Best Elephant Park in Europe?
- Thread starter Zooplantman
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Zooplantman
Well-Known Member
Would you say more about the security issues, please?
Zooplantman
Well-Known Member
Of course, merci!
The problem with Elephant exhibits everywhere is that the animals are so big and powerful that everything used to contain them has to be done on a massive scale- ditches, fences, boulders to protect and vegetation/plantings, or whatever. Massive doesn't usually equal attractive so Elephant exhibits are bound to always look a bit 'ugly' and rather open and bare- I don't know how you can overcome this. The most important ingredient is space, I believe, and the larger the area of the enclosure, the less obvious the 'fortification' aspect seems to be.
@pertinax re: photos.
Example is Berlin zoo. Barriers are not noticeable. Sight lines are carefully followed. Pool, sand bath and enrichment are subtly exposed - so you have a feeling that elephants have comfort. Photos don't convey it. I guess ZooPlantMan knows how to do it.
About grass - several zoos have grass even on small elephant paddocks. One example is Krakow. I guess it is more a custom to keep elephant on sand. BTW, it is concrete, not sand which destroys elephant feet.
Example is Berlin zoo. Barriers are not noticeable. Sight lines are carefully followed. Pool, sand bath and enrichment are subtly exposed - so you have a feeling that elephants have comfort. Photos don't convey it. I guess ZooPlantMan knows how to do it.
About grass - several zoos have grass even on small elephant paddocks. One example is Krakow. I guess it is more a custom to keep elephant on sand. BTW, it is concrete, not sand which destroys elephant feet.
The problem with the elephant enclosure in Berlin Zoo is that the barrier is a dry moat, which looks very nice and is hardly visible for the visitors but it`s dangerous for the elephants. A better example for good-looking barriers in Leipzig, the barriers are either dry moats with gentle slopes so that no elephants can fall in and break their legs, or the big pools.
Although Whipsnade's outdoor elephant is very flat and rather featureless, it is very spacious and has a 'hidden' dry ditch surrounding it so visitors get a clear and direct view. The bull facility, sand paddock and indoor cow barn are modern but traditional with strong steel dividing fences. But overall its a pretty good enclosure.