Toronto Zoo If You Bought Toronto Zoo...

TZFan

TZFan

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
I was thinking it might be fun for all of us to discuss what we would do with Toronto Zoo if suddenly one of us became insanely wealthy and could buy and rebuild the zoo. Now in this scenario you have every penny you could ever need to turn the zoo into whatever you wanted. Money is no object.

You can build whatever you want, wherever you want, however you want. Knock down and start again... sure... simply remodel... ok... the only things we cant change are the natural lay of the land. We cant just do away with the hill down to the Canadian domain... we cant fill in the streams or ponds or the little gully running through Indo Malayan section.

And animal wise the sky is pretty much the limit. Obviously the zoo couldnt support a blue whale exhibit but if you want orcas sure. A whole herd of pandas? why not your rich you can buy them off the chinese by the plane load. Asian and african elephants? ok... just have to keep in mind the space the zoo has available and make trade offs. If you want to mount an expedition to find big foot and add a pair to the zoo... its your money.

I thought we could go section by section and see what we would do in each place and every couple of days move on to a new section. This would give everyone an opportunity to have their say and comment on other ideas.

I know its probably a boring place to start but lets start right at the enterance since its everyones first impression of the zoo?

The city of Toronto is out and we are in. What do we do?
 
Ok so when I started thinking about it I realized I'd be happier levelling the zoo and starting from scratch. Dont get me wrong I love the zoo but the only things they have redone since the 1970's that doesnt seem pretty half hearted was the savannah and the gorillas exhibit. They may have had grand plans but often the execution falls short, likely do to a lack of money. Problem solved... as the new owner I have the billions upon billions needed to do this place up right and make our zoo the envy of the world.

Starting at the gate I'd put up something very modern looking, befitting a world class zoo. Im thinking something along the lines of Assiniboine's new entrance.

Playing above all of the ticket gates on weather proof tvs (or projected on screens) I would have cute alert ads running. If we have a baby whatever a crew will film it within days of its birth and do up a mini commercial for it like a birth announcement listing its parents, birthday and location. I always checked their cute alert signage when I was a kid. I knew where I had to go.

The gates would lead to a covered plaza with several gift shops, a restaurant, bathrooms, ticket booths for rides and experience (I like the point of sale machines so I'd also reinstall them at any activity) and a great zoo mobile main station with TVs teaching people about the zoos animals.

Oh might add a small zoo museum with touch tables, old maps, skeletons and stuffed animals, and exhibits sharing the history which is usually forgotten.

The shops would be broken down into smaller retail locations with specific focuses so people wouldn’t be over stimulated and miss things (I’m frequently in that boat). A clothing shop, a book shop, a trinket tourist trap type shop, a toy store, maybe some cultural shops. The toy store would be the best. I loved the stuffed animals the WWF has out and I'd want their toys to be the big push so both the zoo and the WWF could benefit.

Restaurant wise it might be nice to have a decent little sit down restaurant offering good quality food for an affordable price, a coffee shop and as always an ice cream vendor. If the big guys like McDonalds or Tim Hortons want in on the deal Im open to it. Let them pay for the staff and upkeep while we charge them rent and get a slice of the action if the price is right.

The covered plaza would be open on completely on the zoo side and you would see the conservation carousel (it’s pretty and the little ones seem to like it) surrounded by a garden and hedges because the fence while practical is ugly. I might slide it closer to the entrance though.

The small exhibit holding the bald eagle would go... Never really saw the need for it, especially with other eagles in other areas.

Also on the chopping block would be the main gift shop and the administration in that building. I have other plans for the space.

Just behind the carousel and off to the side where the current gift shop is and the wasted space in front of it but before the theatre, I'd move the discovery zone. Just pull it out and slide it, maybe expand it at a little. In the children’s zoo I would get rid of animals better placed in other areas of the zoo.

I'd try and keep it to domesticated animals they could possibly touch, sheep, llamas, alpacas, goats, donkeys, ponies, pigs, rabbits, guinea pigs, domesticated ferrets, gerbils, hamsters, weird looking chickens, turkeys ducks, geese and swans. The pony rides would be here, looping by a pond with ducks, geese, swans and koi. To make money here I would also offer a fish feeding opportunity 2 or 3 times daily for a fee.

