The Temperate Zoo

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CleZooMan

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
The Temperate Zoo-



The Temperate Zoo focuses on animals in temperate and/or higher-elevation areas from all over the world! So, while you won’t be seeing elephants, gorillas, giraffes, rhinos, orangutans or hippos, you will be getting a fascinating look at a variety of species from the colder, higher areas of the world- divided into two main areas (The Americas and Eurasia) and a small New Zealand/Antarctic Lands area off Eurasia.


The Americas are separated from Eurasia through an hourglass-shaped lake filled with different birds! The lake is fenced off from the rest of the world at the top and bottom of the zoo’s property. Two bridges connect the Americas with Eurasia and New Zealand.

While African, South American (and, to a lesser extent, North American- such as at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Powell, Ohio), Asian and Australian exhibits are well-represented at American zoos, there are very few exhibits focusing on Europe, New Zealand or Antarctica at American zoos, something the Temperate Zoo is focused on changing!

The Temperate Zoo’s entrance consists of the zoo’s main café- Wild Wilderness Café- the gift shop (Zoo Marketplace), the ticket booth and a small building for first aid and lost-and-found in a small plaza that welcomes visitors to the zoo. A signpost with several small signs points visitors to the different areas of the zoo, as does a large map showing the main areas of the Americas- Way Up North Where the Air is Cold (focusing on Arctic and boreal animals), Almost Heaven (focusing on Appalachian animals and themed around a small town in West Virginia), Home on the Range (themed around the northern Great Plains), Up in the Rockies (Rocky Mountain animals) and Expedition Andes (animals from the Andean highlands).

Another large map on a signboard focuses on the other side of the zoo- Eurasia and New Zealand/Antarctic Lands and its sections- UK Wild (focusing on wildlife of the United Kingdom, including several rarer species), Siberian Coast (focusing on Siberian tigers and other wildlife of Siberia), Himalayan Trek (anchored by adorable red pandas!), Kea Mountain and Penguin Paradise.

Past the entrance, the main path diverges at a smaller path anchored by a large inukshuk of stacked rocks- letting visitors know they’re Way Up North (Where the Air is Cold!)
 
I can't wait to see this. I had ideas for a zoo like this at one point. I think a zoo like this would be nice to see. Where do you imagine the location to be?
 
elefante said:
I can't wait to see this. I had ideas for a zoo like this at one point. I think a zoo like this would be nice to see. Where do you imagine the location to be?
Click to expand...

Aw thanks! I remember you posting something about your idea for a drive-through safari park with cold-weather animals in Casper or Cheyenne, WY (I know you used to live in WY). I've been thinking that, for several reasons, WY fits the bill.

For this Temperate Zoo, I was definitely thinking an area with cold winters. I initially thought of Dayton, Ohio, but I decided to focus on an area without a zoo! (since Dayton is an hour from Columbus and Cincinnati). I think, because WY doesn't have any zoos (as far as I know), to honor your idea and because there are Rocky Mountains and Great Plains exhibits, I think I'm going to go with Wyoming. Equality State Temperate Zoo for a tentative name (ESTZ).

Cheers,
CleZooMan
 
CleZooMan said:
Aw thanks! I remember you posting something about your idea for a drive-through safari park with cold-weather animals in Casper or Cheyenne, WY (I know you used to live in WY). I've been thinking that, for several reasons, WY fits the bill.

For this Temperate Zoo, I was definitely thinking an area with cold winters. I initially thought of Dayton, Ohio, but I decided to focus on an area without a zoo! (since Dayton is an hour from Columbus and Cincinnati). I think, because WY doesn't have any zoos (as far as I know), to honor your idea and because there are Rocky Mountains and Great Plains exhibits, I think I'm going to go with Wyoming. Equality State Temperate Zoo for a tentative name (ESTZ).

Cheers,
CleZooMan
Click to expand...
Cheyenne would make sense since it's close to the Front Range Urban Corridor but Casper is the central hub so either would make sense. I guess I don't remember making a drive through design for that area. It must have been many moons ago.
 
elefante said:
Cheyenne would make sense since it's close to the Front Range Urban Corridor but Casper is the central hub so either would make sense. I guess I don't remember making a drive through design for that area. It must have been many moons ago.
Click to expand...

Gotcha. I sent you a PM
 
I have decided to change my ideas for The Temperate Zoo, which is now called ESTS (Equality State Temperate Safari). Here's the first part:

The ESTS (Equality State Temperate Safari, rhyming with nests), located in the zoo-less state of Wyoming- is divided into a bus safari and a walk-through “zoo” area- The Ranges and The Journey, respectively- with both focusing on animals from temperate regions, especially animals and regions not typically seen in U.S. zoos.


