Mixed species exhibit ideas

I'm curious about something - I'm doing a Philly inspired build in Planet Zoo hence why I am asking this, would a breeding pair of black rhinos, zebras and wildebeest work in a mixed species environment? Assuming that there is a dedicated yard for the rhino should anything go south, the zebras were females, the wildebeest were males, and there was a bollard system dividing the mixed yard? Alternatively I could just do a single rhino that has access to that dedicated yard and the mixed yard...image-47.png
 

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StoppableSan said:
I'm curious about something - I'm doing a Philly inspired build in Planet Zoo hence why I am asking this - would a breeding pair of black rhinos, zebras and wildebeest work in a mixed species environment? Assuming that there is a dedicated yard for the rhino should anything go south, the zebras were females, the wildebeest were males, and there was a bollard system dividing the mixed yard? Alternatively I could just do a single rhino that has access to that dedicated yard and the mixed yard...View attachment 671502
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Not with black rhinos, no, and certainly not with species as ornery as wildebeest and zebra. You would also need a second separate yard dedicated to the rhinos just to separate the pair after breeding. Black rhino mixed species exhibits almost always go poorly, even when they are given a lot more space than most traditional zoos can offer, i.e. the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. I suspect The Living Desert’s will eventually go south as well, once their rhinos come into their own as adults — the waterbuck already seem relinquished to the “islands” inaccessible to the rhinos.
 
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A couple options I was debating:

OPTION 1: Move the zebras and wildebeest to the grassy savanna below (with addax, dama gazelle and saddle-billed stork, not sure if that mix will work), and have the whole space be dedicated to rhinos and hippos with a rotation option.
OPTION 2: Have just the middle yard be for rhinos (albeit a single individual) and maintain the zebra/wildebeest in the right yard.
OPTION 3: expand the hippo exhibit in to the middle yard/have those two yards be dedicated hippo space, and have the rightmost yard be for a breeding pair of black rhinos, albeit divided.
 

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Yes this has been proven to work at the Dallas Zoo in Texas.
 

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StoppableSan said:
View attachment 671503

A couple options I was debating:

OPTION 1: Move the zebras and wildebeest to the grassy savanna below (with addax, dama gazelle and saddle-billed stork, not sure if that mix will work), and have the whole space be dedicated to rhinos and hippos with a rotation option.
OPTION 2: Have just the middle yard be for rhinos (albeit a single individual) and maintain the zebra/wildebeest in the right yard.
OPTION 3: expand the hippo exhibit in to the middle yard/have those two yards be dedicated hippo space, and have the rightmost yard be for a breeding pair of black rhinos, albeit divided.
Click to expand...
I concur with @Great Argus that the stork should definitely be left out, just in general, in my opinion. We should be moving away from flight-restricted bird and hoofstock mixes. I also would not trust the zebras with the gazelles either, in such a limited space. Realistically, it is of my opinion that if zoos want to do black rhinos and/or hippos, than they need to commit to black rhinos and hippos, and really have the space and setup for the species to thrive. I think you might be trying to do too much in too little of space. Sure you could probably cram mediocre rhino/hippo/hoofstock exhibits into that space, but you could also do one really nice rhino or hippo complex that does the animals justice and support the respective programs with space for additional animals, the ability to hold offspring, etc.

ZooTripper365 said:
Yes this has been proven to work at the Dallas Zoo in Texas.
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I think it is important to note that even though this mix has been “successful” at Dallas, it is highly situational and not a regular occurrence. It takes constant monitoring from staff and thorough communication between the elephant and hoofstock departments. Not all of the individuals of both species are included in the mix, and there are long stretches of time where the mix does not occur at all, whether it be due to animal concerns, staffing concerns, weather, etc. They have not conducted the mix since the calf was born.
 
StoppableSan said:
I'm curious about something - I'm doing a Philly inspired build in Planet Zoo hence why I am asking this, would a breeding pair of black rhinos, zebras and wildebeest work in a mixed species environment?View attachment 671502
Click to expand...
Wildebeest and Zebras generally go well together, but I have heard of a few instances in captivity where the wildebeests did not accept, and even killed the zebras. One major example of this is what happened at the Greater Vancouver Zoo in 2009, where four zebras were killed by two new wildebeests that had only just been introduced to each other.
 
StoppableSan said:
I'm curious about something - I'm doing a Philly inspired build in Planet Zoo hence why I am asking this, would a breeding pair of black rhinos, zebras and wildebeest work in a mixed species environment?View attachment 671502
Click to expand...
Wildebeest and Zebras generally go well together, but I have heard of a few instances in captivity where the wildebeests did not accept, and even killed the zebras. One major example of this is what happened at the Greater Vancouver Zoo in 2009, where four zebras were killed by two new wildebeests that had only just been introduced to each other.
 
