Which was the first zoo you ever visited?

[Aramar]

Hello! Let's keep the forum active while we wait for some news: which was the first zoo you ever visited?

My first park was a small animal park called Mundomar (Seaworld) in the city of Benidorm (Alicante, Spain). My first proper zoo was Barcelona Zoo. My parents took me there to visit Copito de nieve (Snowflake), the albino gorilla.

 

[NL_Mutso]

Dierenpark Emmen (our "local" zoo)

Proper sized zoo (medium/large zoo). Had a lot of species for it's size and a very natural look to most habitats. They had a savannah habitat with a lot of African species.
The butterfly garden was very popular among photographers, and other habitats as well - you could always find a nice spot.

A few years ago they moved to a different location in the same city, with a different style zoo and called it Wildlands adventure zoo. They included some rides (including a bus and boat ride) and scaled down on the amount of species. Lost a lot of it's "magic"
Wouldn't recommend it anymore. Even the small ones have more appeal nowadays.

Can't blame them though, they weren't doing so great financially with their old zoo / zoo style.

First small animal park; was Dierenpark Taman Indonesia (also "local"). Really small and still a small zoo but a lot of exotic birds and animals from Indonesia (ofc.)
Very cultural/themed and few hours fun for a small price.
While I don't like the idea of very local DLC - like SE Asia, i have to admit: I love the animals from that region.

 

[DarthQuell]

Houston Zoo. It's 65 acres, so i don't know if that's a medium or large zoo, but it's the largest I've ever been, I think.
It's changed so much in the last few year's. Many of the old, kinda iconic building are being replaced. The zoo has a new CEO, and he is changing the entire zoo to be more educational and a little more interactive. If you go to the Houston Zoo website, you can find the entire plan that he wants to do.

So far 2 section have been redone and now they're doing the 3rd. They finished Texas Wetlands (Whooping Cranes, Bald Eagle, Alligators, Alligator Gar).
They also finished the South American Pantanal (Jaguar, Rhea, Giant Anteater, Tapir, Macaws, Giant Otters, Green Anaconda, and some monkeys).
Right now they are building the Galapagos Islands and Oceans and also the new bird section. They're gonna supposedly finish the bird area thisbuear and open it and the Galapagos and Oceans section next year.

Here's the link to download a PDF to see the whole plan and what they will be doing: https://www.houstonzoo.org/about/strategicplan/


Now, other zoos I've visited are the following:

(Mexico) Irapuato Zoo - a very, very small zoo. But, I like it. It's not the best, but because many Japanese people have been moving to the area, they only recently have begun to fix it up again. It's been a few years since I've been, so it might be even better now

(Mexico) Leon Zoo - I've only been once. Leon Zoo is nice, but I prefer the Houston Zoo. They did have a little safari, but it wasn't much. They're part of the AZA, I think

(Argentina) Córdoba Zoo - I went many years ago. I don't remember much, but I do remember that they had temporary white lions at the time

(Houston) HMNS - yes, this is the science museum, but they have the butterfly section, which is an entire area with an indoor rainforest filled with butterflies. They also have a few vivariums with fish and amphibians and reptiles. And inside the same building there's a gallery to view different bug species, such as spiders, centipedes, insects, etc.

(Houston) Downtown Aquarium - I guess this technically would be a zoo. I don't really enjoy coming here much, though, because it's exactly the same. The only exhibit I truly enjoy every time is the white tiger exhibit

(Galveston) Moody Gardens - if you've heard/been, you know why. 2 of the pyramids are revolved around animals. 1 is an aquarium, very nice. The other is a rainforest with monkeys and birds and some pools with stingrays. I've been twice

Edit: I just reread my post. It's NOT alligator gardens. It's alligator gar. I fixed it. We don't have a garden of alligators. Although that would be fun

 

[Fini]

Erlebniszoo Hannover (GER) - but when i was young, it wasn't an experience. I remember very small polar bears enclosures and a concrete hippo house which was pretty smelly. Fortunately that has changed today. I still enjoy visiting the zoo, even if they still have a lot to do.

Zoos i visit when i was older:

• Zoologischergarten Berlin (GER)
• Zoo Frankfurt/Main (GER)
• Zoo Basel (CH)
• Serengetipark (GER)
• and lots of smaller ones, i don't know the names

When the lockdown ended, i will visit my friend in Hamburg, and i can make a dream come true I'm so looking forward to finally being able to visit Hagenbecks! When i'm thinking about that, i have a very big smile on my face

 

[PeppyPepp]

My city zoo, Ljubljana ZOO (Slovenia). It's in a heavily wooded area with lots of walking paths. Nothing much to say about it, really. It's small but nice.

Other zoos I have visited:

Taronga Zoo, Sydney (Australia).
I saw penguins there for the first time in my life and listened to an animal talk about spiders. Would love to go back someday (and back to AUS in general). When I was in Sydney I also went to a smaller wildlife park and an aquarium. I saw the Japanese spider crab. Holy cow, that was a sight. I also remember going into one of those tunnels where there are fish and sharks swimming all around you. That was pretty awesome. I was also in Canberra (that's where I lived) and visited a smaller-ish privately owned park where I got to hold a wombat and feed kangaroos. Just seeing all the native wildlife of Australia is a pretty amazing experience.

