Design a Zoo

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Well, the Anaheim Zoo is getting a bit of an overhaul. For those of you who have been reading this thread for the past eight months or so, you may recall a brief description of the exhibits that would be featured in the Anaheim Zoo. A number of changes have taken place, from exhibit name changes, swapping of species from one area to another, or additions of special experiences/ educational areas. In between posts on this thread (and in between school days and homework :p), I am constantly working, changing, enhancing this fictional zoo in my head. So, here are some of the exhibit areas I have thought of, which will all be edited time and time again, becoming better and better until they hopefully become reality:

"Arctic Circle"

"Asian Mountains"- A series of hilly trails visiting the extremes of central Asia, such as the treacherous Himalayas, the Gobi Desert, the Tibetan plateau and the highland forests of China.

"Deserts of the Southwest"- An exhibit featuring the nomads of the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts.

"Expedition Canada"- A forest trek through the Canadian provinces to visit grizzly bears, moose, owls, wolves, and a variety of other exciting woodland creatures.

"Indian Oasis"- Behold the majesty of India's many animal species. Venture to the Grasslands of Assam (formerly the Kaziranga Grasslands), the monsoon forests that are home to gaur, macaques, chital, and others, and the ruins of an ancient temple where tigers roam.

"Indonesian Excursion"

"Madagascar: Journey to the Eighth Continent"- From the tsingy rocks to the tropical rainforests, Madagascar, known unofficially as the Earth's eighth continent, houses an unbelievable amount of animals found no where else on the planet.

"Mafuriko Wetlands"

"Pygmy Hippos of the Sinoe River"- A small exhibit featuring pygmy hippos. Learn about the daily life of a pygmy hippo, take a tour of their home, and meet some of their neighbors, as well.

"The Amazon: World of Wonder"-

"The Andes: Mighty Mountaineers!"- Encounter the mountaineers of the Andes, the world's longest mountain chain. Guanacos and, pudu and kodkods and much, much more await you.

"The Great American Prairie"

"The Horn of Africa" (formerly the Ethiopian Highlands)- Explore the Horn of Africa! Troops of gelada and hamadryas baboons patrol rocky outcrops alongside ibex, while zebras, gazelles, wild asses, and more walk among bush thickets where plenty of gorgeous bird species live.

"The Sahara"

"Untamed Aussie"

"Waters of the World"- This aquarium showcases many of the world's aquatic habitats, from the Great Barrier Reef to the Long Island Sound. Over 500 species of marine animals can be found here!

"Wild Eurasia"

...and more!

-AnaheimZoo​
 
My Zoo and Botanical Garden

Unnamed Zoo; Location: Southeastern United States; Land Summary: Rolling Hills and Streams
Appalachian Journey

