Considering the trend of people wanting to keep galagos and lorises as pets - along with other exotic mammals in this complex - I'm struggling to see the value of this "house/garden store" theme... maybe there's good educational signage here, but the visual message seems flawed to me.
Also that's a very brightly lit enclosure for a nocturnal species; did you see one @TinoPup?
@Coelacanth18 I didn't see one, or the echidna. Both especially bothered me for how bright they are. These were not the species it held on my previous visit! I also didn't see any staff around to talk to people (though there did seem to be something going on nearby that had employees and security running).
@TinoPup Echidnas aren't strictly nocturnal, they will be out in daylight if the temps aren't too high. There's one at the LA Zoo who lives outside with the koalas and I often see it toddling around the pen on my visits. From what I know about galagos though, they are much more nocturnal-only creatures.
Echidnas are cathemeral - they can be active at any time of the day or night. Galagos are nocturnal.
I had heard of this exhibit (the complex, not this specific enclosure) and how "controversial" it is, but hadn't really seen any photos before. It really is bizarre. If it housed species found naturally in human settlements that would be one thing, but displaying "wild" animals like galagos and ruffed lemurs in what look like play-houses just seems like it would be actively encouraging visitors to go out and buy those same animals to keep in their bedrooms.
@Chlidonias Species rotate a bit, there definitely weren't echidnas and galagos on my visit in 2020! I agree, an exhibit like this, with animals commonly found in communities in other countries, would be interesting, as long as there was plenty of signage (of course). The zoo has signage like this out by the vervets actually, comparing them to raccoons, and their exhibit looks a bit like a settlement with a table, chairs, etc.
I hope there's at least very little to no follow through. They're at least species you can't go to a store and buy (other than the domestic ducks), so for most, they'll say "I want a pet x!" and never look into it. It's something I usually overhear a few times at most zoos. A few species will be ones they could really get if they tried, like a serval, but it tends to be kids wanting okapis and whatnot