I'd include the theatre for the bird and adaption shows. All animals in the shows would have homes there too. I think I'd have two bird shows. One with parrots doing cool tricks that show off their adaptations (African greys, macaws, cockatoos, cockatiels, love birds... several different species of each). Another with north american birds where they show off their hunting and flight techiques (eagles, vultures, hawks, falcons, owls). Then there would be an adaption show with a couple of mammals, birds and reptiles. I would do fish, amphibians and bugs but you couldnt see them well from a distance likely.

A really cool play ground would be nice. It should look like an animal environment more than a playground and have features that would encourage animal behavior from them. They should be able to slide like otters, tunnel like ferrets, dig like turtles, swing like monkeys, climb like goats ect.

And I think an animal rehabilitation center would go nicely. Here kids could learn about how the different groups help rehabilitate animals and return them to the wild. I know the zoo would have to be very selective about the animals rehabbed there, don’t want anything that will die in front of the kids or is horrifically wounded but some simpler cases or ones well on the way to mended. Only Ontario wildlife though.

The current space used by the discovery zone would be left empy for the time being since I'm just moving it into space I consider part of the entry.

While I would be ripping out all of the pathways and repaving them where I need them to go I would bring back the foot prints leading people around. I loved them as a kid.

So what would you guys do to revamp the entrance or would you leave it as is?
 
1st and most important step:
... I would keep the African Elephants and built a new exhibit for them where the Serengeti Bush Camp and the Simba Safari Lodge is.

2nd
...I would bring back the Musk Oxen

3rd
...I would try to get Tasmanian Devils for a new exhibit close to Australia Pavillon (East side of the building).

4th
...I would extent (more or less as already planned) the Asia drive-thru section. I would keep phasing out species like Dholes, would bring in the Thars and new Siberian Tigers, Chinese Leopards and would make parts of it also accessible by foot.

5th
...I would create a new "Indian Forest Exhibit" with Indian Rhinos, Nilgai, Axis deer and one for Asian Elephant behind the Education Centre and Zootique building and would transform the Building into an Elephant/Rhino house.

6th
...I would built a "Argentine Pampa" Exhibit on the left side between Americas Pavillon and Maya Temple Ruin with Guanacos, Rheas, Maras and Giant Anteaters.

7th
...I would try to get back the Giant Pandas after their stay in Calgary and extend the loan (during their stay in Calgary, I would replace them with Asian Black Bears).

8th
...I would bring back the Seals as a crowd puller.

9th
...I would look for much more food diversity at the restaurants (e.g. themed food like churros, burritos or empanadas within Latin American areas of the zoo, curries and sweet and sour dishes within Asian areas etc.)


Now, I can hear some people crying: "How would you pay all of this?". Well, when I would have enough money to buy Toronto Zoo, I would also have enough money to realize my plans...;)
 
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I have so many ideas for the zoo. I'm still deciding which ones I want to use. I will start posting my ideas either tonight or tomorrow.

My favourite idea that I've seen so far is TZFan's plan to have different gift shops for books, toys, clothing, etc. I'm probably going to use that in my new Toronto Zoo.
 
I know isnt it great to pretend your a multi billionaire who can do whatever you want. Oh so many tantalizing possiblities.

Zoomaniac I love some of your suggestions. They are part of my overall plan too. I'd love to see many of your animal additions. I however wouldnt keep the elephants... not that they would go to PAWS. Im not one for letting a loud mouth like Barker and pushy zoo haters like zoo check tell me what to do. Nope I'd send the girls to Florida. Thats where they should be going. Canadian elephants should retire to Florida like all other Canadian seniors. Its not that I dont love them or fear the costs of keeping them, your plan sounds great. It would be awesome to expand and bring in new younger herd members who would breed. If we lived in a warmer climate I would really consider keeping them but we dont and that means a lot of space will be eaten up by a state of the art cold weather barn that can keep them fit and happy for 6 months of the year. I just can see using that space so much better for more species. But I'll save those plans for when we swing around to the savannah. Your right though keeping Africans and adding Asians would be a huge move for the zoo and people would love it. Especially with each birth.