Appalachian Journey showcases a variety of plants and animals native to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Visitors pass underneath a sign that reads "Welcome to Big Ridge" (Big Ridge is the name of a fictional Appalachian town). The grounds surrounding the path are landscaped with plants native to the Blue Ridge Mountains such as flame azalea, rosebay rhododendron, hemlock, oak, hickory, and white pine. The path passes through the "town" of Big Ridge, which features weathered log cabin restrooms and restaurants serving Appalachian food, an ATM, an outdoor theater for Bluegrass band performances and animal demonstrations, as well as a small exhibit that explains the hardships of early settlers. The first enclosure that visitors see is that of a North American River Otter. There are 4 river otters (2 male and 2 female). The enclosure is densely planted, with a stream and waterfall that runs through the exhibit. Behind a deep area of the pool is an area of rocky thickets and fallen trees, in which the otters can rest and hide during the day. The exhibit is about an acre in size. Visitors are allowed to view the otters underwater by way of a tunnel under the exhibit. The tunnel reveals that the otter's stream is much deeper than it appears to be, and the visitors are able to see the playful antics of the otters above their heads and below their feet with see-through floors. The tunnel also features exhibits of salamanders, frogs, and toads native to the Southern Appalachians, as well as current river otter conservation and reintroduction efforts in the mountains. After exiting the tunnel, visitors are back on the main path, which enters a building accessed through a cave in a hillside. Signs call the building "The Land of the Blue Mist Interpretive Center". The interpretive center features an introductory theater, classrooms and research facilities, a black bear viewing area, small mammal exhibits, an exhibit on the diverse ecosystems of the region, and an immersive journey into a walk-through spruce-fir forest exhibit with free-ranging birds and small mammals. The small mammal area feature eastern chipmunks in a large, rocky exhibit with fallen trees, dense brush, and climbing structures. The eastern woodrat exhibit is rocky and nondescript. The woodchuck exhibit is large and grassy with thickets and an abandoned log cabin to hide in. The long-tailed weasel exhibit is similar to the chipmunk exhibit, and the eastern spotted skunk exhibit has many climbing structures and is dark during visitor hours so that the skunk is active. On the second floor above ground is the black bear viewing area, which gives the impression that the black bears 'exhibit completely surrounds the interpretive building. The black bear and red fox exhibit is very densely planted with many trees, rhododendron and mountain laurel thickets, and a stream. Visitors can see the bears from deep within their habitat by walking through a sixty foot log tunnel, which leads to an above-ground cabin that acts as a viewing blind for the visitors. Heated rocks are placed near the viewing blind so as to attract the bears closer to the visitors. As the last part of the Appalachian journey exhibit, the spruce-fir forest exhibit shows visitors a slice of a rare and threatened ecosystem. Visitors walk through an indoor aviary with many free-flying bird species native to the high elevations of the Blue Ridge such as black-throated blue warblers, black-capped chickadees, dark-eyed juncos, brown creepers, red-breasted nuthatches, veeries, and yellow-bellied sapsuckers. There are also free-ranging red squirrels, southern red-backed voles, and woodland jumping mice. Visitors exit through a cave that displays endangered spruce-fir moss spiders, least weasels, porcupines, and northern saw-whet owls.
* The interpretive building is LEED certified.
Whew!

Exhibit #2: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Visitors enter the exhibit on a narrow path through a dense rainforest. The path enters the "town" of Kawale, which features African-style restrooms, food, and other general amenities. The path then becomes steep, passing under a sign that says "Now Entering: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park". The first exhibit is a large netted colobus monkey enclosure, with plenty of hiding areas and climbing opportunities. The netting is very well-hidden, and it appears that the monkeys are free-ranging in the forest. The path ends at the Bwindi Research Camp,which displays many insects, reptiles, and amphibians native to the Impenetrable Forest. The research camp also gives information about studying mountain gorillas in the wild. Visitors now enter a large, fake tree with stairs. The visitors ascend a flight of stairs and enter the gorilla viewing area. The mountain gorillas are seen from a very high vantage point overlooking their very lush jungle. The gorillas' exhibit is nearly 3 acres and contains a troop of 20 gorillas. The gorillas can be very hard to spot because the exhibit is supposed to be an exact replica of the dense rainforests in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Visitors walk along a boardwalk, where they can view red-tailed and l'hoest's monkeys in a large, netted enclosure similar to the colobus monkey enclosure. Visitors then enter the "Jane Goodall Chimpanzee Research Center." Visitors can watch and learn about a large troop of chimpanzees from a well-concealed viewing blind in the middle of their dense habitat.Visitors exit the exhibit through a tunnel that shows the habitat destruction of the areas surrounding the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the conservation efforts to save it.
* Let's pretend that mountain gorillas are now in captivity.

With these two immense immersion exhibits, the rest of the zoo is mainly a children's section featuring animals native to the Southeast. There will surely be add-ons in the future to this zoo, but that's all for now.
 
I think the most common zoo visitors would get frustrated trying to find otters in a acre exhibit, maybe a half-2/3 acre exhibit would be better.
 
Mrgibbon11 said:
Unnamed Zoo; Location: Southeastern United States; Land Summary: Rolling Hills and Streams
Appalachian Journey

Appalachian Journey showcases a variety of plants and animals native to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Visitors pass underneath a sign that reads "Welcome to Big Ridge" (Big Ridge is the name of a fictional Appalachian town). The grounds surrounding the path are landscaped with plants native to the Blue Ridge Mountains such as flame azalea, rosebay rhododendron, hemlock, oak, hickory, and white pine.
Click to expand...

This is great! I grew up in the NC Blue Ridge Mountains and would love to see exhibits like these. :)
 
JBZvolunteer said:
I think the most common zoo visitors would get frustrated trying to find otters in a acre exhibit, maybe a half-2/3 acre exhibit would be better.
Click to expand...
Most likely. However, the highest priority at my zoo would be animal happiness, so I would like to make the otters have as natural and spacious an environment as possible.
 
