Exhibitry Themes/Styles You Wish Were More Common In Zoos

I’d like to see more exhibits like Elephant Odyssey, but actually good. :p
Prehistoric megafauna are my absolute jam, so it’s a slight shame that the only Elephant Odyssey-like exhibit we have is… Elephant Odyssey.
Of course, this theme would only work for prehistoric North America/Europe, otherwise it’d just be a normal geographical themed exhibit with maybe one or two outliers.
 
Something I immediately thought of was a taxonomically arranged display within a taxonomically arranged display. For example, a reptile house, which is further broken down into taxonomic groups, with 'snakes,' 'crocodiles,' 'lizards,' 'turtles' and any other groups that they chose to include having their own areas of the house. For older city zoos, whose charm is in their taxonomic arrangement, and attempt to present animals as a living encyclopedia of sorts, this can be an extreme way of providing an interesting insight. I have only ever seen it done once, with the now-closed Reptile House at London Zoo, which gave the above four categories, as well as amphibians, having their own walls, or aisles, of the House.

With the old house closed, and the new one not likely to apply the same old-fashioned arrangement, I don't know of any zoo which does this. But I think it would be excellent for a few zoos (not all of them - geographical arrangement works fine, as well) to try this. Imagine a primate house split in half between simians and prosimians, and then further still into 'monkeys,' and 'apes,' or 'lemurs,' and 'lorises,' with some of those categories further being broken up into, say, 'New World,' and 'Old World.'
 
Kalaw said:
Something I immediately thought of was a taxonomically arranged display within a taxonomically arranged display. For example, a reptile house, which is further broken down into taxonomic groups, with 'snakes,' 'crocodiles,' 'lizards,' 'turtles' and any other groups that they chose to include having their own areas of the house. For older city zoos, whose charm is in their taxonomic arrangement, and attempt to present animals as a living encyclopedia of sorts, this can be an extreme way of providing an interesting insight. I have only ever seen it done once, with the now-closed Reptile House at London Zoo, which gave the above four categories, as well as amphibians, having their own walls, or aisles, of the House.

With the old house closed, and the new one not likely to apply the same old-fashioned arrangement, I don't know of any zoo which does this. But I think it would be excellent for a few zoos (not all of them - geographical arrangement works fine, as well) to try this. Imagine a primate house split in half between simians and prosimians, and then further still into 'monkeys,' and 'apes,' or 'lemurs,' and 'lorises,' with some of those categories further being broken up into, say, 'New World,' and 'Old World.'
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The American Museum of Natural History actually does organize their primate taxidermy hall like this, and it would be really unique to see a zoo take the same approach with live animals.
 
MonkeyBat said:
More exhibits showcasing smaller animals! I see so many zoo projects these days trying to be representation of the "Asian Rainforest" and only having tigers, gibbons, and orangutans. Or African exhibits being just giraffes, lions, and hoof stock. I love exhibits like JungleWorld, Madagascar, or Congo Gorilla Forest at Bronx because they truly are a showcase of the importance of all different types of creatures from an ecosystem. Not only that, but smaller animals take up less space. I feel like if zoos really are trying to go for this "immersion" thing they preach about, we should be immersed to all the little animals that help an ecosystem, not just the headliners (which I have no problem with since they obviously bring visitors in).
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The challenge is, especially in North America, many zoos are less interested in small animals, I just hear that the Northern Luzon Giant Rat in NA is gone, while they have decent number in Europe. Let alone many small animals are short-lived, easily get stressed, and not that sustainable.
 
StellarChaser said:
The challenge is, especially in North America, many zoos are less interested in small animals, I just hear that the Northern Luzon Giant Rat in NA is gone, while they have decent number in Europe. Let alone many small animals are short-lived, easily get stressed, and not that sustainable.
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The giant cloud rats are not gone. I saw multiple at Bronx a few months ago.
 
