Small Private Zoo

A

Anmltrnr98

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
For my next design project, I wanted to create a facility that could be feasibly privately funded and constructed while maintaining an excellent visitor experience and animal welfare. The site is only 10 acres, and while I haven’t priced anything out, the goal construction budget is 10-15mil. This would be a facility in the northeastern region of the United States. This layout and accompanying program doesn’t give great detail, but I wanted to solicit some overall impressions before diving in further. The facilities are designed to meet AZA/ZAA standards for potential future accreditation depending on the facility’s goals.

Here are the key components that I wanted to lead the design and species selection:
  1. Flexibility! For a small facility with a low budget, I see the ability for animals to utilize multiple habitats as an essential component of maintaining optimal welfare. Most exhibits are designed so different species can rotate through them. This flexibility will also enhance the guest experience by creating a “new” zoo each visit.
  2. Suitability for programming. To enhance the guest experience and forward the mission of conservation education, the collection and facility are designed to implement a range of programs, including keeper chats, shows, pop-up encounters, and premium experiences.
Thoughts on the species? Due to the nature of privately sourcing animals, I tried to keep the options open and focus on relatively easy-to-acquire animals.

Any red flags as far as cost? Feedback on the layout?

Site plan

Exhibit Program (Species list and exhibit sizes)

I look forward to your thoughts and suggestions!
 
One of the coolest maps if ever seen how did you do it?
Where would it be located?
Species thoughts:
White rhino (maybe hard to get but I'm not an expert)
And the cats (also I'm not the best to ask about something like this)

In total wonderful project!
 
Fat-tailed dwarf lemur said:
White rhino (maybe hard to get but I'm not an expert)
And the cats (also I'm not the best to ask about something like this)
Click to expand...

Both of these should be fairly easy to obtain.

As for the design and ideas, very well conceived! I love the map, and while a couple of the exhibits are on the small side, namely cheetahs in some of the smaller flex exhibits (even the largest one is pretty tiny for a cheetah) but otherwise very well executed and a great example of a quality spec. zoo!
 
Anmltrnr98 said:
For my next design project, I wanted to create a facility that could be feasibly privately funded and constructed while maintaining an excellent visitor experience and animal welfare. The site is only 10 acres, and while I haven’t priced anything out, the goal construction budget is 10-15mil. This would be a facility in the northeastern region of the United States. This layout and accompanying program doesn’t give great detail, but I wanted to solicit some overall impressions before diving in further. The facilities are designed to meet AZA/ZAA standards for potential future accreditation depending on the facility’s goals.

Here are the key components that I wanted to lead the design and species selection:
  1. Flexibility! For a small facility with a low budget, I see the ability for animals to utilize multiple habitats as an essential component of maintaining optimal welfare. Most exhibits are designed so different species can rotate through them. This flexibility will also enhance the guest experience by creating a “new” zoo each visit.
  2. Suitability for programming. To enhance the guest experience and forward the mission of conservation education, the collection and facility are designed to implement a range of programs, including keeper chats, shows, pop-up encounters, and premium experiences.
Thoughts on the species? Due to the nature of privately sourcing animals, I tried to keep the options open and focus on relatively easy-to-acquire animals.

Any red flags as far as cost? Feedback on the layout?

Site plan

Exhibit Program (Species list and exhibit sizes)

I look forward to your thoughts and suggestions!
Click to expand...
Really great job. I think that your attention to realistically obtainable species is superb. Excellent map too!
 
As far as I know, for a private unaccreditted zoo it will be harder to obtain ocelots than most other cat species, because ocelots are listed in the Endangered species act and are considered native,
 
Last edited:
Fat-tailed dwarf lemur said:
One of the coolest maps if ever seen how did you do it?
Where would it be located?
Species thoughts:
White rhino (maybe hard to get but I'm not an expert)
And the cats (also I'm not the best to ask about something like this)

In total wonderful project!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback! I used google SketchUp (an architectural rendering program) to create the original layout based on hand-drawn sketches, then used the adobe suite to add details.

That is the question! Long Island, NY has always stuck out to me as a populous area without many quality zoological offerings (though the WCS parks are 30min-2 hrs down the road in NYC depending on where you are.)

White Rhino would likely be the most challenging to acquire. I actually designed the exhibit to meet white Rhino and greater one-horned rhino standards, in case those are more easily obtained. Animal-Adventure park, a small, private zoo in upstate NY just got a Rhino and (I believe) Tanganyika Wildlife park just led the import of a number of white rhinos for private zoos from SA.

Ocelots are probably a no-go (hence them being part of a flex exhibit). Was also thinking about bobcat (which have a historical range that includes Mexico) or cougar (though I'd need to redesign the holding areas.
 
amur leopard said:
Both of these should be fairly easy to obtain.