I have designed my own Florida zoo to be located somewhere in either Ft. Lauderdale or Sunrise called River Life Experience. This is what the map is really like:

riverlifeexperience.jpg

floridareptilehouse.jpg

losttempleherpetarium.jpg

hippocaveexhibit.jpg

thecavernsinhippocave.jpg

asiantempleherpetarium.jpg
 
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@Mrgibbon11, I was so disappointed when your post came to an end. Those were two of the most fantastic ideas I've read on this thread! The Appalachian Mountains would make for a very unique exhibit, seeing as how they aren't represented at all (I think) in zoos.

And I love how you responded to Gibbonguy, saying that animal happiness is your zoo's highest priority. I'm sure that's every zoo's main priority, but it seems like no one's mentioned that in their exhibit plans. :D

*Are there any 1-acre+ otter exhibits out there? Just curious. :p

@deanmo19, WOW! Simply wow! What a map! How long did it take to make that? And what program did you use? Paint, as well? Would you mind describing the exhibits a bit? :) I'd like to see more from you and Mrgibbon11, too.

@Moebelle, How are things coming along with that 3-D map of yours? ;)
 
There may be some otter exhibits that are an acre if they contain other species. I'm pretty sure there aren't any with only otters that are that large, though.
 
One thing I would definitely include is a decent restaurant, perhaps something like what they have at the Toledo OH Zoo:

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/4989006124/"]IMG_1749 -1 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]

The food there is as good as that found in any restaurant. Every other zoo I've been to has had pretty much "kiddie food" that is hot dogs, hamburgers, mustard, ketchup, etc. The dining area at the Toledo Zoo is converted from old carnivore cages.

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/4989007518/"]IMG_1750 -1 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/4988405075/"]IMG_1751 -1 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/4989010238/"]IMG_1752 -1 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]

They left the bars in place!

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/4989011868/"]IMG_1753 -1 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]

It was certainly a unique dining experience with the excellent food as well as the cages.


Flickr: grafxmangrafxman's Photostream
 
Mrgibbon11 said:
Unnamed Zoo; Location: Southeastern United States; Land Summary: Rolling Hills and Streams
Appalachian Journey

Appalachian Journey showcases a variety of plants and animals native to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Visitors pass underneath a sign that reads "Welcome to Big Ridge" (Big Ridge is the name of a fictional Appalachian town). The grounds surrounding the path are landscaped with plants native to the Blue Ridge Mountains such as flame azalea, rosebay rhododendron, hemlock, oak, hickory, and white pine. The path passes through the "town" of Big Ridge, which features weathered log cabin restrooms and restaurants serving Appalachian food, an ATM, an outdoor theater for Bluegrass band performances and animal demonstrations, as well as a small exhibit that explains the hardships of early settlers. The first enclosure that visitors see is that of a North American River Otter. There are 4 river otters (2 male and 2 female). The enclosure is densely planted, with a stream and waterfall that runs through the exhibit. Behind a deep area of the pool is an area of rocky thickets and fallen trees, in which the otters can rest and hide during the day. The exhibit is about an acre in size. Visitors are allowed to view the otters underwater by way of a tunnel under the exhibit. The tunnel reveals that the otter's stream is much deeper than it appears to be, and the visitors are able to see the playful antics of the otters above their heads and below their feet with see-through floors. The tunnel also features exhibits of salamanders, frogs, and toads native to the Southern Appalachians, as well as current river otter conservation and reintroduction efforts in the mountains. After exiting the tunnel, visitors are back on the main path, which enters a building accessed through a cave in a hillside. Signs call the building "The Land of the Blue Mist Interpretive Center". The interpretive center features an introductory theater, classrooms and research facilities, a black bear viewing area, small mammal exhibits, an exhibit on the diverse ecosystems of the region, and an immersive journey into a walk-through spruce-fir forest exhibit with free-ranging birds and small mammals. The small mammal area feature eastern chipmunks in a large, rocky exhibit with fallen trees, dense brush, and climbing structures. The eastern woodrat exhibit is rocky and nondescript. The woodchuck exhibit is large and grassy with thickets and an abandoned log cabin to hide in. The long-tailed weasel exhibit is similar to the chipmunk exhibit, and the eastern spotted skunk exhibit has many climbing structures and is dark during visitor hours so that the skunk is active. On the second floor above ground is the black bear viewing area, which gives the impression that the black bears 'exhibit completely surrounds the interpretive building. The black bear and red fox exhibit is very densely planted with many trees, rhododendron and mountain laurel thickets, and a stream. Visitors can see the bears from deep within their habitat by walking through a sixty foot log tunnel, which leads to an above-ground cabin that acts as a viewing blind for the visitors. Heated rocks are placed near the viewing blind so as to attract the bears closer to the visitors. As the last part of the Appalachian journey exhibit, the spruce-fir forest exhibit shows visitors a slice of a rare and threatened ecosystem. Visitors walk through an indoor aviary with many free-flying bird species native to the high elevations of the Blue Ridge such as black-throated blue warblers, black-capped chickadees, dark-eyed juncos, brown creepers, red-breasted nuthatches, veeries, and yellow-bellied sapsuckers. There are also free-ranging red squirrels, southern red-backed voles, and woodland jumping mice. Visitors exit through a cave that displays endangered spruce-fir moss spiders, least weasels, porcupines, and northern saw-whet owls.
* The interpretive building is LEED certified.
Whew!

