My Idea of a Perfect Small Zoo

While the first half of the zoo has contained many themed exhibits, with the two domes and tropical forest trail, the second half will contain a lot more standalone exhibits, starting with a pair of aviaries.
The first aviary is a large, netted cage containing 1.1 Steller's Sea Eagles. These large and fascinating birds should serve as an interesting ambassador for their species and allow visitors to see such an impressive bird of prey. Opposite this aviary, an identical one will be walkthrough- containing 1.1 Red-crowned Cranes, 3.3 Red-breasted Geese, 2.2 Baikal Teals, and 2.2 Scaly-sided Mergansers. These two aviaries will both be 3,000 square feet.

As always, share any suggestions you have.
 
The next section of the zoo will be 5,000 square feet worth of habitats for Asian carnivores. Two large, mesh habitats will contain 1.1 Amur Leopards, a popular endangered species that will hopefully be a successful breeding pair. Next to the leopards, three 500 square foot habitats contain 1.1 Pallas' Cat, 1.1 Raccoon Dog, and 1.1 Red Panda. The red pandas will share their habitat with 1.0 Cabot's Tragopan and 1.1 Tufted Deer (assuming the deer can be brought into the state). Raccoon dogs would obviously be difficult to acquire, so the alternative would be a second habitat for the pallas' cats instead.
 
I am going to make one slight change: instead of being located in the center of the zoo, the urials will have a 6,000 square foot habitat opposite the leopards and pandas. This will make a nice small Asia section with the cold weather carnivores, two aviaries, and urials. Instead of the urial, the exhibit in the center of the zoo will house 1.2 Speke's Gazelle, and possibly some other animals if people know anything that could cohabitate with them well.
 
Today's addition is going to be a boring one, but I realised I forgot to describe the zoo entrance. The zoos entrance will be inside the gift shop, a small pavilion containing both traditional gift shop faire and a dedicated book store section. This building will also contain restrooms and a cafe area. The cafe is accessible from both the zoo and the adjacent public park. Windows from the cafe overlook the Speke's gazelle habitat. This building will have a second floor for various offices and staff spaces.
 
Neil chace said:
I am going to make one slight change: instead of being located in the center of the zoo, the urials will have a 6,000 square foot habitat opposite the leopards and pandas. This will make a nice small Asia section with the cold weather carnivores, two aviaries, and urials. Instead of the urial, the exhibit in the center of the zoo will house 1.2 Speke's Gazelle, and possibly some other animals if people know anything that could cohabitate with them well.
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What species would people like to see mixed with the gazelles? It is a 10,000 square foot habitat, so there's plenty of room.
 
Wyman said:
European white stork, helmeted guineafowl, maybe some African spurred tortoise?
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I like the tortoise idea. 1.0 African Spur-thigh Tortoise will live in with the Speke's gazelles. 1.1 White Storks will also share this exhibit. I don't think helmeted guineafowl would be a good addition, as they are a domesticated species and don't really add much value to the exhibit.
 
Mai Thai said:
I would add a small aviary after the tapirs. This aviary would be home to 1.1 Bali Myna, 1.1 Nias Hill Myna, 2.2 Javan Green Magpie, 2.2 Sumatran Laughing Thrush, 2.2 Straw-Headed Bulbul, and 2.2 White-Rumped Shama. These species are all part of the Silent Forest Campaign, the EAZA’s program to protect Asian songbirds. By having this aviary this would allow the zoo to expand its conservation efforts.

If you would like to learn more about the Silent Forest Campaign, here is the link to their website: Silent Forest – To address and mitigate the ongoing songbird extinction crisis in Asia
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That mix of birds would end in disaster. Most of those species won’t mix, and two pairs of Shamas won’t live together.
 
