Yes, it's Bioparc Valencia, a stunning zoo (even if it has some things that should be improved)
Your zoo visits
- Thread starter KönigDerKaffeebohnen
- Start date
A few weeks ago I've visited Erlebnis-Zoo Hannover (Adventure Zoo Hanover) after several years again. It's definitely the zoo with the best theming in Germany. Most of the enclosures were built in the beginning of the century though, so some of them are a bit outdated already (in terms of space and overall quality), the overall vibe of this zoo is still outstanding though and some enclosures like the elephant area are already getting an overhaul again. The new additions which are not so themed anymore, are very nice like the Amphibium which was probably my favourite part of the zoo.
Here are some pictures (put them in the spoiler because there are too many haha). Maybe they help some of you for building themed areas.
Here are some pictures (put them in the spoiler because there are too many haha). Maybe they help some of you for building themed areas.
The African area called "Sambesi" with boat safari. Here are (almost) all important African animals to be found: giraffes, zebras, antelopes, ostriches, hippos, black rhinos, lions, flamingos, pelicans and more.
Desert habitat for addax and Somali wild ass, also part of the Sambesi boat expedition
Next section is "Afi Mountain", an area mostly dedicated to African primates (gorillas, chimps, drills, de brazza's monkeys).
Here is a part of the chimp habitat
Shared habitat for drills and de brazza's monkeys
Gorilla habitat
The best area for me, when it comes to both theming and quality of holding, is "Yukon Bay", a detailed and heavily themed Canadian area.
Timber wolves
Reindeer
Wood bison
Shared seal habitat for Californian sea lion, grey seal and Northern fur seal.
Polar bear exhibit
African penguin - don't make any sense here but the zoo came up with a story that the ship was transporting penguins from South Africa but run aground in Yukon Bay and now it is the Northern most penguin zoo in the world... I wonder how many visitors will get this story...
By the way, the polar bears, seals and penguins all have salt water pools and the bears and seals also have waving machines in their pools, which enriches them a lot.
Underwater viewing area
Snowy owl and great grey owl
From Yukon Bay we reach the "Jungle Palace", an Indian temple themed area with elephants, Amur tigers, Chinese leopards, grey langurs and tree shrews.
Part of the elephant herd enclosure. Currently a new house with another outdoor enclosure for them is being constructed which will also add a few more species to this area (more monkeys, birds, reptiles and other smaller species that were missing here).
Langurs
Leopards
Next up is the Australian Outback habitat for red kangaroos, swamp wallabies and emus.There is also a wombat habitat. This area used to be larger but the space was needed for the new elephant house.
Now to my favourite area: Amphibium. A large modern house solely dedicated to amphibians. They mostly show and breed endangered species here. I loved the modern appearance and all the education.
This was very cool: walkthrough terrarium for poison dart frogs. Atm the frogs are not in because the house is very new but they'll be added here.
There are some more habitats like a few aviaries and a farm animal area.
Desert habitat for addax and Somali wild ass, also part of the Sambesi boat expedition
Next section is "Afi Mountain", an area mostly dedicated to African primates (gorillas, chimps, drills, de brazza's monkeys).
Here is a part of the chimp habitat
Shared habitat for drills and de brazza's monkeys
Gorilla habitat
The best area for me, when it comes to both theming and quality of holding, is "Yukon Bay", a detailed and heavily themed Canadian area.
Timber wolves
Reindeer
Wood bison
Shared seal habitat for Californian sea lion, grey seal and Northern fur seal.
Polar bear exhibit
African penguin - don't make any sense here but the zoo came up with a story that the ship was transporting penguins from South Africa but run aground in Yukon Bay and now it is the Northern most penguin zoo in the world... I wonder how many visitors will get this story...
By the way, the polar bears, seals and penguins all have salt water pools and the bears and seals also have waving machines in their pools, which enriches them a lot.
Underwater viewing area
Snowy owl and great grey owl
From Yukon Bay we reach the "Jungle Palace", an Indian temple themed area with elephants, Amur tigers, Chinese leopards, grey langurs and tree shrews.
Part of the elephant herd enclosure. Currently a new house with another outdoor enclosure for them is being constructed which will also add a few more species to this area (more monkeys, birds, reptiles and other smaller species that were missing here).
