Would anybody seriously argue that this isn't a good tapir exhibit in comparison to the crappy, barren concrete boxes that many of the zoo world's tapirs live in, regardless of whether it accurately resembles a forest or not?
Never having seen a forest, would a zoo-born tapir even care what the ratio of grass to trees is if it got a choice to live in this vs. the Omaha concrete shelf? Not being a tapir, I can't answer that question. As a human imagining being a tapir, I would definitely go with this exhibit.
Would anybody seriously argue that this isn't a good tapir exhibit in comparison to the crappy, barren concrete boxes that many of the zoo world's tapirs live in, regardless of whether it accurately resembles a forest or not?
Never having seen a forest, would a zoo-born tapir even care what the ratio of grass to trees is if it got a choice to live in this vs. the Omaha concrete shelf? Not being a tapir, I can't answer that question. As a human imagining being a tapir, I would definitely go with this exhibit.
Not commenting on this particular exhibit there can be a huge difference in keeping forest animals in open paddocks. Many of them need some sort of cover to feel secure, it's part of their biology. Especially tapirs can also endure several problems if they are overexposed to sunlight.
Having said that, this exhibit looks pretty good. Some more shrubberies would be nice but that's a detail.
There are many comments already in regards to this tapir exhibit, and I firmly believe that it is one of the best tapir enclosures to be found at any American zoo. Whether the area used to house bongos or kangaroos doesn't phase my opinion, as there are many exhibits for tapirs that are too small or lack an abundance of natural substrate. It seems as if Nashville has found the perfect mixture of creating a pleasant-looking, natural enclosure that also allows for easy viewing of the inhabitants. To be honest that almost sums up the entire zoo!
However, Toddy has a great point about tapirs often needing shade as in some Australian zoos there have been several issues with Malayan tapirs losing their eyesight due to the intense sunlight found in that nation. If I'm not mistaken there have even been issues with sunlight at Adelaide Zoo in the famous tapir/langur, fig tree mixed-species exhibit.
We made it an effort on a recent visit to Nashville to really give this exhibit a comprehensive break down.We visited the exhibit at three different times of the day to assess the amount of shade within the enclosure.It should be noted that there are 10 large trees within this exhibit.During most of the day the exhibit is 50 to 60 percent shaded.The Tapirs were also active two of the three times we dropped by and swam one of these times which they have on every other one of our visits to Nashville.In conclusion our efforts reaffirm our opinion that this is by far the best tapir exhibit in North America.
John Ball Zoo might have the best south american tapir individual, but I definitely would not say that the south american tapir exhibit is the strongest in the nation.
