At one time, the Gladys Porter in Brownsville was top 5 zoo in America. Still the best in Texas.

birdman said:

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At one time, the Gladys Porter in Brownsville was top 5 zoo in America. Still the best in Texas.

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is that where the donkey show is?

Houston is great

Yeah Houston has really upped its game in the last 7-10 years. African Forest exhibit is top notch. Plus fancy new homes for Giraffes and Elephants. Nice exhibit for primates.

The hippo exhibit at the SA Zoo is probably the coolest I've ever seen.

AliasMan02 said:

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I've been meaning to get back to the Dallas zoo since they've done so much work there, but the Fort Worth zoo dominates.

This same thing could be said for Trinity River developments, convention space, downtowns, and college sports facilities for Dallas vs Houston.

Fort Worth is a high bar, though. We went to the zoo in Zurich, considered one of the best in the world. It was excellent, but really did not stand out as being head and shoulders above Fort Worth in any area.

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This is the truth. The Fort Worth zoo is amazing and it's something the community really seems to take great pride in. And it shows. One of the the best zoos in the country and easily the best in Texas.

Houston zoo was awful in the 80s and 90s. Is it really that much better?

Bruce Almighty said:

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Houston zoo was awful in the 80s and 90s. Is it really that much better?

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Yes. City doesn't own/run it any more. Much better. If you haven't been to Hermann Park or the Zoo since the 90s you won't recognize much of it. Still a lot of work to be done, but the philanthropic set in Houston is engaged and donating quite a bit.

queso1 said:

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Animal prisons.

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Great zoo. I hate Waco with a passion, but at their zoo you forget where you. It seriously belongs in a different city. That's the only thing Waco has going for it. Unless you're into cities that suck.

I vote for FW but I am biased

Hou is very nice

San Antonio is also a nice zoo

The Houston Zoo is top notch. It is nothing like it was in the 80s and 90s when it was a free city run zoo. It's been privatized for a long time and many, many improvements have been made over the years. The African Forest exhibits are beautiful and my kids love feeding the giraffes and the chimpanzee/ gorilla habitats. We also love the expanded elephant habitat which they are expanding again. Many zoos are getting rid of elephants because of cost/ expense of properly caring for them. The Houston Zoo's herd has grown to about 10.

The Houston Zoo often makes national top 10 lists for US Zoos. If you haven't been to the Houston Zoo in the last 5-10 years, there are lots of upgrades to see and enjoy. If it's been more than 15 years, you'll be shocked by the changes. Besides the much better habitats and larger herds, the newer water playground, carousel, IMAX 4D theater, etc are other features added that kids enjoy. Hermann Park has changed so much for the better in that time too.

Another zoo we enjoy is the San Antonio zoo. It has a unique setting and the hippo habitat is really nice. Last time we went about 2 years ago, there were areas that definitely felt run down though. It felt in flux.

We've never been to the Ft. worth zoo, but have heard good things.

I'm at the Dallas or Fort Worth Zoo on a monthly basis. I prefer the Dallas Zoo, and we maintain a family pass there.

San Antonio Zoo is excellent.

As is Ft. Worth.

Animal prisons

Texas Safari FTW.

I'm a member at the Houston Zoo, but SA Zoo > Houston Zoo. Houston has nicer amenities, more upgrades, and newer enclosures. The big but for me is that the animals at the Houston Zoo are lazy AF and there are too many hoofed animals. They are never active when I go, which is always first thing in the morning when they're supposed to be most active. I've been to the SA Zoo twice in the last year and their animals are so much more active and more interesting to observe. At SA because of the hills, you also look down on many enclosures which makes it easier to see animals. At the Houston Zoo many of the animals hide in the back and/or top of the enclosures and are hard to see.

This is where Dallas went wrong over the course of a few additions/renovations (a monorail with too many lame hoofed animals + a tiger cage where you can almost never see it), but finally got right with it's last big addition. Those misses really set the zoo back a great deal, but it finally took a big step in the right direction.

Big cat animal sanctuary in Boyd, Texas.

Fort Worth Zoo

queso1 said:

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Animal prisons.

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My biggest complaint about the zoo is that they don't let you pick out the animal you want for dinner, kill it, cook it, and serve it the way that you want.

It would be nice for once if the zoo had a competent chef on staff. That way, if I get a hankering for something that is as tasty as it is endangered, I can get preparation and serving recommendations.

My favorite zoo in the US is in Omaha. It's really great. Fort Worth is second, but we have memberships there so we go quite a bit and at this point the novelty has worn off.

Agoodlittleag04 said:

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My favorite zoo in the US is in Omaha. It's really great. Fort Worth is second, but we have memberships there so we go quite a bit and at this point the novelty has worn off.

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Omaha zoo is incredible.

Agree Omaha is the best I've seen. Better than San Diego.

Fort Worth Zoo is just starting new habitats for the elephants, giraffes, and hippos (similar to the African Savannah in Dallas) it should be a supoerb expansion upon completion.

Not in Texas, but the Night Zoo in Singapore.

Of the ones I've been to

San Diego
Ft Worth


San Antonio

Dallas
Houston


Fossil Rim is cool but I dont consider it a zoo and grew up so close that the novelty wore off.

The Victoria Zoo is the best one in Texas. It is called the Texas Zoo afterall

Fort Worth Zoo is about to spend a ton of cash updating again. The rest of the zoo is going to match the quality level of their MOLA section of the zoo.

Fort Worth has an excellent zoo. Hippo = legit.

Houston is very good, but not at the FtW level.

Dallas is much better, but clearly down a peg from 1/2.

Austin is a freak show.

SA is pretty solid, around the Dallas level.

Not sure about others.

Cameron Park Zoo in Waco

Hands down.

chipotle said:

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DSAg44 said:

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chipotle said:

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Natural bridge wildlife outside of San Antonio was kinda cool.

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i like this idea. Do l need to get out of car? Can I fill up my yeti and drink whatever I want?

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There's some stuff to see on foot but most of it's just driving. Beware the zebras. They're mean as ***k.

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Can't stress this enough. My kid got his hand bit by a zebra. It didn't break the skin, but he was freaked the rest of the day from it.

If you're going by attendance, Houston is second in the US to San Diego.

Quote:

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Beware the zebras. They're mean as ***k.

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Can't stress this enough. My kid got his hand bit by a zebra. It didn't break the skin, but he was freaked the rest of the day from it.

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Haha, I can remember very clearly feeding the zebras by hand at Fossil Rim as a kid... I went back as an adult, and there are signs posted about not feeding the zebras as they can be aggressive. I've now come to find out they are real @$$holes. Thanks a lot, Obama.

I only care about seeing the monkeys and big cats at zoos. All the other animals are boring and uninteresting.

I do prefer aquariums over zoos, though.