@gentle lemur (Alan): thank you for your honest assessment of the RSCC, and at 1.5 acres I find it difficult to comprehend in terms of its size. I visited the Central Park Zoo in New York City last summer and at 6 acres it was puny. The RSCC is smaller than many hoofstock paddocks at zoos worldwide! I like the fact that you admit to not being very impressed with the establishment, and the sun bear, clouded leopard, flamingo, lemur and malayan tapir exhibits all come across as being too small and too bare. I still do not understand why visitors view the potentially charismatic sun bears through black metal bars, which destroys any sense of a natural environment. Perhaps the conservation centre simply does not have the money to construct top quality enclosures, but surely there could be more done with the lemur and tapir exhibits rather than bare, muddy cages. However, there are some decent aspects to all of the enclosures and at least the animals have natural substrate and therefore avoid anything concrete and abnormal. Overall I have to say that there are many zoos that are far worse out there in the zoo industry.
I would thought it was absolutely clear to any westerner that this is a totally inadequate space for a leopard. This damn cage is obviously just as bad as any of the ones in the 19th century "carnivore houses". The only difference is the dirt floor as opposed to a concrete one. This kind of montrosities should have been outlawed by now in the civilized world.
A predominantly nocturnal species, I think it would have to be a very overcast day before you would see the clouded leopard out and about. There doesn't appear to be any shelter or roof covering of any kind - if the back half of the exhibit was covered and there was a shelf or resting spot near the top at the back of the exhibit, it would appear more attractive to the animal. Especially on rainy days.
I'm also concerned about the amount of soil used on the floors of the exhibits of the rainforest species (Clouded Leopard, Tapir, Sun Bears). A thick layer of mulch or woodchip would be more natural and enrichment treats can be hidden amongst this substrate to encourage the animals to use their olfactory senses.
i do tend to agree with Dave Hancocks to a certain degree regarding zoo design in the UK.
of course, there are a lot of things UK zoos do very well, but exhibit design....well i am yet to be absolutely blown away by much ive seen there. not saying that in the main i think there is anything wrong, its just as DH pointed out....''home-baked''.
I would thought it was absolutely clear to any westerner that this is a totally inadequate space for a leopard. This damn cage is obviously just as bad as any of the ones in the 19th century "carnivore houses". The only difference is the dirt floor as opposed to a concrete one. This kind of montrosities should have been outlawed by now in the civilized world.
No, it's not great but that was a harsh assessment of it. Bearing in mind this was taken about 6 feet off the ground from about 15-20 feet away. It probably has a bigger floor space than the Howletts cages, I just don't know why they haven't put more climnig frames in, wouldn't be difficult.
Here are 5 clouded leopard exhibits that I've visited that illustrate how outdated the RSCC's own enclosure is. It is easy to tell from a photo, along with reviews and comments from zoo fans, that the RSCC exhibit is a joke in comparison to the lush enclosures that are in the following photos. Perhaps the few people that defend the RSCC's clouded leopard enclosure have not visited many zoos that construct exhibits with reputable companies, or maybe there is a tendency to favour local collections. Whatever the case, I urge people to check out the large, lush, green, jungle-like enclosures at zoos in Atlanta, San Diego, Memphis, Miami and Washington, D.C. In particular, the first 4 zoos listed here have HUGE clouded leopard exhibits that make it difficult and at times close to impossible to spot the elusive cats.
Zoo Atlanta: the clouded leopard was actually hiding behind some foliage in the middle of this photo.
The top half of Miami Metrozoo's clouded leopard exhibit. It is not as great as the previous 4 photos, but certainly better than anything that the RSCC Conservation Centre has come up with. I'm sure that comment will offend one or two ZooChat members who have a particular love affair with the puny, 2-acre zoo in Kent, but hopefully the old adage "a photo is worth a thousand words" proves to be true.
RSCC has not got the amount of money to make these sort of enclosures!!!!
There are only a couple of zoos in the uk that could do enclosures like these!
You cant compare RSCC with zoos like these!
The enclosure is deacent in size compared to the Howletts enclosures which have had huge sucess! and the only problem is the amount of vegitation its only been around for a small amount of time but it could be done alot quicker with logs,platforms/
We all have to be patient! RSCC has not been around for long and has not got as much money as all the zoos you have mentioned!!!
Regards
@Riziki: you have it EXACTLY right. I gather from the 10 exclamation points in your post that you are a supporter of the RSCC establishment. However, if it is indeed struggling for cash on a tiny morsel of land then how does it expect to survive in the future? What right does it have to keep rare and endangered animals in subpar exhibits and then valiantly remain afloat in tough economic times? If the conservation centre lacks financial backing then things will only get worse, and it already has some of the worst exhibits people have ever seen (gibbons, flamingos, clouded leopard, etc) according to many who have visited.
I am not a supporter and have never been to the park but i believe the zoo deserves a fair chance.The enclosure seems a deacent size from the ones i have seen in Howletts. It is probably not struggling for cash as much as you say but no way has it got the amount of money that the zoos you have given links for. If the Leopard is happy we cant complain that much!
Size is not much of an issue but the bareness of the exhibit is and i agree that should be sorted out.
Regards