Smithsonian's National Zoo, Washington DC (USA)
This was unique for me because I saw a gorilla and a giant panda for the first time.

Hellabrunn Zoo, Munich (Germany)
I saw a polar bear for the first time. We got to see them pretty up close. Pretty awesome experience.

Zagreb Zoo, Zagreb (Croatia)
I have really foggy memories about this one because it was more like a "filler visit" because me and my friend were there for a concert and had some time to kill and it was a late autumn day. I don't remember being there much to see at that time of year, but I think we saw a panther and a snow leopard. It's been over 10 years ago, so I don't remember much of it.

 

[aim_foliksta]

I can't remember but I guess it was Barcelona Zoo, my local zoo. If not, some other nearby small zoos that no longer exist.
I'm not sure about my first zoo outside my country. It could the the Oceanario of Lisboa or Parco Natura Viva near Verona, Italy. My first big zoo outside Spain was probably Köln or Prague, but it's difficult to remember after have been visited more than 80 zoos.

 

[random goat]

Madrid Zoo. I've been there several times now. Quite an old zoo with many brutalist enclosures. Even though it offers a wide variety of fauna, I wouldn't even put it in my top 4 Spanish zoos.
I've visited all the other Spanish zoos ofc, both Bioparc Fuengirola and Valencia are truely recommendable.

Outside of Spain I haven't visited that many: Lisbon, Rome, Lyon, Dublin, Calgary... Looking forward to visiting more when this damned pandemic is over (or at least a bit mitigated).

 

[Aramar]

Madrid Zoo. I've been there several times now. Quite an old zoo with many brutalist enclosures. Even though it offers a wide variety of fauna, I wouldn't even put it in my top 4 Spanish zoos.
I've visited all the other Spanish zoos ofc, both Bioparc Fuengirola and Valencia are truely recommendable.

I totally agree. It has a nice animal collection including pandas, Iberian lynx and koalas, but it needs a huge renovation as other big zoos are doing.

 

[ZSHplays]

London Zoo. My parents took me there all the time when I was a kid, I remember the Red Panda & Blacktipped Reef Sharks were my favourite animals.

Apart from London for sentimental reasons I think my favourite zoo is the Menagerie de Jardin De Plantes in Paris, I love the sense of history there. San Diego Zoo was pretty incredible as well.

 

[SanRazo618]

Probably Seaworld Orlando or Animal Kingdom was the first I don’t remember I was a baby
All the zoos I visited:

Seaworld Orlando
Animal kingdom
Busch Gardens Tampa
Central Florida Zoo
Zoo Atlanta
Gatorland
Memphis Zoo
Aquatica (If that counts)
Riverbanks Zoo and Garden
and other little gator parks and similar Florida locations
Funny story: one of these little gator places was like a gator/ go karts place. They allowed you to feed gators with fishing rods and a little bit of meat at the end. I always thought this was odd and a strange little locale. All it had was gators go karts and an arcade... very strange.
(I probably forgot some, but I’m planning to visit a lot more)

 

[Roxxsmom]

The first zoo I have a coherent memory of is the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, or maybe it was the Lincoln Park zoo. I honestly don't remember which one my folks took me to first. I remember an exhibit with wolves. I was around 4 when my family moved to Chicago and six when we left, and we visited both zoos, and that wonderful Science and Industry museum, and the Shedd Aquarium, many times. I'm sure my folks took me to Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, the town where I was born, earlier, but I don't have a clear memory. I do have a vague memory of a pony ride when I was maybe 3-4 and living in Boston. Maybe that was at the zoo there.

We went to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal park (they changed its name to Safari Park a while back. I'm not sure why) a lot when I was a kid growing up in Southern CA, and we went to the L.A. zoo fairly often too. I can't recommend the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park enough. They are really large and have many species you don't see elsewhere in the US. They have played a vital role in breeding some really rare animals back from extinction in the wild and re-releasing them. When the anti-zoo crowd say zoos never actually save species and should all be banned, I point to the work those zoos have done.

I've been to the Washington DC do a couple of times, and it's really good. Love seeing the pandas.

I visited a little zoo in Syracuse NY once, when I lived in Northern NY state, and I thought it was really nice. They had a really cool Siberian Tiger habitat, and a nice area for their red wolves. Also, they had naked mole rats!

 

[Joël]

Dierenpark Emmen (Zoo Emmen, The Netherlands) was the first zoo that I visited, back when I was a little kid. It has always been my 'home zoo' since then, and I continued to love the zoo until Dierenpark Emmen closed on 31 December 2015. Their successor, Wildlands Adventure Zoo Emmen, is a great zoo too imho, but it's missing something that Dierenpark Emmen had...

