Spec. Zoo Design questions

Would a zoo in Europe be able to apply for AZA and other national/transnational zoological associations? Other than EAZA of course.

I know Oceanarium Valencia is AZA-accredited, and Zlín is in the Indonesian association of Zoological Gardens and has collaborated closely with them, also with imports and exports).

So I guess my question is really: other than paperwork and adhering to the mission and/or code of said association, if finances allowed, could a zoo enter/collaborate in/with any association, even if physically distant? Be it animal-oriented or not.
 
Would there be a sustainable way for a zoo to manage a colony of a native wasp/bee species if said colony had been displaced from their previous home? I'm not thinking in a hive box as is typical in beekeeping, but a true-to-look hive with a window view into it (of course the insects themselves would be given flight across the whole zoo). Just curious on this because I think it would be an interesting way to educate on pollinators and their importance.
 
Great Argus said:
Housing tigers and polar bears indoors through warm summers would be a heck of an electric bill. For the bears especially having a large enough indoor exhibit would be very problematic, and it is far from ideal for either. There is a reason species like those two, snow leopards, and other heat sensitive species are not generally seen in southeastern zoos especially. San Diego's canyons allow them to make it work, but as a general rule it's better to simply not keep those species in hot areas.
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How do the canyons work again? I haven’t been to SDZ (yet)
 
Van Beal said:
Would there be a sustainable way for a zoo to manage a colony of a native wasp/bee species if said colony had been displaced from their previous home? I'm not thinking in a hive box as is typical in beekeeping, but a true-to-look hive with a window view into it (of course the insects themselves would be given flight across the whole zoo). Just curious on this because I think it would be an interesting way to educate on pollinators and their importance.
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Probably difficult - most species that nest in colonies apart from the honey bee are not species you'd really want on zoo grounds (yellowjackets, hornets.) Most other species i can think of would be difficult to showcase in the way you're thinking. Maybe bumblebee? But not much need for relocation, and they dig relatively small burrow nests underground.
It would be doable with honey bee, but not sure about anything else.

Iguana_Cabana said:
How do the canyons work again? I haven’t been to SDZ (yet)
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The natural canyons provide enough of a cooler microclimate through shade and other weather factors for more temperate species.
 
What would be appropriate aviary wire mesh spacing be for the following animals:

  • Andean condor
  • California condor
  • Kakapo
  • Lear’s macaw
  • Spix’s macaw
  • Count Raggi’s bird-of-paradise
  • Great hornbill
  • ‘I’iwi
  • Harpy eagle
  • Blakiston’s fish owl
  • Great grey owl
  • Rodrigues flying fox
  • Grey-headed flying fox
  • Malayan flying fox
  • Tawny frogmouth
  • North Island brown kiwi
  • Tufted puffin
  • Horned puffin
 
Iguana_Cabana said:
What would be appropriate aviary wire mesh spacing be for the following animals:

  • Andean condor
  • California condor
  • Kakapo
  • Lear’s macaw
  • Spix’s macaw
  • Count Raggi’s bird-of-paradise
  • Great hornbill
  • ‘I’iwi
  • Harpy eagle
  • Blakiston’s fish owl
  • Great grey owl
  • Rodrigues flying fox
  • Grey-headed flying fox
  • Malayan flying fox
  • Tawny frogmouth
  • North Island brown kiwi
  • Tufted puffin
  • Horned puffin
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Condors/Eagles/Owls - 50-75 mm
Macaws/Frogmouth/Kiwi/Puffin - 25-38 mm
Hornbill - 38-50 mm
Bird-of-paradise/Kakapo/Fruit Bats - 25 mm
'I'iwi - 12-19 mm
 
I'm designing a speculative zoo set in New Zealand, and I want to design it with New Zealand's actual animal import restrictions in mind. We have some fairly unique import restrictions to work with:

1) No bird species are allowed to be imported, except Greater Flamingos. The only exotic birds available for zoos are the same as those found in private aviculture - mostly parrots, with a smattering of pigeons and finches.
2) No snakes are allowed whatsoever, and venomous species in general are prohibited.
3) A decent number of exotic tropical fish are allowed to be imported by private aquaculturists, but there are no permits available for common public aquarium species, e.g. piranha, arapaima, freshwater stingrays.
4) For some reason, many species of New World primates are allowed but only a handful of old-world primates.

