ZooZoo Review Zoo Ratings So Far

On Tuesday, I announced that ZooZooReview would be moving from Blogspot over to this blog. This site is where we have reviewed zoos all across the United States, but mostly in Florida. To catch you up with what you have missed, this post is to inform you of our best and worst zoos so far.

Today, we will take a look back at what we have rated each zoo so you can see how many elephants each of the zoos we have reviewed has received. For each zoo we use a rating scale from 0 to 5 elephants with 5 being the best. We have seen some awesome zoos and some zoos that are not so great. Here are the ratings.

O Elephants
The Seas @ Epcot - Lake Buena Vista, FL

0.5 Elephants
No Zoos @ This Ratings

1 Elephants
No Zoos @ This Rating

1.5 Elephants
Clearwater Marine Aquarium - Clearwater, FL

2 Elephants
Leesburg Animal Farm - Leesburg, VA
Mote Marine Laboratory - Sarasota, FL
South Carolina Aquarium - Charleston, SC
Tallahassee Museum - Tallahassee, FL
Tarpon Springs Aquarium - Tarpon Springs, FL
Wakulla Springs - Wakulla, FL

2.5 Elephants
Gulfworld Marine Park - Panama City Beach, FL

3 Elephants
Florida Aquarium - Tampa, FL (will be higher upon update which is coming soon)
Gatorland Zoo - Orlando, FL
Royal Gorge - Canyon City, CO
Sea World Orlando - Orlando, FL
Wild Adventures - Valdosta, GA
Zoo America - Hershey, PA

3.5 Elephants
No Zoos @ This Rating

4 Elephants
Montgomery Zoo - Montgomery, AL (Guest Post)
National Aquarium - Baltimore, MD

4.5 Elephants
National Zoo - Washington DC
Reston Zoo - Reston, VA (Zoo Controversy)

5 Elephants
Busch Gardens - Tampa, FL
Disney's Animal Kingdom - Lake Buena Vista, FL
Jacksonville Zoo - Jacksonville, FL
Lowry Park Zoo   - Tampa, FL
Maryland Zoo - Baltimore, MD
Zoo Atlanta - Atlanta, GA

Any zoo at or above a 3 rating is one which we would visit again. The zoos below 3 we will probably not be going back to unless we are starving for something to do. We would check out someplace new instead of going back to those zoos.

Looking at our ratings you can see that we absolutely loved 6 zoos and those zoos got 5 elephant ratings. We will go back to each of those zoos someday. Two zoos got 4.5 ratings and were really good, but one of those zoos has had some controversy and we won't be returning. We will likely visit the 4 elephant zoos again. There were also six 3 elephant zoos which we will likely go back to.  There are 6 2 elephant zoos that were okay. We rated only two zoos below a two so far and one was the Seas at Epcot, only because it is a ripoff solely for the zoo. However, since it is a part of Disney and we will likely have passes again at some point, we will be back there. Look forward to many other exciting ratings to come this year and beyond.

In the coming weeks look for Sarasota Jungle Gardens, The Brevard Zoo, The Central Florida Zoo, ZooWorld, and an update of the Florida Aquarium.

-Noland

ZooZoo Review So Far

This site was created to give an accurate review of as many zoos as possible across the country. It has been a fun and informative process and we are just getting started. So far we have reviewed 24 zoos across 9 states and we've also done one zoo in DC. Here is a look back at the zoos we have reviewed so far by state.

Alabama
Montgomery Zoo

Colorado
Royal Gorge

Georgia
Wild Adventures (Review Pt 1, Review Pt 2)
Zoo Atlanta

Florida
Remember that we are currently Florida based, so there will be a lot more Florida zoos than anything else.
Busch Gardens
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Florida Aquarium
Gatorland
Jacksonville Zoo
Lowry Park Zoo
Mote Marine Labratory
Sea World Orlando
Tallahassee Museum of Natural History
Tarpon Springs Aquarium
The Seas @ Epcot
Wakulla Springs

Maryland
Maryland Zoo
The National Aquarium

Pennsylvania
Zoo America

South Carolina
South Carolina Aquarium

Tennessee
Tennessee Aquarium

Virginia
Leesburg Animal Farm
Reston Zoo

Washington DC
The National Zoo

Our goal is to get you 10 new zoos every year and add at least one new state to our map. Next year we will get on that and hope to bring you more exciting zoos. We will branch into at least one new state next year and that review of the Central Florida Zoo is coming among many other reviews!

