Mammals in all-indoor exhibits?

Is it okay to keep mammals in indoor exhibits all year round?

  • It is okay to keep mammals indoor all year long

    Votes: 61 43.6%

  • Only small mammals could be kept indoors all year long

    Votes: 60 42.9%

  • No mammals should be kept indoors all year long

    Votes: 19 13.6%
  • Total voters
    140
Toddy

Toddy

Well-Known Member
I am starting a poll here about something which I have been thinking about for quite some time now. There have been discusions about it here on ZooChat but not in one single thread. My questions is:

Is it okay to keep mammals in indoor exhibits all year round?

Zoos in temperate and cold climates have to keep some of their mammals indoors during the winter. But some animals live all year round in indoor exhibits, such as tropical or desert halls. What is your opinion on this?

Personally, I have nothing against all-indoor exhibits on principle just as long as they provide the animals with all their needs and are big enough. Some people think that it is okay to keep small mammals indoors but not big ones. But why should a mouse lemur not require is much fresh air as a hippo does if that is the case?

Comments?
 
Personally I don't mind, perhaps it is better to give mammals outdoor exhibits as it is more natural, generally gives better views etc. but, on the other hand, in colder climates where they cannot be kept outside year-round, the off-show indoor exhibits (where they have to spend half of the year) would probably be worse than if their on-show enclosure was inside. In my opinion, year-round indoor enclosures are fine as long as they provide acceptable living conditions, and this is probably a reason why many zoochatters believe large mammals cannot be kept inside.
 
I think people get stuck on 'should.' An animal 'should' have this and an animal 'should' have that but when it comes down to it...if an animal has an acceptable living environment and seems happy and healthy to his staff, why 'should' anyone be up in arms about the animal having more than that?
 
i think it is ok if they are given enoguh space, but i think most small mammals should be inside unless they have protection from the weather, i did like the fennec fox enclosure at Marwell, that idea is quite good. since giving them a little indoor/outside enclosure but not open topped
 
I don't think it's a blanket yes or no answer. It really depends on the specifics of any given situation. Your poll doesn't give that option.
 
@Ituri: Well, it would be quite hard to specify in a poll, right? ;) Of course it is a condition that the indoor exhibit in question qualifies as a good enclosure for the animals. I do not expect that anybody would find it okay to keep mammals indoors in a crappy enclosure.

I simply ask that if the enclosure is good enough for the animals is it okay that they be kept indoors all year round?

One example is Burgers Desert in Burgers Zoo. For those who do not know it is a huge indoor desert hall with lots of free-ranging birds and reptiles as well as some exhibits for small mammals. However, there are also open exhibits for desert bighorn sheep and collared peccaries which are only indoors. These exhibits are larger than many exhibits I have seen for these species (including both indoor and outdoor space). I know that some people have complained that these animals have not outdoor paddocks. I personally, have no problem with this as their indoor exhibits in my opinion are perfectly adequate.
 
Ituri, you don't really think that I would actually ask people if it was okay to keep animals in unacceptable conditions, do you? ;) I am just asking people if they think that animals really NEED to be outside or can live perfectly comfortable inside.

Hope this clears it up for everyone :) Sorry if I was unclear earlier.
 
Fair enough, I probably didn't think it through all the way. It's clear now, thanks.
 
All-year-round indoor enclosures are bad news, full stop.If geographic considerations make it inadvisable for a zoo to give animals open-air access , the real solution is for that zoo to reconsider their criteria for species selection.I honestly believe it is that simple, and believe me, this is an answer to which I have given years of thought and observation.The key to giving supposedly delicate species access to outdoor areas in temperate zones is a matter of profound knowledge of species requirements and limitations.For example, a good zoo will let its giraffes out in cold dry weather (providing the enclosure is not slippery) but will NOT let the same animals out in cold weather with high humidity and rainfall or strong winds.Some animals are clever enough to decide for themselves what best suits them if they are permitted to freely enter and leave indoor and outdoor areas.Other animals, notably ostriches, may make bad decisions and freeze to death leaning against iron railings, and so on.If a zoo suffers such extreme climatic conditions that certain species should never have outdoor access, that zoo seriously needs to reassess selection criteria.This thread refers to mammals , but I believe this certainly applies to birds also.As I live in the real world , I will not include reptiles, but were energy costs not so high , making insulation a priority,I would love to see herp buildings at least allowing in more natural light and being less claustrophobic.
 
