Huh, interesting...
I must be honest, I didn't find the inside of the pavilion that attractive, and I found the small animal enclosures (with armadillos, ferrets and kinkajous) kind of unappealing. So I hope they refurbish it a little.
@Wyman Wait has a tapir/orang mixed exhibit ever been done? (Or did you mean for each animal to have its own exhibit but with the exhibits near each other?)
@Hipporex Zoo Dortmund has a mixed orang/tapir exhibit if I remember correctly. They would have their individual holdings and such, and coexist in the main yards.
@Hipporex I can see it now: as you enter the Casson, the orangs would have a meshed portion on top of the door, similar to LA's overhead configuration. Once inside, the orangs would have trees modeled after Pittsburgh as well as natural substrate, a running stream, and well-established foliage. The tapir would coexist in a riverbank environment, with access to the main jungle. Maybe some hornbills, monitors, songbirds and flying foxes could join the fray, creating a cohesive Asian rainforest environment. Also there'd be a statue of the last three elephants who lived at ZSL London Zoo before being sent to Whipsnade, as a reminder to the building's original inhabitants.
@Wyman Don't forget small-clawed otters and gibbons. That's the thing we always get these multi species grassland habitats but, with few exceptions, jungle habitats are usually limited to one or two species (not including avaires of course).
@Hipporex The otters and gibbons already have relatively new homes. Gibbons Jimmy and Yoda over near Tiger Territory, and the otters near the "Happy Families" (good LORD what a corny name).
@Wyman You appear to be confusing London Zoo with an establishment that wants to display a wide range of mammals. Sadly, there is next-to-no-chance of a development of this sort, even if it were architecturally and financially feasible .(which it almost certainly wouldn’t be)...
@sooty mangabey Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, if they still have species like Sulawesi macaques, partula snails and other rare creatures, that was my logic behind all this. It was my best attempt at spitballing ideas to save this absolute trainwreck of a building. Trainwreck seems to be more of a compliment... but yeah. My logic is that the first zoo to be founded for scientific purposes shouldn't be relegated to merely displaying ABC animals, but also highlighting rare and unique creatures. If a large collection of animals is to be displayed on a limited plot of land, innovative measures have to take place (in Philadelphia, there are the Zoo360 trails, and Philadelphia has 10 more acres than London). The old Dierenpark Emmen had elephants in an underground stable, for another example.
