must have been listening to Toto that day...

 

[TeaLovingDave]

What I like about this is that nine months later I can read this post and know that I must have been listening to Toto that day...

Pity you couldn't find a pretext to namedrop anyone called Rosanna

 

[amur leopard]

If I had been in time to vote, I would be very stuck. It all depends whether you think that the size or the quality of the collection prevails. Personally, I would be tempted to vote Basel due to its better quality of life for the animals housed, but I think the sheer number of small mammals in Plzen's collection just overcomes it. The only thing that made me rethink my decision for a few minutes was the photo gallery images of Plzen's enclosures - frankly appalling.