Mixed species enclosures and other changes for Burgers Zoo

I have one question and one suggestion. First, the question of how handicap accessible is it, from what I read it's a lot of stairs (Which really pisses off handicapped people, like to the point where they just leave and go somewhere else). My suggestion is to get rid of all the bars because animal rights activists will use those to make your zoo look bad, it also doesn't help that this takes place in an old abandoned dungeon. Also just make sure that if people don't want to use aviaries they don't need to if they want to leave (I couldn't tell if the exit was in the raven exhibit or outside)
 
Westcoastperson said:
I have one question and one suggestion. First, the question of how handicap accessible is it, from what I read it's a lot of stairs (Which really pisses off handicapped people, like to the point where they just leave and go somewhere else). My suggestion is to get rid of all the bars because animal rights activists will use those to make your zoo look bad, it also doesn't help that this takes place in an old abandoned dungeon. Also just make sure that if people don't want to use aviaries they don't need to if they want to leave (I couldn't tell if the exit was in the raven exhibit or outside)
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Hmmm, I forgot about wheelchairs. You can skip the aviaries and go around the castles, migth make that a ramp instead of a staircase. The bars are really a style, as a sort of tribute to older zoos. I don't think people will use it to make it look bad, as the animals still have a large, two-tier enclosure
 
Westcoastperson said:
The classic rule of aquatic aquaria is if it can fit in the other's mouth then it is a no go because the penguins will get eaten. The spiny dogfish should work with the penguins or a California leopard(or zebra shark I don't remember what Australians call it), so pretty much anything in the Hound Shark family or Squalidae/dog shark family.
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Leopard sharks are a temperate species, the tank is part of a Polar Oceans exhibit, so it might be too cold for them. They are called leopard sharks in Australia, but they aren't found here. Not to be confused with the zebra shark (Stegostoma fasciatum), which is found in Aus and often called the leopard shark.
 
DaLilFishie said:
Leopard sharks are a temperate species, the tank is part of a Polar Oceans exhibit, so it might be too cold for them. They are called leopard sharks in Australia, but they aren't found here. Not to be confused with the zebra shark (Stegostoma fasciatum), which is found in Aus and often called the leopard shark.
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Ok the verbal separation between leopard and zebra in Australia always puzzled me. Leopard sharks can handle cold temperatures but it is probably best to keep them out of it
 
Mr Gharial said:
Hmmm, I forgot about wheelchairs. You can skip the aviaries and go around the castles, migth make that a ramp instead of a staircase. The bars are really a style, as a sort of tribute to older zoos. I don't think people will use it to make it look bad, as the animals still have a large, two-tier enclosure
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I know American zoo guests are different from European zoo guests but here in America I have seen people use wooden slats to make animals look like they are in prison, the point being if someone protesting your zoo sees that you could get in a large amount of trouble for keeping animals in "cages"
 
Westcoastperson said:
I know American zoo guests are different from European zoo guests but here in America I have seen people use wooden slats to make animals look like they are in prison, the point being if someone protesting your zoo sees that you could get in a large amount of trouble for keeping animals in "cages"
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That's also done in European zoos, I don't think using iron bars (if limited and combined with glass) is a problem. If the animals have large natural enclosures and have enough places to hide from the visitors it's okay.
 
Also, we came up with a cool snow system.
During the day it's between 5 and 10 degrees (Celcius), to keep it cool for the animals but not unbearable for the guests. But at night, the temperature will be about 10 degrees below 0 (below freezing point). Similar to the mangrove, there will be tubing along the roof that, at night, will spray out small drops of water. The idea is that they will turn into snow mid-air, the temperature will slowly turn up during the day and the molten snow-water can be collected and re-used the next evening
 
Mr Gharial said:
Also, we came up with a cool snow system.
During the day it's between 5 and 10 degrees (Celcius), to keep it cool for the animals but not unbearable for the guests. But at night, the temperature will be about 10 degrees below 0 (below freezing point). Similar to the mangrove, there will be tubing along the roof that, at night, will spray out small drops of water. The idea is that they will turn into snow mid-air, the temperature will slowly turn up during the day and the molten snow-water can be collected and re-used the next evening
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So when you say small droplets I'm assuming you would be using a mister system like the ones in greenhouses. I would suggest heating the water first to achieve the Mpemba affect and have the snow form faster. Also, the path uptake should be accounted for, would you shovel the snow to get rid of it or salt/heat the paths. Also it can't be too cold otherwise animals watering bowls or diving pools could freeze over.
 
