Too bad that plan never came to be. According to COO Pfefferkorn they had planned to mix in Trails of Africa (elephant / rhino / hippo):
QUOTE:
" The signature exhibit of the Birmingham Zoo is the state-of-the-art Trails of Africa, home to the nation’s only bachelor herd of male African elephants. “Trails of Africa is special because of the all-male elephant management,” Pfefferkorn articulated. “It was a big risk the zoo took but is very special.” The herd can even be integrated with other animals. “We’ve mixed elephants in with rhinos and elephants in with our lone hippo,” Pfefferkorn explained. “When they built Trails of Africa they put in a chute for the rhinos and hippos to accesss the elephant habitat. The hippo picks a large pool while the elephants continue to move around the habitat. It’s done very well. At one point, I observed of the bulls being surprised by the hippo being in the pool but now it’s pretty benign. At night, the hippo comes out and grazes around the exhibit. We have the ability to connect the elephant habitat to our giraffe habitat and are considering letting giraffe and hoofstock move through and share the same space as the elephants.”
UNQOUTE
SOURCE: https://www.zoophoria.net/single-po...n-senior-vice-president-of-the-birmingham-zoo
Would be nice to see the new design plans for the black rhino habitat. Could not find anything.
QUOTE:
" The signature exhibit of the Birmingham Zoo is the state-of-the-art Trails of Africa, home to the nation’s only bachelor herd of male African elephants. “Trails of Africa is special because of the all-male elephant management,” Pfefferkorn articulated. “It was a big risk the zoo took but is very special.” The herd can even be integrated with other animals. “We’ve mixed elephants in with rhinos and elephants in with our lone hippo,” Pfefferkorn explained. “When they built Trails of Africa they put in a chute for the rhinos and hippos to accesss the elephant habitat. The hippo picks a large pool while the elephants continue to move around the habitat. It’s done very well. At one point, I observed of the bulls being surprised by the hippo being in the pool but now it’s pretty benign. At night, the hippo comes out and grazes around the exhibit. We have the ability to connect the elephant habitat to our giraffe habitat and are considering letting giraffe and hoofstock move through and share the same space as the elephants.”
UNQOUTE
SOURCE: https://www.zoophoria.net/single-po...n-senior-vice-president-of-the-birmingham-zoo
Would be nice to see the new design plans for the black rhino habitat. Could not find anything.