Mixed species exhibit ideas

Haliaeetus said:
I think it's OK, but separate quarters for breeding animals are needed.
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Thank you Haliaeetus. One more question if its alright, for making a 5-acre mixed species savannah with giraffes, white rhino, ostrich, speke's gazelle, and dama gazelle, which species would be better to incorporate into said savannah: zebra (plains or mountain) or nyala?
 
BenFoxster said:
Thank you Haliaeetus. One more question if its alright, for making a 5-acre mixed species savannah with giraffes, white rhino, ostrich, speke's gazelle, and dama gazelle, which species would be better to incorporate into said savannah: zebra (plains or mountain) or nyala?
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Nyala would be far less problematic than zebra; Mountain Zebra tends to cause the fewest issues if you wanted to add zebra in.
 
Neil chace said:
Has a gharial/primate mix ever been attempted? I'm toying with a fantasy zoo idea and was wondering about mixing gharials with silvered leaf langurs and/or francois' langurs.
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I know Singapore zoo had a mixed species exhibit with siamang and gharials. It’s a forested island where the apes live in the trees and the gharials swim down below in the water. Not sure if I would risk anything smaller than a siamang or gibbon though.
 
BenFoxster said:
Thank you Haliaeetus. One more question if its alright, for making a 5-acre mixed species savannah with giraffes, white rhino, ostrich, speke's gazelle, and dama gazelle, which species would be better to incorporate into said savannah: zebra (plains or mountain) or nyala?
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As @Great Argus has said, zebras are renowned for not playing nice. In addition to that, I would highly advise against housing Speke’s gazelles in such an exhibit unless you don’t want to have Speke’s gazelles anymore. There’s a reason you exclusively see them in traditional zoo settings — they are extremely fractious. They are very fragile and spook easily, so they tend to not do very well in large spaces where they can more easily get up to “breakneck” speeds — literally — and cannot be easily managed. Both Speke’s and dama are prone to hoof issues on grassy/wet ground, so you’d likely see hoof rot in both species in an exhibit of that size.
 
BenFoxster said:
Thank you Haliaeetus. One more question if its alright, for making a 5-acre mixed species savannah with giraffes, white rhino, ostrich, speke's gazelle, and dama gazelle, which species would be better to incorporate into said savannah: zebra (plains or mountain) or nyala?
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On another note, Indianapolis had Speke’s, Damas (Addras), and Giraffes in a 1 acre paddock, but the male Speke would show aggression to male Damas but not to the females.
 
Bactrian Deer said:
On another note, Indianapolis had Speke’s, Damas (Addras), and Giraffes in a 1 acre paddock, but the male Speke would show aggression to male Damas but not to the females.
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Male gazelles are pretty notorious for trying to fight above their weight class, which more often than not gets them in trouble. In a lot of mixed-species scenarios, they have to be housed separately to avoid that.
 
Kudu21 said:
As @Great Argus has said, zebras are renowned for not playing nice. In addition to that, I would highly advise against housing Speke’s gazelles in such an exhibit unless you don’t want to have Speke’s gazelles anymore. There’s a reason you exclusively see them in traditional zoo settings — they are extremely fractious. They are very fragile and spook easily, so they tend to not do very well in large spaces where they can more easily get up to “breakneck” speeds — literally — and cannot be easily managed. Both Speke’s and dama are prone to hoof issues on grassy/wet ground, so you’d likely see hoof rot in both species in an exhibit of that size.
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Thanks so much Kudu, sorry for responding late. I seriously wasn't aware of any of those issues, shows how much I still need to learn. I saw you're other post as well, does it seem that any small antelope species would be off the table for this mixed species exhibit?

If I still wanted a savannah exhibit, which animals/combinations would you most recommend? My original plan was to have giraffes, white rhinos, ostriches, wildebeest, and two antelope species in one large savannah, then have a smaller yard nearby with mountain zebras and nyalas. If I were to go back to this plan would it be better to:
  • Keep the nyalas with the zebras? If so, which two antelope species would you recommend for the main savannah with the other animals? Would springbok, impalas, or blesbok work? Or would the springbok and impala still be too small/aggressive or fragile for the other animals?
As an alternative, if I did want to keep the Mountain zebras within the main savannah, would it be possible to:
  • Include the mountain zebras with the giraffes, white rhinos, ostriches, and two antelope species (I was hoping for impala and springbok, but now I'm scared if they're too small/fragile/would be injured by the other animals), and then having the wildebeest and either nyala or greater kudu in the smaller yard (to avoid overcrowding)
  • If not the impala, and springbok, which antelope species would be recommended for the main savannah instead?
Third alternative:
  • Keep zebras in the smaller yard with wildebeest, to highlight their natural symbiotic relationship
  • Move nyala to the main yard with the giraffes, rhinos, ostriches, and two other antelopes
  • Would nyala be compatible with these animals, or are the males too aggressive?
  • If so, what if I replace them with greater kudu (I'm certain you're an expert on that species!)?
  • Either way, I would want at least two other antelope in the main savannah. Again, I would have gone with springbok, impala, or blesbok, but I am unsure now after reading your second comment. If not, which antelope species would be better for the exhibit?
One more note, this is assuming that each species will have a mix of both genders, so I am unsure whether they'd be able to cohabitate with the other animals due to male aggression as Bactrian Deer mentioned (specifically the nyala).

