Animal holograms and virtual zoos

N

Norwegian moose

Well-Known Member
We are used to zoos being physical entities, where people can see real living animals. However, now animal holograms exists. Hologram-technologies could enable us to create virtual-reality zoos. How will virtual-reality zoos of the future look like, if we do get them? And, will hologram and virtual zoo technologies ever spell an end to “real life zoos”?
 
It sounds like you are proposing a Fierce Creatures for the 21st Century :p holograms instead of animatronics......

wilde-kreaturen.jpg
 
Norwegian moose said:
And, will hologram and virtual zoo technologies ever spell an end to “real life zoos”?
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No - because it would be like showing a hologram of a plate of food to a hungry person.
Nothing matches the combined sight/smell/sound of real animals.
 
Everyone has been quick to dismiss it but I actually think this idea has some validity. The general public love animatronic dinosaurs so I wouldn't be surprised if holograms do take off, particularly holograms of species that are impossible or impractical to display (e.g. whales, giant squid, elephant seals, etc.). Will it result in the demise of traditional zoos? Perhaps not. Will zoos take advantage of new technologies as they become a reality? Most definitely. You might be onto something Norwegian Moose.
 
I could see it being used as a form of display or information on behaviour; like it or not zoo animals can't do everything they do in the wild. But then again we can do that already - you can show documentary videos and yet they are not, in my experience, that widely used in zoo environments.

Now part of that might be the costs of getting hold of good video footage (BBC won't let it go for free); but I think also its because people go to the zoo to see living animals. Sure zoos make use of some audio and video prompts along the way but they've never really gone fully down that line of what one might consider more of a theme-park approach.

Indeed were any zoo to do this I'd say a theme-park attached zoo would be more likely than a traditional one.

There's also an issue of cost and maintenance; on a site focused on the living how much can they invest into something that might only be a minor interesting feature and potentially won't get more visitors - unless done and marketed in a major way and with top end technology (ergo high investment - high risk).



That said I could see it being used to very good effect for extinct animals - a kind of shock system to have enclosures for animals with holograms for those which have died within the last generation or so (or at least become locally extinct to the country the zoo is in). Indeed such a system; done really well; could be potentially a powerful message to visitors.
 
I don't think holograms or the like will replace zoos. However, I can easily picture them being set up as exhibits in museums and zoos. They might allow close up observation that the real exhibits don't allow. It would also be beneficial for learning about species that are rare or nonexistent in captivity, like if an aquarium had holograms of great white sharks and large whales and deep sea animals. Could also be used for extinct species. Imagine walking through a North America themed area, you're looking at exhibits with real wolves and bison when a flock of passenger pigeons flies overhead. Visitors might also enjoy it if the holograms are interactive, like if you could get them to display certain behaviors. Want to watch HoloShark hunt? Press a button to release a HoloFish or HoloSeal and watch it go! Or walk over to the Prehistoric Seas virtual aquarium screen and see a mosasaurus look you in the eye, or a friendly basilosaurus wanting to interact through the "glass".
 
No and this is because zoos are no longer entertainment to the public but also a place where animals are conserved and can be saved from extincion. I cant really see how holograms are going to help the breeding programme for endangered species
 
I don't think an animal hologram would be particularly favorable as a replacement to a real zoo. Most of us prefer real experiences with real animals,things we can see,smell,touch. That being said,a hologram could be used off to the side of real exhibits to show behaviors zoo animals can't. For example: hunting. Obviously we can't have mixed predator/prey exhibits (at least not for terrestrial animals,sharks do okay,for whatever reason) and have them stalking live prey,so a hologram to show the hunting technique would be fantastic,or to show other such behaviors like camouflage or threat displays. I think they could be a wonderful tool to help real zoos,not replace them.
 
You would have to be completely braindead to even wish for a world of animatronics and holograms. Nothing beats the wonders of real life animals, plants and their habitats, nor the travels and discoveries that await us.

Sadly, it is a disease the techno-bureacrats of this world seem to be imbibed with. It is alas the same variety that opposes the notion of having animals in captivity or in protected areas and have them rather go extinct regardless.
 
