My Speculative Plan for Zoo New England

MOG2012

Well-Known Member
Hi! As a resident of Massachusetts, and has grown up with Zoo New England, I’ve always been interested in these zoos and its futures. This is meant to be hypothetical but a realistic masterplan to improve Franklin Park Zoo, and Stone Zoo. New species added are marked in bold. I’ll start with Franklin Park Zoo.

Children’s Zoo
While this isn’t the strongest section of the zoo, the aviary is amazing so I think this exhibit should be themed after the animals of East and North Asia.
  • Replace the Red Panda & Reeve’s Muntjac with Pallas’s Cat, an underrepresented feline
  • Demolish the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog enclosure, and replace it with a play structure
  • Demolish the Eagle Nest, and replace it with a Japanese Serow enclosure
  • In the aviary, the Bufflehead is replaced with Mandarin Duck, and the Canvasback is replaced with Baer’s Pochard. Also, Elliot’s Pheasant and Red-Billed Blue Magpie would be added
  • I would also replace the Blanding’s Turtle with Northern Snakehead and replace the Pumpkinseed & Spotted Turtle with Koi Fish & Chinese Pond Turtle
  • The last thing I would do to change this area would be to add/renovate/open a building in the back of Nature’s Neighborhood, titled Land of the Dragons. It would be home to every major group of reptile (other than Tuatara)
    • The main star is a Chinese Alligator
    • Another animal is the rare Japanese Giant Salamander
    • Snakes would be represented by the venomous Mangshan Pit Viper
    • Finally, there would be a mixed species enclosure between Chinese Water Dragon and Yellow Pond Turtle
Changed Species List:
  • Pallas’s Cat Otocolobus manul
  • Japanese Serow Capricornis crispus
  • Azure-Winged Magpie Cyanopica cyanus, Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri, Baikal Teal Sibirionetta formosa, Cabot’s Tragopan Tragopan caboti, Elliot’s Pheasant Syrmaticus ellioti, Golden Pheasant Chrysolophus pictus, Hooded Crane Grus monarcha, Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata, Northern Shoveler Spatula clypeata, Red-Billed Blue Magpie Urocissa erythrorhyncha, Red-Breasted Goose Branta ruficollis, Red-Breasted Merganser Mergus serrator, Scaly-Sided Merganser Mergus squamatus
  • Northern Snakehead Channa argus
  • Chinese Pond Turtle Mauremys reevesii, Koi Cyprinus rubrofuscus
  • Chinese Alligator Alligator sinensis
  • Japanese Giant Salamander Andrias japonicus
  • Mangshan Pit Viper Protobothrops mangshanensis
  • Chinese Water Dragon Physignathus cocincinus, Yellow Pond Turtle Mauremys mutica
Franklin Farm
There isn’t that much to add to this exhibit as it’s a typical farmyard exhibit but there could be some changes.
  • I would add an enclosure near the sheep for Wild Turkey
  • Outside of the Barn near the owls, I would add an aviary for the cute American Kestrel
Changed Species List:
  • Black Welsh Mountain Sheep Ovis aries
  • Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo
  • Nigerian Dwarf Goat Capra hircus
  • Poitou Donkey Equus asinus
  • Guinea Hog Sus domesticus
  • Dexter Cattle Bos primigenius
  • Heritage Chicken Gallus gallus domesticus
  • Barn Owl Tyto alba
  • American Kestrel Falco sparverius
  • Mediterranean Miniature Donkey Equus asinus, Miniature Horse Equus ferus caballus
Butterfly Hollow

As I removed some species from Nature’s Neighborhood, I felt they would go well in this seasonal exhibit.

  • I would add a pond for Blanding’s Turtle, and a seperate pond for Pumpkinseed & Spotted Turtle
Changed Species List:

  • Assorted Butterfly & Moth species
  • Blanding’s Turtle Emydoidea blandingii
  • Pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus, Spotted Turtle Clemmys guttata

I’ll continue with the African exhibits later this week.


