Mixed species exhibit ideas

Austin the Sengi said:
Theoretically, if one can keep only certain well-fed individuals of the former species that have a somewhat peaceful temperament. Then would a mix between West African Dwarf Crocodiles and several African bird species (such as a Hamerkop) that are likely to be too large for the crocs to eat, would end up being a logistical mix. I would also make this enclosure as a spacious aviary, just in case if the birds ever wanted to fly away from their scaly neighbors. I ask this question primarily because of how the Sigean Wildlife Park in France, have been able to successfully house a crocodilian species (in their case, American Alligators) within a free-flight aviary, and I just wanted to figure out if this type of mix can be successfully done with a smaller species.
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I would not use large birds - Dwarf Crocodiles can handle quite large prey. I would suggest small birds such as waxbills would work a lot better as they are too small for the croc to bother with. At Bristol the crocodile pool also houses Trinidad Stream Frogs, but they are terrestrial and extremely small.
 
Would this mixture work for a large African walkthrough aviary?
  1. African olive pigeon
  2. African pygmy goose
  3. Blacksmith lapwing
  4. Blue-bellied roller
  5. Blue-billed teal
  6. Crested coua
  7. Emerald starling
  8. Green wood hoopoe
  9. Hadada ibis
  10. Hamerkop
  11. Hartlaub's duck
  12. Red-and-yellow barbet
  13. Snowy-crowned robin-chat
  14. Superb starling
  15. Violet-backed starling
  16. White-headed buffalo weaver
  17. White-headed mousebird
 
Breckenridge said:
Would this mixture work for a large African walkthrough aviary?
  1. African olive pigeon
  2. African pygmy goose
  3. Blacksmith lapwing
  4. Blue-bellied roller
  5. Blue-billed teal
  6. Crested coua
  7. Emerald starling
  8. Green wood hoopoe
  9. Hadada ibis
  10. Hamerkop
  11. Hartlaub's duck
  12. Red-and-yellow barbet
  13. Snowy-crowned robin-chat
  14. Superb starling
  15. Violet-backed starling
  16. White-headed buffalo weaver
  17. White-headed mousebird
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It should, yes. Many of these species are commonly kept together.
 
I would imagine that this mix would probably work out just fine, so in that case, I would say yes. Although I would probably add in a few more individual birds to increase the bird populations of your mix, minus the brush turkeys.
 
Zoovolunteer said:
I would not use large birds - Dwarf Crocodiles can handle quite large prey. I would suggest small birds such as waxbills would work a lot better as they are too small for the croc to bother with. At Bristol the crocodile pool also houses Trinidad Stream Frogs, but they are terrestrial and extremely small.
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Even then you have to be careful. I had a coworker do a necropsy on a dwarf caiman that was kept in an aviary with a lot of smaller birds. When they opened the stomach they found, besides all the gastroliths, a whole bunch of tiny little metal leg bands.
 
Brazilian tapir and dwarf caiman,
Okapi / bongo and dwarf crocodile
with hiding place for the crocodilians in a moat, for example submerged branches. I think the main problem will be the crocodilians stressed by ungulates which are much larger than them.

Fennec fox with springhaas and aardvark (fennecs are much smaller!).
Bat-eared fox and genet (bat-eared foxes have reduced, termite-eating teeth).
 
Jurek7 said:
Brazilian tapir and dwarf caiman,
Okapi / bongo and dwarf crocodile
with hiding place for the crocodilians in a moat, for example submerged branches. I think the main problem will be the crocodilians stressed by ungulates which are much larger than them.

Fennec fox with springhaas and aardvark (fennecs are much smaller!).
Bat-eared fox and genet (bat-eared foxes have reduced, termite-eating teeth).
Click to expand...
I wouldn't trust crocodillians with hoofstock.
 
Breckenridge said:
Would this mixture work for a large African walkthrough aviary?
  1. African olive pigeon
  2. African pygmy goose
  3. Blacksmith lapwing
  4. Blue-bellied roller
  5. Blue-billed teal
  6. Crested coua
  7. Emerald starling
  8. Green wood hoopoe
  9. Hadada ibis
  10. Hamerkop
  11. Hartlaub's duck
  12. Red-and-yellow barbet
  13. Snowy-crowned robin-chat
  14. Superb starling
  15. Violet-backed starling
  16. White-headed buffalo weaver
  17. White-headed mousebird
Click to expand...
I’ve known Blue-bellied Rollers to eat newly hatched Blue-billed Teal
 
The Cincinnati Zoo from 1967 to 1985 had a female African Elephant named "Gretchen" and a Nile Hippopotamus named "Maudie" share an exhibit at the zoo's Elephant House. When Maudie died, Gretchen mourned her just as she would to another elephant. In 1986, Gretchen got a new Nile Hippo companion with the arrival of "Cleopatra", a 1-year-old female from the Toronto Zoo. They remained together until Gretchen left for the Bowmanville Zoo (now closed) in 1994. Cleopatra left the zoo in 1997 for Busch Gardens Tampa, and now lives at Gulf Breeze Zoo.
 
RhinoHippoElephantGiraffe said:
The Cincinnati Zoo from 1967 to 1985 had a female African Elephant named "Gretchen" and a Nile Hippopotamus named "Maudie" share an exhibit at the zoo's Elephant House. When Maudie died, Gretchen mourned her just as she would to another elephant. In 1986, Gretchen got a new Nile Hippo companion with the arrival of "Cleopatra", a 1-year-old female from the Toronto Zoo. They remained together until Gretchen left for the Bowmanville Zoo (now closed) in 1994. Cleopatra left the zoo in 1997 for Busch Gardens Tampa, and now lives at Gulf Breeze Zoo.
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This isn't exactly what this thread is supposed to be used for...
 
Vampire Crabs, guys.

Any workable tank mates for these, either terrestrial or aquatic and preferably from the same region?
 
Jurek7 said:
Brazilian tapir and dwarf caiman,
Okapi / bongo and dwarf crocodile
with hiding place for the crocodilians in a moat, for example submerged branches. I think the main problem will be the crocodilians stressed by ungulates which are much larger than them.

Fennec fox with springhaas and aardvark (fennecs are much smaller!).
Bat-eared fox and genet (bat-eared foxes have reduced, termite-eating teeth).
Click to expand...
I don't see the interest to mix Fennec Foxes with Springhaas and Aardvarks. OK for the 2 latter but not for the Fennec that lives in other countries and biotopes. They may be mixed with another South African or East African mammal, like the Bat-eared Fox, Hyraxes or Ground Squirrels.
OK for the mix Bat-eared Fox / Genet (but preferably Cape Genets, not the European species).
 
Haliaeetus said:
I don't see the interest to mix Fennec Foxes with Springhaas and Aardvarks. OK for the 2 latter but not for the Fennec that lives in other countries and biotopes.
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I've seen Fennec/Aardvark before, though I think it does depend on how aggressive the individuals are on both sides. Also just because the species doesn't live in the same range doesn't mean they can't be mixed. Better education and geographic theming, but not always practical for creating interesting exhibits in realistic zoos. ;)

Haliaeetus said:
They may be mixed with another South African or East African mammal, like the Bat-eared Fox, Hyraxes or Ground Squirrels.
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I wouldn't mix Fennec with hyrax or ground squirrels, the former would likely bother the foxes and the latter would potentially be preyed upon, particularly if any young squirrels are present.
 
Great Argus said:
I wouldn't mix Fennec with hyrax or ground squirrels, the former would likely bother the foxes and the latter would potentially be preyed upon, particularly if any young squirrels are present.
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I talked about a mix between Springhaas, Aardvark AND Bat-eared Fox, Hyrax and/or Ground Squirrel.
Not with any Fennecs (given the ecology of this species I wouldn't mix them with any other animal).
 
Haliaeetus said:
I talked about a mix between Springhaas, Aardvark AND Bat-eared Fox, Hyrax and/or Ground Squirrel.
Not with any Fennecs (given the ecology of this species I wouldn't mix them with any other animal).
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Ah ok, that wasn't clear. Fennecs are usually kept by themselves, though a few zoos have done Aardvark or Dwarf Mongoose. No clue on the success long-term of those mixes.
 
Austin the Sengi said:
Theoretically, if one can keep only certain well-fed individuals of the former species that have a somewhat peaceful temperament. Then would a mix between West African Dwarf Crocodiles and several African bird species (such as a Hamerkop) that are likely to be too large for the crocs to eat, would end up being a logistical mix. I would also make this enclosure as a spacious aviary, just in case if the birds ever wanted to fly away from their scaly neighbors. I ask this question primarily because of how the Sigean Wildlife Park in France, have been able to successfully house a crocodilian species (in their case, American Alligators) within a free-flight aviary, and I just wanted to figure out if this type of mix can be successfully done with a smaller species.
Click to expand...


The wildlife park in France specifically holds two elderly crocodiles, that are too slow to go after the birds. I would say that larger birds would actually be the risk here, as they would be a larger and slower target.

Seeing other examples (like crocodile river in Blijdorp and the butterfly temple in wildlands) I think smaller birds would be better, since they would be quicker than the cross. Such as starlings and especially weavers.

On the other hand, Ferme aux crocodiles (also in France) holds ibises and hornbills with their crocs, that regularly fly down to the ground to walk between the crocs, so I think it might be a bit of a toss-up. Depending both on individual crocodiles and birds
 
Mr Gharial said:
The wildlife park in France specifically holds two elderly crocodiles, that are too slow to go after the birds. I would say that larger birds would actually be the risk here, as they would be a larger and slower target.

Seeing other examples (like crocodile river in Blijdorp and the butterfly temple in wildlands) I think smaller birds would be better, since they would be quicker than the cross. Such as starlings and especially weavers.

On the other hand, Ferme aux crocodiles (also in France) holds ibises and hornbills with their crocs, that regularly fly down to the ground to walk between the crocs, so I think it might be a bit of a toss-up. Depending both on individual crocodiles and birds
Click to expand...
In the newly opened Dôme of Beauval, there are enclosures for Alligators, Caimans and False Gharials, and free-ranging birds (Scarlet Ibises, Roseate Spoonbills, Touracos, Doves, Glossy Starlings...), that can theoretically land in the Crocodilian enclosures.
In fact I've never seen any bird in these enclosures, that may be not attractive for them (deep water, no available food...).
 
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