Bristol Zoo (Closed) Bristols new zoo
- Thread starter kiang
- Start date
I know what you are saying but actually Bristol Zoo's recent elephants apart from Christina, lived to a reasonable age and as a small urban zoo they couldn't be expected to house more than one or two females at a time, so have never been able to attempt breeding. I think their record with them is typical for a zoo of that type. I don't think elephants feature in any of the plans of the NWCP though.
My thoughts exactly. I wouldn't say they had a bad history. All of them lived to a decent age, and it's not like they tried to breed them and failed.
true, but for people like us it is exciting
Given the right exhibit presentation and interactive interpretation bonobos are just as interesting as your regular chimps. I really do not think that it matters much as both belong to the genus Pan!
I think that's true in part, but you have to trek the savannah to see big game or explore the jungle to see the creatures that lurk in the shadows.
The biomes do offer an immersion experience but the visitors expect to see the 'big' animals or they do not think this experience is complete. Having said that, with Tigers, Giraffe, Zebra, Brown Bear, Wolves, Bonobo, Orang-utan, Manatee etc, i think that elephants are unneccessary and just open the zoo to attack from animal 'rights' groups no matter how good their enclosure is.
then why do people visit the eden project? most of the visitors dont go there becasuse they want to see a particualrly rare plant. but to be immersed in the jungle and to look in awe at the giant bubbles. my point is the parks main selling pint is the immersion and they should use this rather than try to introduce major species such as the elephants
I trust this is meant to be ironic.
Go to the Great Ape Trust in Des Moines and ask Kanzi and Panbanisha what they think!
Alan
then why do people visit the eden project? most of the visitors dont go there becasuse they want to see a particualrly rare plant. but to be immersed in the jungle and to look in awe at the giant bubbles. my point is the parks main selling pint is the immersion and they should use this rather than try to introduce major species such as the elephants
I understand what you are saying, but i don't think that the average visitor goes to a zoo to be immersed in an environment. They go to see the elephants, giraffes, lions and tigers; the immersion is a bonus.
As for the eden project, i think the two are very different - the word zoo makes one think of animals and the public viewing them whereas the word eden gives us an impression of a beautiful and tranquil garden of plants. It is also worth recognising that visitor numbers for the eden project have plummeted in recent years as, once someone has visited, there is nothing to go back for, to most people it is a novelty rather than an attraction. Unlike a zoo where the animals are always doing something different so people have an incentive to return.
I, personally, love being immersed in biomes and am as interested in the exhibits as the animals themselves but i think that the average visitor is there to see the crowd-pullers - not how well recreated their habitat is.
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I trust this is meant to be ironic.
Go to the Great Ape Trust in Des Moines and ask Kanzi and Panbanisha what they think!
Alan
yeah, i think bonobos are much more interesting than chimps, i cant wait till next summer when i finally get to see them for the first time