Once I got my first car I started visiting other zoos. I even made a photoalbum with the best pictures that I had made in all of the zoos that I visited, a few years ago.
Nowadays I am a proud annual pass holder of Burgers' Zoo, Arnhem, The Netherlands (for over 10 years now) and I sometimes visit other parks throughout the year.

Zoos that I have visited so far;

The Netherlands
Apenheul (Apeldoorn)
Artis (Amsterdam)
Burgers' Zoo (Arnhem)
DierenPark Amersfoort (Amersfoort)
Dierenpark Emmen
Diergaarde Blijdorp (Rotterdam)
Dolfinarium (Harderwijk)
GaiaZOO (Kerkrade)
Orchideeënhoeve (Luttelgeest)
Ouwehands Dierenpark (Rhenen)
Safaripark Beekse Bergen (Hilvarenbeek)
Wildlands Adventure Zoo Emmen

Belgium
ZOO Antwerpen

France
Parc Animalier des Pyrénées
Zoo de la Palmyre (La Palmyre, near Royan, southwest France)

Germany
Nordhorn Zoo
Zoo Osnabrück
ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Gelsenkirchen)

Spain
Barcelona Zoo

USA
Los Angeles Zoo

On my bucket list
Paira Daiza, Belgium
AquaZoo Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
Dierenrijk Nuenen, The Netherlands
Vogelpark Avifauna, The Netherlands
ZooParc Overloon, The Netherlands

 

[Villa11]

The first Zoo I can remember going to was Antwerp Zoo, I've also been able to go behind the scenes there several times, which was super cool. I was allowed to pet the yaks, they are so soft :3
But the Zoo I visit most is Pairi Daiza, which I have seen grow from a small local bird park to a full big Zoo.

Others on my list are:
Planckendael
Serpentarium (Blankenberge)
Sealife (Blankenberge)
The wildlife park that is associated with the Grottes De Han (a cave system in Belgium which you used to be able to take a boat ride through)
London Zoo
Barcelona Zoo
And a small park in France which name I don't recall

The next one I want to visit isn't really a Zoo but an animal rescue centre, the Zonnegloed
Their are many more on my bucket list, but I don't own a car so it is basically impossible to get to them for me

 

[Aramar]

It's nice to see all your answers. Since you are also saying all the zoos you have visited, I will complete my list by chronological order:

-Mundomar (Spain)
-Barcelona Zoo
-Madrid Zoo
-Safari Aitana (Spain)
-San Diego Zoo (first time I saw pandas and polar bears)
-SeaWorld San Diego (second time I saw polar bears, just one day after the first time )
-Ménagerie du Jardin des plantes (Paris)
-Paris Zoo
-Bronx Zoo
-Smithsonian's National Zoo (Washington DC)
-Parc Oméga (Canada)
-Helsinki Zoo
-Tallinn Zoo (third and last time I saw polar bears).

 

[Orque41]

I have visited a lot of zoos but I don't know the first zoo that I visited and here are my zoos that I visited.

Servion Zoo
(Swiss )
Basel Zoo (Switzerland)
Zurich Zoo (Switzerland)
Garenne Zoo (Switzerland)
Vivarium de Meyrin (Switzerland)
Dahlholzli Zoological Park 8 Switzerland)
Tropiquarium (Switzerland)
Aquatis aquarium (Switzerland)
Lake Geneva Museum mini aquarium (Switzerland)
Walter Zoo (Switzerland)
Papiliorama (Switzerland)
Montpellier Zoo (France)
Lunaret Zoo (France)
Mulhouse Zoo (France)
Pescheray Zoo (France)
Bird Park Villars les Dombes (France)
Touroparc Zoo (France)
Zoological park of Fréjus (France
La Flèche Zoo France)
Phoenix Park (France)
Sigean African Reserve (France)
Park in Cigognes (France)
The Eagles of Lake Geneva (France
Another park of raptors and another with stems I don't know their names anymore
Haute-Touche Zoological Reserve (France)
Lyon Zoo (France)
Paris Zoological Park (France)
Doué-la-Fontaine Biopark (France)
The Monkey Mountain (France)
Beauval Zoo (France)
Amnéville Zoo (France)
Bioparc Valencia (Spain)
Animal Garden of Monaco (France)
Oceanographic Museum of Monaco (France)
Marineland (France)
Berlin Zoological Garden Friedrichsfelde (Germany
Berlin Zoo (Germany)
Wilhelma or Stutgart Zoo (Germany)
Palma Aquarium (Spain)
Natura Parc (Spain
The animal park (Geneva Switzerland)
Bois de la Bâtie (Switzerland)
las aguilas jungle park (Spain
Lisbon Zoo (Portugal
loro Parque (Spain)
Pairi Daiza (Belgium)
Mini vivarium (Austria)
Friguia park (Tunisia)
2 Aquariums and a Zoo but I don't know where I visited .

 

[ZSHplays]

Do you like polar bears @Aramar ?

 

[Aramar]

Do you like polar bears @Aramar ?

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