Oh, I apologize mstickmanp! My mistake, I thought you spoke out in defence of it. But you probably get my point. Doesn´t it look rather "small and barren" to you, as well?
Nope, after seeing Los Angeles Zoo's exhibit for a long time, this exhibit actually looks big. But who knows, maybe we should wait till it's finished to see how it turns out.
It's hard to get an accurate idea of how large it actually is from the photos. Of course, where elephants are concerned, no matter how big it is, more space is even better.
As mstickmanp says, probably best to wait until it's finished.
cant wait to see the finished product. i actually think it will be fine; depending on what side of the fence you sit on with the elephant/space debate will influence your opinion. personally, i think taronga, by giving its animals a highly enriched space, as opposed to lots of space with nothing in it, and providing them with a stable herd structure and backed up by a good team of ele-experts has found a good compromise.
just to clear up where i stand on the issue, i do believe elephants need space. but i still think its what goes into that space that matters. i have been to open-range zoos where elephants have space but not a lot else, and just giving the animals a lot of grass to walk around on doesnt seem to instantly produce calves. though it probably makes people feel better looking at the elephants. then again so do palm trees and waterfalls
