Although it looks nothing like the grassland habitat of the Maned Wolf, this exhibit is nonetheless an excellent example of habitat immersion. The barrier (dry moat) is completely hidden by vegetation.
Masoala is a great exhibit - no arguments there. But it is a great rainforest exhibit, not a great lemur exhibit. A very high percentage of visitors probably see no lemurs at all. Certainly 2 of the 5 species in there will never realistically be seen, even by keepers.
Cotswold's lemur walkthrough is a much better lemur exhibit (i.e. a place to go to see and watch lemurs), and it must have cost a tiny fraction of the price. The experience is different, that's all.
If you see the lemurs in Masoala it's superb. But you've got a very good chance of not seeing them. And then the message is lost anyway.
The cost difference is exactly the point, which I notice you keep accepting but then forget further down - you say the simple exhibit is cheaper, then say why don't they try building something more elaborate. It's because it's more expensive. A zoo with a limited budget will want to get the most out of it. And paying for unnecessary theming isn't always the way to do this.
And even given the money, it does not follow that zoos want to build immersion exhibits. One of the UK's best new exhibits, Edinburgh's Budongo, isn't immersive at all. The inside of the exhibit is wonderfully landscaped. The outside is smart and practical. It's a superb exhibit.
I went to Basel Zoo years ago and really want to go back as they seem to have many imaginative and well designed exhibits. The rhino paddock there looks great to me. It isn't a vast over the top recreation of a Nepali river valley but it looks great.
This is harder to achieve in a country estate zoo like Whipsnade but I can't help feeling that many exhibits in the UK just miss the mark. It's not only about money, it's just about a sense of design aesthetics and a bit of imagination. Just a bit of landscaping, a bit of creativity. Not really appropriate for the vast fields which don't need it as much (such as the paddock with African ungulates and white rhino at Whipsnade) but for a more intimate experience like the Indian rhino complex I can't help but feel more could be achieved but that's just not the way people tend to think in the UK. I stress it isn't only about money, more about creativity.
It's true Whipsnade has never been a place that had an eye for design. The rolling paddocks mean they get away with it for most of it!
As far as I'm aware the older Indian Rhino stalls weren't altered at all during the remodelling when the new house was added, except for the viewing walkway, hence they look utilitarian even by Whipsnade's standards - when built they weren't even properly visible (unless I'm wrong on this?).
I went to Basel Zoo years ago and really want to go back as they seem to have many imaginative and well designed exhibits. The rhino paddock there looks great to me. It isn't a vast over the top recreation of a Nepali river valley but it looks great.
Taking over this thread a bit I know but just wanted to add my agreement with this - Basel has just the style of design I like in its newer exhibits. The Etosha House in particular is superb. Smart, professional and with nicely landscaped exhibits.
@Shirokuma: why do you think that UK zoos lack creativity? You've pointed out that money (or the lack of funds) is not the issue, but rather a creative input when designing animal exhibits. Many wildlife parks in my native Canada are also seriously lacking funds as well as a creative edge, but I know that in the United States there are major zoos that regularly pay architectural firms to landscape and design new exhibits. Having specialty companies endorse animal habitats in zoos means that there is a focus on the aesthetic component of an enclosure, rather than having the simple paddocks that are so common in both Canada and the UK.
@Maguari: Cotswold's walk-through lemur exhibit is quite impressive, and probably for a fraction of the cost it has to some degree replicated a lemur's natural environment. That I like! However, seeing lemurs in wire cages is simply awful, regardless of whether some folks prefer them so that the primates have greater climbing opportunities. As long as enough ropes, vines and trees are hung in more natural exhibits then lemurs can always have loads of climbing options AS WELL as existing in an enclosure that mimics the wild. Everyone wins in that circumstance: lemurs, photographers, the average visitors and ZooChatters.
Many wildlife parks in my native Canada are also seriously lacking funds as well as a creative edge, but I know that in the United States there are major zoos that regularly pay architectural firms to landscape and design new exhibits. Having specialty companies endorse animal habitats in zoos means that there is a focus on the aesthetic component of an enclosure, rather than having the simple paddocks that are so common in both Canada and the UK.
It is awful in your opinion - as you say others have different opinions - including at least two people in this thread!
