This Sifaka exhibit may look okay to the average eye but take away the bells and whistles. How can a world class zoo call this satisfactory? No natural air and painfully small.
While I do think they could retrofit the skylights to be retractable and allow fresh air into the building, based on the size of other sifaka exhibits I've seen (e.g. Maryland, Philadelphia) it's honestly comparable to those. And significantly more educational in terms of a sifaka's background. That said, I haven't really minded the indoor primates in Madagascar, JungleWorld and Congo (Wolf's guenons) all that much because of the skylights, live plants (save for the guenons - I do think they *could* use some), and natural substrate within the exhibit spaces. That said, I do agree that there is a threshold of animals that shouldn't be kept inside all year, and if there is a way of getting them outside or maximizing their welfare as much as possible, those avenues should be taken.
@TinoPup While I think the original media poster exaggerated things a bit, it's still a set up that wouldn't fly in Europe's best really - I know that it gets cold in the winter in NY but shouldn't they at least have the option to go outside during warmer seasons? I don't think it's shocking but anyone calling it world class is kidding themselves, especially when compared with almost any lemur exhibit in Europe.
I'd say the New York climate is decently comparable to the North/Central European climate, and most of our zoos have plenty of outdoor space and a large indoor exhibit for the colder months