Current SSP Species Count: 7
 
Sorry, I deleted the comment because I was going to paste it on a wider comment.
Replace the Red Panda & Reeve’s Muntjac with Pallas’s Cat, an underrepresented feline

I also don’t believe the exhibit is quite large enough for Pallas’s cat.

Demolish the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog enclosure, and replace it with a play structure
Replacing an animal exhibit with a play structure is certainly a choice.
 
Sorry, I deleted the comment because I was going to paste it on a wider comment.


I also don’t believe the exhibit is quite large enough for Pallas’s cat.


Replacing an animal exhibit with a play structure is certainly a choice.
If you expanded it a bit, would it be possible?
 
Hi! As a resident of Massachusetts, and has grown up with Zoo New England, I’ve always been interested in these zoos and its futures. This is meant to be hypothetical but a realistic masterplan to improve Franklin Park Zoo, and Stone Zoo. New species added are marked in bold. I’ll start with Franklin Park Zoo.

Children’s Zoo
While this isn’t the strongest section of the zoo, the aviary is amazing so I think this exhibit should be themed after the animals of East and North Asia.
  • Replace the Red Panda & Reeve’s Muntjac with Pallas’s Cat, an underrepresented feline
  • Demolish the Black-Tailed Prairie Dog enclosure, and replace it with a play structure
  • Demolish the Eagle Nest, and replace it with a Japanese Serow enclosure
  • In the aviary, the Bufflehead is replaced with Mandarin Duck, and the Canvasback is replaced with Baer’s Pochard. Also, Elliot’s Pheasant and Red-Billed Blue Magpie would be added
  • I would also replace the Blanding’s Turtle with Northern Snakehead and replace the Pumpkinseed & Spotted Turtle with Koi Fish & Chinese Pond Turtle
  • The last thing I would do to change this area would be to add/renovate/open a building in the back of Nature’s Neighborhood, titled Land of the Dragons. It would be home to every major group of reptile (other than Tuatara)
    • The main star is a Chinese Alligator
    • Another animal is the rare Japanese Giant Salamander
    • Snakes would be represented by the venomous Mangshan Pit Viper
    • Finally, there would be a mixed species enclosure between Chinese Water Dragon and Yellow Pond Turtle
Changed Species List:
  • Pallas’s Cat Otocolobus manul
  • Japanese Serow Capricornis crispus
  • Azure-Winged Magpie Cyanopica cyanus, Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri, Baikal Teal Sibirionetta formosa, Cabot’s Tragopan Tragopan caboti, Elliot’s Pheasant Syrmaticus ellioti, Golden Pheasant Chrysolophus pictus, Hooded Crane Grus monarcha, Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata, Northern Shoveler Spatula clypeata, Red-Billed Blue Magpie Urocissa erythrorhyncha, Red-Breasted Goose Branta ruficollis, Red-Breasted Merganser Mergus serrator, Scaly-Sided Merganser Mergus squamatus
  • Northern Snakehead Channa argus
  • Chinese Pond Turtle Mauremys reevesii, Koi Cyprinus rubrofuscus
  • Chinese Alligator Alligator sinensis
  • Japanese Giant Salamander Andrias japonicus
  • Mangshan Pit Viper Protobothrops mangshanensis
  • Chinese Water Dragon Physignathus cocincinus, Yellow Pond Turtle Mauremys mutica
Franklin Farm
There isn’t that much to add to this exhibit as it’s a typical farmyard exhibit but there could be some changes.
  • I would add an enclosure near the sheep for Wild Turkey
  • Outside of the Barn near the owls, I would add an aviary for the cute American Kestrel
Changed Species List:
  • Black Welsh Mountain Sheep Ovis aries
  • Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo
  • Nigerian Dwarf Goat Capra hircus
  • Poitou Donkey Equus asinus
  • Guinea Hog Sus domesticus
  • Dexter Cattle Bos primigenius
  • Heritage Chicken Gallus gallus domesticus
  • Barn Owl Tyto alba
  • American Kestrel Falco sparverius
  • Mediterranean Miniature Donkey Equus asinus, Miniature Horse Equus ferus caballus
Butterfly Hollow

As I removed some species from Nature’s Neighborhood, I felt they would go well in this seasonal exhibit.

