Mixed species enclosures and other changes for Burgers Zoo

Mr Gharial said:
I'll put it on the list

I'm finalising the Desert expantion, I currently have the Black tailed prairie dog, Prairie chicken, Wild turkey, Common raccoon, Striped skunk and Virginia opossum. Which of these can go in a walkthrough, and which ones can go together. Striped skunk might be bad for a walkthrough because of spraying risk. But can the rest go together AND in a walkthrough?

All animals do occur in the desert and great plains
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All should be compatible except for the raccoon. Chiken, Turkey, Prairie Dog, and Possum should be fine for a walkthrough but not the raccoon I live with raccoons, possums, and skunks and raccoons can have pretty nasty tempermants but if it has been done before then you should be fine.
 
Westcoastperson said:
All should be compatible except for the raccoon. Chiken, Turkey, Prairie Dog, and Possum should be fine for a walkthrough but not the raccoon I live with raccoons, possums, and skunks and raccoons can have pretty nasty tempermants but if it has been done before then you should be fine.
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Alright, so Prairie chicken, Prairie dog, Virginia oppossum and Turkey together for a walkthrough, and Raccoon and Skunks together in the other. I've seen them together in multiple zoos so those two should work.
 
Mr Gharial said:
Alright, so Prairie chicken, Prairie dog, Virginia oppossum and Turkey together for a walkthrough, and Raccoon and Skunks together in the other. I've seen them together in multiple zoos so those two should work.
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that should work opossums don't usually attack people I just haven't had the best experience with them (what I have learned is to keep people away from opossum house/hiding space because they could hiss and become aggressive)(this happened to me when I found one in a trash can)
 
Westcoastperson said:
that should work opossums don't usually attack people I just haven't had the best experience with them (what I have learned is to keep people away from opossum house/hiding space because they could hiss and become aggressive)(this happened to me when I found one in a trash can)
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Could some smaller, flying birds go together with them as well, or would the opossums hunt them?
 
Mr Gharial said:
Could some smaller, flying birds go together with them as well, or would the opossums hunt them?
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Apparently they will raid birds' nests and eat the eggs and chicks. So again if you want to breed with the birds it wouldn't be great. There are records that they have killed birds, so it's possible.
 
As max said I wouldn't suggest it. Opossums are very borderline they won't attack people but the more I think about it the more I think they should also be separated from the chickens and put with the skunk and raccoon. The predator mix with the raccoons should have a tree as raccoons and possums are great climbers and love to hang out in trees. If your looking for birds for the walkthrough crows would look nice but would attack any small birds you put with them so I would suggest a mix of finches and jays.
 
Westcoastperson said:
As max said I wouldn't suggest it. Opossums are very borderline they won't attack people but the more I think about it the more I think they should also be separated from the chickens and put with the skunk and raccoon. The predator mix with the raccoons should have a tree as raccoons and possums are great climbers and love to hang out in trees. If your looking for birds for the walkthrough crows would look nice but would attack any small birds you put with them so I would suggest a mix of finches and jays.
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Alright then, I'll move the opossum to the raccoons. What desert birds could go with them?
 
Mr Gharial said:
Alright then, I'll move the opossum to the raccoons. What desert birds could go with them?
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I wouldn't suggest birds in that enclosure as the raccoons would probably try to go after it. But if there is a European collection with a good mix with raccoons and birds its probably either crows or road runners
 
Westcoastperson said:
I wouldn't suggest birds in that enclosure as the raccoons would probably try to go after it. But if there is a European collection with a good mix with raccoons and birds its probably either crows or road runners
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Well, they already have roadrunners in the desert and I don't think crows would be a great fit for desert scenery. Maybe there could be an aviary seperation?
 
Mr Gharial said:
Well, they already have roadrunners in the desert and I don't think crows would be a great fit for desert scenery. Maybe there could be an aviary seperation?
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Maybe but raccoons are quite crafty and if one bird gets too close to the neting I wouldn't be surprised if a raccoon grabbed it, also the separation would require a strong material the raccoons can't bite through
 
Westcoastperson said:
Maybe but raccoons are quite crafty and if one bird gets too close to the neting I wouldn't be surprised if a raccoon grabbed it, also the separation would require a strong material the raccoons can't bite through
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Good point, no birbs then

This is the current plan, a canyon with two enclosures, one walkthrough. I might still have one more space for a smaller animals but I could leave it empty
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Alright then, anyone have any notes or questions about the other regions or the ones we discussed? Or maybe any ideas to add anywhere else?
 
Mr Gharial said:
Alright then, anyone have any notes or questions about the other regions or the ones we discussed? Or maybe any ideas to add anywhere else?
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There will be more but this is just my reaction to the expanded desert I think you could place a desert iguana/tortoise exhibit to the left.
 
Would a coyote enclosure be possible for the room that you have left in the Prairie area?
I think Westcoastpersons idea is actually achievable.
 
Westcoastperson said:
There will be more but this is just my reaction to the expanded desert I think you could place a desert iguana/tortoise exhibit to the left.
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The problem is that the new expanded desert will be outside. However. There has been an area that look like an enclosure but isn't that has been confusing me for years. I'm going to suggest putting a mojave desert tortoise in there.

JurassicMax said:
Would a coyote enclosure be possible for the room that you have left in the Prairie area?.
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Maybe, but wouldn't they need more room than that? I was thinking more like gray fox or kit fox, but those aren't in European zoos
 
Well good morning if it is 8 in the morning and I have not responded to your messages I am asleep and will respond around 5:00
Park: might I suggest instead of a park, a children's zoo? They are very popular in US zoos but I haven't seen them as much in Europe. They highlight extremely immersive exhibits snd animals children know well. For example a meerkat exhibit with tunnels to go eye to eye with the meerkats. Also we need to talk about the elephant in the room (I crack myself up) but seriously the Elephant exhibit do you know for sure that they will put in the effort to get new elphants and are you gonna work on it at all.
Islands: If elephants don't come back to Burgers then they should be replaced with the other islands exhibit so that the two can be one large exhibit instead of two.
Artic: okay the only problem here is the name. The artic is in the North and does include puffins foxes and owls but as you know penguins are southern so I would rename it to like the poles or something like that.
Desert: So the animals you have picked you wouldn't really find in the classic sandy cactus filed desert, that being said make sure you let people know that so add a good amount of small grasses and shrubs to really make it a prairie. For that one space, there are a few options: Mexican Wolf, Armadillo, Fisher (if European zoos have them), Coyote, rabbit species, squirrel species, and if it is really bugging you then the coati from park would work.
Outback: I just wanted to know what you would be doing
Ocean/Rimba: are you doing anything for these?
 
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