FBBird said:
That mix of birds would end in disaster. Most of those species won’t mix, and two pairs of Shamas won’t live together.
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Do you think my mix quoted below would have the same problem or is this a decent mix? I'd this mix is a problem, I will remove the shamas, laughing thrushes, mynahs, malkhoas and/or bulbuls(whichever needs to go). This would leave the birds of paradise, hooded pitta, and fairy bluebirds- three species I am almost certain can cohabitate.
Neil chace said:
2.1 Raggiana Bird of Paradise, 1.1 Hooded Pitta, 1.1 White-rumped Shama, 2.2 Bali Mynah, 1.1 Sumatran Laughing Thrush, 2.2 Collared Finch-billed Bulbul, 1.1 Asian Fairy Bluebird, 1.1 Chestnut-breasted Malkhoa
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Next up will be my zoo's 15,000 square foot education center. This center will have multiple classrooms and focus on being a flexible space for educational programming. The zoo's ambassador animals will also be located in this building, as is the zoo's spotted turtle conservation program.
1.1 Aardvark
0.1 Serval
1.0 Binturong
1.0 Prehensile-tailed Porcupine
1.0 Southern Tamandua
1.1 Fennec Fox
0.1 White-nosed Coati
1.0 North American Beaver
1.0 Barred Owl
1.0 Tawny Frogmouth
1.1 Green-cheeked Conure
2.2 African Penguin
1.0 Bearded Dragon
1.0 Blue-toungued Skink
1.1 Prehensile-tailed Skink
1.0 Argentine Black and White Tegu
1.1 Red-footed Tortoise
1.0 Eastern Box Turtle
0.1 Southeast Asian Box Turtle
x.x Spotted Turtle
0.1 Dumeril's Boa
0.1 Ball Python
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
0.1 Florida Kingsnake
 
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Neil chace said:
Do you think my mix quoted below would have the same problem or is this a decent mix? I'd this mix is a problem, I will remove the shamas, laughing thrushes, mynahs, malkhoas and/or bulbuls(whichever needs to go). This would leave the birds of paradise, hooded pitta, and fairy bluebirds- three species I am almost certain can cohabitate.
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I wouldn't mix the Laughingthrushes at all. Too rare and precious, also likely to be aggressive. Hooded Pitta, Fairy Bluebird, Finchbilled Bulbul and Shama should work. Birds of Paradise and Bali Starlings are likely to rob nests. Malkohas I know nothing about.
 
FBBird said:
I wouldn't mix the Laughingthrushes at all. Too rare and precious, also likely to be aggressive. Hooded Pitta, Fairy Bluebird, Finchbilled Bulbul and Shama should work. Birds of Paradise and Bali Starlings are likely to rob nests. Malkohas I know nothing about.
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What can safely be mixed with the Birds of Paradise? I will split this into two aviaries, one with 1.1 Hooded Pitta, 2.2 Fairy Bluebird, 2.2 Collared Finch-billed Bulbul, 1.1 White-rumped Shama and then a second with the 2.1 Raggiana Bird of Paradise and whatever else you suggest mixing them with.
 
Before I announce the next habitat, I need to make a few small changes:
- The Debrazzas Monkeys will no longer be in Tropical Dome. Instead, the otters will have the exhibit to themselves.
- The tamarins will also not be in the tropical dome. Instead, the agoutis and sloths will share their exhibit with 1.1 Prehensile-tailed Porcupines.
- There will not be lemurs or Gibbons on Mysteries of the Forest trail. Instead, the clouded leopards and Fossas would be located in exhibits directly next to each other, with the other side of the central exhibit being transformed into a outdoor habitat for 1.1 Bush Dogs and a small indoor habitat for 1.1 White-bellied Tree Pangolin.
The next section of the zoo, an extension of the Mysteries of the Forest Trail, will be coming soon.
 
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The extension of Mysteries of the Forest Trail will be a 40,000 square foot Primate Trail inspired by Saint Louis Zoo's Primate Canopy Trails. There will be eight habitats on this trail, of varying sizes:
1. 1.1 Javan Gibbon
2. 0.2 Ring-tailed Lemur, 1.1 Black and White Ruffed Lemur, 1.2 Crowned Lemur
3. 2.2 Pied Tamarin, 2.2 Golden Lion Tamarin, 2.2 Geoffroy's Marmoset, 1.1 Bolivian Grey Titi Monkey
4. 2.2 Coquerel's Sifaka
5. 1.1 Blue-eyed Black Lemur
6. 1.1 Debrazza's Monkey, 1.1 Wolf's Guenon, 1.1 Black Crested Mangabey
7. 2.2 Francois' Langur
8. 1.1 Allen's Swamp Monkey, 2.2 Schmidt's Red-tailed Monkey

All eight habitats will include both ground level and canopy level viewing, with pathways going through all eight exhibits in the style of Saint Louis Zoo Canopy Trails. Connected to this habitat will be the primate building, which is only open during the winter when the primates are unable to be outside. Currently, 16 species are listed as part of this exhibit. If anyone knows any more species compatible in the 8 habitats listed, please let me know and we can add them.
 
