Animals that Can't be Exhibited in Open Topped Enclosures?

Honey badgers....Howlett's. Binturong....LOADS of places (including us).

But it would be an extremely ballsy zoo that would try tayra in an open topped! Or rich if they can afford glass all the way around it!
 
Wasn't one of Longleat's binturongs escaping featured on Animal Park?

Monkey World has various open topped primate enclosures. The chimpanzees and orang-utans are. Some other enclosures are too but I couldn't say which species.

Marwell's "Thriving Through Nature" renovation of their old tropical house features an indoor open topped rock hyrax exhibit.

Whipsnade's chimpanzee exhibit is open topped.
 
NMM said:
New Wasn't one of Longleat's binturongs escaping featured on Animal Park?
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I remember that being one of the New-World porcupines. I'm not entirely convinced Longleats binturongs aren't stuffed given I've never seen them move, which might help with the lack of a roof.

NMM said:
Monkey World has various open topped primate enclosures. The chimpanzees and orang-utans are. Some other enclosures are too but I couldn't say which species.
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If I remember right the chimps and orangs are open topped, as is one of the gibbon enclosures. The smaller primates are all covered along with the injured gibbons.
 
GreatApe said:
I agree in principle, Dassie Rat, but am interested to know whether your main concern is animals escaping, (e.g. octopuses), or the public reaching in, (e.g. venomous insects/ snakes)?

Also, for zoos that do keep apes in open topped enclosures, (e.g.(Monkey World, Dudley Zoo, Welsh Mountain Zoo and Twycross Zoo), using "hot wires or "unclimbable" smooth walls, I would be interested to know the "failure" rate, (i.e. frequency of escape). I know there have been escapes at Burgers' Zoo and Belfast Zoo but these appear to me to have been opportunistic, using unnoticed detached branches as ladders rather than an intrinsic design fault of the enclosure. Obviously escaped apes are potentially extremely dangerous and one escape is one too many, but I am just wondering if this negates the idea of using an open topped enclosure itself, rather than being alert to potential tool use opportunities.
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I guess unless you can show the risk is real, or it's more likely apes have escaped, or they have escaped as a direct result of the open top, it can't really negate having an open topped enclosure in itself simply by being a possiblity. There are many zoos with open topped ape enclosures. So the onus is on proving it's unacceptable based on some evidence I'd have thought.
 
cerperal said:
Longleat's binturong is also open topped, as are their gorillas (as they tend not to fly away)
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In the Jardin des Plantes de Paris the Binturong enclosure (former bear pit) is open-topped.
And I think it's possible to house every species of arboreal carnivore in open-topped enclosures if they couldn't flee away climbing on trees or artificial gear.
 
When we went to Ribby Hall in December 2021, the Binturong enclosure was open, with a massive tree they could climb in (and were doing so when we spotted them).

Fenn Bell in Kent has an open Binturong enclosure too.
 
Another question, how are monkeys in open topped enclosures like mangabeys, patas, colobus, or wolf's guenons managed, specifically when they are onften seen in mixed species exhibits like the mangabeys and gorillas together at Bioparc Valencia? How much of a distance between the land they can walk on and the visitor's path must there be to ensure none jump out?
 
BenFoxster said:
Not to fall too far into spec/fantasy zoo building, but I was wondering if such enclosures as seen in Indianapolis could work for an indoor nocturnal house exhibit with animals like aye-ayes, African civets, Australian Possums, opossums, quolls, etc, or if the animals would leap out, climb the glass, cilmb the walls, etc. The idea would be to have a nighthouse with open topped exhibits and small waterfalls as well as trees grows up over the glass railings to create a more naturalistic almost indoor rainforest feel rather than being like a stuffy reptile house.
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If the barriers are tall enough so that the animals can't jump over them, smooth enough that they can't climb them, and far enough away from climbing structures, then yes, it should work.
 