Langurs
Leopards
Next up is the Australian Outback habitat for red kangaroos, swamp wallabies and emus.There is also a wombat habitat. This area used to be larger but the space was needed for the new elephant house.
Now to my favourite area: Amphibium. A large modern house solely dedicated to amphibians. They mostly show and breed endangered species here. I loved the modern appearance and all the education.
This was very cool: walkthrough terrarium for poison dart frogs. Atm the frogs are not in because the house is very new but they'll be added here.
There are some more habitats like a few aviaries and a farm animal area.
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When you get paparazzi’d while being a paparazzi to the giant otters and Inca tern 
The third pic is the fruit of the second pic.
The third pic is the fruit of the second pic. Just got word I’m being sent to Miami for work week after next. Of course that means I’ll be hitting up Zoo Miami! Super excited since I’ve never been south of Orlando. They have a good species lineup.
Awesome! You’ll LOVE their Amazon area!
I was at Busch Gardens Tampa yesterday. Here are a few of my favorite pictures:
Draccus the young Komodo Dragon (born/hatched August 2023)
A group of Sothern White Rhinoceri with a calf
African Penguin
A Spotted Hyena trying to escape the heat
Their tiger habitat has their own pop-up viewing window similar to the viewing domes in the game. I got SO CLOSE to Bandar the Sumatran Tiger.
This one was kinda both sad and a little funny. The male orangutan just wanted to escape the heat and go inside, but he just stood at the door. He ended up pressing his face up against the door, which made for a funny picture. He then just curled up into a ball and laid down next to the door.
Draccus the young Komodo Dragon (born/hatched August 2023)
A group of Sothern White Rhinoceri with a calf
African Penguin
A Spotted Hyena trying to escape the heat
Their tiger habitat has their own pop-up viewing window similar to the viewing domes in the game. I got SO CLOSE to Bandar the Sumatran Tiger.
This one was kinda both sad and a little funny. The male orangutan just wanted to escape the heat and go inside, but he just stood at the door. He ended up pressing his face up against the door, which made for a funny picture. He then just curled up into a ball and laid down next to the door.
I loved what I saw on YouTube. Cannot wait to experience it in person.
Nice! Where is this? Seeing a bush dog is on my animal bucket list.
Right on the south coast of the UK, a very nice zoo with some lovely views, the zoo houses quite an interesting collection of mammals with many small cats and monkeys which were the primary reason for my visit
My girlfriend, her family, and I took a little trip to the Florida Aquarium! Here’s some of my favorite pics:
Roseate Spoonbill (we stared at each other for a few moments)
Ring-Tailed Lemurs (yes, they had them at an aquarium)
Goliath Grouper
Honeycomb Eel
Long Spine Pufferfish
Mudskipper
Axolotls
Sandtiger Shark
Leucistic Alligator Gar
Roseate Spoonbill (we stared at each other for a few moments)
Ring-Tailed Lemurs (yes, they had them at an aquarium)
Goliath Grouper
Honeycomb Eel
Long Spine Pufferfish
Mudskipper
Axolotls
Sandtiger Shark
Leucistic Alligator Gar
I had the BEST time at Zoo Miami today! I checked so many animals off my never seen before list that I lost count. I was really impressed with a lot of the habitats, especially the newer ones. Nothing stood out as downright awful to me except for the Black Howler Monkey, Tree Kangaroo, and Koala habitats. The whole Australia area was pretty underwhelming. The Amazon area and the Wings of Asia aviary were breathtaking. The zoo had so many beautiful areas. I was taking pictures of everything; habitats, animals, scenery, viewing areas, everything. Even had some native wildlife running around the zoo paths. The squirrels were so tame. They’d run up to you and sit patiently for pieces of popcorn.
The thing I liked most was they had so many habitats with unobstructed views. No fences or net blocking your view. Almost every habitat was occupied and of the “on display” species, only the American black bears were hiding and not able to be seen.
North American River Otters - We were lucky to be among the first to see the 3 new babies that were born in February for their first weekend in habitat.
Orangutan
Grey Squirrel - Not a zoo animal but so cute and struck a pose
Asian Elephant
Indian Gaur
Chimpanzee smiled right at me
Jaguar
Magpie Goose - This bird was such a ham. It knew how to work the crowd.
Okapi - I have been wanting to see one in person for YEARS!!!!
