One of the few examples in the New Emmen Zoo where the rockwork looks genuinely realistic and the plants have an opportunity to mature and add a greater sense of atmosphere. If the rest of the zoo had this much attention to detail in terms of the landscaping inside the enclosures, and also had good signage and greater species diversity (can you say Biochron 2.0?) IMO this could be a real juggernaut! (and as for the old zoo, making that a satellite facility/highlighting rarer species, like the old elephant yards becoming an Asian rainforest aviary for Malayan tapirs and free-flighted birds, the old savanna becoming either a Horn of Africa exhibit for geladas/ibex/hyrax or a West-African field enclosure for different species of antelope, the old Biochron holding a plethora of different reptiles/maintaining its original theme, etc. Basically something like London and Whipsnade, if both zoos wanted to highlight species biodiversity to the max.
@Wyman
Interesting, although I'd hope the Old Emmen would be going in a different direction to London at the moment! I do think the mock rock is really well, and if all the animals have fantastic exhibits alongside the theming, I'm all for it! The trouble with zoos such as these is that (even in the best of their kind: Pairi Daiza, DAK etc.) they can have poor exhibits, and sometimes even awful exhibits. This is where I'm less keen on the idea because it is compromising the animals' welfare and it means the zoo is spending money on inanimate bits of rock rather than some highly endangered species' welfare. Of course, from what I have seen of this zoo, it is brilliant, although the areas aren't quite developed enough to have a fully flowing zoo (and you can see Timbuktu from the freezing Chilean coasts ). None of the exhibits seems cramped or inadequate, so if we get more of the same, great!
@amur leopard Yeah IKWYM. If a zoo is going to implement theming in an exhibit, there has to be a cohesive narrative to doing so, otherwise it comes across to the average visitor as haphazard at best. For example, a tiger can't merely be stuck in a concrete temple (besides that's been done over and over) but temple theming (if done in a tasteful manner) can be utilized to highlight humanity's relationship with tigers. Similarly, ring-tailed lemurs can't be merely stuck in a wooded area, unless the trees in said wooded area (for argument's sake, let's say Fagus sylvatica or any similar beech tree) is similar to the deciduous trees found in a dry forest in Madagascar. If there is to be cultural immersion (or immersion period) in a zoo, it needs to be done in such a way to communicate a perspective to visitors with regards to an educational message. With that said, Walt Disney said it best: "I'd rather entertain and hope people were educated rather than educate and hope people were entertained".