Wait new idea for my front entrance! Oh I might be brillant. We build a parking structure that would be several stories high and go several more underground. This would give us even more space for animal exhibits!!! You know what I want all the space. THe parking structure can go on the overflow lot across the street. Now I have tons of new space... what to do? what to do? Step one move the entrance to the bus entrance since its fairly close to the overflow lot. Step two move the discovery zone into a second quarter of the old lot. Step three think hard for a couple of hours and see what new thing i can dream up.
 
Here is the first part of my plan for the Toronto Zoo:

Entrance & Antarctica
There would be a large building which would include the admission booths, a gift shop, coffee shop, indoor playground, 4-D theatre, events centre, offices, and Antarctica exhibit.
The gift shop would be divided into 4 sections. They would be toys, books, clothes, and other.
The 4-D theatre would play movies about animals that are both educational and entertaining.
The events centre and offices would be on the top floor of the building. Everything else would be on the bottom.
King, gentoo, rockhopper, and chinstrap penguins would live in a large Antarctic exhibit with long underwater viewing windows.

Europe
The entire Kid’s Zoo, giant panda interpretive centre, and surrounding areas would be transformed into a European region.
The Waterside Theatre and surrounding area would become a coastal section with grey seals and puffins.
In the grey seal underwater viewing area there would be fish and marine invertebrate aquariums for species like common octopus.
Most of the current animal exhibits area would become a forest trail with Eurasian lynxes, red foxes, wild boars, owls, and small birds.
The rest of the Kid’s Zoo would become an Arctic area with polar bears in an exhibit similar to their current one, reindeer, arctic foxes, and snowy owls.

Australia
The Australasia Pavilion would stay mostly the same but would be divided into different habitat sections.
The tree kangaroo exhibit, indoor aviary, and some of the reptile exhibits would become an Australian rainforest and wetlands area.
The rest of the reptile exhibits would be home to temperate forest and desert species.
The mixed species marsupial exhibit would be transformed into two exhibits for koalas and common wombats (unless the two species can share an exhibit).
Komodo dragons would move to the Asian area and a giant saltwater crocodile would live in their old exhibit which would connect to the rainforest and wetlands sections.
The Great Barrier Reef area would be renovated to include additional small exhibits and more species.
The outdoor exhibit would stay as it is and be home to red kangaroos and emus.
 
Ah a 4 D theatre! I knew I was forgetting something cool when I designed my entrance area. Definitely sign me up for that. It can join my new entrance in the parking lot.
 
Ok so I made my decision on the rest of the parking lot... A massive Oceans pavilion which would rival the best in the world.

First off no whales... I love whales but Im not sure captivity is for them no matter how amazing I make their space. Im not even sold on dolphins or porpoises. Id look into them but I'd need a good reason to justify it. Maybe porpoises that are being rehabbed.

I however am very much into getting califoria sea lions, northern fur seals, harbour seals and sea otters. I could add other seals but I think transfering them around is going to be too hard. Dont worry I want walruses but they are going in tundra trek when I get around to it. I'd kill for elephant seals or leopard seals but those just wont work in North America. Each species would have indoor outdoor exhibits because winter sucks. All would have underwater viewing outside and tunnels underneath inside. Cool feature i think.

I would want touch pools with rays, sharks, horseshoe crabs and starfish. Nearby would be tidal pool animals.

I would want a big kelp forest with the giant pacific octopus as the feature creature but lots of other marine life... i know im not a fish person.

There would also be a cool great barrier reef section with everything that makes finding nemo great (execpt the pelican and any dangerous sharks).

There will be an indoor outdoor exhibit for sea birds. I would like to combine as many species as possible here and have several kinds of pelicans, cormorants, puffins, ect.. If I can get my hands on a blue footed booby pair super.

I also want to get my hands on as many species of sea turtle as possible. Dont care if I have to rehabilitate them to get them. Just want them and have as many of the seven species on exhibit as possible.

I would like to have a manetee rehab program. Get some up from florida if possible to rest and recover or take in ones that cant go back. If thats the case indoor outdoor exhibit.

Now for the thing that will set us apart from everyone else... I want an enormous main tank that will house as many species of shark and ray as possible. Yes I want a big honking tank that can hold whale sharks and manta rays just like Georgia Aquarium. Controversial yes. Awe inspiring you bet! And I would like to let people dive in if for a hefty fee of course.

Yep pretty cool.

In the former entrance area I will move the splash pad which will be bigger and better. i like its theming so it can just grow. Around it will be picnic areas, resturants and shops.

