Monarto Safari Park Monarto's new chimpanzee exhibit...

I am looking forward to seeing any exhibit designs for this huge new Chimpanzee exhibit, should be a good one, wonder how it compares to Tarongas in size
 
As with any exhibit, it's not size that is important, but complexity and being amenable to change in enrichment items and devices. Chimps are not easy, not only do they have special cognitive needs, but it needs to be escape proof, difficult in a big enclosure. effective habitat is also crucial, because in some enclosures the temperature reduces the space that can be used down to a very tiny section on some days.
 
yeah thats true, and theres not exactly a heap of 'tall' shady trees to go over the exhbit
 
Wait till you see the paper we are preparing about data we collected from the human zoo project, hopefully it will shake up the zoo world a bit and have some effect on exhibit design.
 
I'll fill you in, we are submitting to nature, hopefully it will be accepted!
 
yeah, well back on track, what does everyone think of the proposed creek going through the exhibit and the lagoon, with chimps being such crappy swimmers there will have to be hot wires everywhere, it will take away from the monarto feel.
I think that if they can just keep it dry it will be fine, of course they need water but really that much, in the middle of a drought in a desolate mallee area, i think that much water where they are going to have the exhibit is a bad idea!
 
I would love to see shallow water to allow them to use it for thermoregulation, as it is one way chimps cool down. Any deep water needs to be hotwired, which reduces enclosure space for them. Some water is good for them to play in as long as it is not deep enough to drown in. But it would need to be a smallish area to allow it to be kept wet during the hottest part of the year.
 
the only problem to the ecosystem there (which is very touchy as is) there will be a creek and large lagoon (if the follow the plans) in a place where they would never have been water anyway, owuld be different if they built it into a creek
 
Thats a cool idea maybe planted with some reed beds would look good also with a lot of dead fall of very large trees
 
MARK said:
Thats a cool idea maybe planted with some reed beds would look good also with a lot of dead fall of very large trees
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That would look good, Mark.

On another site I look at from time to time they show in a series of photos of home aquariums being put together. From empty tank to fully set up with plants and fish.

Wouldn't be good if someone was able to get photos on a regular basis of the construction of this enclosure, from block of land to exhibit full of chimps.

It would be great to watch the progression.
 
Have given it back to Michael (it is a HD that the zoo owns), but we can easily get it and do some filming on the enclosure, we have done some filming on Sabi and other subjects out there to put together a few zoo docos.
 
maybe a few updates on the zoos website as its beening built? what do you guys think?
 
I will mention it to Michael our media guy and see what he says, if we get the footage he will probably be happy to put it up.
 
Jo said:
As with any exhibit, it's not size that is important.....
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whilst i totally understand the logic here, that a small well utilised exhibit is better than an oversized underutilised one, i consider this statement to be one on of the most oversused and tiresome excuses in the zooworld.

its as if for somereason we are all making an assumption that large spaces cannot be "enriched" as well as small ones!

and thus we constinue to keep elephants, apes and just about anything else in pissy small enclosures, using the "enrichment" argument as a justification.

i'm not having a dig at you jo - but i am having a dig at every zoo director who has ever used it as an excuse to shortchange some poor animal into a crappy little space.
 
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