KevinB said:
Personally I think any open-topped fish tank reachable by visitors or that visitors can possibly let objects fall in (i.e. tanks under bridges) or throw objects in and any "touch tank" with aquatic animals is a bad idea due to the risks of animals being mistreated by visitors, of objects being thrown or falling in and of introduction of dangerous chemicals or pathogens by visitors. Perhaps with supervision and mandatory handwashing and thorough rinsing it can be done more safely, but otherwise I'm really not in favor of such exhibits.



The only open-topped rock hyrax exhibit I have ever seen is the exhibit in the crocodile greenhouse at the Rotterdam Zoo. This exhibit has a substantial height difference between the exhibit floor and the visitor area, as well as a water feature at the edge of the exhibit on the visitor side. I'm sure there are photos of it in the gallery.
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Edinburgh used to have an open-topped tock hyrax enclosure on the old barbary rock. The walls aroi the sides were very high and there was a pit at the front ao there was no chance they could escape.
 
KevinB said:
Personally I think any open-topped fish tank reachable by visitors or that visitors can possibly let objects fall in (i.e. tanks under bridges) or throw objects in and any "touch tank" with aquatic animals is a bad idea due to the risks of animals being mistreated by visitors, of objects being thrown or falling in and of introduction of dangerous chemicals or pathogens by visitors. Perhaps with supervision and mandatory handwashing and thorough rinsing it can be done more safely, but otherwise I'm really not in favor of such exhibits.
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We opened with two open topped tanks (one for trout and the other for turtles and sunfish). Long story short both tanks are getting lids installed this year and it was not because of escapes. Humans are just a curious species by nature.
 
BenFoxster said:
Another question, how are monkeys in open topped enclosures like mangabeys, patas, colobus, or wolf's guenons managed, specifically when they are onften seen in mixed species exhibits like the mangabeys and gorillas together at Bioparc Valencia? How much of a distance between the land they can walk on and the visitor's path must there be to ensure none jump out?
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Guidelines suggest 3,5 m (Australia for hamadryas baboon) to 5 m (German Zootierhaltung book for monkeys in general).

This is the problem. Smaller exhibits for animals which jump and climb well are better meshed. Otherwise, there must be a dead space of several meters along each side, and the climbing space is getting small.

Great apes should have dry moats or walls with extra height added. Otherwise, apes are known to escape by climbing on toys, fallen sticks or pieces pried from climbing structures. This can potentially lead to apes not given some types of enrichment.

Native venomous snakes are quite often kept in open-topped exhibits. However, open-topped exhibits of small animals often attract predatory wild birds (herons, crows, buzzards etc) so sometimes are protected by loose wires or mesh to prevent birds from landing or diving into them. For example sousliks in Bern have strands of fishing line over them.

Flying birds, according to the current EU regulations, cannot be pinioned. So pinioned birds in European zoos are mostly older ones. Independently, there are regular outbreaks of poultry flu in Europe, so many zoos move even pinioned birds to aviaries.
 
HayBrand said:
I'll speak from an Australian standpoint, I don't think I've ever seen a binturong enclosure that hasn't been open.

Also don't believe any quoll enclosures in AU are open topped.
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Taronga's is actually the only binturong exhibit I've seen here in Australia that is open-topped!
 
Osedax said:
I agree with you with the dangerous insects and octopuses, but I have seen venomous snakes kept in open-topped enclosures in several Australian zoos.
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I can confirm this, Taronga Zoo has an open-topped outdoors enclosure for Red-bellied Black Snakes (multiple individuals kept together). It's really a nice enclosure, way more spacious than any other snake enclosure I've seen, but I do wonder how they stop birds attacking the snakes.
 
DaLilFishie said:
I can confirm this, Taronga Zoo has an open-topped outdoors enclosure for Red-bellied Black Snakes (multiple individuals kept together). It's really a nice enclosure, way more spacious than any other snake enclosure I've seen, but I do wonder how they stop birds attacking the snakes.
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And Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary has an open-topped exhibit for a mix of Lowland Copperheads and an Eastern Tiger Snake.
 
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