Best 100 Animals We Have Seen In Zoos (90-81)

We just finished the first installment of top animals in zoos. Get ready for part 2. Before we do though he is part one again.

100-91

90. Black Bear

This Black Bear was seen at Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Georgia. As a native species to the United States though, they are common in zoos. Some of you have probably even seen these guys in the wild. Regardless, they are an awesome animal to check out at the zoo.

89. Golden Lion Tamarian

These monkeys can be seen at most zoos across the United States. This picture was taken at Tamarian capital of the world, the National Zoo in Washington DC. You see after the rat poison fiasco around 2005 that killed several animals, the National Zoo needed more animals to fill in for the ones that perished. So, shortly after they got a bunch of these guys and I would say this is their most heavily populated animal at the zoo. They aren't as cool to me now that I have seen so many, but they are still a neat creature to behold.

88. African Penguin

The picture above is from a feeding session at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo. That zoo has the best African Penguin exhibit around. However, these animals are actually pretty common in zoos and you can see them a lot of different places. If you are in Tampa, check out this exact exhibit, otherwise check your local zoo and see if they have these guys.

87. Florida Panther

These Panthers resting here were found at the Jacksonville Zoo. They can be found at many zoos across the state and although they are native to Florida, they are still an awesome sight to behold. They are not quite as impressive as African Lions, but they are neat animals.

86. Clownfish

There are several good places to see Clownfish in the United States. They can also be owned in this country. This particular picture was taken at our least favorite visit, the Sarasota Aquarium. That being said, these creatures looked cool there and they had a few other neat fish. I'm sure you have seen clownfish already, but if you haven't head to your local aquarium to check them out in person.

85. African Bullfrog

Here is one of the craziest and bloated frogs you will ever see. This guy is the African bullfrog to be exact and he was photographed at Busch Gardens Tampa. A frog like this is very neat and one of the cooler animals you will ever see. I suggest checking him and the other awesome animals out at Busch Gardens.

84. Needlefish

Here is another fish found at the Sarasota Aquarium, but this one is much cooler than the clownfish in my opinion. This needlefish is extremely neat and much more rare in aquariums than the clownfish. I have seen clownfish in every aquarium I have gone to, but I have only seen needlefish at one other place. If you happen upon the Sarasota Aquarium I recommend this exhibit, but I am not sure I'd waste my time.

83. Camel

Camels are another fairly common animal in zoos, but they are still one of my favorites. They are odd and bizarre looking creatures, but fascinating at the same time. How they store water is very interesting and they are pretty cool in general.

82. Bison

Bison are another common animal in zoos and can be seen across the United States in farm areas. However, that does not take away from how awesome they are. This is another photo from a guest post, but we have seen plenty of Bison in our adventures. This photo was taken by our friend Kinsi, during her trip to the Montgomery Zoo. We have not been there yet, but might make the trip one day.

81. Ostrich

The Ostrich is the most well known flightless bird around the world. Many know about these awesome creatures and many are fascinated by them. These guys are fairly common in zoos, but they are not everywhere. The best place to see them is on a safari at Disney's Animal Kingdom, but you are not guaranteed to see them there. This particular ostrich photo was taken from one of my last trips to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. They have a great ostrich exhibit at that zoo.

The animals will get even better in tomorrow's portion of the countdown! We have another large flightless bird and more!

-Noland

Best 100 Animals We Have Seen In Zoos (100-91)

It has been a while since we have posted on this blog because of our little guy, but we are still so excited about zoos. We have been away from this our first blog, but we are looking to get back into it. Looking to post some of our adventures with our little guy. Before we do that and to get back into the swing of things, I wanted to recap the top 100 animals we have seen in a zoo/aquarium/animal park. I've been on this countdown kick lately on our blogs and can't get these countdowns out of my head. Naturally, since I have been counting things down, I thought of zoo animals we have seen. I wanted to come up with the 100 coolest and have developed a list. Enjoy the 100 best zoo animals countdown.

100. Macaw

You can find Macaws at pretty much any zoo we have been to. We happened to snap this Macaw picture at Gatorland Zoo in Orlando, Florida, but you can see Macaws wonderfully at 95% of the zoos we have been to. These guys are at the majority of zoos in the United States. Eventhough they are common, they are still really cool.

99. Snapping Turtle

This particular snapping turtle can be found at the Jacksonville Zoo (one of our favorite zoos), but these guys can be found at most zoos. They also can be found in the wild, but I'd prefer to look at them where they can't bite me. These are quite impressive and interesting creatures.