Neil chace said:
The giant cloud rats are not gone. I saw multiple at Bronx a few months ago.
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Oh, Ok. But Malagasy Giant Rat is gone in NA. It seems no institution in NA have big collection of small animals as Plzen Zoo in Europe
 
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StellarChaser said:
Oh, Ok. But Malagasy Giant Rat is gone in NA. It seems no institution in NA have big collection of small animals as Plzen Zoo in Europe
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Not on the scale of Europe, but plenty of zoos in the US have a good amount of small mammals (National Zoo, Bronx, Omaha), even if certain species are gone.
 
StellarChaser said:
The challenge is, especially in North America, many zoos are less interested in small animals, I just hear that the Northern Luzon Giant Rat in NA is gone, while they have decent number in Europe. Let alone many small animals are short-lived, easily get stressed, and not that sustainable.
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Also, I'm not just talking about small mammals here, It's mostly an emphasis on birds, fish, herps, insects, ect.)
 
The first thing that comes to mind is a decent south america exhibt, kopje exhibits and a theme about new zealand or new guinea(outside of new zealand). Most south america exhibts are just noth american non mammals clumped with south american ones. Kopjes are intresting habitats and new zealand and new guinea are just under appreaciated.
 
Echoing what other posters about wanting more hippos and larger groups of animals. I’d also love to see a zoo with a herd of plains zebra, rather than just a harem or a pair of individuals, though logistically and space-wise I appreciate that would be challenging. If it did ever happen, being able to view them from above would be incredible and showcase the stripes at work, blending them together.

I’d like to see more exhibits where the animals travel over you, and that aren’t just the usual rainforest/free-flying bird exhibits (though more of those are also welcome). I’m thinking of Dublin’s orang exhibit in particular, but on a grander scale. Or, in general, more exhibits where the impression is given that the viewer is in the ‘cage’ (without needing to be in a car) and the animal is ‘free’. Essentially the sort of immersive experience some aquariums provide but with animals you wouldn’t normal associate with it.

Also, in exhibits for arboreal animals and birds, having viewing that’s high above the ground so you’re seeing them at their natural level. I believe Singapore does this with their orangs. I think this would also be a good compromise for giving birds more flying space, which is sorely needed in the zoo world, without compromising viewing.
 
One thing I barely ever see is large, ongoing rivers in greenhouses. I've only seen this in Wildlands and Burgers' Zoo I think. Wildlands has the best one I think. With a huge river in their giant greenhouse with Longfin tilapias, Tanganyikan mouthbrooders, Convict cichlids, Grass carps and Guppies
 
There's a lot of good ideas in this thread I already support.

I often think something I'd like to see more is earnest modernization of 'classic' zoo styles. Reptile buildings are the only really classic exhibit style that has survived to the modern way with real change and innovation, while other styles are largely treated as an out-of-date way to display animals compared to modern immersion complexes, which are ubiquitous in major facilities. The other exception I might venture that some penguin exhibits feel like a modern answer to the old aquatic bird houses, too. I would really like to see more modern design standards being applied to older exhibit concepts -- imagine using today's standards of welfare and design to make a small mammal house, a new bird building, or a (not ape-focused) primate complex, even an antelope loop. I think there is still a lot of potential for education with these concepts and to put forward stories that can't always be emphasized in an immersion habitats, especially when megafauna are included. I also think if some zoos took this approach while other zoos continued to focus on habitat immersion, we'd have a greater variety of zoos and exhibits that compliment each other while maintaining overall biodiversity and species richness.

I feel I've played this record a few times before but it was worth adding to this specific thread, I think.
 
I would personally like to see exhibits which are made by carving out large pieces of natural land, and have little or no fake props (fake rocks, grass, trees, etc.). The area surrounded by fences, and animals rarely ever seeing the edge of their enclosure, as the vast space of natural grass and trees is enough to give the species a happy life. North Carolina zoo does a wonderful job of this, but the zoo will have to be made in suburban or rural areas to have access to that land.
 
