Spec. Zoo Design questions

Mr Gharial

Mr Gharial

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
Along with Mixed species exhibit ideas and Theoretical walkthroughs, I hope to complete the trilogy with this thread.

This thread is made to ask questions about single-species groups, exhibit size requirements, and design questions.

So to clarify:
Questions about whether or not multiple species can coexist in the same habitat:
Mixed species exhibit ideas

Questions about what animals can safely displayed in a walkthrough habitat, and to what extent they can coexist with visitors:
Theoretical walkthroughs

Questions about habitat requirements, groups sizes, and other questions that don't fit into the other two catagories:
Congratulations, you're here
 
I'm gonna start this off with three questions:

1. For a large outdoor exhibit for European grass snakes, is there a limit to the amount of snakes that can be displayed without compromising the breeding success?

2. Is there a way to separate Capybaras and Giant anteaters in one exhibit so that the Capybaras have an area that the Anteaters can't get to?

3. How realistic would it be to assume (for a semi-realistic speculative zoo) to get Oriental crested ibises (Nipponia nippon) to Europa. I know they're present in at least a few Japanese institutions, but without an Asian ZooTierListe (that I know of) I don't know how many are present
 
Mr Gharial said:
I'm gonna start this off with three questions:

1. For a large outdoor exhibit for European grass snakes, is there a limit to the amount of snakes that can be displayed without compromising the breeding success?

2. Is there a way to separate Capybaras and Giant anteaters in one exhibit so that the Capybaras have an area that the Anteaters can't get to?

3. How realistic would it be to assume (for a semi-realistic speculative zoo) to get Oriental crested ibises (Nipponia nippon) to Europa. I know they're present in at least a few Japanese institutions, but without an Asian ZooTierListe (that I know of) I don't know how many are present
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for 2. couple of weeks ago i would have said a wide deep moat, but now i know that both species can swim very well
 
pichu said:
capybara can jump pretty high, so maybe an area where the only way to get up is to jump
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True, but Anteaters can climb at least a little bit. I'll keep them separate in that case (I know they can go together fine, but I want the Capybaras in the visitor area and that's not a great idea with the Anteaters)
 
pichu said:
for a small zoo would 1.2 wildebeest or zebra be ok?
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Both Wildebeest and Zebra have been held in smaller group sizes like these before, but I don't know if they've been held alone in small groups (as Wildebeest are usually in mixed savanna enclosures). I think Zebra's would be your best bet, as these are usually better suited to be in smaller exhibits
 
Mr Gharial said:
Both Wildebeest and Zebra have been held in smaller group sizes like these before, but I don't know if they've been held alone in small groups (as Wildebeest are usually in mixed savanna enclosures). I think Zebra's would be your best bet, as these are usually better suited to be in smaller exhibits
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ok, if the wildebeest was mixed with a red river hog or warthog, would they fare better?
 
pichu said:
ok, if the wildebeest was mixed with a red river hog or warthog, would they fare better?
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Now this is a question you night want to take over to Mixed species exhibit ideas:. But the answer for your question is no, warthogs are notorious for digging holes in the ground, in which the wildebeest might stumble into and break their leg. I don’t exactly know if red river hogs also have the same hole digging behavior, but I assume they do.
 
Group size recommendations for Cattle Egret, Green Heron, and American Bittern? Also recommended sizes for enclosures/aviaries would be great.
 
Van Beal said:
Group size recommendations for Cattle Egret, Green Heron, and American Bittern? Also recommended sizes for enclosures/aviaries would be great.
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Aviary size and group size are dependant of each other with these kinds of birds. For cattle egrets, the smallest groups that are held are either 1.1 or 1.2 animals. These can easily be held in rather small pheasantry-like aviaries.

The largest groups I can see are 38 - 55 animals, but there are certain to be larger colonies out there. These are usually in larger aviaries of course.

American bittern and Green heron are not held in Europe (so I can't check them for certain) but Wikipedia says American bitterns are solitary birds, so I would suggest only having a breeding couple.

Green herons are closely related to green-backed herons. These are held alone or in groups of up to around 12 animals.

The minimum size aviary for 1.1 of all three species I would suggest something like 10×4 meters, with plenty of foliage and at least a quarter of the surface area being shallow water.

If you want larger groups (let's say 10 herons and 30 egrets) I would do something like 15×30 meters. Of course, you can always go larger.
 
Mr Gharial said:
Aviary size and group size are dependant of each other with these kinds of birds. For cattle egrets, the smallest groups that are held are either 1.1 or 1.2 animals. These can easily be held in rather small pheasantry-like aviaries.

