Exhibits with a specific country theme.

[elefante]

It seems like many of the exhibits you see in zoos have a theme such as nocturnal animals or a rainforest, or those that exhibit species from a certain area usually have a broad range such as African savanna, Amazon rainforest, or something to that effect. Are there many zoos that have a specific country whose species they exhibit? I know the Memphis Zoo has a China-themed area, but have any of you run across others (excluding a section for native species of that country, state, province, etc)? There are some countries that have a diverse range of species or unique species that can make some interesting exhibits. Mexico is one that comes to mind for me.

 

[marmoset23]

The tampa zoo has a florida native section.

 

[15399]

A lot of zoos have Australia-themed exhibits. There are also a handful of Madagscar exhibits out there, most notably at Bronx and Omaha Zoos.

 

[elefante]

I don't know how I forgot about Australia and Madagascar. Australia is especially common.

 

[15399]

I don't know how I forgot about Australia and Madagascar. Australia is especially common.

I'd be willing to go out on a limb here and say that Australia is almost certainly the country most often used as am Exhibit theme.

Another exhibit I just remembered about is the Peru exhibit at Nashville Zoo.

 

[birdsandbats]

Minnesota Zoo has an exhibit devoted to northeastern Russia. It has Amur Tiger, Amur Leopard, Sea Otter, Brown Bear, Rainbow Trout, and Wild Boar.

 

[Emanuel Theodorus]

Fort Wayne Children's Zoo has an area dedicated to wildlife of Indonesian raindorest, which I really appreciate.

And Kansas City Zoo divided their Africa section into different countries as well.

 

[Jambo]

Some Zoos, such as the Auckland Zoo have an area dedicated to species from New Zealand, such as Kiwi and Tuatara.

Australia is fairly common, but I have also seen areas for Indonesia and China. China, being increasingly popular, especially for zoos that have Giant Panda.

 

[Zoofan15]

Indonesia:

Taronga Zoo in Australia have an exhibit themed on the island of Sumatra. It’s attracted a lot of criticism from ZooChatters for only containing a single species (Sumatran tiger) and being the epitome of kitsch - with mock planes and a fake supermarket: Tiger Trek

New Zealand:

Hamilton Zoo has a large New Zealand wetlands exhibit:

New Zealand Wetlands Exhibit

• Zoofan15
• 26 Jul 2020
• 1

Photo taken 25/07/2020.

Auckland Zoo has an entire precinct, comprised of multiple New Zealand habitats. It’s built upon Motions Creek, a naturally occurring river which is utilised in the design.

The Coast:

Te Wao Nui - The Coast (Fur Seal Exhibit)

• Zoofan15
• 16 Jul 2020
• 1

Photo taken 12/07/2020.

The Wetlands:

Te Wao Nui - The Wetlands

• Zoofan15
• 16 Jul 2020
• 1

Photo taken 12/07/2020.

The High Country:

Te Wao Nui - The High Country

• Zoofan15
• 16 Jul 2020
• 1

Photo taken 12/07/2020.

Further info: Te Wao Nui

 

[Nasua]

I don't really know a lot about the US zoos but in Europe, there are a few examples that come to my mind, even though, at first glance, it currently seems to be no trend or matter at all to specify themed areas to a single country.
Examples I have seen or heard of - besides the aforementioned Australia and Madagascar themes - are Alaska (at Gelsenkirchen, very large area), Yukon/Canada (Hannover), Mongolia (Zürich), Indonesia (Praha), Sichuan/China (Praha) and then only some even more specific places like reserves or the like, which are often connected to a specific country anyway. I can spontaneously think of Lewa at Zürich (which would represent Kenya), Kaeng Krachan/Thailand (Zürich as well) or Pantanal/Brazil (Zürich again).
Now that I thought about it, you could probably revise my first sentence, or at least exclude Zürich. I think the majority of new themed projects will still focus on a very general definition of areas (like Africa, Asia, ...), which is a real pity as I would love to see more specific ones. In Zürich, the concept really works for me.

 

[Mbwamwitu]

Singapore Zoo has an Ethiopia exhibit area with a heavy emphasis on the theme (if I remember right), although there are some misplaced species. I also think the Singapore Night Safari used to have sections on its tram tour that were themed to India (Asiatic lions, striped hyena, sloth bear), Nepal (one-horned rhino, barasingha) and Myanmar (gaur, Eld's deer) but these seem to have been done away with in its new layout. It has an Australia, though.

 

[evilmonkey239]

I'd be willing to go out on a limb here and say that Australia is almost certainly the country most often used as am Exhibit theme.

Another exhibit I just remembered about is the Peru exhibit at Nashville Zoo.

Undoubtedly this is because it doubles as a continent.