Geographically Less Obvious

[Maguari]

Was just uploading photos from the Arundel WWT centre and it struck me it had some rather unique geographically-themed exhibits:

New Zealand Exhibit: http://www.zoochat.com/1092/new-zealand-waterfalls-exhibit-arundel-wwt-136493/

Iraq Exhibit: http://www.zoochat.com/1092/iraqi-wetlands-exhibit-arundel-wwt-13-a-136511/

Iceland Exhibit: http://www.zoochat.com/1092/myvatn-pen-arundel-wwt-13-03-a-136499/


Now - exhibits based on Kenya or Indonesia or even Australia are fairly common - let's see some examples of less well-represented countries and regions!


Actually - another good example - the Dutch meadow aviary at Rotterdam (although that is a local exhibit so maybe not quite the same thing?): http://www.zoochat.com/36/dutch-meadow-aviary-rotterdam-10-05-a-81697/

 

[Meaghan Edwards]

Oh wow! Those are unique. I don't know if it counts or not, but Toronto has a Eurasia section, as well as an Ontario wetlands based one in the Americas pavilion. There's native turtles, fish, frogs, etc.

 

[phoenix]

exhibits themed on local environments are not that uncommon in zoos (although admittedly there should be a lot more).

also, is this REALLY a new zealand/iraq/iceland themed exhibit or does it just so happen that the aviaries are stocked with species form that region?

what i'm trying to get at is - for it to be a true themed exhibit i would expect an attempt to replicate specifics of that environment within the exhibit. with plants and landscaping that originate or are similar to those that originate from that region. maybe it features architecture inspired by that part of the world. numerous species from the region rather than just one gives it a boost as well.

dunno if a single pair of black swans in a generically landscaped aviary, in say sweden can count as a true "tasmanian wetland" exhibit. even if it is called that.

 

[Maguari]

also, is this REALLY a new zealand/iraq/iceland themed exhibit or does it just so happen that the aviaries are stocked with species form that region?

what i'm trying to get at is - for it to be a true themed exhibit i would expect an attempt to replicate specifics of that environment within the exhibit. with plants and landscaping that originate or are similar to those that originate from that region. maybe it features architecture inspired by that part of the world. numerous species from the region rather than just one gives it a boost as well.

In terms of the specific examples above, as I understand it the New Zealand exhibit was built specifically to house Blue Ducks and landcaped accordingly, and the Icelandic aviary was very definitely modelled on the landscape of Lake Myvatn (see the curious rockwork in the photo). The Iraqi exhibit has some 'human activity' style theming. So all are more than a generic pond!

In terms of planting, they are all suggestive of the habitat rather than necessarily the exact species - Arundel has an extensive reedbed nature reserve (a registered Site of Special Scientific Interest) adjacent to these exhibits so I would have thought introducing non-native wetland plants to the area would be something of a no-no.

(plus of course, the species are (mostly) representative - though the (Asian) Scaly-sided Mergansers stick out a bit in the Iceland exhibit!)


The Rotterdam exhibit is (as I noted) slightly different in that it is representative of a locally-found habitat, so in there the theming is absolutely bang-on.