-Noland

Best 100 Animals We Have Seen In Zoos (10-1)

It sure has been a fantastic time looking back at the coolest animals that we have seen at zoos. These animals were all amazing and you are about to see the best of the best. Before we get to the top 10 though, it is time for a recap...

100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61
60-51
50-41
40-31
30-21
20-11

Here is the top 10 that you have been waiting so patiently for...

10. Bonnethead Shark

Bonnethead sharks are like small hammerhead sharks. These sharks are fairly common in aquariums, but I could not find a picture we had of one. Unlike the hammerhead shark though, you will likely be able to see these at an aquarium. Hammerhead sharks are incredibly rare. I am pretty sure I saw a full-grown hammerhead at some aquarium when I was little, but I could certainly be wrong. I didn't include the hammerhead on the countdown because I could not remember seeing one 100%. These bonnetheads are awesome though and similar.

09. Polar Bear

This polar bear was photographed at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, Maryland. It is one of two places that we I have seen polar bears. The other location is Sea World Orlando. At each location, this animal is my personal highlight of the visit. They are rare for zoos and they are awesome. Definitely, the coolest bear we have seen at any zoo.

08. Hippo

Disney's Animal Kingdom is the best place by far in the United States to view hippos. They are so close to you at this location, but you are safe by the design of the safari. It is without question the coolest place to view these guys. If the safari isn't for you though, you can view these hippos underwater. This may not be the best picture, but don't be fooled, these hippos are one of the best animals you will ever see.

07. Tiger

If you remember our post on Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia, you will remember this exhibit being the highlight of our trip. The Tigers of Asia show was simply fantastic there. While this was not even close to our favorite animal attraction, we might go back just to see this show. Each tiger is always awesome, but the ones at this show were special. I did not distinguish between types of Tigers for this countdown, but there are a few different varieties. Each tiger we have seen, has been awesome!

06. Jaguar

The Jacksonville Zoo has the best Jaguar exhibit as part of their South American section at the zoo. In that exhibit, they have a completely black jaguar that is pictured above. This is a type of jaguar that I have never seen at another location. Jaguars are always neat, but this one jaguar was really special. I was amazed when I saw this jaguar the first time, and then when I took my son back, we were both amazed.

05. Black Rhino

Disney's Animal Kingdom is a great place to view the Black Rhinoceros. There are a few other places to view them, but they are always awesome to see. The rhino is my favorite animal and they are one of the coolest animals in the animal kingdom. There are three main types of rhinos that we have seen, and they are all in the top 5.
Why?
Just look at their awesomeness. They clearly belong at the top of this list.

04. White Rhino

Disney's Animal Kingdom is the best place to view White Rhinoceros. These rhinos are very similar to the Black Rhinoceros. The reason I have ranked them higher is that there are more of them on the safari at Animal Kingdom and they come closer to the jeep. These guys get so close and mingle with some other animals like zebras here. The Black Rhinoceros is really solitary on the safari and all by himself/herself.

03. Indian Rhino

Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo is the best place to see the Indian Rhinoceros which is my favorite type of rhino. I like this rhino most because they are not really seen anywhere else and they really look like they have armored skin. They are so neat looking. They are also incredibly entertaining to watch. Here you can see the baby climbing on its mother. This baby at Lowry Park Zoo can still be seen, but it is slightly bigger now.

02. Komodo Dragon

Jacksonville Zoo is home to our favorite full grown Komodo Dragon which is pictured above. This lizard was on a feeding time display and we got some awesome photographs of it. To this date, it is the coolest thing I have ever seen at an animal attraction. If you are in the Jacksonville area and can see a komodo dragon feeding, I highly recommend it. The Atlanta Zoo had a baby komodo dragon feeding that was also incredibly awesome. Finally, the Lowry Park Zoo has an awesome baby komodo dragon in an education building in the FL section.

01. Bald Eagle

The clear choice for #1 in any place in America. Bald Eagles are such majestic creatures and the symbol for our country. They symbolize freedom, and excellence. That's what this bird is, pure excellence. Every time you see a bald eagle, it is an awesome sight. No matter where you are these guys are amazing to see. There should be a Bald Eagle at every zoo or aquarium. This Bald Eagle was photographed at the SC Aquarium and it is pure awesomeness. Every Bald Eagle is fantastic though. More eagles everywhere!