  • I would add a pond for Blanding’s Turtle, and a seperate pond for Pumpkinseed & Spotted Turtle
Changed Species List:

  • Assorted Butterfly & Moth species
  • Blanding’s Turtle Emydoidea blandingii
  • Pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus, Spotted Turtle Clemmys guttata

I’ll continue with the African exhibits later this week.


Current SSP Species Count: 7
African Experience
This section of the zoo will be designed based on the masterplan with some other elements. Currently, this area is called Serengeti Crossing, and it will now be themed after Southern Africa.
  • For the main savanna area, I would expand it to add some more hoofstock. I would move in Nyala, and I would add Sable Antelope
  • Where the porcupine and warthog exhibits are planned to be, I would replace them with Aardvark and Meerkat
  • For the penguin exhibit, I would add Cape Shelduck and White-Breasted Cormorant
Changed Species List:
  • Common Ostrich Struthio camelus, Common Wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus, Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra Equus zebra hartmannae, Nyala Tragelaphus angasii, Sable Antelope Hippotragus niger
  • Aardvark Orycteropus afer afer
  • Meerkat Suricata suricatta suricatta
  • African Penguin Spheniscus demersus, South African Shelduck Tadorna cana, White-Breasted Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo lucidus
  • Wattled Crane Bugeranus carunculatus
Giraffe Savanna
  • I would replace the Somali Wild Ass with Southern White Rhinos to the giraffe exhibit as there are few zoos in New England that have rhinos
Changed Species List:
  • Masai Giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis, , Southern White Rhinoceros Ceratotherium simum simum
Kalahari Kingdom

Kalahari Kingdom has semi-adequate exhibits, and recently absorbed Tiger Territory so there isn’t that much to change. All I would do is make the animals all from the Kalahari Desert.
  • I would replace the non-geographically accurate Bactrian Camels with enclosures for Serval, and an aviary with Southern Ground Hornbill
  • I would replace the Kori Bustard enclosure with Cheetah, and enlarge it a bit
  • I would also replace the Red River Hogs with a mixed species enclosure between Cape Porcupine and Common Warthog
  • The African Spurred Tortoise enclosure would be replaced with African Rock Python
Changed Species List:
  • Lion Panthera leo
  • Spotted Hyena Crocuta crocuta
  • Southern African Rock Python Python natalensis
  • Cape Porcupine Hystrix africaeaustralis, Common Warthog Phacochoerus africanus
  • Serval Leptailurus serval
  • Southern Ground Hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri
  • Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus
I’ll continue with Hoofstock Yards, and Tropical Forest later.
Current SSP Species Count: 21
 
Last edited:
Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus
That exhibit isn’t big enough for flamingos, because unlike the cranes you need quite a bit of them.

I would also replace the Red River Hogs with a mixed species enclosure between Cape Porcupine and Common Warthog
The African Spurred Tortoise enclosure would be replaced with African Rock Python
Do you plan to move these two species elsewhere?
 
That exhibit isn’t big enough for flamingos, because unlike the cranes you need quite a bit of them.



Do you plan to move these two species elsewhere?
I don't plan to have the African Spurred Tortoise. I'm thinking of replacing one of the Baird's Tapir enclosures with Red River Hogs. I'll keep the crane then
 
African Experience
This section of the zoo will be designed based on the masterplan with some other elements. Currently, this area is called Serengeti Crossing, and it will now be themed after Southern Africa.
  • For the main savanna area, I would expand it to add some more hoofstock. I would move in Nyala, and I would add Sable Antelope
  • Where the porcupine and warthog exhibits are planned to be, I would replace them with Aardvark and Meerkat
  • For the penguin exhibit, I would add Cape Shelduck and White-Breasted Cormorant
Changed Species List:
  • Common Ostrich Struthio camelus, Common Wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus, Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra Equus zebra hartmannae, Nyala Tragelaphus angasii, Sable Antelope Hippotragus niger
  • Aardvark Orycteropus afer afer
  • Meerkat Suricata suricatta suricatta
  • African Penguin Spheniscus demersus, South African Shelduck Tadorna cana, White-Breasted Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo lucidus
  • Wattled Crane Bugeranus carunculatus
Giraffe Savanna
  • I would replace the Somali Wild Ass with Southern White Rhinos to the giraffe exhibit as there are few zoos in New England that have rhinos
Changed Species List:
  • Masai Giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis, , Southern White Rhinoceros Ceratotherium simum simum
Kalahari Kingdom

