BenFoxster
Well-Known Member
Long story short, I know it is very difficult to design a proper orangutan exhibit, so I am curious to know whether it is possible to make a mixed species exhibit for orangutans, gibbons, and possibly small-clawed otters that combines that of an island moated exhibit that simultaneously offers glass window viewing. I know the species have been mixed before, but I am wondering if it is possible to do so in a layout that neither restricts guests to having to view the animals from a large distance away, nor have to resort to using a cage or wire netting. Basically I want to combine the Singapore Zoo's gorgeous orangutan island moat exhibit with Fresno Chaffee Zoo's glass orangutan viewing. I want the best of both worlds: an large natural island lush with vegetation, but I still want visitors to be able to get up close and personal with these great apes. However, I also want to be able to exhibit gibbons in the same exhibit, without them leaping out of the enclosure (which may be quite difficult, for if I could recall correctly, they could leap 33 feet into the air!?). I included below a quick, crude drawing I did for how I would imagine the layout to appear.
There would be a wide island surrounded by water to prevent the apes from getting to the visitor's path. In the center of the island would be a massive faux banyan tree, where the apes can sleep, climb the branches, play, etc. There would also be holes within the trees where keepers could hide treats for the apes that the apes have to find for enrichment, along with many other puzzles. Platforms and ropes connecting the platforms to the banyan tree and neighboring smaller trees would add more arboreal enrichment and climbing capability to the exhibit. Along the edge of the island would be a steep slope, creating a barrier that the otters can't get past limiting them to about 1/3 of the exhibit while giving the apes 2/3 of space away from the otters on the upper land portion, not including the trees and platforms (crucial if all animals are meant to breed, so that the young apes can't be bothered by the otters). It may seem like a little for the otters, but this is considering how large the exhibit would idealistically be, not including the fact that the otters would have access to all the water in the moat to swim.
The greatest complication would be the gibbons. My idea was to have half of the exhibit surrounded by a moat, and the other half completely covered with a very tall wall. The wall would feature a glass window for up close viewing of the animals, and the banyan tree + platforms + heavy vegetation in the center of the island would ideally block the view of guests from either side of the enclosure so that the guests in front of the moat can't see the window, and the guests from the window won't be able to see the guests crossing before the pathway.
My biggest concern would be, how tall would the wall have to be that the gibbons can't leap over the wall, and how much of a gap between the island and the visitor's path would there have to be for the gibbons to not leap over the moat? For the wall, would it have to stand 33 feet into the air, after taking into account the height of the banyan, trees, and platforms? Meaning that if the banyan stands 30 feet into the air, the wall would have to be 60 feet tall? Or is it possible that the wall could be much shorter, especially if the trees are say, a good ten feet away from the wall in the first place? If anyone could offer any suggestions, answer my questions, or offer an alternative, anything is appreciated! This is all just for speculation purposes only of course.
Singapore Zoo inspiration:
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/revamped-orang-utan-island-singapore-zoo.930/
https://www.zoochat.com/community/m...rdwalk-at-the-bornean-orangutan-island.84471/
An example of Fresno Chaffee's glass viewing near the bottom of this thread, uploaded by snowleopard
https://www.zoochat.com/community/threads/popular-zoo-mammals-and-their-best-exhibits.487868/page-6
Example Layout:
Banyan Tree Inspo:
There would be a wide island surrounded by water to prevent the apes from getting to the visitor's path. In the center of the island would be a massive faux banyan tree, where the apes can sleep, climb the branches, play, etc. There would also be holes within the trees where keepers could hide treats for the apes that the apes have to find for enrichment, along with many other puzzles. Platforms and ropes connecting the platforms to the banyan tree and neighboring smaller trees would add more arboreal enrichment and climbing capability to the exhibit. Along the edge of the island would be a steep slope, creating a barrier that the otters can't get past limiting them to about 1/3 of the exhibit while giving the apes 2/3 of space away from the otters on the upper land portion, not including the trees and platforms (crucial if all animals are meant to breed, so that the young apes can't be bothered by the otters). It may seem like a little for the otters, but this is considering how large the exhibit would idealistically be, not including the fact that the otters would have access to all the water in the moat to swim.
The greatest complication would be the gibbons. My idea was to have half of the exhibit surrounded by a moat, and the other half completely covered with a very tall wall. The wall would feature a glass window for up close viewing of the animals, and the banyan tree + platforms + heavy vegetation in the center of the island would ideally block the view of guests from either side of the enclosure so that the guests in front of the moat can't see the window, and the guests from the window won't be able to see the guests crossing before the pathway.
My biggest concern would be, how tall would the wall have to be that the gibbons can't leap over the wall, and how much of a gap between the island and the visitor's path would there have to be for the gibbons to not leap over the moat? For the wall, would it have to stand 33 feet into the air, after taking into account the height of the banyan, trees, and platforms? Meaning that if the banyan stands 30 feet into the air, the wall would have to be 60 feet tall? Or is it possible that the wall could be much shorter, especially if the trees are say, a good ten feet away from the wall in the first place? If anyone could offer any suggestions, answer my questions, or offer an alternative, anything is appreciated! This is all just for speculation purposes only of course.
Singapore Zoo inspiration:
https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/revamped-orang-utan-island-singapore-zoo.930/
https://www.zoochat.com/community/m...rdwalk-at-the-bornean-orangutan-island.84471/
An example of Fresno Chaffee's glass viewing near the bottom of this thread, uploaded by snowleopard
https://www.zoochat.com/community/threads/popular-zoo-mammals-and-their-best-exhibits.487868/page-6
Example Layout:
Banyan Tree Inspo: