The more photos I see of this exhibit the more I like it. The sandy substrate both indoors and outdoors is good for the feet of the pachyderms, the pool is long and wide, the skylights allow loads of sunlight to filter through, and the females have an impressive habitat.
Well... I wouldn´t go as far as to say "impressive" - it is about 2000 square meters big. Half an acre? Still an improvement compared to what used to be. And the sand indoors as well as outdoors is indeed a success! To bad about the crappy facilities for the males:
Here are some data to compare the old and new enclosures:
Total area: Old:2.025 m2 New:10.730 m2
Indoors: Old:250 m2 New:1.360 m2
Outdoors: Old:820 m2 New:3.350 m2
Public area indoors: Old:120 m2 New:950 m2
I agree that even more space would be preferable but at the same time this is a zoo with experienced elephant keepers who manage to activate the elephants by distributing food in different locations and thereby have them move around and use the area to a maximum.
@dragon(ele)nerd: No, for the moment the herd is big enough. Especially once the two thai elephants Kungrao and Surin hopefully start to breed within the next few years
