My favorite part of the zoo. The Kopje feature in African Journey is great. I love the rockwork and the terrific job the FWCZ did in hiding any evidence of fence in the lion/hyena enclosures. I had to go all the way around the displays to see the actual boundaries. I hope more ZooChatters see fit to visit the place.
It is really nice to have zoo exhibits where the boundary between the animals and visitors is blurry. Too often major zoos put up basic fencing or huge walls that are in plain sight, but this photo just goes to show that it is possible to have the illusion of seeing an animal in the wild inside a zoo. Any zoo can erect a massive, human-made structure to contain animals, but it is much more difficult to have hidden moats and clever landscaping that disguises the exterior area of an enclosure.
It is really nice to have zoo exhibits where the boundary between the animals and visitors is blurry. Too often major zoos put up basic fencing or huge walls that are in plain sight, but this photo just goes to show that it is possible to have the illusion of seeing an animal in the wild inside a zoo. Any zoo can erect a massive, human-made structure to contain animals, but it is much more difficult to have hidden moats and clever landscaping that disguises the exterior area of an enclosure.
Can I be picky here? I completely agree that efforts to hide barriers are important, and seem very well done here. But to then place dead center in this "natural" landscape a visibly sawed-off hollow stump really works at cross-purposes with the attempted illusion of wildness. Where in the middle of the Serengeti one would see such an incongruous thing? It's fine if it was in a standard zoo paddock, just there to provide shade and variety for the animals, but it is the kind of lack of attention to detail that can ruin (or really degrade) an otherwise excellent immersion/naturalistic habitat.
Can I be picky here? I completely agree that efforts to hide barriers are important, and seem very well done here. But to then place dead center in this "natural" landscape a visibly sawed-off hollow stump really works at cross-purposes with the attempted illusion of wildness. Where in the middle of the Serengeti one would see such an incongruous thing? It's fine if it was in a standard zoo paddock, just there to provide shade and variety for the animals, but it is the kind of lack of attention to detail that can ruin (or really degrade) an otherwise excellent immersion/naturalistic habitat.
