I saw people were very critical of this exhibit, Is there something I am missing that makes it so bad? Dont get me wrong It doesnt look fantastic, but it looks about the standard size for a dolphin tank, perhaps on the small side. Unusually it does have some underwater topography rather than a bare tank... Is it much smaller than it looks on camera?
@DelacoursLangur I feel it is yeah. If there was a dolphin at the front of the tank I think it would look a bit smaller.
Another take is that there are so few mainstream zoos with dolphins now; a 'standard' tank really doesn't cut it. In some ways Duisburg isn't being compared to dolphinariums, it's being compared with Nurnberg and Harderwijk and that's a tough gig.
@birdsandbats I have long felt that river dolphins should be promoted in zoological institutions. Threatened in the wild and much better adapted to shallow environments.
Not that I have a problem with bottlenose, they are just so common that I think space could be better used.
@FunkyGibbon All true, I guess I have lower standards considering all the tacky dolphin tanks in the US... Could be a lot worse but definitely on the small side, much better than there elephant exhibit however IMO.
@DelacoursLangur Very, very hard to compare such difference species, but in my opinion the two exhibits are equally disappointing in terms of not meeting what I would consider to be reasonable standards.