According to a "recreation expert" (Hans van Leeuwen), zoos will be gone from
modernised countries in 40 years or so. Van Leeuwen believes people in the
near future will only want to see animals in wildlife reserves, as that is the
"ultimate experience". For education or for people unable to go to wildlife
reserves, there will be Virtual Reality zoos, as for new generations "it will be
the same as seeing something in real life".

Just to be clear, this is not my opinion but Van Leeuwen's view on the subject.
(according to an interview)
 
Batto said:
@Mr. Zootycoon: the end of zoos by modern technology has been foretold by others, including David Hancocks. So far, people still prefer the "real deal" i.e. live animals, for the reasons already mentioned in this thread.
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As I stated, it was not my opinion (but Van Leeuwen's), and I do believe
seeing animals in real life has a bigger impact than VR.
 
I've never actually seen one of those for real; but must say the tech has leapt ahead of what it once was! Suitably impressive!

I think that people would love to go on more safaris and at their core; when run well; they can be a great way to have public interaction with wildlife without "small" cages (one can say a reserve is just a really big cage though).

Thing is there are a LOT of animals that you just cannot see in the wild. Many are highly elusive and the only way to get them to come near people is to have them habituated to human contact; which raises all kinds of problems because animals without human fear are far more likely to cause human-animal conflict because they will be far more bold around human settlements and interests.


Sure we might see zoos lessen in influence; but I don't think we'll ever see them die. They can do something that reserves and safaris can't do; plus they are a LOT cheaper (esp for families) than going abroad. At a zoo you can see animals from many nations that would otherwise require probably a few years (for the average family with parents working and kids in school) and a not insignificant cost to achieve and that's before we consider all the ones they won't be able to see.


Zoos won't die; although we might see a social change whereby they become more of a charity and less of a visitor attraction; thus they might have reduced numbers of direct visitors. We might also see some close fully to the public and become breeding and conservation sites only.
 
I think it would be great to use advances in technology to augment real zoos, but they should nonetheless continue to exist as they are. In particular, I think holograms, etc. would be a great way to introduce species that don't do well in captivity or are extinct to audiences. Seeing a hologram of a Thylacine, I think, and knowing there's no way you can see the real thing, could open new eyes for some people, I think.

As a full-scale replacement? As many have said, no. Technology can not capture the spontaneity of real animals, and that is a big reason that children and families are attracted to zoos.
 
JVM said:
I think it would be great to use advances in technology to augment real zoos, but they should nonetheless continue to exist as they are. In particular, I think holograms, etc. would be a great way to introduce species that don't do well in captivity or are extinct to audiences. Seeing a hologram of a Thylacine, I think, and knowing there's no way you can see the real thing, could open new eyes for some people, I think.

As a full-scale replacement? As many have said, no. Technology can not capture the spontaneity of real animals, and that is a big reason that children and families are attracted to zoos.
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Interesting. The prospect of a life size hologram of the tiger from Beumaris Zoo padding about would certainly draw me.
 
I tried a VR helmet at a fair a few days ago, it was actually pretty cool. Anyway, some of the dinosaur lovers here might have heard of Saurian, a game being developed. It's supposed to be a scientifically accurate dinosaur simulator, and its Kickstarter reached the Oculus Rift support goal. They're hoping that they'll be able to get the virtual reality version of the game in museums. That would be pretty cool.
 
MikeG said:
No - because it would be like showing a hologram of a plate of food to a hungry person.
Nothing matches the combined sight/smell/sound of real animals.
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That is a very good point. But if the holograms would move around more and maybe climb on people (if they were animals like red pandas and monkeys) people might want to see those. But I would rather like to be around real animals. And even if they did take over zoos, zookeepers would go on strike or something like that.
 
I feel like a virtual reality zoo would be quite...uninteresting, except for maybe the first time I visited due to the sheer novelty of it. Watching animal holograms, even if scents and sounds could be replicated, would be a lot like turning on Zoo Tycoon and watching all of the animals pace around their exhibits robotically. I just don't see the fun in it, and I can play Zoo Tycoon at home anyway.

On a humorous note, could you imagine the way Zoochat threads would change? "Have you been to San Diego lately? I heard they just got in a whole herd of holographic black wildebeest."
 
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