The Worst of the Best of Polls

It's time for that annual poll from USA Today to rank the 10 best zoos, aquariums, safari parks, and exhibits in the US.  Every year this poll gets put out, and every year I admit that I find it a little more exasperating.  It's not just the decision about who is included and who isn't (disclaimer: my current facility is not on the list, which I am completely fine with).   What I like isn't necessarily what members of the general public prefer, and if we want to be successful, we have to strike a balance between the conservation, research, and education that is our mission and the factors needed for public appeal, such as popular species and interactive exhibits.  I'm not a purist, at heart.

It's that it these lists seem so... random.  Some of the "exhibits" aren't even exhibits... or are closed for the last year due to COVID.  Some of the exhibits are single animals, others are complexes with dozens of exhibits.  How do you compare those apples and oranges (or, single apple versus an orange tree)?  Big Cat Rescue is many things (one of which may be a sanctuary, depending on how you feel about them), but a safari park?  In absolutely no way.  Where's the "safari" aspect?

The more time I spend with zoos and aquariums, the less interested I become in rankings and trying to sort things out from best to worst.  I sometimes do find myself thinking, "This is the best alligator exhibit I've ever seen," or "This is the worst giraffe exhibit I've seen," but those are usually the impressions of the moment.  I suppose things like this provide useful PR bragging rights for the "winning" institutions.  I just can't see much other use to them.