Ice age europe theme

gerome

gerome

Well-Known Member
I was considering which zoo concepts would be particularly popular with the general public, especially in Europe. An Ice Age Europe-themed section could be a great success. This exhibit could feature animals that are extinct or nearly extinct in Europe, such as:

  • Lions
  • Spotted hyenas
  • Snow leopards
  • Saigas
  • Wisent
  • Camels
  • Musk ox
  • Dhole
I'm curious, if marketed well, how much public interest do you think such a concept would generate?
 
gerome said:
I was considering which zoo concepts would be particularly popular with the general public, especially in Europe. An Ice Age Europe-themed section could be a great success. This exhibit could feature animals that are extinct or nearly extinct in Europe, such as:

  • Lions
  • Spotted hyenas
  • Snow leopards
  • Saigas
  • Wisent
  • Camels
  • Musk ox
  • Dhole
I'm curious, if marketed well, how much public interest do you think such a concept would generate?
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It may be popular, even a good addition to an European-themed wildlife park. Such parks are common in Europe, but they focus mainly on large hoofstock and not carnivores.
The main challenge may be to acclimatize species like Saigas and Musk Oxen under warm/wet climates. The option would be better in Northern/Central/Eastern Europe than in most of France, British Isles, Spain or Italy (unless the concept is changed with other species like Iberian Lynx, Water Buffalo or even Himalayan Tahr ; the Asian Elephants would be a very good addition, as substitutes of various Elephas species that roamed across European plains and forests, not only the Mammoth).
 
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Having the Pleistocene (ice age) as a theme for zoos is full of untapped potential… well, save for a certain zoo’s take of the idea when it opened in 2009, but that’s beside the point.

Otherwise, in addition to the animals listed already; there are even more extant species that used to live in Europe in that time period, along with certain species that can be used as proxies:

  • Common Hippopotamus
  • Brown Hyena - rare in the region’s fossil record, but present
  • Wolverine
  • European Fallow Deer
  • Red Deer
  • Moose / Elk
  • European Roe Deer
  • Persian and/or Amur Leopards - in place of the Cave Leopard
  • Wild Boar
  • Przewalski’s / Asian Wild Horse - in place of the Tarpan / European Wild Horse
  • Onagers
  • Domestic Water Buffalo - in place of the European Buffalo
  • Barbary Macaque
  • Pyrenean + Spanish Ibexes
  • Alpine Ibex
  • Eurasian Brown Bear
  • Eurasian Lynx
  • Eurasian (Grey) Wolf
  • Domestic (Tauros-type) Cattle - in place of the Aurochs
  • Asiatic Black Bear
  • Reindeer
  • European (Golden) Jackal
  • West + East Caucasian Turs

As you can see, there’s a lot more mammals to choose from; and I believe, that with a little creativity, and an execution that should hopefully age better (regarding its collection and quality). I think such an idea can be achieved successfully.
 
Just saying but you could also add the Siberian tiger as a substitute for its extinct relative the Caspian tiger which lived in southern Russia and Ukraine during the ice age.
 
Austin the Sengi said:
Przewalski’s / Asian Wild Horse - in place of the Tarpan / European Wild Horse
Domestic (Tauros-type) Cattle - in place of the Aurochs
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The Heck cattle is a domestic cattle type that was bred in attempt to recreate the ancient Aurochs. Additionally, there's also the Scottish highland and the Hungarian grey that resemble the ancient cow.

Similarly there's the Heck horse, in attempt to breed back the Tarpan
 
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@Mr Gharial , I only mentioned the Tauros-type cattle because of the Heck breed’s…well, let’s just say, controversial origins.

As for the horses, given that both the Tarpan and Przewalski’s Horses both belong to the same species*. I figured that one subspecies can easily serve as a proxy for the other.

*based on my personal opinions of horse taxonomy
 
Austin the Sengi said:
@Mr Gharial , I only mentioned the Tauros-type cattle because of the Heck breed’s…well, let’s just say, controversial origins.

As for the horses, given that both the Tarpan and Przewalski’s Horses both belong to the same species*. I figured that one subspecies can easily serve as a proxy for the other.

*based on my personal opinions of horse taxonomy
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The more recent scientific consensus is that Tarpans were hybrids between wild horses and domesticated horses, not their own subspecies.

But yes, despite some organizations preferring certain breeds of domestic horse (Exmoor Pony, Sorraia, Hucul, Konik, Heck horses, etc) over others for rewilding purposes, Rewilding Europe recommends using Przewalski’s horses over domesticated horses because of their status as a wild species.
 
Austin the Sengi said:
Having the Pleistocene (ice age) as a theme for zoos is full of untapped potential… well, save for a certain zoo’s take of the idea when it opened in 2009, but that’s beside the point.

Otherwise, in addition to the animals listed already; there are even more extant species that used to live in Europe in that time period, along with certain species that can be used as proxies:

  • Common Hippopotamus
  • Brown Hyena - rare in the region’s fossil record, but present
  • Wolverine
  • European Fallow Deer
  • Red Deer
  • Moose / Elk
  • European Roe Deer
  • Persian and/or Amur Leopards - in place of the Cave Leopard
  • Wild Boar
  • Przewalski’s / Asian Wild Horse - in place of the Tarpan / European Wild Horse
  • Onagers
  • Domestic Water Buffalo - in place of the European Buffalo
  • Barbary Macaque
  • Pyrenean + Spanish Ibexes
  • Alpine Ibex
  • Eurasian Brown Bear
  • Eurasian Lynx
  • Eurasian (Grey) Wolf
  • Domestic (Tauros-type) Cattle - in place of the Aurochs
  • Asiatic Black Bear
  • Reindeer
  • European (Golden) Jackal
  • West + East Caucasian Turs

As you can see, there’s a lot more mammals to choose from; and I believe, that with a little creativity, and an execution that should hopefully age better (regarding its collection and quality). I think such an idea can be achieved successfully.
Click to expand...
Just saying but I love the idea of having Barbary macaques in this idea of yours and I love the idea of having Barbary macaque because I love monkeys in general but also because back during the ice age in Europe there was a species of macaque that lived in Sardinia and Italy and this macaque species was called the dwarf macaque and you see the dwarf macaque descended from the Barbary macaque.
 
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