I’m a sucker for paludariums (mixed species exhibits that contain space for both terrestrial and aquatic animals), yet they’re not done that often. One of my favorite examples would be Unseen New World in Nashville Zoo, as well as several of Shedd’s enclosures in Amazon Rising.
 
Dr. Wolverine said:
I would personally like to see exhibits which are made by carving out large pieces of natural land, and have little or no fake props (fake rocks, grass, trees, etc.). The area surrounded by fences, and animals rarely ever seeing the edge of their enclosure, as the vast space of natural grass and trees is enough to give the species a happy life. North Carolina zoo does a wonderful job of this, but the zoo will have to be made in suburban or rural areas to have access to that land.
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Dudley zoo when being built used alot of its natural terrain to create environments for various species
Eg..the moat that surrounded the castle was excavated to create enclosures for penguins, waterfowl and sealions.
Areas that had been used for surface quarrying were used to create ravines for big cats and bears and the whole area has a multitude of trees
 
Corangurilla said:
I’d like to see more exhibits like Elephant Odyssey, but actually good. :p
Prehistoric megafauna are my absolute jam, so it’s a slight shame that the only Elephant Odyssey-like exhibit we have is… Elephant Odyssey.
Of course, this theme would only work for prehistoric North America/Europe, otherwise it’d just be a normal geographical themed exhibit with maybe one or two outliers.
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Going off of this, it would be exciting to see more native species exhibits in general, but also ones that include recently extinct species. For example, for my home state of Iowa, I would like to see a native species exhibit that includes bears, bison, wolves, elk, cougars, and lynxes which don't exist in Iowa anymore. I remember visiting Grandfather Mountain, and they do sort of a similar setup, with elk and cougar exhibits despite being a North Carolina state park.
 
Some exhibit themes that I wish were more common in zoos, at least here in NA, are those of underrepresented geographical areas.

Central Asia, the West Asia/the Middle East, South Asia/the Subcontinent, Mexico/Central America, the South African Cape, and the Caribbean are all broad geographical areas where there are numerous popular species present in captivity, and plenty of herps and smaller species from those regions that could support interesting complexes.

When major zoos frequently default to well-trodden biogeographical themes of 'the Amazon' or the generic 'Africa,' they miss the opportunity to delve into more specific locales. Choosing a singular geographic region allows for a more focused narrative, enabling zoos to tell compelling stories and raise awareness about the conservation challenges faced by these often-overlooked regions. It is refreshing whenever you stumble upon a well-thought-out complex that goes beyond the usual tropes and explores a typically overlooked region.
 
CMP said:
When major zoos frequently default to well-trodden biogeographical themes of 'the Amazon' or the generic 'Africa,' they miss the opportunity to delve into more specific locales. Choosing a singular geographic region allows for a more focused narrative, enabling zoos to tell compelling stories and raise awareness about the conservation challenges faced by these often-overlooked regions. It is refreshing whenever you stumble upon a well-thought-out complex that goes beyond the usual tropes and explores a typically overlooked region.
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The catch here is balancing adherence to a theme with species that can reasonably be acquired, and ideally are part of a greater managed population. Sure, it'd be great to instead of an Africa section a zoo does an exhibit dedicated to the Ethiopian Highlands, but no amount of wishful thinking will allow them to display mountain nyala or Ethiopian wolf, so species need to be chosen carefully that either fit a theme, or to stand in for other species. Granted, a zoo could still build an Ethiopian Highlands exhibit, featuring geladas, rock hyrax, blue-winged goose, white-cheeked turaco, etc., but the story-telling and Interpretive messaging of this exhibit wouldn't work if it relied upon having wolves or mountain nyala (I'm not saying it'd have to). Most zoos it seems take the easy route of picking broad, catch-all themes that typically have a wide range of available species.
 
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