Charles
Well-Known Member
Thanks
Mixed species exhibit ideas
- Thread starter LowlandGorilla4
- Start date
So I'm working on a hypothetical fantasy zoo at the moment, and I have a good, unique idea for an African Savanna complex, but am in need of help finalizing a species list. So my idea basically revolves around two exhibits- one for African Elephants and one for Masai Giraffes. These two exhibits, however, would be connected, with a visitor path overhead bridge preventing the giraffes and elephants from crossing to the other half. However, smaller species that would be included in the mix would be able to cross between the two habitats. I know I'd like to include some Hartmann's Mountain Zebra, some Ostrich, and a few species of antelope. My big question is what would be the best antelope species to include in this sort of environment? Species I'm considering include impala, springbok, nyala, roan antelope, greater kudu, and white-bearded wildebeest. Obviously not all of these species at the same time, but I'm thinking of including probably two or three, maybe four at most, antelope species. For reference, the elephant habitat would be just over 4.5 Acres and the Giraffe habitat would be just shy of 1.5 acres, although the giraffe one could theoretically be expanded if you think that's too small for this kind of mix.
Haliaeetus
Well-Known Member
Maybe Impala and/or Springbok with the Elephants.
With the Giraffes you should get Wildebeest, Sable or Roan Antelope, and Kudu.
The same ungulates would be sharing both habitats. The idea of the mix is smaller ungulates and the ostriches are allowed to cross between the two habitats, but the opening is too small for the two large species to cross into the other half.
Haliaeetus
Well-Known Member
It would be possible to Springboks and Impalas to go in both enclosures.
I agree with Springbok and Impala, with elephants it's usually best to go for smaller co-inhabitants
Greater kudu are mixed with elephants at the Dallas Zoo and do well. They are generally very calm and easy going animals, even the bulls. They can be a little flighty, but as long as they have places to escape and are familiar with the enclosure boundaries, they should be okay. The other larger antelope you have listed — nyala, wildebeest, roan — are all much more aggressive/territorial and would much more likely to cause problems. The zebras still might cause you problems with the smaller antelope, but that’s always a chance with zebra mixes.
Any other species (mentioned or otherwise) that do particularly well with the elephants in the Dallas mix? I know they're one of the few who have successful mixes including elephants.
Mr.Ivory
Well-Known Member
Dallas mixes their elephants with Hartman's mountain Zebra, Ostrich, Helmeted Guineafowl, Giraffe, Greater Kudu and I believe Impala.
With this same zoo I am working on, there will be an elephant discovery center that also features some smaller African animals. I'm debating which of two exhibits to house klipspringer in. I know I want them in the zoo, but aren't sure which mix they'd be better in:
1. mixed with rock hyraxes and dwarf mongoose
2. mixed in a large aviary, with white-headed buffalo weavers, superb starlings, white-fronted bee-eaters, carmine bee-eaters, spotted dikkop, and blue-bellied rollers.
1. mixed with rock hyraxes and dwarf mongoose
2. mixed in a large aviary, with white-headed buffalo weavers, superb starlings, white-fronted bee-eaters, carmine bee-eaters, spotted dikkop, and blue-bellied rollers.
Mr.Ivory
Well-Known Member
Brookfield zoo mixes their Klipspringer with
Violet-backed Starling, Taffeta Golden Weaver, Emerald Starling, Common Bulbul, Red-cheeked Turaco, Speckled Mousebird, Blue-bellied, and Eastern Paradise Whydah all in a walk through aviary, so perhaps the second option would work out better.
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Both could work, but I think the second option would be better
The impala have been gone for years now. There’s also vulturine guineafowl.
Having worked with klipspringers, I would say nix the mongoose and do the aviary plus the hyrax. The dikkop could be potentially problematic being ground birds, specifically with the male klipspringers as some can be quite feisty.
Corangurilla
Well-Known Member
Most of those sound fine, but I’m a little unsure about the wild boars. I’m not sure if suids+equines is a winning combo for safety after seeing what a zebra can do to a warthog (although maybe it’s just a zebra thing?).
Okay, thanks. Yeah, I was worried about the dikkop being a problem in the aviary. I'll remove the dikkop, put klipspringer in the aviary, and leave the hyraxes in with dwarf mongoose- as these are all species I want to include in the zoo. Unless you'd suggest hyrax in the aviary and a single-species mongoose exhibit?
Haliaeetus
Well-Known Member
I would avoid the Wild Boars, unless the enclosure is very large (at least several hectares), with semi-free conditions for the animals. A mix of open dry, forested and wetland zones would be the best to house all these animals together.
I would suggest adding the hyrax to the aviary and having a standalone exhibit for the dwarf mongoose. I just wouldn’t trust the mongoose with anything that close to them in size…
For this same fantasy zoo, which has a large focus on mixed species and innovative exhibits, I'm also going to be including an islands themed area. The focal point of this area will be what I'm coining a "double rotational exhibit"- a series of mixed species habitats in which primates and ungulates rotate through all the habitats. The unique part, however, is these rotations are separate from each other- so the primates may be with one ungulate species one day, and a separate ungulate species the next, and vice versa. Would this sort of exhibit complex work with the following species, with each primate capable of mixing with each ungulate? If not, which pairings do you perceive being problematic?
Primates: Bornean Orangutan, White-cheeked Gibbon, Silvered Leaf Langur
Ungulates: Malayan Tapir, Visayan Warty Pig, Northern Sulawesi Babirusa, Lowland Anoa.
Primates: Bornean Orangutan, White-cheeked Gibbon, Silvered Leaf Langur
Ungulates: Malayan Tapir, Visayan Warty Pig, Northern Sulawesi Babirusa, Lowland Anoa.