I recently watched BBC's "new" series about Madagascar and its endemic animals, and thought, "Madagascar is pretty much like a world of its own. With so many exotic and exciting, yet so rarely seen species, all zoos (even the humble, low-budget ones) should have at least a handful of species from the island." For those that have particular species, but not an entire exhibit complex dedicated to them, they're usually mixed into a generic African exhibit or just have an entirely separate exhibit, which, by the majority of ZooChatters, isn't appreciated, such as in a certain post on this thread: http://www.zoochat.com/1141/africa-madagascar-exhibit-6-species-232440/
When discussing zoos with complexes centered around the wildlife of Madagascar, there's one apparent, but simple question: "Which zoo does it best?"
Which zoo captures the diversity of the island, the fascination of the species living there, accompanied by a great reverence to how endangered these animals are and how Madagascar, at a time where us humans are merely scratching the surface of a huge discovery window just opened, is slowly but surely disappearing?
Yes, one zoo might have a fantastic fossa exhibit, and may not falsely co-exhibit red-ruffed and ring-tailed lemurs, but do they get the ever-so-important message that remarkable environments like the many Madagascar has to offer are in need of preservation? Last time I was at the Bronx Zoo, I was rushing through Madagascar! and I consequently was unable to read many of the signs posted throughout the building, so I'm not sure if they addressed Madagascar's dilemma.
If any of you who read this remember if a zoo's Madagascar exhibit concentrated on its endangered species and environments, please use that in your opinion of "Best Representation of Madagascar". While striving to become a better exhibit designer, I've been told to make sure that a conservation problem is clearly presented, so I'm looking for the exhibit that is most successful in not only showcasing the amazing endemic species, but in delivering that important message.
AnaheimZoo
When discussing zoos with complexes centered around the wildlife of Madagascar, there's one apparent, but simple question: "Which zoo does it best?"
Which zoo captures the diversity of the island, the fascination of the species living there, accompanied by a great reverence to how endangered these animals are and how Madagascar, at a time where us humans are merely scratching the surface of a huge discovery window just opened, is slowly but surely disappearing?
Yes, one zoo might have a fantastic fossa exhibit, and may not falsely co-exhibit red-ruffed and ring-tailed lemurs, but do they get the ever-so-important message that remarkable environments like the many Madagascar has to offer are in need of preservation? Last time I was at the Bronx Zoo, I was rushing through Madagascar! and I consequently was unable to read many of the signs posted throughout the building, so I'm not sure if they addressed Madagascar's dilemma.
If any of you who read this remember if a zoo's Madagascar exhibit concentrated on its endangered species and environments, please use that in your opinion of "Best Representation of Madagascar". While striving to become a better exhibit designer, I've been told to make sure that a conservation problem is clearly presented, so I'm looking for the exhibit that is most successful in not only showcasing the amazing endemic species, but in delivering that important message.
AnaheimZoo
All I saw were the marakely.
I thought they could only survive in the reedbeds around Lac Alaotra? They wouldn't need to grow the specific papyrus reeds that they eat? Because on that Madagascar documentary I watched, they made it seem like they could never be taken out of that habitat... 