Also taking up this space will be my antarctic pavilion. Thought I forgot about penguins in the oceans pavilion didnt you? Nope they will have their own continent specific home Penguin Point.

At the start of the area I would have a big ice looking sign reading Penguin Point. On either side of the sign I’d have two big emperor penguins looking like they were holding up the sign and their baby would sit on top looking down at the sign. Great spot for a photo op.

In it there would be a huge colony of penguins with above and below water viewing. I'd make sure the chick nursery was available for viewing during breeding season. A board could cover it up during the rest of the time to give keepers privacy. The tank would be fairly deep to give the penguins tons of space. I think I'd have a few exhibits to give them a chance to break up if they need to. I'd have emperors, kings, chinstaps, adelie, and rock hoppers. There would also be an outdoor pool or two because they might like some sun.

Depending on if they live peacefully together I'd add shag, or give them their own exhibit. I don’t know if you can exhibit albatross but I'd look into it and add them if possible in a separate habitat. Leopard and elephant seals would be wicked though likely unrealistic.

The African penguins could have space near or just outside the penguin facility to help with their filtration needs. And they would get a much nicer indoor pool to satisfy their winter swimming needs than what they currently have. Antarctic no but since the penguin pavilion is right next door to space Im about to convert into more African animals, Indo Malaya. Im not planning on African shore life so the penguins will do better here especially given the facilities for their water will be right here.

K that gets me my whole entrance area converted plus the parking lot. Great idea i had to dump the current parking strategy. If i need more parking space across the road ill buy the land and build a second structure.
 
oh and none of my seals, sea lions or otters will do tricks. Its not a show. Just natural exhibits for their enjoyment. Keeper talks and feedings absolutely because people will love them. But no shows. Just natural behaviours that occur when the animals want.
 
That is a great idea for an exhibit TZFan. In my plan I have all of the marine species in separate regions so it is nice to see a completely different idea! I like how your plan makes the zoo completely different while in mine the zoo mostly stays the same. Keep it up!
 
Thanks I had thought of geographically grouping like you but I figured with all the water treatment and filtration needs I'd just go for an ocean pavilion. Before I decided to invade the parking lots I was going to rip out a massive chunk of trees at the hear of the zoo and put it there because the oceans connect all the continents. I thought it was a fitting place. However when I realize all the space bing wasted on parking lots instead of multi story structures the free space here would mean I could leave the forested area largely untouched. Id prefer to leave it and lose the symbolism of the oceans position but get to keep the natural setting of the rouge valley.
 
Ok moving on in the zoo. What to do with Indo Malaya?

Personally for me Indo Malaya will be no more. Why? I want all the Asian stuff together on the other side of the zoo. What will I build in its place you ask? Good question. This would be my African Desert section with indoor outdoor exhibits and a new pavilion.

A huge sign that looked like sand would be held up by giant termite mounts and a lizard would have run across the sand writing African Desert with his tail. Time for another photo op.

On the current site of the Indian Rhino building and into the tarh exhibit (why its even hidden back there and only viewable from the zoomobile Ill never understand) I would have a carnivore complex with indoor outdoor viewing for Jackals, Bat eared foxes and caracals. I also might include the secretary birds if they need to be separate from other animals (if not I’d like them to be with the hoof stock). I’d like to see natural looking sandy exhibits. All of them would have indoor exhibits for winter inside their central barn. Massive skylights would keep it bright in the winter. If I were to run out of space in the African savannah I would consider moving the hyenas down here but I prefer to keep them where they are.

The space used for the Malayan woods I originally planned to be the home of Barbary sheep but they are phase outs... I think I will convert this space into a tunnel themed kids zone where they could be a meerkat. On the walls of the tunnel I would put things that share the mobs dens. There would be sand so they could dig like a meerkat with little hidden prizes they can keep like rubber scorpions and lizards. Wait some would take all the toys... Ok theres cards hidden and the kid can trade in their cards when the leave the gated area and receive one prize from a staff member supervising. Around this area would be a African themed market for mom and dad as well as picnic areas and a small restaurant.