The zoo is almost finished now, with only two empty plots of land left. One is a 6,000 square foot area near the education center that I've yet to decide a use for.

The other is a 2 Acre plot of land near the exit of the Primate Trail. I have decided that what the zoo needs more than anything else is to include at least one popular animal. However, I want to ensure that even this fan favorite animal has strong conservation and education value, which led me to choose 1.1 Eastern Black Rhinos. This 2 Acre Area will be split into Four Half-Acre sections. The first two will be outdoor black rhino yards, one for the Male and one for the female. The third section will be the indoor barn, this will be open to the public and have indoor viewing to the Holdings of all three outdoor yards. The holdings will have deep sand floors and are designed to have the animals as comfortable as possible. during cold weather. The third outdoor yard is going to display another rare ungulate species, 1.2 Somali Wild Ass. This unique and endangered should prove to be popular with the public and is a species of great conservation concern.
 
Neil chace said:
The Tropics is only one of two domes the zoo will contain. The second is the Desert Dome, a rare and unique feature for American zoos to have. Despite the name Desert Dome, I am the first to admit some of the residents don't technically live in the Desert, but other arid climate areas instead. Unlike the Tropic dome, this dome features outdoor areas as well. A 5,000 square foot rocky habitat will contain 1.5 geladas, a species rare in US zoos. These fascinating monkeys would serve as a popular attraction to guests. On the other side of the dome, a 3,000 square foot yard contains 1.3 steenbok, a small antelope species that will provide another rarity to the zoo.
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I have decided to make some changes to this section of the zoo. The steenbok will be moved in with the Speke's Gazelle, as neither species would need the whole 10,000 square feet available to them. This area will be split in half, with the tortoise and steenbok on one side, and the storks and gazelle on the other.

As for this area, these two habitats will be combined into one 8,000 square foot habitat, and the gelada will be mixed with 1.3 Nubian Ibex, a species in which the AZA population is desperate for new holders.
 
Neil chace said:
I have decided to make some changes to this section of the zoo. The steenbok will be moved in with the Speke's Gazelle, as neither species would need the whole 10,000 square feet available to them. This area will be split in half, with the tortoise and steenbok on one side, and the storks and gazelle on the other.

As for this area, these two habitats will be combined into one 8,000 square foot habitat, and the gelada will be mixed with 1.3 Nubian Ibex, a species in which the AZA population is desperate for new holders.
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Surely this stopped being a ‘small’ zoo a long time ago?
 
FBBird said:
Surely this stopped being a ‘small’ zoo a long time ago?
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No- still approximately 8 Acres:
- 3 Acre "Mysteries of the Forest" exhibit (8 primate habitats, okapi, anoa, maned wolf, cassowary, clouded Leopard, tapir, fossa, bush dog, sloth bear, pangolin)
- 2 Acre Rhino and Somali Ass area
- 10,000 sq ft Steenbok/Speke's Gazelle/Spur-thigh Tortoise/White Stork
- 10,000 sq ft Ibex/Gelada
-10,000 sq ft Little Blue Penguin
- 1/2 Acre Tropical Dome
- 1/2 Acre Desert Dome
- 7,000 sq ft Urial
- 5,000 sq ft Leopard/Red Panda/Pallas Cat
- 7,000 sq ft Crane/Waterfowl/Sea Eagle
- 20,000 sq ft Education Center
- 6,000 sq ft Undecided Habitat
- 7,000 sq ft Entrance Area and Cafe

Adds up to a total of 7.9 Acres of exhibit space. Once you include walkways and visitor spaces, it may come out to be slightly bigger than the 8 Acres I originally planned, but would still be approximately 9 or 10 Acres, unless I'm underestimating something without realizing it.
 
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