Exhibit #2: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Visitors enter the exhibit on a narrow path through a dense rainforest. The path enters the "town" of Kawale, which features African-style restrooms, food, and other general amenities. The path then becomes steep, passing under a sign that says "Now Entering: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park". The first exhibit is a large netted colobus monkey enclosure, with plenty of hiding areas and climbing opportunities. The netting is very well-hidden, and it appears that the monkeys are free-ranging in the forest. The path ends at the Bwindi Research Camp,which displays many insects, reptiles, and amphibians native to the Impenetrable Forest. The research camp also gives information about studying mountain gorillas in the wild. Visitors now enter a large, fake tree with stairs. The visitors ascend a flight of stairs and enter the gorilla viewing area. The mountain gorillas are seen from a very high vantage point overlooking their very lush jungle. The gorillas' exhibit is nearly 3 acres and contains a troop of 20 gorillas. The gorillas can be very hard to spot because the exhibit is supposed to be an exact replica of the dense rainforests in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Visitors walk along a boardwalk, where they can view red-tailed and l'hoest's monkeys in a large, netted enclosure similar to the colobus monkey enclosure. Visitors then enter the "Jane Goodall Chimpanzee Research Center." Visitors can watch and learn about a large troop of chimpanzees from a well-concealed viewing blind in the middle of their dense habitat.Visitors exit the exhibit through a tunnel that shows the habitat destruction of the areas surrounding the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the conservation efforts to save it.
* Let's pretend that mountain gorillas are now in captivity.

With these two immense immersion exhibits, the rest of the zoo is mainly a children's section featuring animals native to the Southeast. There will surely be add-ons in the future to this zoo, but that's all for now.
Click to expand...

How about raccoons in the skunk area as well?
 
Continuation of Virginia Zoo at Cumberland

@elefante- good idea; I will replace the eastern woodrats with raccoons.

New Name: Virginia Zoological Park & Botanical Garden at Cumberland
* Note: the existing Virginia Zoo in Norfolk would change its name to "Virginia Zoo at Norfolk"
Size: 150 acres
Abandoned farmland and rolling woodland will be purchased in order to create the zoo.

ACCESS: There will be one driveway with access to 4 parking decks that blend in with the landscaping. The zoo will be accessed from U.S. Route 60.

LAYOUT: At the center of the zoo, there will be a village area called "The Hub", where tickets will be purchased for each biome. The village will have many grassy lawns, where children can play and to convey a park-like atmosphere. Each parking deck will be themed, representing a biome. Each biome will have a path leading from its respective parking deck to The Hub. The path will have many plants indigenous to that biome along it; however, there will be no animal exhibits visible from it.
Each biome will also have a path that can only be accessed from The Hub, and it will lead to the animal exhibits. Each biome will have two immersion exhibits that each replicate a certain region in that biome. The 4 biomes will be: Temperate Forest, Tropical Rainforest, Taiga, and Desert.
Temperate Forest: Qinling Mountain Reserve, Appalachian Journey (described in a previous post)

Tropical Rainforest: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest (described in a previous post), Amazonian Trek

Taiga/Tundra: Land of the Flathead, Sea Bear Coast

Desert: Desert of Monuments, Kgalagadi Desert

Descriptions will be posted later
 
@elefante- good idea; I will replace the eastern woodrats with raccoons.

