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.
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.
I think there are some issues with money but I look at certain British exhibits that have had millions spent on them and in my view fail or underachieve from an aesthetic point of view. I should say that I think Budongo is excellent but Gorilla Kingdom is unremarkable, not awful just average.
British creativity excels in certain fields; music, fashion, art, quality film and television but just doesn't really come through in other areas.
One of these areas is a sense of design in public (and private) spaces and I include zoos in this - did I mention the artex on the ceiling of the visitors' viewing area in Whipsnade's giraffe house? I don't know why this is the case but it's my explanation for the lack of creativity in many zoos.
First off, I agree with those who say this really isn't an immersion exhibit due to the lack of natural habitat. That also seems to be a problem at this zoo based on the pics I've seen. Many of the animals get the jungle landscape that is native to Singapore regardless of where they're from.
Concerning the debate on here, I really enjoy immersion exhibits, however, I think some on here overrate it and/or knock non-immersion exhibits too much. As some have said, we aren't getting tricked into thinking we aren't at a zoo. Plus as was mentioned, more immersion often leads to lesser viewing of the actual animals, which is the primary reason for going to a zoo. The expense must be considered as well.
I also think that if we got used to almost all exhibits being immersion style, they'd lose some of their luster due to it being the norm.
So while I find immersion exibits such as the Lied Jungle or the Australia and Rain Forest sections at the Baltimore Aquarium to be great, I think some are overly critical of seeing animal holdings in an exhibit, seeing barriers, and seeing other visitors in the sightlines. If the zoo is capable of doing a great immersion exhibit, great, but if not, or they want to go another direction, I don't think that's necessarily a terrible thing.
