August 2008. A design unique to the Los Angeles Zoo, where there are anywhere from 1-3 enclosures in one of these horseshoe-shaped exhibits. One of the main problems is the lack of height, as many of the C-shaped habitats are only about 6 feet high.
August 2008. A design unique to the Los Angeles Zoo, where there are anywhere from 1-3 enclosures in one of these horseshoe-shaped exhibits. One of the main problems is the lack of height, as many of the C-shaped habitats are only about 6 feet high.
One of my complaints in regards to the c-section exhibits at Los Angeles Zoo is that there is no viewing via moated barriers or glass windows. Just about all of these unique enclosures feature one or two (especially near the bottom of the fencing) layers of wire that makes it a tad tricky to see the occupants, does not allow for great photography, and brings up images of an outdated cage. My gut feeling when I see these enclosures is that they remind me of traditional cages, with wire fronts, low ceilings and not a great deal of space for the inhabitants. On my visit in 2008 there were large mammals such as jaguars and siamangs in them and at the time I was shocked to see a major American zoo with such outdated methods of exhibitry. Even though I love all of the new photos of major exhibits at this zoo (Francois langurs, Elephants of Asia, LAIR) the c-section enclosures are so obviously from another era that I truly wish that the zoo would seriously consider their future. I'm trying to be diplomatic in this response as in the past I've brought out my bulldozer comments, but if there were a lot of smaller mammals (tamarins, marmosets, etc) and birds in these cages then I would feel much better about the enclosures.
When first previewed in 1966, most, if not all the roundhouse exhibits were glass-fronted. But over the years as cracks in the glass started to appear, they were replaced by mesh fronting. My biggest complaint with several roundhouse habitats are the very low vertical spaces, especially for Ring-tailed Lemurs and any given bird of prey enclosures in the North American section. For a time, they seemed to be on a mission to correct this problem, then seemed to come to a sudden halt. I now make it a habit to bypass these exhibits on most visits.