Keep the woodrats as well as the raccoons. The more the merrier!
 
Another thing I would add to the aviary is a extensive display showing the many beautiful birds found in North America. I think it is very sad that people think they have to travel to other countries or continents just to see a beautiful bird when we have many of them here. Detailed instructions about bird feeders, bird nesting boxes, bird baths, etc. should be posted as well. Since I have been feeding birds I have attracted these birds:

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/4242992798/"]DSC17025 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/4242099947/"]DSC14027 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/4242254629/"]DSC19022 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/4242992820/"]DSC17084 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/4242961080/"]DSC16136 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/4240399887/"]DSC19106 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/4242309485/"]DSC20103 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/4242782988/"]DSC13063 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/4242906246/"]DSC16038 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/4242309511/"]DSC20111 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]

[ame="http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/5265348696/"]RCK3 d2 | Flickr - Photo Sharing![/ame]

I shot these photos many years ago with a Sony camcorder that could take small digital photos. Since then development and perhaps global warming has caused most of these birds to not be seen again.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/80431173@N00/
 
This is one of the ideas on http://www.zoochat.com/2/create-exhibit-230330/. AnaheimZoo suggested that some of the ZooChatters send some of their exhibit ideas to this thread. Here's one of my exhibits called Wonders of the African Forest.
Welcome to Wonders of the African Forest. In this exhibit you'll find why this area is considered a biodiversity hotspot that holds marvelous treasures. The first thing you notice while entering this exhibit is mesh netting above you. This allows 2.3 Mantled Guerezas, 1.3 Wolf's Guenons, and 1.2 DeBrazza's Monkeys to travel above your heads and traverse to different exhibits. One of the exhibits the monkeys can travel to is the first exhibit you see. It is a very large pen containing 1.1 African Forest Buffalo, 1.1 Red River Hogs, 1.3 Bongos, and 1.2 Yellow-Backed Duikers. The exhibit has several trees and other climbing opportunities too because as mentioned earlier, the monkeys can come into this exhibit. This exhibit mostly focuses on how different hoofstock share the African rainforest together.
As you walk past the hoofstock exhibit, you notice doors that lead you to a building. As you enter the tunnel, signs everywhere point out facts about gorillas. They explain everything the average visitor would want to know about gorillas, including their diet, their lifestyles, personal facts about the exhibit's gorillas, but mostly the threats that face gorillas and what the zoo is doing to help them. The building then diverges into a tunnel. The tunnel has glass viewing on two sides, and through that you can see two gorilla habitats. One side of the glass features one troop of gorillas, and the other side has another gorilla troop. Both troops have 1.3 Western Lowland Gorillas. The 2 troops can view each other through the tunnel, providing visual enrichment. Guests are awestruck having gorillas on both sides of them. The Guerezas, Guenons, and DeBrazza's Monkeys also have access to both of the gorilla habitats, providing more multispecies enrichment.
After leaving the gorilla building, you see two massive islands. One houses 2.5 Bonobos, and the other one is home to 1.6 Chimpanzees. The two groups of primates can view each other from the islands, but are protected by the water that surrounds the two islands. The monkeys do not have access to this island for their own safety. After leaving the viewing points for the islands, you enter another tunnel. However, this one has glass on both sides of you, and over your head. This exhibit has 1.1 African Leopards. The leopards are rotated on exhibit unless the female is in estrus, which means the zoo will exhibit them together to breed. This unique tunnel could allow a leopard to be right next to you, or even right above your head! At the end of this tunnel are doors that are the entry to a building.