Kalahari Kingdom has semi-adequate exhibits, and recently absorbed Tiger Territory so there isn’t that much to change. All I would do is make the animals all from the Kalahari Desert.
  • I would replace the non-geographically accurate Bactrian Camels with enclosures for Serval, and an aviary with Southern Ground Hornbill
  • I would replace the Kori Bustard enclosure with Cheetah, and enlarge it a bit
  • I would also replace the Red River Hogs with a mixed species enclosure between Cape Porcupine and Common Warthog
  • The African Spurred Tortoise enclosure would be replaced with African Rock Python
Changed Species List:
  • Lion Panthera leo
  • Spotted Hyena Crocuta crocuta
  • Southern African Rock Python Python natalensis
  • Cape Porcupine Hystrix africaeaustralis, Common Warthog Phacochoerus africanus
  • Serval Leptailurus serval
  • Southern Ground Hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri
  • Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus
I’ll continue with Hoofstock Yards, and Tropical Forest later.
Current SSP Species Count: 21
Wild Asia

This exhibit would be in the former hoofstock yards area, and has Southeast Asian animals.
Species List:

  • Malayan Tiger Panthera tigris tigris
  • Sarus Crane Antigone antigone
  • Malayan Tapir Tapirus indicus
  • Asian Forest Tortoise Manouria emys
  • Northern White-Cheeked Gibbon Nomascus leucogenys (From Stone Zoo)
  • False Gharial Tomistoma schlegelii, Painted Terrapin Batagur borneoensis
  • Asian Small-Clawed Otter Aonyx cinereus
Tropical Forest
  • I would mix the Western Lowland Gorilla with Mantled Guereza from Stone Zoo as this was proposed a couple years ago, and might have been on the masterplan
  • I would replace the indoor habitat of the Baird’s Tapir with Red River Hogs
  • I would also replace the African Wild Dogs with Dhole
  • The non-rainforest Ring-Tailed Lemurs would be replaced with Red Ruffed Lemur
  • For the Potto exhibit, I would replace them with Pygmy Slow Loris
  • I would change the free-flight animals to be; Bearded Barbet, Great Blue Turaco, Green-Backed Trogon, Green Woodhoopoe, Hadada Ibis, Hamerkop, Maleo, Metallic Starling, Nicobar Pigeon, Red-Crested Turaco, Yellow-Rumped Cacique
  • I would expand the Pygmy Hippo exhibit into the old Capybara exhibit, and expand the Cotton-Top Tamarin enclosure into the African Pygmy Falcon exhibit
  • I would also remove the fish in the Hippo Theater
  • The Giant Anteater enclosure would be renovated, and replaced with Southern Cassowary, a species not found in New England zoos
  • The Dwarf Crocodile enclosure would be combined with the sloth enclosure. In this new enclosure, Emperor Tamarin, and Red-Rumped Agouti (from Stone Zoo) would be added
  • I would replace the Kenyan Sand Boa in SlitherInn with Dumeril’s Boa
  • The De Brazza’s Guenon would be replaced with Binturong
  • The Saddle-Billed Stork would be replaced with Southern Tamandua, as the enclosure is ridiculously small for a stork family
  • I would also replace the Amazon Milk Frog with Dyeing Poison Dart Frog, Green & Black Poison Dart Frog, and Panamanian Golden Frog from Stone Zoo
Changed Species List:

  • Mantled Guereza Colobus guereza, Western Lowland Gorilla Gorilla gorilla gorilla
  • Dhole Cuon alpinus
  • Red Ruffed Lemur Varecia rubra
  • Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa
  • Cotton-Top Tamarin Saguinus oedipus
  • Pygmy Hippopotamus Choeropsis liberiensis
  • Pygmy Slow Loris Xanthonycticebus pygmaeus
  • Emperor Scorpion Pandinus imperator
  • Blue-Baboon Tarantula Monocentropus balfouri
  • Green Anaconda Eunectes murinus
  • Dumeril’s Boa Acrantophis dumerili
  • Southern Tamandua Tamandua tetradactyla
  • Southern Cassowary Casuarius casuarius
  • Ball Python Python regius
  • Red River Hog Potamochoerus porcus
  • Dyeing Poison Dart Frog Dendrobates tinctorius, Green and Black Poison Dart Frog Dendrobates auratus, Panamanian Golden Frog Atelopus zeteki
  • Long-Haired Fruit Bat Stenonycteris lanosa
  • Emperor Tamarin Saguinus imperator subgrisescens, Linneaus’s Two-Toed Sloth Choloepus didactylus, Red-Rumped Agouti Dasyprocta leporina
  • Binturong Arctictis binturong
  • Baird’s Tapir Tapirus bairdii (outside)
Free-Flight Animals:
  • Bearded Barbet Pogornornis dubius
  • Great Blue Turaco Corythaeola cristata
  • Green-Backed Trogon Trogon viridis
  • Green Wood-Hoopoe Phoeniculus purpureus
  • Hadada Ibis Bostrychia hagedash
  • Hamerkop Scopus umbretta
  • Maleo Macrocephalon maleo
  • Metallic Starling Aplonis metallica
  • Nicobar Pigeon Caloenas nicobarica
  • Red-Crested Turaco Tauraco erythrolophus
  • Yellow-Rumped Cacique Cacicus cela
I’ll continue with the Outback Trail, and another exhibit in the next post.
Current SSP Species Count: 48
 
Honestly, a little bit.
Seeing your previous statement I was taken aback at first that someone would think a space suitable for a red panda/muntjac mix would be too small for a Pallas' Cat. Then I thought better of it and assumed it was more that the size hardly suits a combination of the former two species.
 
Seeing your previous statement I was taken aback at first that someone would think a space suitable for a red panda/muntjac mix would be too small for a Pallas' Cat. Then I thought better of it and assumed it was more that the size hardly suits a combination of the former two species.
Okay, I looked it up and a Pallas’ cat is not as large as I remember one being. That’s on me.

That said, it probably is too small for two species.
 
Azure-Winged Magpie Cyanopica cyanus, Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri, Baikal Teal Sibirionetta formosa, Cabot’s Tragopan Tragopan caboti, Elliot’s Pheasant Syrmaticus ellioti, Golden Pheasant Chrysolophus pictus, Hooded Crane Grus monarcha, Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata, Northern Shoveler Spatula clypeata, Red-Billed Blue Magpie Urocissa erythrorhyncha, Red-Breasted Goose Branta ruficollis, Red-Breasted Merganser Mergus serrator, Scaly-Sided Merganser Mergus squamatus
Elliot's pheasants will kill tragopans and golden pheasants. Red-billed Blue Magpies will pursue but not kill the smaller ducks, golden pheasants and tragopans.
 
The Giant Anteater enclosure would be renovated, and replaced with Southern Cassowary, a species not found in New England zoos
This exhibit is already too small for the anteater, it definitely is not large enough for large flightless bird.
 
Maybe you could merge it with the tamandua exhibit and make it more multispecies.
If it's mixed species, then the enclosure could have Southern Tamandua, Red-Footed Tortoise, and Prehensile-Tailed Porcupine (from Stone Zoo)
 
I'm going to stop posting on this thread as I have to research more about these zoos. Sometime in December or next year, I'll make a thread with me improving New England Zoos (not only Zoo New England). If you have any suggestions, private message me.

To the moderators, if you read this, please close this thread whenever possible.
 
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