The largest groups I can see are 38 - 55 animals, but there are certain to be larger colonies out there. These are usually in larger aviaries of course.

American bittern and Green heron are not held in Europe (so I can't check them for certain) but Wikipedia says American bitterns are solitary birds, so I would suggest only having a breeding couple.

Green herons are closely related to green-backed herons. These are held alone or in groups of up to around 12 animals.

The minimum size aviary for 1.1 of all three species I would suggest something like 10×4 meters, with plenty of foliage and at least a quarter of the surface area being shallow water.

If you want larger groups (let's say 10 herons and 30 egrets) I would do something like 15×30 meters. Of course, you can always go larger.
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Wonderful! Thank you!
 
Mr Gharial said:
3. How realistic would it be to assume (for a semi-realistic speculative zoo) to get Oriental crested ibises (Nipponia nippon) to Europa. I know they're present in at least a few Japanese institutions, but without an Asian ZooTierListe (that I know of) I don't know how many are present
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I believe it is possible. An export example of a species whose breeding is controlled by the Ministry of the Environment is the Hokkaido red-crowned crane at the Taipei Zoo. The crested ibis was a gift from China, but the descendants of the Oriental stork given from Russia have already been exported to Europe. I think it is possible that the Crested ibis will be exported overseas after the population expansion to Honshu has progressed, but I am not an expert, so I may be wrong.
 
Van Beal said:
Does anyone have tips on designing/shaping enclosures?
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Depends on a few things.

If you're building in an abstract environment, I suggest having a path in mind first. You can design the enclosure around that.

When you're building in a set environment, it's usually easier. You can set up the path in a way that works best. From there, you can build the enclosure in a way that works with both the path and the environment.

When you have the outline of the exhibit, make a list of things you want and need for the animals. Then put those into the enclosure in a way that works best for visitor viewing. After that, you can decorate with rocks and foliage, etc.

Then finally, decorate the visitor area (viewing platforms, etc).

That's the way I usually do it, at least...
 
When designing enclosures, is it best to stick with simple shapes (rectangles and circles and such) rather than making complex shapes?
 
Van Beal said:
When designing enclosures, is it best to stick with simple shapes (rectangles and circles and such) rather than making complex shapes?
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Fully depends on the style of the zoo and the type of exhibit. If an enclosure needs to be fully surrounded (greenhouse, aviary, terrarium) then simple shapes are better, construction-wise. But with regular outdoor enclosures, more abstract enclosures create naturalism
 
not sure if anybody has the answer but ive got a bunch of questions for size requirements, temperature stuff, etc because im making a detailed speculative zoo and im working on the arctic section
what temperature would belugas, polar bear, and walrus need?
how deep would the tank be for those species?
how big does the land area need to be for polar bears?
 
pichu said:
not sure if anybody has the answer but ive got a bunch of questions for size requirements, temperature stuff, etc because im making a detailed speculative zoo and im working on the arctic section
what temperature would belugas, polar bear, and walrus need?
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It depends on an array of factors — belugas tend to be kept indoors 24/7, making temperature control an option. Polar bears are usually kept outdoors due to their size and stimulation requirements, but they are relatively hardy in hotter climates given the right resources - for outdoor exhibits, it depends on the location your zoo is at. I’ve heard of walruses being successful both inside and outside.

pichu said:
how deep would the tank be for those species?
how big does the land area need to be for polar bears?
Click to expand...
Additionally, for more information on polar bear care you can likely find it from scoping around this site and posted resources alone.
Check out the AZA’s Animal Care Manual for the bears:
https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2332/polar_bear_care_manualr.pdf
Also Great Argus’ SZDPRT:
Speculative Zoo Design and Planning Resources Thread
 
Sphenisciologist said:
It depends on an array of factors — belugas tend to be kept indoors 24/7, making temperature control an option. Polar bears are usually kept outdoors due to their size and stimulation requirements, but they are relatively hardy in hotter climates given the right resources - for outdoor exhibits, it depends on the location your zoo is at. I’ve heard of walruses being successful both inside and outside.


Additionally, for more information on polar bear care you can likely find it from scoping around this site and posted resources alone.
Check out the AZA’s Animal Care Manual for the bears:
https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2332/polar_bear_care_manualr.pdf
Also Great Argus’ SZDPRT:
Speculative Zoo Design and Planning Resources Thread
Click to expand...
thank you, i think i ended up getting the wrong thread, mb
 
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