I don't think you objected to the indoor-only lemur exhibits planned at Henry Doorly Zoo - so it's not the lack of open acess or space that are the problem - I can only assume it's an aesthetic thing. Which is fine, and well within your rights. I reserve my right to disagree.
As long as enough ropes, vines and trees are hung in more natural exhibits then lemurs can always have loads of climbing options AS WELL as existing in an enclosure that mimics the wild. Everyone wins in that circumstance: lemurs, photographers, the average visitors and ZooChatters.
But a mesh-roofed exhibit will always be capable of holding a greater area of climbing material than an open one on the same site, as there's no need to avoid the egdes. If space is at a premium, that's an important factor, as with an open-topped exhibit you may end up with just one or two trees the animals can go up or down, rather than move through.
@Maguari: of course money is the overriding factor in the design and implementation of any zoo exhibit that involves anything more than wire and wood. At the same time there are some vastly overpriced projects that have received nothing but derision from the majority of fans, and San Diego's $45 million "Elephant Odyssey" is a prime example. As far as Henry Doorly's Madagascar house, I'd prefer if ALL the animals had outdoor access but it is not always possible in colder climates (there is a lot of snow in Omaha during the winter) and thus there is a case to be made for filtered sunlight through skylights and an all-indoor, but safe, warm environment for zoo animals. I'm not 100% convinced that not having an outdoor enclosure is a positive thing, but I've visited Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and there are many spectacular exhibits there and so I'm hoping for the best in terms of the new project that opens there in a few months.
Also, I'm fine with mesh-roofed enclosures, as it does allow for vines and ropes to be hung from various angles for primates and it is also ideal for large carnivores. The outstanding "Jaguar Cove" at Woodland Park is an example of a mesh-topped, glass-viewing exhibit that is recognized as perhaps the best of its kind. But subjectivity can sneak into that equation as well, as 100% of the viewing of the jaguars is done through glass and that is not always popular with ZooChatters. I personally love it, because visitors can get within a couple of inches of the animals without fear, and rather then being apart via a moat there is the intimate proximity of a dangerous, meat-eating predator being close to a visitor's face. With wire the sightlines are obscured, and many zoo history books that I have (mainly all of American zoos) state that the modern zoo is attempting to get away from pits, grottoes, wire fencing or steel bars in favour of glass-fronted exhibits or dry moats. However, I do understand that everyone has their own preferences.
I don't mind glass at all (as you say, it's great for getting up close to things), but I prefer it to be used in moderation - Colchester (our old favourite!) is absolutely jam-packed with the stuff, and the novelty soon wears off!
I'm sure this isn't the case, but the last part of your post reads as if one of the major reasons you don't like mesh is simply that you've read that it's bad in a book!
I HATE glass, especially when used with primates as it just gets covered in crap. Also, it's just something else for visitors to bang on.
And regarding the "seeing primates in cages is awful" remark: I could so easily start another debate on Howletts here To me, the window dressing you'd see in the US is just to stop us feeling guilty about keeping animals in captivity. I doubt there's many more people in the US who GENUINELY felt inspired to help gorillas in the wild after going to Congo in the Bronx than there were at Howletts. And before someone says "they've raised X amount of money for conservation through this exhibit", they're made to pay this before they've seen it so there's no argument there
We build some new enclosures for primates last year, all glass fronted, we hate it !
For some reasons: you have to clean it every time or you loose the visibility, principally on colder days , people banging one it, children are to loud near the animals, etc.
By now we are building new enclosures for the animals that live there, after this new enclosures are ok we are going to replace this glass with mesh or another material not decided yet.
I read all posts of this discussion and for sure money is the main concern for build exhibits like the US exhibits. No doubt that not other part of the world have such amounths of money avaiable than the US zoos have to build new exhibits and the US Zoo World is a world apart from all others!
For me and I think most of the Zoo related people is ok to build exhibits that meet ALL needs of the animal and gives a good impression to the visitors.
Of course we all would like to have a Congo Gorilla Forest at our local Zoo, but not all donors and governments can make such contributions to his local zoos!
Some times you need to have a "feeling" in how to do some things and you can make from a simple mesh cage a good exhibit!