This is causing problems for me now that I've gotten to the South American section of my zoo. I want to include Spider Monkeys, Squirrel Monkeys, Capuchin Monkeys, cottontop tamarins, golden lion tamarins and pygmy marmosets in my zoo somewhere, but I'm not quite sure what exhibit they should be apart of. So far I've come up with the following options:

1) An Amazonian tropical dome also featuring Capybara and Agouti, with a handful of macaws, tropical freshwater fish (of species available to private aquarists, including tambaqui and silver arowana), some kind of crocodilian, and around 12 species of butterfly, in a section separate from the monkeys. This is about the most species-rich amazon-based exhibit I could manage in New Zealand, but I'm worried it'd be a bit barebones by overseas standards, to the point where it wouldn't be worth bothering with.

2) A tropical house featuring species from rainforests around the world. It would be similar to the Amazonian tropical dome, but with a broader range of species, also including Komodo Dragons, galapagos tortoises, various lizard species, two species of lemur, and fossa. This would be a larger exhibit than the Amazon one, but might come across as a bit incoherent - a mishmash of tropical species from across the world, particularly heavy in reptiles.

3) A primate section, with the above neotropical primates, lemurs, and gorillas. Orangutans and gibbons were planned to be exhibited in a different section of the zoo, but could be moved here.

I'm curious to know which option people here like best, or if they have a better suggestion for how my neotropical primates should be exhibited.
 
ElephasMaximus said:
1) An Amazonian tropical dome also featuring Capybara and Agouti, with a handful of macaws, tropical freshwater fish (of species available to private aquarists, including tambaqui and silver arowana), some kind of crocodilian, and around 12 species of butterfly, in a section separate from the monkeys. This is about the most species-rich amazon-based exhibit I could manage in New Zealand, but I'm worried it'd be a bit barebones by overseas standards, to the point where it wouldn't be worth bothering with.
Click to expand...
Maybe you could use Saffron Finches and Blue-backed Grassquits as freeflyers (both are kept in NZ according to the NZ birds thread).
ElephasMaximus said:
2) A tropical house featuring species from rainforests around the world. It would be similar to the Amazonian tropical dome, but with a broader range of species, also including Komodo Dragons, galapagos tortoises, various lizard species, two species of lemur, and fossa. This would be a larger exhibit than the Amazon one, but might come across as a bit incoherent - a mishmash of tropical species from across the world, particularly heavy in reptiles.
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Cuban Grassquits, Madagascar Fodies, Java Sparrows, Common Emerald Doves and Goldie‘s Loris could work as free-flyers into this greenhouse too.
 
What kind of Okapi Aviary would you personally prefer?

Nr. 1
White-backed Whistling Duck
Hartlaub‘s Duck
Red-billed Teal
Southern Pochard
Congo Peafowl
Western Bronze-naped Pigeon
Ross‘s Turaco
White-crested Turaco (only females)
Western Plantain-eater
Black Crowned Crane
Abdim‘s Stork
African Spoonbill
Hadada Ibis
Hamerkop
Little Bittern
Squacco Heron
Goliath Heron
Congo Grey Parrot
Red-fronted Parrot
Meyer‘s Parrot
(and maybe Crowned Hornbill; I‘m unsure if they will fight with the parrots or not)
A big outdoor walkthrough aviary (no visible indoor area) with a waterfall, hanging bridges and two watch towers.

Nr. 2
White-backed Whistling Duck
Hartlaub‘s Duck
Red-billed Teal
Southern Pochard
Western Bronze-naped Pigeon
Tropical Ring-necked Dove
Blue-headed Wood Dove
Bruce‘s Green Pigeon
Ross‘s Turaco
White-crested Turaco (only females)
Western Plantain-eater
Allen‘s Gallinule
Wattled Lapwing
Speckled Mousebird
Northern Carmine Bee-eater
Broad-billed Roller
African Golden Oriole
Common Bulbul
Violet-backed Starling
Blue-billed Malimbe
A medium-sized walkthrough aviary with a little waterfall and walkable indoor area.
And would you mind seeing an Okapi in a birdpark?
 
