Tirana Biopark
With your typical hip, trendy name, the Tirana Biopark would be located in an entirely different location from the original zoo, perhaps in a large park on the outskirts of the city. i've divided it into six sections; Albanian water and farmyard, Albanian woods and mountains, African savannah, jungles, East Asia, and a mishmash of mostly South America and Australia, with a focus on aquatic creatures.
Map:
With all of the zoos I'll reform, one of the main objectives is to give the species they already have and give them a much better home. Hence, I've decided that a large part of this new zoo would be dedicated to Albania's wildlife and domesticated animals. In order not to overinflate this zone, a couple of domestics, those being the water buffalo and llama, have been moved to other geographically appropriate zones.
Considering the economic state of Albania, I decided to opt for very readily available zoo animals (don't worry, future maps will have more rarities in there), along with very native fauna (AKA all the Balkan domestic breeds rare elsewhere in Europe). In fact, the main reason why I chose a Mediterranean theme for the shark tank is that these are readily available, and heating wouldn't be as demanding as the more usual tropical reef sharks, and showcasing these more obscure sharks is always appreciated.
Tropical shark tank in Barcelona aquarium; approximate size and design of shark tank.
American alligator exhibit at Toronto Zoo (the pool is quite large); basic idea of the size of the alligator enclosure.
Capybara exhibit at the Berlin Zoo-Aquarium (I think); basic idea of the size of the Pampas paddock.
The overall architecture of the zoo would be very ecologically-oriented, with recycled wood, metals and other materials forming a large percentage of the infrastructure, giving the park a more inventive look. Most of the exhibits would be bordered off by a height difference (the front of the enclosure slanting downwards, increasing the height up to the low wooden fence), but there are differences; flying birds and the monkey gallery would be tall mesh aviaries, the petting zoo would have lowish wooden rail fences to better allow for guest interactions, moats for the chimpanzees, baboons and snow leopard, and large carnivores would mostly be surrounded by tall wooden or stone walls (all climb-proofed), visible through viewing gallery with tall plexiglass windows.
Cougar exhibit at the Paris Zoo; the style of viewing canopies would be present throughout the zoo, and this would be the general size and build of the snow leopard exhibit.
Latin American wetland aviary at Chester Zoo, basic idea of the size and design of the Albanian wetland aviary
Hippopotamus exhibit at the Beauval Zoo, basic idea of the size and design of the hippopotamus enclosure
Some of the main aims of the zoo are educating visitors about Albania's native wildlife, acting as an animal rescue center, raising awareness of environmental issues (which is the purpose of the Jane Goodall Primate Education Center), and inspiring love for wildlife for all ages, with kids being further encourages by shows at the Kids auditorium and discovery zone. Overall, I feel that this zoo would definitely encourage a very different, much better and more empathetic view of animals to anyone who visits.
Link to the map's page, including a full species list:
Bad Zoos Reformed: Tirana Biopark - ZooChat
