Haliaeetus
Well-Known Member
I would avoid the monkeys, that should harass the birds (especially smaller species).
Mixed species exhibit ideas
- Thread starter LowlandGorilla4
- Start date
I think this would work minus the cotton-tops. Goeldi's Monkey could be used instead.
Several of the bird species included will eat the herps, as well as potentially the tamarins. Not sure that I'd trust motmots and the tamarins with the small tanagers particularly.
Yeah with enough space it can work ok. Breeding the tanagers would be the biggest concern, with eggs and young birds being the most vulnerable.
Oh yeah didn't catch "medium-sized", I was picturing a Burgers' Bush sized tropical house. Yeah no, those herps probably won't work in a smaller (relatively) setup like that.
AndyJ08
Well-Known Member
Along the lines of “medium” I meant not as large as Lied
Jungle, but still larger than many other tropical houses. Comparably, the interior size would be between the “Upland Tropical Rainforest” at National Aquarium and DWA’s Orinoco Jungle.
No matter what size the exhibit is, the herps will still be eaten by several species if the opportunity arises. Just losses you're going to take if you're going to mix small herps with carnivorous birds.
Mixing brown bears and wolves has turned out not so great for one of the wolves several times, and given that polar bears are much more carnivorous than brown bears, I think it would be a very bad idea to try such a mix.
BenFoxster
Well-Known Member
Assuming the space is large enough, could African elephants and bongo antelope share an exhibit together? I've heard of African elephants with other hoof stock like impalas and zebras before, but I'm not sure if bongos would be more likely to provoke the elephants or fight rather than flee.
I'm not sure about bongos, I have heard they are more unpredictable in mixed exhibits than other antelope species. Also habitat-wise species from savannahs or wet grasslands would be a better fit with African bush elephants than bongos.
Safaripark Beekse Bergen in the Netherlands is working on mixing Nile lechwes and Defassa waterbuck with a breeding herd of African bush elephants in their elephant valley that was opened earlier this year.
That surprises me, I've heard Nile Lechwe are particularly prone to being fractious. Not sure why you'd mix a species like that with elephants.
ZooTripper365
Well-Known Member
As part of an Asian Savanah project I'm working on in one of my current zoo designs, could wild boar, blackbuck, axis deer, indian rhino and nilgai be mixed in an open savanah habitat of around 2 acres of general grazing area, half acre on show wild boar separated area, 1 acre off show indian rhino area with shelter attached to a pachaderm house and indoor area for hoofestock and newborn baby antelope?
I wouldn't. Bongo are pretty private and reclusive animals. They prefer to have the ability to stay tucked away out of sight. For as calm and tractable as bongo can be with humans, they are usually still quite sensitive animals. It does not take much to startle them, and they are easily stressed by loud noises or a lot of activity. Any bongo in a mixed species exhibit with elephants would spend their lives terrified and in hiding or be very prone to hitting fences.
Firstly, I would always be very hesitant of any mixed species Suid exhibits. Pigs like to cause problems. They can be aggressive towards other animals, especially young animals, which could be seen as tasty snacks for the pigs, and their rooting and digging can create deadly foot traps for spindly hoofstock legs. Wild boar, especially, sound like a nightmare for the smaller hoofstock/any young animals. Otherwise, that mix of rhinos, antelope, and deer is one that in theory should be fine and has existed before; however, two-acres is just not enough space for that many animals. In addition to separation space for the rhinos, you would need to make sure that there were enough areas for the hoofstock to escape the rhinos. The less space you have, the more likely you are to see conflicts.
TheImmigrant1
Well-Known Member
I am currently designing a personal zoo and have recently been inspired by some concept art of an orangutan enclosure for the Kansas City Zoo (263b10df3931ff98143b2dc5bac6333c.jpg (2695×1572) (pinimg.com)). I want to mix the best of several exhibits by dividing this into three separate enclosures which would house Orangutans and several species of Asian Turtles similar to Houston, Asian Small Clawed Otters, and Malayan Tapir respectively. The enclosures would all be islands surrounded by water similar to the concept art, with the orangutan enclosure having a shelter with indoor viewing for the apes. In my version the windows beneath the middle path would be underwater viewing for the Otters and Tapirs on either side. The orangutans would be able to traverse and navigate all three enclosures freely using O-Lines (a-la Smithsonian's) which are inaccessible to the other species giving the apes amazing climbing opportunities and interspecies interactions, as well as unforgettable guest experiences all while ensuring that each species has their own space and privacy if needed. All I need to know is if this mix would be at all possible and if anyone has any criticisms or ideas that could improve this exhibit.
Orangs have been known to do unspeakable thinks to any turtles they could get hold of…..
TheImmigrant1
Well-Known Member
That's news to me, I was going off of Houston housing theirs with Fly River, Yellow Headed Temple, Malaysian Giant Pond, and Malaysian Paint River Terrapins who have their own land space away from the orangutans. They regularly interact when the orangutans are near the moat of their exhibit, but I assume are out of reach to the orangutans. Would that be able to work?
If the orangs can’t get hold of them
TheImmigrant1
Well-Known Member
Alright then should be doable if Houston can get away with it. What about the other ones?