Strange question but is there need for Orangutan bachelor groups in the European studbook?

I can't find any bachelor groups on ZTL but that doesn't mean there aren't any currently.

And secondly, how large would an Orangutan bachelor group be?
 
Mr Gharial said:
Strange question but is there need for Orangutan bachelor groups in the European studbook?

I can't find any bachelor groups on ZTL but that doesn't mean there aren't any currently.

And secondly, how large would an Orangutan bachelor group be?
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There have previously been attempts to form all-male groups (consisting of only two or three individuals) to manage the increasing number of younger males in the EAZA Breeding Program. Despite being needed for breeding purposes in the future, they are temporarily surplus due to the lack of available suitable accommodation. However, such efforts were largely been unsuccessful, due to the aggressive behaviour of subadult and adolescent males.

In the wild, flanged males are mostly solitary and do not tolerate other flanged males within their range. Despite this, they show comparatively greater tolerance towards unflanged males. Unflanged males in general are more comparatively “social” and tolerant towards other males.

In response to your question, there is indeed a need for Orangutan bachelor groups, but at present there is insufficient information on how to manage them effectively.
 
Dr. Loxodonta said:
There have previously been attempts to form all-male groups (consisting of only two or three individuals) to manage the increasing number of younger males in the EAZA Breeding Program. Despite being needed for breeding purposes in the future, they are temporarily surplus due to the lack of available suitable accommodation. However, such efforts were largely been unsuccessful, due to the aggressive behaviour of subadult and adolescent males.

In the wild, flanged males are mostly solitary and do not tolerate other flanged males within their range. Despite this, they show comparatively greater tolerance towards unflanged males. Unflanged males in general are more comparatively “social” and tolerant towards other males.

In response to your question, there is indeed a need for Orangutan bachelor groups, but at present there is insufficient information on how to manage them effectively.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's very interesting. Would it be possible to hold multiple Orangutan males alone on separate islands, or would that cause stress due to either loneliness or proximity to other single males (even if they're on separate islands)?
 
Mr Gharial said:
Thanks, that's very interesting. Would it be possible to hold multiple Orangutan males alone on separate islands, or would that cause stress due to either loneliness or proximity to other single males (even if they're on separate islands)?
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Well, on one the one hand, captive primates often benefit from social buffering, as some degree of social or sensory contact can help reduce stress. If a male on an island is able to see or hear other (female) Orangutans, this may help to lower stress levels. However, too much contact or close proximity could provoke aggression, especially between multiple males. Even without physical interaction, simply knowing or sensing that another male is nearby (i.e. vocalisations or seeing a rival) may lead to stress, increased vigilance or territorial behaviour. Seeing as adult males produce long calls to advertise their location and assert dominance, I don’t think this way of housing would work…
 
For future reference and aid, you should check out EAZA's population reports, now apparently fused with annual reports as per last report, to get an idea for the population trends within EAZA as well as TAG and EEP's recommendations.
 
Is it possible to keep other birds than peafowl free without clipped wings in a zoo?
I know it works with other galliformes (Eared pheasants, Helmted Guineafowl, Wild Turkeys).
 
Paul.Haerle said:
Is it possible to keep other birds than peafowl free without clipped wings in a zoo?
I know it works with other galliformes (Eared pheasants, Helmted Guineafowl, Wild Turkeys).
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Tinamous and rheas of course. I don't know how "loyal" pelicans, geese and swans would be, but those could certainly be options.

I know Wildlands' squirrel monkeys, for example, can fully leave the zoo grounds but don't because they want to stay close to their food source, and Avifauna does have a few fully flighted pelicans free-roaming, but they presumably stay in the zoo because of the rest of the (non-flighted) pelicans that have to stay in the lake. Beekse Bergen, on the other hand, has had issues with a few of their pelicans escaping very often.

Apenheul has free-flying macaws that technically stay close, but "close" in this scenario does include the entire city of Apeldoorn
 
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