That's exactly the reason I said proven. It can work but is extremely difficult to perform to the best ability.
Kudu21 said:
I concur with @Great Argus that the stork should definitely be left out, just in general, in my opinion. We should be moving away from flight-restricted bird and hoofstock mixes. I also would not trust the zebras with the gazelles either, in such a limited space. Realistically, it is of my opinion that if zoos want to do black rhinos and/or hippos, than they need to commit to black rhinos and hippos, and really have the space and setup for the species to thrive. I think you might be trying to do too much in too little of space. Sure you could probably cram mediocre rhino/hippo/hoofstock exhibits into that space, but you could also do one really nice rhino or hippo complex that does the animals justice and support the respective programs with space for additional animals, the ability to hold offspring, etc.


I think it is important to note that even though this mix has been “successful” at Dallas, it is highly situational and not a regular occurrence. It takes constant monitoring from staff and thorough communication between the elephant and hoofstock departments. Not all of the individuals of both species are included in the mix, and there are long stretches of time where the mix does not occur at all, whether it be due to animal concerns, staffing concerns, weather, etc. They have not conducted the mix since the calf was born.
Click to expand...
 
Would Indian crested porcupines and Elongated tortoises be safe around Northern plains grey langurs?
 
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Kudu21 said:
I concur with @Great Argus that the stork should definitely be left out, just in general, in my opinion. We should be moving away from flight-restricted bird and hoofstock mixes. I also would not trust the zebras with the gazelles either, in such a limited space. Realistically, it is of my opinion that if zoos want to do black rhinos and/or hippos, than they need to commit to black rhinos and hippos, and really have the space and setup for the species to thrive. I think you might be trying to do too much in too little of space. Sure you could probably cram mediocre rhino/hippo/hoofstock exhibits into that space, but you could also do one really nice rhino or hippo complex that does the animals justice and support the respective programs with space for additional animals, the ability to hold offspring, etc.


I think it is important to note that even though this mix has been “successful” at Dallas, it is highly situational and not a regular occurrence. It takes constant monitoring from staff and thorough communication between the elephant and hoofstock departments. Not all of the individuals of both species are included in the mix, and there are long stretches of time where the mix does not occur at all, whether it be due to animal concerns, staffing concerns, weather, etc. They have not conducted the mix since the calf was born.
Click to expand...
Keeping flight restricted birds except possibly waterfowl) with hoofstock should be unacceptable in these times. Such mixes inevitably put the birds at risk. Bad-tempered or even playful ungulates can and do flatten storks or cranes
 
FBBird said:
Keeping flight restricted birds except possibly waterfowl) with hoofstock should be unacceptable in these times. Such mixes inevitably put the birds at risk. Bad-tempered or even playful ungulates can and do flatten storks or cranes
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I'd like to qualify this by saying that, while flighted birds are almost always the ideal, hoofstock-flight restricted mixes are way less problematic with small hoofstock. While I wouldn't want to see crowned cranes mixed with zebras, wildebeest, elands, and watusi, the concerns about ungulates injuring the birds don't stand true when mixed with dik-diks, klipspringers, duikers, or small gazelles.
 
Neil chace said:
I'd like to qualify this by saying that, while flighted birds are almost always the ideal, hoofstock-flight restricted mixes are way less problematic with small hoofstock. While I wouldn't want to see crowned cranes mixed with zebras, wildebeest, elands, and watusi, the concerns about ungulates injuring the birds don't stand true when mixed with dik-diks, klipspringers, duikers, or small gazelles.
Click to expand...
Good point, fairly made. One might suggest that netted over exhibits for such mixes, would not only facilitate holding full winged birds, but remove the potential for fox predation on small or young hoofstock
 
Neil chace said:
I'd like to qualify this by saying that, while flighted birds are almost always the ideal, hoofstock-flight restricted mixes are way less problematic with small hoofstock. While I wouldn't want to see crowned cranes mixed with zebras, wildebeest, elands, and watusi, the concerns about ungulates injuring the birds don't stand true when mixed with dik-diks, klipspringers, duikers, or small gazelles.
Click to expand...
with duikers and dik dik and crowned cranes id be afraid of the opposite happening, the cranes attacking the antelope
 
pichu said:
with duikers and dik dik and crowned cranes id be afraid of the opposite happening, the cranes attacking the antelope
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Larger duiker species certainly shouldn't have any issues, and there's plenty of facilities keeping smaller duikers and dik-dik with cranes. Aggression from both sides is possible, but less likely and certainly less likely to be fatal.
 
Bongo and Red River Hog
Francois Langur and Visayan Warty Pig
Orangutan and Francois Langur
How many acres would be necessary to hold giraffes, plains zebra, greater kudu, springbok, cape buffalo, and warthogs in a mixed species exhibit?
 
BenFoxster said:
Bongo and Red River Hog
Click to expand...

This one is occasionally done, but success varies depending on temperament of the individual animals involved.

BenFoxster said:
How many acres would be necessary to hold giraffes, plains zebra, greater kudu, springbok, cape buffalo, and warthogs in a mixed species exhibit?
Click to expand...

Assuming there's at least a few of each species involved, probably at least 4-5 acres.
 
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