Malayan Tapir
The thing I liked most was they had so many habitats with unobstructed views. No fences or net blocking your view. Almost every habitat was occupied and of the “on display” species, only the American black bears were hiding and not able to be seen.
North American River Otters - We were lucky to be among the first to see the 3 new babies that were born in February for their first weekend in habitat.
Orangutan
Grey Squirrel - Not a zoo animal but so cute and struck a pose
Asian Elephant
Indian Gaur
Chimpanzee smiled right at me
Jaguar
Magpie Goose - This bird was such a ham. It knew how to work the crowd.
Okapi - I have been wanting to see one in person for YEARS!!!!
Malayan Tapir
Zoo Miami Part 2
We got to the zoo as it opened so most of the animals food enrichment items had just been placed so they were all near the front of their habitats
Sloth Bear mama and cubs were going absolutely bonkers for their hidden food items
Not sure if these are Asiatic or African lions. The sign said African but they were in the Asia area? I was confused.
Banteng
Common Eland
I now understand why some of y’all want White Faced Whistling Ducks in game so bad. I have a 1 minute long video of them walking towards me single file while whistling the entire way. They were so dang cute!!!!
Harpy Eagle. This was the papa. Mama was in the nest with their new baby that just recently hatched. There was a camera in the nest with a monitor to watch them. What a beautiful bird of prey!
American White Pelican and assorted other water birds.
The plumage on this Nicobar Pigeon in the Wings of Asia aviary is so beautiful
This was one side of the Black Rhino habitat
A massive thunderstorm hit midday and we had to take shelter in the cave that acts as a covered viewing area for the former Western Lowland Gorilla habitat. They recently moved to another zoo. Signs say bears are moving in, but not which species. I thought it was a really pretty setting.
We got to the zoo as it opened so most of the animals food enrichment items had just been placed so they were all near the front of their habitats
Sloth Bear mama and cubs were going absolutely bonkers for their hidden food items
Not sure if these are Asiatic or African lions. The sign said African but they were in the Asia area? I was confused.
Banteng
Common Eland
I now understand why some of y’all want White Faced Whistling Ducks in game so bad. I have a 1 minute long video of them walking towards me single file while whistling the entire way. They were so dang cute!!!!
Harpy Eagle. This was the papa. Mama was in the nest with their new baby that just recently hatched. There was a camera in the nest with a monitor to watch them. What a beautiful bird of prey!
American White Pelican and assorted other water birds.
The plumage on this Nicobar Pigeon in the Wings of Asia aviary is so beautiful
This was one side of the Black Rhino habitat
A massive thunderstorm hit midday and we had to take shelter in the cave that acts as a covered viewing area for the former Western Lowland Gorilla habitat. They recently moved to another zoo. Signs say bears are moving in, but not which species. I thought it was a really pretty setting.
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What about them was bad? It's been a while since I've been, so I don't remember.
If you know what chimps are like, that's not good.
. . . maybe unless it's a bonobo?
They're African. I'm pretty sure they just house them there because that's the best habitat for them. It just happens to be right in the middle of the Asian area.
The koala and tree kangaroo habitat was all indoors and very sterile. No living vegetation. It had concrete or laminate floors and glass and painted mural walls. It was the opposite of natural. It was awful and pretty shocking given the quality of the rest of the zoo. It honestly looked like my high school administration building. I was sad for those animals. The howler monkey was alone and the habitat, while pretty and natural, was much too small.
That makes more sense then. It seemed like it was scared of the thunderstorm that rolled in. One particular loud clap of thunder made it scream. It made all of us who were in the viewing cave jump. Then we all laughed.
Yesterday I visited the Henry Doorly Zoo. 6 hours driving round trip. I stayed for about 4 hours, saw the whole zoo but the place was packed and I was by myself.
Genuinely amazing zoo, but definitely a bit too busy when I visited. Might be my new favorite zoo (sorry Bronx) but my goodness the Desert Dome and Lied Jungle Forest is everything I ever dreamed of.
The aquarium isn’t shabby either!
Genuinely amazing zoo, but definitely a bit too busy when I visited. Might be my new favorite zoo (sorry Bronx) but my goodness the Desert Dome and Lied Jungle Forest is everything I ever dreamed of.
The aquarium isn’t shabby either!
I just looked at their species roster on their website. It looks phenomenal! This one's going on my zoo bucket list! I'd go just to see the Pere David's Deer!