I hope you enjoyed this countdown and our zoo adventures so far.
In the next few months, we will have a review for the Reston Zoo in Reston, VA, Sea World Orlando, the Seas at Epcot, and updates for Disney's Animal Kingdom and the Lowry Park Zoo with some other reviews thrown in there.
All of these reviews will be coming your way by the end of 2014, so stay tuned to ZooZooReview.

-Noland

Best 100 Animals We Have Seen In Zoos (20-11)

Recap Time...

100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61
60-51
50-41
40-31
30-21

And now the top 20...

20. Goliath Grouper

This Goliath Grouper can be found at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. Do not act like this is not the coolest fish you have ever seen. They are huge and they look almost like moving rocks with fins and eyes. They are remarkable and unlike any other fish I have ever seen. So incredibly neat to look at.

19. Kangaroo

These Kangaroo were really hanging out at Busch Gardens Tampa. They are cooler to look at when they are jumping, but these kangaroos lounging around were still impressive. They are an animal that can be seen many different places. Disney's Animal Kingdom also has a great kangaroo exhibit with pretty active kangaroos. People love this animal. If we polled people on their favorite animals, kangaroos would probably make Top 10.

18. Shoebill Stork

I know we have a good picture of a shoebill stork somewhere, but I could not find it. However, I did get this picture from Wildlife Extra for you so you could see its brilliance. These guys have crazy eyes. Everytime we go to Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo, we have to see these guys. In fact, out of the zoos we have been to, these can only be found at that one zoo in Tampa. The zoo also happens to be rated as the #1 zoo for kids and is one we highly recommended here. P.S. we have been back since and it definitely deserves that extra .5 star to become a full 5 star zoo.

17. Killer Whale

Ok, you know the drill, you see Shamu at Sea World. The show is cool, but not as cool as it used to be. Since the trainer was killed by a killer whale at Sea World, they don't have the whale do as much anymore or interact with audience members. However, these not so gentle giants are still so impressive to look at. They will always be one of the coolest sea creatures around. These guys are the biggest draw at Sea World and for good reason. They are rather impressive.

16. Masai Giraffe

Here is a Masai Giraffe as pictured on the Pittsburgh Zoo website. Based on my experience and my lack of personal pictures, these giraffes are slightly less common in captivity. That may be incorrect though. You can tell it is Masai because of the more irregular pattern of spots on  its body. We have seen Masai at Disney's Animal Kingdom and at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo.

15. Reticulated Giraffe

This is the reticulated giraffe as you can see the more regular polygon pattern in its spots. This one is from the giraffe feeding station at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo. These are slightly cooler looking in my opinion because of their pattern. The pattern is neat to me. However, I like the types of giraffes about the same. They are ranked in different spots simply to distinguish between the two types. Really, giraffes are just awesome in general.

14. African Elephant

This African Elephant can be seen at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo. That is my favorite place to view elephants because they have two young babies currently. However, I cannot locate the pictures of these babies. There are several other places to view African Elephants well including the safari at Disney's Animal Kingdom, I just prefer to see the babies. These elephants are neater than the Asian Elephant for some reasons I pointed out during our last installment. However, if you want a full list of differences between African and Asian Elephants, go here. These are an awesome creature. It is a Top 10 animal for many people including my wife. The African Elephant is actually my wife's favorite animal of all. However, some of the animals we have seen knocked it out of the Top 10. Still, they are really awesome to look at.

13. Orangutan

These orangutans are the coolest monkeys on the block. This picture was taken at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo. That zoo has my favorite orangutan exhibit of all. It is an exhibit I have seen more than 10 times. It is one of my favorite exhibits of any animal and usually either our first or last stop when visiting the zoo. Sometimes it is both our first and our last stop. King Louie from the Jungle Book was based off of these animals and he is one of my 5 favorite characters. So it is no surprise that I love these fantastic animals.

12. Thomson's Gazelle

These photographs of Thomson's Gazelles were taken from the National Geographic website. While these are not my photographs, the illustrate the awesomeness of the Thomson's Gazelles/ I have not seen these brilliant animals in quite some time, because they took them off exhibit at Kilimanjaro Safaris at Disney's Animal Kingdom. If you have ever seen these animals glide through the air, you would see why they are so high on this countdown. I hope we get to see them again soon!

