Are indoor quarters necessary?

animalszoos

animalszoos

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
Do you think indoor quarters for animals in zoos are always necessary?
By indoor quarters, it could be a stable, den or indoor enclosure (for example the Berlin zoo carnivore house).
I think indoor quarters are necessary for all species as, if the animal is in an alien climate, the indoor quarters may be a more suitable temperature. I also think that they can offer privacy, but it depends on whether there is visitor viewing or not.
How do you think species would do without indoor quarters?
 
Rather depends on species and locale, but all collection animals must have the facilities to be separated from others whether for quarantine, veterinary treatment, group problems.
Even animals thought to be safe and hardy in their environment outdoors need a place where they can retreat if unusual weather approaches (record cold, record highs, damaging storms, etc.)
In many places collection animals may not be reliably safe from predators after hours in their outdoor enclosures
 
Zooplantman said:
Rather depends on species and locale, but all collection animals must have the facilities to be separated from others whether for quarantine, veterinary treatment, group problems.
Even animals thought to be safe and hardy in their environment outdoors need a place where they can retreat if unusual weather approaches (record cold, record highs, damaging storms, etc.)
In many places collection animals may not be reliably safe from predators after hours in their outdoor enclosures
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This is exactly why indoor quarters are needed.
 
I struggle to think of a species beyond waterfowl or pond dwelling fish that don't require indoor quarters.

In many zoos, giraffes aren't allowed outside (if their enclosure is grassed) as there is a risk of them slipping. It'd be nice if the public was still able to view them in their indoor barns. At Hamilton Zoo, the giraffe are kept in a grass padock on fine days, but confined to their night barns and adjacenent holding enclosure on wet days (all viewable by the public). Wellington have since made their giraffe barn viewable which is good to see.

From what I've seen/heard, gorillas have a strong preference for their indoor areas. The troops at Taronga and London Zoo both stay inside more often than not, even on a fine day. I think for gorillas, special attention should go into designing spacious indoor playrooms as oppose to prioritising large outdoor enclosures they seldom use, save for foraging for food laid out by keepers.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I struggle to think of a species beyond waterfowl or pond dwelling fish that don't require indoor quarters.

In many zoos, giraffes aren't allowed outside (if their enclosure is grassed) as there is a risk of them slipping. It'd be nice if the public was still able to view them in their indoor barns. At Hamilton Zoo, the giraffe are kept in a grass padock on fine days, but confined to their night barns and adjacenent holding enclosure on wet days (all viewable by the public). Wellington have since made their giraffe barn viewable which is good to see.

From what I've seen/heard, gorillas have a strong preference for their indoor areas. The troops at Taronga and London Zoo both stay inside more often than not, even on a fine day. I think for gorillas, special attention should go into designing spacious indoor playrooms as oppose to prioritising large outdoor enclosures they seldom use, save for foraging for food laid out by keepers.
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I think for both species some decent indoor enclosures should be made, especially if they need to stay inside a lot.
 
Zoofan15 said:
From what I've seen/heard, gorillas have a strong preference for their indoor areas. The troops at Taronga and London Zoo both stay inside more often than not, even on a fine day.
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This is likely due to poor design of the outdoor area. Gorillas in other zoos do not share this preference
 
In theory, species native to the locality of the zoo should not need indoor enclosures. However a zoo enclosure rarely approaches the size of an animal's natural territory and so may not meet all its needs for shade, shelter, denning, nesting, roosting etc. The best way to provide for such needs may be an indoor enclosure of some sort.
 
I think indoor quarters are beneficial for zookeepers. By putting animals outside, it allows them to clean their indoor quarters and vise versa. Also, it helps having a mesh barrier to do training with more dangerous animals (although some outdoor exhibits have this feature).
 
They also allow visitors to enjoy animals on a wet day, though personally I prefer to see animals outdoors.
 
Zooplantman said:
This is likely due to poor design of the outdoor area. Gorillas in other zoos do not share this preference
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Gorillas naturally like shade, confined space and soft floor, and don't like direct sun, open area and walking on grass. Only few zoos have outdoor exhibit replicating these. Most have sunny grassy paddocks with some dead trees and ropes which gorillas avoid. Zoo Frankfurt built such an exhibit, and one of gorillas went out only few times in a couple of years. Frankfurt should actually be complimented for not shutting gorillas outside by force, which many zoos do. That zoo might actually benefit from building a corridor letting bonobos use the outdoor exhibit planned for gorillas and vice versa.
 
Some birds need heated areas especially tropical species, even if they have an outdoor aviary.

Some smaller species can only be kept instead if the public is to ever see them (nocturnal species) though I've seen an outdoor aye-aye exhibit.
 
Most reptile exhibits are completely indoors. Except many tortoises, some crocodiles and, rarely, large lizards like monitors
 
Dylan said:
Most reptile exhibits are completely indoors. Except many tortoises, some crocodiles and, rarely, large lizards like monitors
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What about reptiles in tropical/warm countries and/or in zoos where they occur in the wild.
I don't think all the [outdoor] reptiles in Lok Kawi had indoor enclosures...and they were native species.
 
animalszoos said:
What about reptiles in tropical/warm countries and/or in zoos where they occur in the wild.
I don't think all the [outdoor] reptiles in Lok Kawi had indoor enclosures...and they were native species.
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Generally reptiles won't have indoor quarters, except for maybe Tortoises or in places where it gets really cold. If a reptile is used to the climate in which they are kept the only shelter they are given are the various logs and hides in their exhibits.
 
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