Edit: Also, would 5 acres be big enough for the large exhibit, too small, or too big? I assume its about average in the middle, but just double checking.
 
Bactrian Deer said:
On another note, Indianapolis had Speke’s, Damas (Addras), and Giraffes in a 1 acre paddock, but the male Speke would show aggression to male Damas but not to the females.
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Dang, weird coincidence since I had been considering those two species for the mixed savannah originally. Good to know, as I would rather have males so the animals could all possibly breed. Will need to find different antelope species for the exhibit then.
 
A mix of European birds, reptiles, amphibians and small fish in a medium-sized walkthrough aviary

European pond turtle
Viviparous lizard
European treefrog
Fire-bellied toad
Gudgeon
Three-spined stickleback
European minnow
Common roach
European bitterling
European bee-eater
European goldfinch
Common chaffinch
Common crossbill
European greenfinch
Stock dove
Pied avocet
Green-winged teal
Garganey

Would any of these animals cause problems to the others?
 
Mr Gharial said:
A mix of European birds, reptiles, amphibians and small fish in a medium-sized walkthrough aviary

European pond turtle
Viviparous lizard
European treefrog
Fire-bellied toad
Gudgeon
Three-spined stickleback
European minnow
Common roach
European bitterling
European bee-eater
European goldfinch
Common chaffinch
Common crossbill
European greenfinch
Stock dove
Pied avocet
Green-winged teal
Garganey

Would any of these animals cause problems to the others?
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Turtles and Avocets might eat the fish. Oddly, even Greenfinches have been known to catch and eat Minnows
 
A Sudd-themed mixed exhibit:
- Cape buffalo (Sudan subspecies);
- Northern giraffe (Kordofan subspecies);
- Mongalla gazelle;
- Kob (white-eared subspecies);
- Nile lechwe;
- Topi (tiang subspecies);
- Plains zebra (Grant's subspecies);
- Northern white rhino;
- Black crowned crane.
Could it work? I understand that some species are no longer held in captivity; I'm just curious about what would happen.
 
Enzo said:
A Sudd-themed mixed exhibit:
- Cape buffalo (Sudan subspecies);
- Northern giraffe (Kordofan subspecies);
- Mongalla gazelle;
- Kob (white-eared subspecies);
- Nile lechwe;
- Topi (tiang subspecies);
- Plains zebra (Grant's subspecies);
- Northern white rhino;
- Black crowned crane.
Could it work? I understand that some species are no longer held in captivity; I'm just curious about what would happen.
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The cranes will get killed for a start….
 
Enzo said:
A Sudd-themed mixed exhibit:
- Cape buffalo (Sudan subspecies);
- Northern giraffe (Kordofan subspecies);
- Mongalla gazelle;
- Kob (white-eared subspecies);
- Nile lechwe;
- Topi (tiang subspecies);
- Plains zebra (Grant's subspecies);
- Northern white rhino;
- Black crowned crane.
Could it work? I understand that some species are no longer held in captivity; I'm just curious about what would happen.
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I fear two things with this mix. First and foremost, the cranes would be at massive trampling risk at the hands (or hooves, really) of every other inhabitant of the exhibit. Also (and correct me if I'm wrong) I recall being told that mixing multiple larger ungulates, being the rhino and the buffalo in this case, wouldn't end great due to aggression toward one another.
 
Van Beal said:
I fear two things with this mix. First and foremost, the cranes would be at massive trampling risk at the hands (or hooves, really) of every other inhabitant of the exhibit. Also (and correct me if I'm wrong) I recall being told that mixing multiple larger ungulates, being the rhino and the buffalo in this case, wouldn't end great due to aggression toward one another.
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And it may be extremely hard to get Northern White Rhinos. Maybe Southern Whites as proxies, as it already happens in some zoos and even conservancies in East Africa ?
 
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