This looks like a very cool exhibit, but a couple of questions...why is the stream blocked off by logs and wires? Are these two different exhibits with giraffes on both sides of a fence?
Also, what is the observation tower in the background? Is this a visitor overlook or is it for animal care staff?
@DAVID - it is two exhibits. The nearer is a giraffe contact and feeding area. Animals are rotated into it and into the larger one. Eventually they will also have access to the adjoining larger one and the elephants
The towers along the rear fence are used by keepers as part of enrichment and to encourage the elephants to move from one end of the exhibit to the other and all around to make sure they get plenty of exercise and stimulation.
@reduakari - not certain but the design team would certainly have been involved (remember this was a design/build project so the choice might have been more complicated than usual). It seems to me that once it is decided that they are to exist, any neutral color is as good as any other. You cannot "paint them away"
@DAVID - it is two exhibits. The nearer is a giraffe contact and feeding area. Animals are rotated into it and into the larger one. Eventually they will also have access to the adjoining larger one and the elephants
The towers along the rear fence are used by keepers as part of enrichment and to encourage the elephants to move from one end of the exhibit to the other and all around to make sure they get plenty of exercise and stimulation.
@reduakari - not certain but the design team would certainly have been involved (remember this was a design/build project so the choice might have been more complicated than usual). It seems to me that once it is decided that they are to exist, any neutral color is as good as any other. You cannot "paint them away"
The black cable fence posts below the towers largely disappear into the dark forest backdrop. The towers would as well had they been treated similarly. It's a minor quibble, but it's the sort of detail that keeps GOTS from achieving the near-perfect visual status of Kilimanjaro Safaris, Congo Gorilla Forest, ASDM's javelina exhibit etc. But huge kudos to Dallas for this innovative and amazing exhibit.