@European Fauna: I did consider including birds in this poll but the debate seems to mostly revolve around mammals. I think you make a fair point but there are some execptions.

Have you ever been to Burgers Bush or Masoala in Zürich? I honestly think that an ibis, a crowned pidgeon or a lemur is WAY happier in one of these huge tropical halls than in a considerably smaller outdoor aviary/exhibit.

Also, I think that many species of marmosets and tamarins (just and example) are better suited for living in large tropical halls as they often can give more lots more space and climbing possibilities than the smaller individual exhibits found in many zoos (not that such exhibits are bad).

Heck, I even think that elephants could be kept all year round indoors, though the size of the building needed would be ridicoulously huge and thus completely unrealistic. Therefore it would be better to just give them an outdoor exhibit :p
 
I have mixed feelings about this question. I do think that many species benefit from fresh air and sunlight (partly physiologically, partly psychologically), and that includes reptiles as well as mammals and birds. But obviously this can only be allowed in suitable weather. I am concerned about species in nocturnal exhibits, which are never allowed such access.

Alan
 
Sometimes it can be essential; if Sand Cats had outdoor enclosures in British Zoos, they would soon suffer severe respiration problems due to the humid climate totally unlike the arid deserts they're adapted to, so Marwell and Bristol only have indoor, climate-controlled enclosures for sand cats.
 
@Evilkittie. Yes, you're right, the wheather is a big problem in an outdoor exhibits, for elephants especially, the sunlight can be very tuff for them, because a lot of zoos do not have shade for them outdoors. So the best option would be, to keep elephants year round indoors, ( with enough sapce of course, cologne for example), so the elephants are protected from the wheater, especially rain and sunlight and wind.
 
I think one can hardly give an overal answer to this question; it depends on the biology and thus heat requirements of the individual species, the local weather, the room and money available, the aspired presentation, the kind of husbandry, the quality of the staff, the mentality of the visitors...etc. etc

There are some mammals that are unable to sustain a constant body temperature (tenrecs, naked mole rats, echidnas...) and/or can only tolerate a very small temperature range. Keeping these kind of animals outdoors for a longer period of time might be impracticable in many "typical" zoo countries.
Given a "normal" outdoor exhibit, nocturnal animals would be hard to spot for the average zoo visitor (<=> nocturnal houses).
 
Having visited Burgers, I am very much against keeping large mammals indoors only - I think the enclosures for the dickhorn sheep, aardvark, capybaras ect. in the bush and the desert are a shame and waaay too small. These animals can`t get the stimulation they need from being confined in small pens without sun, rain, ect. The lemurs in the Masoala hall in Zurich seem to be perfectly fine and I agree that keeping them indoors only isn`t a problem, but they have a much larger and more complex habitat to use then most species with acess to an outdoor enclosure.
 
So should reptiles but they hardly (if ever) get to.
I think it's fine as long as the indoor area is big, well ventilated and the animals are enriched, looked after well etc. At the end of the day we all know what, say, gorillas are like for staying indoors. So, I'd argue a lot of them feel more comfortable inside and if they can have a decent all indoors enclosure then it should be ok. Not ideal but it can be acceptable.
 
I think the stimulation of an open air view is much more important for Mammals than other groups we could discuss, perhaps somewhat relevant to birds and for herps it depends on the species but generally they are simply not concerned with the trees in the distance or the mountains that ring their territory.

It's a question of mental wellbeing I think and while the same technology herpers have been using for years can fill the void when it comes to sunlight, uva/b etc, I don't personally think it can cut the mustard year round with mammals.
 
Ash said:
So should reptiles but they hardly (if ever) get to.
I think it's fine as long as the indoor area is big, well ventilated and the animals are enriched, looked after well etc. At the end of the day we all know what, say, gorillas are like for staying indoors. So, I'd argue a lot of them feel more comfortable inside and if they can have a decent all indoors enclosure then it should be ok. Not ideal but it can be acceptable.
Click to expand...

Sometimes i feel quite sorry for reptiles in tanks as they nearly never get to feel real fresh air down their throat.
 
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