Why zoo layouts are so confusing 

The San Diego Zoo's Elephant Oddyssey always struck me as exceptional in taking a paleobiogeographical approach to its layout, including informational placards and statues of extinct Pleistocene megafauna alongside their extant relatives. The setup also allows for the seamless inclusion of often overlooked native species alongside the traditional elephants and big cats

I play planet zoo and these tips are really helping me!

My favorite zoo exhibit wing is from my local zoo, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. It always stood out to me growing up that Wild Florida was given an equal chair at the table so to speak next to Africa, Asia, South America, and Australia. It brought my attention to conservation efforts and the beautifully diverse range of species right here in my own home state. I think it’s a wonderful idea for a zoo to not only focus on world wide conservation efforts but also to key in on the very place the zoo is located. It really made the idea of conservation come to life for me. Made it feel attainable. For example, after seeing the manatees in recovery at the zoo from motor boat accidents, whenever our family was out on my dad’s boat, I made sure to warn him about not going too fast in the creek (which he probably would have done anyway because I got my love of animals and wildlife from him, but as a kid it felt like I was doing my part). I also love their African Savannah loop. They’ve got some species housed together, but even the ones that are separated kind of feel like they’re all in one big area because of the way the elevated pathway winds through them all.

For the biographical layouts, my local zoo (Fresno Chaffee Zoo. CA) found a really good solution. The zoo has multiple exhibits based on such (African Adventure with African savannah animals, Kingdoms of Asian with Asian animals, soon their Sea Lion Cove area will be expanded to include mountain lions, grey wolves, bald eagles, river otters, sea lions of course, and other California native species for a California themed exhibit) but will also be adding “conservation corridor,” an exhibit which will house the zoo’s reptile house and animals that don’t fit geographically with the rest of the zoo’s layout like the zoo’s lemurs, Galapagos tortoises, giant anteaters, macaws, etc. Instead the theme is animal conservation and their depleting environments.

My local zoo being the Smithsonian, I really like the Amazonia exhibit. It has really great immersion, like they just grabbed a slice of the amazon river and put it inside a building.

you help me make more realistic zoos in planet zoo. you do a way better job at explaining stuff than planet zoo content creators good job

I wish zoos had more moderate climate animals. As an European I wish I could see an opossum in a Zoo but I guess they're not as profitable as tropical animals.

My favorite is when there is a slight mix, like having a primate house, but also an asian section, I think it can be more effective in the long run

there should be way more people watching this

Best exhibit I've personally seen is Bronx Zoo's Congo Gorilla Forest. While this exhibit does focus on a fairly narrow geographic range, I do agree with you on biome-type exhibits, and wish that style was more common in zoos.

I strongly prefer Biogeographical exhibits. They're more immersive and do a better job of educating the pubic about individual species place in nature, and the threatened wild places they depend on for their survival. By contrast, Biotype exhibits can give the false impression that tigers, toucans and okapis all live together in the same generic rainforest.

I personally like a biogeographical layout for any zoological facility, it feels more organised to me

Really great video, loved it! :D Now, I thoroughly agree that all three approaches have their pros and cons. Something I've noticed (at least in Europe) is that some zoos that were originally arranged taxonomically (Tierpark Berlin, Barcelona Zoo) are trying to become biogeographical; that seems to be the latest trend. As someone who draws fantasy zoos a lot, I often change between the three, and, when I arrange the zoo geographically, I often find myself building the reptile house, bird house, nocturnal house etc. In areas that are prolific in these animals. Both South America and Southeast Asia are great themes for bird houses, but an African-themed reptile house will give you a lot more options than a strictly European one, for example.

My local St. Louis Zoo has an area called The River’s Edge with the idea of the visitor slowly going on a safari into the wilderness as they take a winding trail along, well, the river’s edge. I am sure you can see how flexible this idea is. It’s also really cool

Rotterdam zoo has a new masterplan where they have parts of the world like congo, africa plains and asia but also 2 conservation areas. I think this is great because the conservation areas could house animals all over the world that needs offspring the most. It also makes it easier to get animals that dont fit anywhere else.

Zoo360 at philadelphia zoo

“African” koala 😂

Hey this video just popped up in my home feed, maybe you’re up to something, keep it up

The Philadelphia Zoo has a taxonomic layout. There's a reptile house, a big cat exhibit, a bear exhibit, a primate house, and a birdhouse. There are a few exhibits that are biogeographical and some that are just there. Growing up, Big Cat Falls at the Philadelphia Zoo was always my favorite, but as I age, I'm finding a lot of indoor exhibits are my favorites due to year-round access. They can be rainforests, primate houses, birdhouses, or reptile houses.

Whenever I watch the videos on the channel, I can't help but think the audience crossover for people who play Planet Zoo/Zoo Tycoon has to be pretty sizable, heh

South America's Pantanal at the Houston Zoo is superb!

Nice video

In the Memphis zoo they had a part for cats that like water so they had the tiny river cats right next to the tigers, it was super interesting to see the diversity in wild cats like that

I enjoy the Minnesota zoo tropics building because of its continental and biome organization. I also love how many enclosures in the area are constantly changing to ensure a rotation of species for educational values.

I like how the Bronx Zoo sets up their spaces by region compared to taxonomic group