The visitor’s center hosts the main café, the main gift shop, the ticket booth and the bus loading area for The Ranges- several large fields with shade, mud wallows, ponds and lakes, sandy areas, flat, grassy areas, stands of trees, small hills and even rocky areas- for temperate hoofstock from all around the world. The narrated bus tour through The Ranges runs through four different fields- North America, The Andes, Europe and Asia.


North America is first and is designed to look more like the Great Plains than anywhere else! Visitors first see large herds of American bison in the distance, followed by elk, pronghorn, mule deer and, in a forested area complete with a meandering, rock-filled stream, white-tailed deer! The bus tour provides excellent views of all the North American animals before moving onto the next section, a hillier paddock with rockier, more uneven areas for a mix of wild animals and domestic animals from The Andes! Domestic alpacas and llamas share the space with their wild ancestors- vicuñas and guanacos. The path winds up and around the flatter parts and rockier side of The Andes, gradually climbing atop a hill to Europe- an area not often covered in U.S. zoos. Herds of fallow deer and roe deer prefer the forested, lower parts of this “range,” while European bison and reindeer mostly stick to the flatter, middle “plain.” As like before, the road takes visitors through the different parts of this range, all the way from the lower “forest,” up the “plain” and over the rock outcroppings on top, where Alpine ibex and chamois look down from below. The rocky crags gradually flatten out as the bus goes downhill into the last paddock- Asia- a flatter, lake-dotted paddock with a bamboo forest, a muddy shore and a sandy area shared by Bactrian camels, Persian onagers, Thorold’s deer, Sichuan takin and a small herd of Japanese serow, all sharing this space. The bus exits this large range and returns to the loading area, where The Journey begins!


The Journey is divided into two main parts- North America (Journey to the Bog, Arctic Crossing, Almost Heaven and Our Home’s in Wyoming) and, across a large lake with three “island” exhibits in the middle, Eurasia (Across the Pond, Tiger Forest, High in the Himalayas, Kea Key and Penguin Empire). Following the main path from the visitor center and past a “Welcome to North America” sign, visitors first see Journey to the Bog!


Themed around the Sax-Zim Bog in northern Minnesota- and chock-full of interpretive signage about this boggy region and the animals hardy enough to withstand temperatures of below -40* during the long, cold Minnesotan winters, Journey to the Bog starts with a naturalist’s cabin, complete with binoculars, “field notes” hung up on a clipboard, snowshoes and Native American (Ojibwe) artifacts. This cabin provides a close look at a large habitat with different climbing opportunities- especially conifers- for North American porcupines. The netted habitat winds out of the naturalist’s cabin and follows a small hill, making it possible to get even closer to these clever climbers!


Both sides of the narrow path are now filled with conifers, taking you to the next exhibit- complete with a glass window looking into a burrow! This burrow is just a small part of an exhibit with more conifers and a grassy ground with pine needle, bushes and hollow logs- for a pair of Snowshoe hares. Interpretive signage focuses on how snowshoe hares adapt to their northern home and how they change from brown to white in camouflage (just as another animal we will see- the Arctic fox- does!). A larger exhibit, but with more ground areas and climbing opportunities, is for Canada lynx. The lynx habitat also includes a small part of a boreal swamp, complete with tamarack trees along the edge- the home for the next animal we will see. The coniferous path becomes a boardwalk over this swamp, with interpretive signage focused on how important Sax-Zim Bog- and other bogs- are.


The stars of the show are a small herd of moose, who have free rein of a large pasture and the swamp, created to be as similar as possible to their natural habitat in Minnesota! The boardwalk goes right over the swamp and along the side of the land area for the moose before the conifers return. However, the boardwalk continues- with a sign telling you that you are now entering The Sax-Zim Bird-Walk! There are two netted aviaries- one on each side of the path. Full of perching opportunities and natural substrate, one holds great gray owls and the other northern goshawks, both important species in the Sax-Zim Bog and high on many birders’ target lists when they journey to the bog! A walk-through aviary full of sunflower seed feeders continues the boardwalk and, from the feeders or high in the trees, visitors are delighted by the pink and white pine grosbeaks, the dark yellow evening grosbeaks and two crossbill species- red and white-winged. A flock of sharp-tailed grouse lives below on the ground, full of logs, pine needles and rocks.


After exiting the aviary, the pine trees are replaced with short, scrubby plants that mark the entrance to the next area of ESTS- Arctic Crossing!
 
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