Westcoastperson said:
So when you say small droplets I'm assuming you would be using a mister system like the ones in greenhouses. I would suggest heating the water first to achieve the Mpemba affect and have the snow form faster. Also, the path uptake should be accounted for, would you shovel the snow to get rid of it or salt/heat the paths. Also it can't be too cold otherwise animals watering bowls or diving pools could freeze over.
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Actually, the misters would be set up so that the path wouldn't be hit. There's no wind so it should be easy enough to aim. I was already planning on the heated water, both for the Mpemba effect and to prevent it from freezing in the pipes.
The diving pools might be difficult, maybe a wave machine or something similar would keep the water in movement and prevent freezing at night. Do penguins even have water bowls? If yes, the water could be moved to a heated spot
 
Mr Gharial said:
Actually, the misters would be set up so that the path wouldn't be hit. There's no wind so it should be easy enough to aim. I was already planning on the heated water, both for the Mpemba effect and to prevent it from freezing in the pipes.
The diving pools might be difficult, maybe a wave machine or something similar would keep the water in movement and prevent freezing at night. Do penguins even have water bowls? If yes, the water could be moved to a heated spot
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Wait would this system be for the whole building or just penguins?
 
Would cohabbing Chambered Nautilus and Octopus tenuicirrus be a bad idea? If not, what are some other species that could cohab that would fit in a deep-sea exhibit?
 
Alright guys, I just realised that the outback region will be right on top of the parking lot of the open air museum.
So I'm thinking about taking out the great apes, maybe moving them to the gigantisch apenkooien (of which I've heard rumours that it's going away, though I'm not sure). Possibly in a great ape house similar to pongoland in zoo Leipzig, maybe turning it into a full new region to remove the seperation between the two park regions and moving the eurasian bearded vultures to woods or the empty space next to the bush (since we were already planning an aviary there).

I'm placing the outback hall (Might transform it into more of a dome) in the space of the great apes but that leaves an empty space in the spot of where the aviary currently is.
I'm thinking of making either a Tasmania exhibit with tasmanian devils, rat kangaroos, tasmanian wombats and Dusky wallabies.
Or a New guinea exhibit with tree kangaroos, water rats, Dwarf cassowaries and New guinea crocodiles. I'll also be moving the Southern cassowary there if that happens.
Does anyone know which one would be more interesting and what other animals could be added, Maybe I could even do both and make an australian island route, with the New Zealand house, Tasmania house, and New guinea house in a row.
Do you guys think this is a good idea? What other animals could be added to the houses?
Can anyone find any confirming information on Gigantisch Apenkooien?
 
Mr Gharial said:
Maybe I could even do both and make an australian island route, with the New Zealand house, Tasmania house, and New guinea house in a row.
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I really like this idea, this way visitors get to know the incredible animals from all these regions. I get the feeling that most zoos only focus on Australian and Tasmanian animals, but this would give a better perception of the whole Australian region.

I didn't know they want to close down Gigantisch Apenkooien, it's relatively new right? So to me it would be strange if they would decide to close it down so soon.
 
JurassicMax said:
I didn't know they want to close down Gigantisch Apenkooien, it's relatively new right? So to me it would be strange if they would decide to close it down so soon.
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I'm not certain, I've just heard it somewhere. I'll find out when I'm visiting (I know I've been saying that for weeks now, but it's been postponed a few times. I'm going on Tuesday)
 
Mr Gharial said:
Maybe I could even do both and make an australian island route, with the New Zealand house, Tasmania house, and New guinea house in a row.
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This is a great idea, not many zoos explicitly focus on all three, the dome idea is also great, so what if you did three (or four if you added New Zeland) domes around each other to make an Oceania loop. Also you could include kiwis if you added the New Zeland area.
Mr Gharial said:
Possibly in a great ape house
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that can be a slipery slope, if you do an ape house it needs to be natural and not concrete. I would make sure to stay away from indoor areas for the apes as these don't look great to the public.
 
Westcoastperson said:
that can be a slipery slope, if you do an ape house it needs to be natural and not concrete. I would make sure to stay away from indoor areas for the apes as these don't look great to the public.
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I agree, an outside area for great apes is a must! But I like the idea of having one building with the great apes, which could also have smaller enclosures for other species.
 
Alright, here's an incredibly crazy idea:

What if I make it a tropical Africa house with Okapis and pygmy hippos, and make the bush fully south american
 
Where in the zoo do you want to have this tropical Africa house? Would you also add enclosures of the great apes to this building?
 
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