@Cichlid what are your thoughts on Panterra? It's hard for me to judge from photos, but it seems like they've done well to redevelop each enclosure such that they fit specific biome themes, and the contrast is nice. I also understand the zoo's logic regarding the smells of other cats enriching one another.
But I just find it so hard to imagine a lion or tiger looking good in the former snow leopard enclosure, or a snow leopard benefitting from being separated from that excellent cliff face.
@Kalaw Exactly my thoughts. Besides the different landscapes, different smells and larger enclosures overall positively affecting the cats’ husbandry, I still think that some spaces where clearly designed with only one species in mind, therefore I don’t see much benefit for the snow leopards being in the “Arid Forest” Area for example. However regarding the snow leopards, I was told by a zookeeper that they will stay in the “Mountains” Enclosure for a while, as they currently have cubs. Overall speaking, I think “Panthera” is a very good big cat complex and has uplifted the animal husbandry that was provided in the old enclosures, which in my opinion were actually fine already. The only major problem I have with this development as well as with the upcoming Pantanal Aviary, is that the renovation and development of new ape enclosures, an area in which the zoo lacks considerably compared to other modern zoos, will only be concluded in the 2030s… Meanwhile, exhibits like the Pantanal or the cat exhibits get a overhaul, although not really being an urgent matter at all…