11. Cheetah

This cheetah was stalking the zebra in the exhibit next to him at the National Zoo. They are separated by a fence, but it is neat to watch them interact with one another. It is a very unique cheetah exhibit. While it is unique, it is also probably my favorite exhibit not just of cheetah's, but of the whole National Zoo. Growing up around DC, this exhibit is one of the reasons that the cheetah has always been one of my favorite animals. It was my very favorite until high school when I switched to the rhino. I still love cheetahs though, in large part because of this exact exhibit. The best time to view this exhibit was when they had the cheetah cubs. Unfortunately though, the cubs are no longer there.

-Noland

Best 100 Animals We Have Seen In Zoos (30-21)

Let's recap again before we begin...

100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61
60-51
50-41
40-31

And now the top 30....

30. Ram

These rams were in the petting zoo at the Reston Zoo in Reston, Virginia. You often see sheep in the petting zoo, but not usually rams with these awesome spiral horns. Did it get ranked this high because of the horns? Absolutely it did. Cool looking animals.

29. Prairie Dog

These prairie dogs were seen at the Reston Zoo in Reston, VA. Despite the fact that they are native to this country, I have seen less of these guys that meerkats. Most people would not rank these 21 spots ahead of meerkats, but I do. They are more interesting and I cannot explain why. Maybe because I have seen less of them and they are native to America. We will go with that.

28. Red Panda

Red Pandas can be found many places including the National Zoo like this guy. The Atlanta Zoo is another zoo with a great Red Panda exhibit. These animals are far cooler looking than the Giant Panda in my opinion. However, do not let the Panda name fool you. Look at these animals closer because they are actually a member of the raccoon family. Whatever they are, no doubt that they are terrific creatures.

27. Toucan

Toucans like these have been one of my favorite birds for a long time. They are just so colorful and awesome. I don't think the Toucan from George of the Jungle or Toucan Sam hurt in this fact either. Anyways, this particular Toucan was seen at the National Zoo, which is still my favorite place to view toucans. However, Lowry Park is another great place to see toucans and is much closer to my current home.

26. Sea Turtle

These sea turtles were found at Turtle Trek at Sea World Orlando. Which is a strong turtle exhibit. However, it is not worth waiting an hour for like we did the last time we went to Sea World. Regardless, these animals are awesome animals to look at. They are definitely an animal that you want to check out at some point in your lifetime. Everyone loves sea turtles and they are many people's favorite animals.

25. Sable Antelope

This sable antelope is from the safari at Disney's Animal Kingdom. During that safari, you can get a great view of these magnificent creatures. Actually, the sable antelope is the mascot for the safari and can be seen on every single safari. Despite the lack of quality of the picture, these are high quality animals. Seeing these guys at animal kingdom is worth the trip for my family. It is clearly the best place to view sable antelope.

24. Beluga Whale

Here is another animal I had to include despite not having a picture. This is a Wikipedia picture of the Beluga Whale. There is a great beluga whale exhibit at Sea World, but we always forget to take pictures when we are in the Wild Artic exhibit that houses these creatures. It is a very neat to see the design to that exhibit and these creatures that might be the highlight of Sea World though. They are the second coolest whale that we have seen in a zoo or aquarium.

23. Wallaby

Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa is home to these awesome bouncing animals. They are basically smaller kangaroos if you want a good description. There is no place even close to Lowry Park in terms of an experience with the wallaby. You can walk among the wallabies at this zoo and they cross over the path from time to time. This is one of the coolest exhibits I have seen period. This is something you have to go to Lowry Park Zoo for. Don't forget that this zoo is the #1 zoo for kids for a reason.

22. Giant Octopus

This giant octopus was photographed at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa, Florida. It is one of the coolest places to view this rare marine life. I vote it as the number one place to view the octopus, because look at that picture. It isn't the only place to view them though, you can see them at many other aquariums. They are really neat to look at and an animal I recommend.