When you first enter the building, there is a nocturnal exhibit to your right. It features 5.14 Egyptian Fruit Bats and 1.1 African Brush-Tailed Porcupines. This mixture of species is perfectly fine as the bats tend to hang around the trees and stalactites, and the porcupines prefer the ground. The viewing area is glass-fronted like all other exhibits in this building, allowing for close encounters between person and animal. Next is an exhibit for 1.0 Western Green Mamba. Then there is an aviary for 1.4 Congo Peafowl, 1.1 African Pygmy Geese, 1.1 White-Crested Hornbills, 1.1 African Gray Parrots, and 2.6 Lady Ross' Turacos. After this exhibit, you approach a sort-of odd-looking exhibit. It looks like a normal African rainforest riverbank, but there is a tall wall of plexiglass that divides the exhibit. One half has a good amount of land area and half of the large pool, and the other half of the exhibit has half of the pool and a fair amount of space. The first half that was mentioned is home to 1.1 African Clawless Otters, and the second half has 1.0 Dwarf Crocodile. The plexiglass might look odd, but it allows the otters and crocodile to see each other and interact with each other like they might in the wild, but has plexiglass for the safety of both animals. The last stop in the building is a large indoor forest with the Guerezas, Guenons, and DeBrazza's Monkeys that can travel to different exhibits. This exhibit is where monkeys can stay during inclement weather.
You exit the building to find yourself in another tunnel similar to the leopard tunnel. However, this tunnel is surrounded by water. This exhibit is home to 1.1 Pygmy Hippopotamuses and 0.0.235 African Cichlids. This tunnel gives you the one-of-a-kind experience to have a hippo swim on your left, right, or even above you. Colorful cichlids add to the visual appeal of this exhibit. As you exit the tunnel and walk along, there is an above-water viewing area for the hippos if they aren't in the water, you want to see them from another angle, or you want to check out the hippos' neighbors in this habitat, 3.4 Allen's Swamp Monkeys. To add to this experience, the Guerezas, Guenons, and DeBrazza's Monkeys can also come to this exhibit to visit their relatives, the Swamp Monkeys. However, the Swamp Monkeys are restricted to this exhibit.
As you force yourself to depart from the glorious hippos, you notice another set of doors. These doors lead you to a large walk-thru aviary. This aviary is home to 5.6 Abdim's Storks, 1.1 Shoebill Storks, 1.1 Hammerkops, and a large colony of Greater Flamingos, totaling in at about 45.63 individuals. In addition, for an extra fee of $5, you can hand feed the flamingoes pellets. Guests are asked to stick to the path and not go to the pond, as the flamingoes normally come to visitors to get fed. All the money spent to feed the flamingoes is used to support conservation of African rainforests.
You realize your journey in the Wonders of the African Forest is coming to an end. However, there are some special treats in store for you before you leave. A row of 5 spacious, natural Okapi exhibits are the last group of habitats in this exhibit. Each habitat has 1.1 Okapis on exhibit at a time, making for 5.5 Okapis overall that are on exhibit. In addition, the zoo houses an extra number of 3.3 Okapis not on public display. The huge overall number of 8.8 Okapis are rotated to different exhibits so each pair of Okapis will be on exhibit at least every other day. For an extra fee of $30.99, you can book an Okapi Encounter Program. This program allows you to go behind-the-scenes of the okapi exhibits, learn all about okapis, and get the chance to feed and pet them. 75% of the money used to purchase Okapi Encounters goes to supporting African rainforest conservation programs. All of the Okapis that take part in this program are members of the 3 pairs that are not on exhibit that day, and each Okapi pair has 3 encounters a day, with the program taking place 3 times a day.
You leave Wonders of the African Forest with a new way of thinking. You know more about the rainforest itself, its inhabitants, the threats facing it, and how to help this amazing ecosystem. After encountering some of the forest's marvelous residents, such as primates, hoofstock, leopards, birds, and more, you have a new respect for this amazing spot on Earth.
 
Yes!

With the Create an Exhibit ideas also being posted here, more poeple can see these great plans and be tempted to post their own! I'd hate to see this thread disappear and go unposted on for months and months... glad Cat-Man brought it back again when I was just starting out on ZooChat, it's now one of my top 3 favorite threads.

Another reason I'd like people to post here, too, is because I've seen some of the greatest ideas on this website on other threads such as http://www.zoochat.com/2/if-i-had-my-own-zoo-12134/ and http://www.zoochat.com/2/create-exhibit-230330/. Unfortunately, If I Had My Own Zoo has since pretty much fallen under the radar (with a post here and there every 3 months or so), and Create an Exhibit doesn't get nearly as many views as Design A Zoo. And the more views of your plans, the better, right? :D
 
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