As for the design and ideas, very well conceived! I love the map, and while a couple of the exhibits are on the small side, namely cheetahs in some of the smaller flex exhibits (even the largest one is pretty tiny for a cheetah) but otherwise very well executed and a great example of a quality spec. zoo!
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for reviewing it in such detail. You're totally right about the Africa flex. I actually chose those dimensions for the largest yard based on Columbus zoo's exhibit (since they have something close to what I want to create, but they also have a large off0exhibit yard and run yard, which isn't included here. Back to the drawing board on that one!
 
PossumRoach said:
As far as I know, for a private unaccreditted zoo it will be harder to obtain ocelots than most other cat species, because ocelots are listed in the Endangered species act and are considered native,
Click to expand...

Very good point. Going to try and reconfigure the holding area/exhibit to accommodate cougar.
 
Komodo Dragon, Ocelot, and Baird's Tapir all probably wouldn't be obtainable for the average private individual.
 
Anmltrnr98 said:
White Rhino would likely be the most challenging to acquire. I actually designed the exhibit to meet white Rhino and greater one-horned rhino standards, in case those are more easily obtained. Animal-Adventure park, a small, private zoo in upstate NY just got a Rhino and (I believe) Tanganyika Wildlife park just led the import of a number of white rhinos for private zoos from SA.
Click to expand...

Both white and Indian rhinos won't be that hard to aquire if you got things rolling and established. Plenty of non-AZA with both now and in increasing numbers.

birdsandbats said:
Komodo Dragon, Ocelot, and Baird's Tapir all probably wouldn't be obtainable for the average private individual.
Click to expand...

Komodo Dragon has been trickling into the private trade of late - they may start becoming more available.
Baird's Tapir probably isn't too easy, but SA Tapir is held in plenty of non-AZA.
 
birdsandbats said:
Komodo Dragon, Ocelot, and Baird's Tapir all probably wouldn't be obtainable for the average private individual.
Click to expand...
Clouded Leopards, Snow Leopards, and Cassowaries also wouldn't be that easy for a small, upstart zoo to acquire, though I suppose they would be at least possible.

I'll also second the comments made earlier that a lot of the habitats, particularly Cheetah, Serval, Gibbon, and Black and White Ruffed Lemur are too small for a good exhibit for those species.
 
Great Argus said:
Depends on who you know and talk to unfortunately... they're out there and a bit more available than we like to think.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm aware all three species (especially cassowary) are very possible to acquire. But for someone starting a new zoo who doesn't have a reputation yet and (presumably) doesn't have a great list of connections, they would be more difficult to source than many of the other species on the list.
 
Neil chace said:
Clouded Leopards, Snow Leopards, and Cassowaries also wouldn't be that easy for a small, upstart zoo to acquire, though I suppose they would be at least possible.

I'll also second the comments made earlier that a lot of the habitats, particularly Cheetah, Serval, Gibbon, and Black and White Ruffed Lemur are too small for a good exhibit for those species.
Click to expand...
Cassowaries absolutely would be, they are super easy to buy. Clouded and Snow Leopards would be a bit harder not certainly not impossible.
 
Neil chace said:
Yeah, I'm aware all three species (especially cassowary) are very possible to acquire. But for someone starting a new zoo who doesn't have a reputation yet and (presumably) doesn't have a great list of connections, they would be more difficult to source than many of the other species on the list.
Click to expand...

I disagree. I'm increasingly finding both snow leopards and cassowaries in roadside zoos, both new and old. They're able to breed both, as well. I've seen people *petting* cassowaries through bad fencing.
 
TinoPup said:
I disagree. I'm increasingly finding both snow leopards and cassowaries in roadside zoos, both new and old. They're able to breed both, as well. I've seen people *petting* cassowaries through bad fencing.
Click to expand...
I've seen cassowaries for sale online before - surprisingly cheap!
 
TinoPup said:
I disagree. I'm increasingly finding both snow leopards and cassowaries in roadside zoos, both new and old. They're able to breed both, as well. I've seen people *petting* cassowaries through bad fencing.
Click to expand...
Disclosure- I have pet the cassowary through the fence at a shoddy zoo, years ago. Mostly to see if I could, because the keeper in me couldn’t believe that I was actually in a position where it was possible for a visitor to do something so foolish. At the time I was actually a cassowary keeper at another zoo, and the whole set up struck me as unreal
 
Aardwolf said:
Disclosure- I have pet the cassowary through the fence at a shoddy zoo, years ago. Mostly to see if I could, because the keeper in me couldn’t believe that I was actually in a position where it was possible for a visitor to do something so foolish. At the time I was actually a cassowary keeper at another zoo, and the whole set up struck me as unreal
Click to expand...

You get a pass since you knew what you were doing (though I hope no visitors saw you!). Even with warning signs, the general public doesn't understand what these birds can do, they just think they're pretty emus.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top