21. Asian Elephant

Busch Gardens in Tampa, FL is one of the places you can view Asian Elephants. Another place with a great Asian Elephant exhibit is the National Zoo. Both have fantastic exhibits. I will say that these are similar to the African Elephant and still awesome. However, these animals are not as cool IMO. The ears are the easiest way to tell them apart. The Asian Elephant has much more rounded off ears. They are also smaller than the African Elephant typically. Finally, the Asian elephants highest point is on its back, giving it kind of the camel back, while the African Elephant has its highest point at the shoulders. These are still cool elephants, but not as great as the African Elephant.

-Noland

Best 100 Animals We Have Seen In Zoos (40-31)

This has been one awesome countdown so far, remembering so many amazing animals seen in our Zoo Adventures. Let's recap so far.
100-91
90-81
80-71
70-61
60-51
50-41

Top 40 time...

Now, let's start the top 40....

40. Bottlenose Dolphin

These dolphins were photographed at Sea World Orlando which is one of the best places to view dolphins, but not the best. The best place to see dolphins is during the dolphin show at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. That show is much better than Sea World's as it doesn't focus mainly on people in strange costumes. The Baltimore show focuses on the animals. Unfortunately, when Jenna and I went to the National Aquarium a few years ago, there was no dolphin show that day. The lack of dolphin show was disappointing, but they usually have one and when they do, it is awesome. This photo from Sea World will have to do.

39. Giant Panda

These pandas were photographed at the Atlanta Zoo, which with apologizes to the National Zoo, is the best place to view Giant Pandas. You can get up super close to view the Pandas at the Atlanta Zoo, like we did to see this mother and baby panda. There are few creatures cooler than these guys and they are quite special to look at.

38. Moon Jellyfish

These moon jellyfish are awesome and the coolest of all jellyfish. They can be seen several different places. My favorite place to see Moon Jellyfish is pictured here at the Florida Aquarium. These things are so amazing. They pick up any light that is around them and appear to be that color. If a blue light come on, they look blue, if a green light does, they look green, etc. Watching them swim around and change colors is truly a sight to behold.

37. Pygmy Hippo

This photo of the pygmy hippo was taken by my sister at Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. It is by far the best place to view these animals. In fact, it is the only place I can think of to view these guys anymore. I believe that the National Zoo used to have pygmy hippos, but I don't think they have them anymore. If you get a chance to head down to Tampa and see the #1 zoo for kids, check out their pygmy hippo exhibit.

36. Seahorse

The best place to view seahorses is photographed above at the Florida Aquarium. This aquarium has an entire seahorse section with only seahorses. I believe this section is awesome, because I love to look at seahorses. When we get a home aquarium, that is the one fish I definitely want. They are such amazing creatures and I love how they are so loyal to one another. When God created seahorses, he hit the jackpot. These guys are terrific.

35. Koala

There is a fantastic koala exhibit at Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. However, this guy is not from here. I had to take another off wikipedia because I couldn't find a good picture. I was slacking on the pictures of koalas here. However, I should not have been because they are cool and are my mom's favorite animal. They are awesome creatures and had to be included on the countdown, but we didn't have pictures!

34. Puffin

These puffins were photographed at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The picture is not of the best quality, but that's because the glass made it difficult to get a good picture. However, these birds are one of the best to look at. They also happen to be my sister's favorite animal of all. You can see why after seeing how cute these things are.

33. Gorilla

This Gorilla was photographed at Busch Gardens which was one of the best 4 places we have been to see gorillas. The other great places to view gorillas are Disney's Animal Kingdom (right outside of the safari exit), The Atlanta Zoo, and The National Zoo. These are very intelligent and amazing creatures. They are so interesting to watch for a few minutes. If you picked an animal to watch all day, these would be one of the most interesting. If you have never seen a gorilla, I recommend checking them out.

32. Warthog

This warthog was found at the Atlanta Zoo. Some people think warthogs are ugly, but I like to call those people haters. These are one of the coolest looking animals in the entire animal kingdom. You usually have a really hard time locating them, even in a great exhibit or on a safari. However, at the Atlanta Zoo you can see these guys very easily. This is certainly the best look we have ever gotten at warthogs. The zoo cleverly built several exhibits and we really recommend going to it.

31. Emperor Penguin

I hate using animal pictures that are not ours, but I have to admit that I got this picture from Wikipedia. Although, we have seen emperor penguins, we have not gotten any good pictures of them that can be shared on this blog. They were off exhibit last time we went to Sea World because they were setting up for their new penguin exhibit. That is one of the best places to view these penguins though.

-Noland