98. American Alligator

American Alligators I can see in the wild any day being a Florida resident. These animals were not going to be on the list. However, at Gatorland zoo in Orlando, FL, you can see these guys pictured above. All-white gators which cannot be seen many other places. I am not usually impressed with alligators, but seeing these guys in person was really cool.

97. Grey Wolf

The grey wolf is a beautiful animal to behold and has been seen at multiple zoos across this country. One of the best zoos to see these animals at is Zoo America at Hershey Park. That zoo is free with admission to Hershey Park and has animals from all around the United States. If you are at that theme park go check out these animals.

96. Stingray

This stingray isn't actually one of our pictures, but was a guest post picture from our sister-in-law when she did a post about the Tennessee Aquarium. I included this picture because it is the best one I had of a stingray and they are great creatures to look at. This particular one is better than others we have seen, so I suggest if you want to see this guy, head to the Tennessee Aquarium.

95. Hornbill

I should have gotten a better picture of this hornbill, because it was awesome to look at. This particular hornbill can be found at the Lowry Park Zoo. That zoo, happens to be rated the #1 zoo for kids and I do not disagree. I am so pleased that this zoo is our local zoo and look forward to going back. These guys are fantastic birds to see at the zoo.

94. Ring-Tailed Lemur

Ring-Tailed Lemurs are another fairly common animal for zoos. They are quite neat to look at though and it is fun to see them in person. These are common so if you go to the zoo, there is a good chance you will see them. I haven't seen an exhibit for them that is way better or way worse than other exhibits though.

93. American Crocodile

American Crocodiles are fairly common, but look meaner than the alligator. I always enjoyed crocodiles more (and not just because I am a FSU fan). With their teeth sticking out and their leaner heads they just look cooler and more mean. These are not my favorite type of crocodile, but they are neat. They can be viewed at Disney's Animal Kingdom among other places.

92. Flamingos

Flamingos are some of the neatest birds around. The only problem with flamingos is that they stink. That alone knocks them further down the countdown than they would like to go. However they are neat animals and belong on the list. This picture is from the National Zoo, but I believe the best place to view Flamingos is on the safari at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

91. Peacock

This particular peacock happens to reside at the Leesburg Animal Farm. Eventhough these animals are common and can be seen in the wild across the Eastern United States, they are still very vibrant and colorful. They are still very neat to look at and still belong on this list. The animals get more exotic as you go, but the peacock fits in at #91.

Stay tuned for 90-81 tomorrow.

-Noland

Zoo Questions #1

Before we get to our next zoo review, we wanted to answer some questions that we have heard about our blog and some questions I think some people might ask. We also invite our followers, whether they have signed up as followers or not, to ask questions of us that they want us to answer. This questions post will try to be replicated once a month, with different questions of course.

What will your next review be on?
Jenna will be posting a review of her visit to a place in Kansas next week. She is trying to find her pictures from her Kansas trip. This trip happened in the summer of 2009 and Jenna is excited to share her experience.

Are you going to review Sea World like you said?
We are trying to wait on doing a Sea World Orlando review until we visit the theme park again. We are going to try to go at some point this summer and if we go, we can post something shortly thereafter. On this blog we strive to get the most up to date reviews possible.

What is the best zoo you have been to?
We have said it numerous times that our top zoo thus far is the Atlanta Zoo. You can read our review here. The baby komodo below is from that zoo. They had a feeding there that was awesome.

What is the worst zoo you have been to?
Well it isn't a zoo technically, but the Mote Marine Laboratory is an aquarium. We were not to fond of this place. Read the review here.

Where can I see a great white shark in captivity?
Unfortunately, you cannot see a great white anywhere in captivity. Occasionally the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California will get them, but it is only for a short time when they do get them. This is one place we really want to go if we ever get out to California. Anyways, the longest a great white has lived in captivity is 6 months.

Are you going to post any reviews outside of Florida?
Florida is a big state and living in Tampa we mostly go to animal attractions in our home state, but we do post reviews from other states. So far we have reviews from zoos in 7 other states and the district. Jenna is about to post a review on a zoo in Kansas and we will have another zoo from the DC metro area when we visit in a few weeks. You can expect a few zoos throughout the Southeast from us in the near future. If we make it out west we will certainly post on those zoos as well. We also occasionally have guest posts which may come from different states.

If you have other questions just ask.

-Noland