In the Lion Tailed Macaque space would become a desert tortoise home. African spurred tortoise, and aldabra tortoises would be the main inhabitants. With indoor and outdoor viewing people could visit with them year round. In the indoor space I would like to include several species of desert bird that would first not hurt people and could fly free around them. I don’t know what would be good but something has to be. I know they could go with meerkats in the pavilion but I’d prefer something simple. I really miss the tortoise exhibit which used to be around the African pavilion. As a pay experience several guests a day could be allowed to go into the exhibit and feed them.

Where the guar exhibit is and taking over the Indo Malayan pavilions space I would build the Desert Dwellers Pavilion. Here would be the home of meerkats, jerboa, African crested porcupine, desert hedgehog, mongoose, hooded vipers, scorpions, Dung beetle, desert chameleons, Monitor lizard, rock hyrax, fennec fox and sand cats (2 of the cutest animals ever). I’m torn with what to put smack dab in the middle of the pavilion... either go with the zoos pavilion focus on a primate and have a troop of baboons in a somewhat large feature exhibit, with outdoor access.... or do I go with a raised grouping of exhibits (kind of think a dome in the center with several sloped exhibits) with tunnels underneath and bubbles that poke up into the exhibit. Here I’d definitely put the meerkats and mongoose and two other species that would be popular. In the tunnels I’d also tuck nocturnal species like bats, mole rats and aardvarks (I don’t know do they fit better in a desert zone or do I find space in the savannah?) I’d try to make sure the meerkats definitely had outside access. So they could bask in the sun. I’d have a couple outdoor enclosures attached for various species probably rotating. On second thought I want the baboons and the raised exhibit. Done.

Because I don’t think the pavilion would necessarily take up all of the Indo Malayan pavilions old space I would use some of that plus the tiger yards and a little beyond for my hoof stock yards. The stupid gully ruins my plans to just rip out the woods between the Malayan woods and the pavilion. Yes I’m cutting down trees but I plan on planting tons more in other areas to make up for the short fall. They likely would share one barn but several yards depending on the ability of the species to mix. The Dromedary Camels would move over here, I know they could go either way but I want them here. They would be joined by Scimitar Oryx, Addax, Somali Wild Ass, and gemsbok. I had wanted dorcas gazelle but they too are on phase out. Ill take any other desert hoof stock I can get though. I’d like to include guinea fowl and Nubian Bustards to the space if they will live nicely with the others but if not find space for them in the pavilion. I also would leave the possibility of ostriches here open. I want them in the savannah but if space doesn’t allow or they aren’t compatible with others I would give them a try here. I might even be inclined to keep two pairs of ostrich.

That would lead us across the walkway which I would redo simply because everything else will be new and spiffy. Since the area will be covered in open spaces I think I’d include binoculars which if possible could use the memory chip from your camera to take even more zoomed in photos for you. Charge like 25 cents for 5 minutes without photos, 3 bucks for 10 minutes with photos. Or something like that. They would be available elsewhere in the zoo.

By the way my top goal to ensure all exhibits and guest areas look as natural as possible. I don’t want to see concrete walls! If I need a wall let it look like rocks native to the animals habitat. Chain link and mess are unavoidable sadly but wherever possible I’d have its appearance mitigated as best as possible. I really want guests to feel like they are in the region of the world the animals are from and not at a zoo. I can’t tell you how sad I was to see the panda’s indoor exhibits and the crummy paintings on the wall and concrete for us guests. If I must paint I will do a good job and hire someone with talent. If I must have concrete at least I'll make it look like rock. And because we live in Canada home of ice and snow let’s be smart about our barns for many animals. What good is the African savannah area if you can’t see anything because it’s too cold? Make sure each barn has some exhibit space. Sure a bunch of hoofstock would share the same housing but at least have space so one of them can be on view part of the day and another can be rotated on later. And realistically they can have space to stretch their legs. Its a win win for the animals and guests. A schedule of who will be visible at what time can be posted on the door. During the summer it would also give new mothers a place to bond in privacy or to separate trouble makers or males. And all of my pavilions would copy the zoos current goal of as much natural sunlight as possible. That means a lot of glass. For buildings that don’t have glass roofs or just use big skylights I’d go green and use solar panels to reduce the zoos energy costs. Just wanted to point these things out so when your picturing my plans it looks as stellar as possible. If Im going to ask a family of 4 to shell out $100 bucks to get in then I better do my best to make them feel they got their moneys worth and took a delightful trip around the world even if every animal is sleeping. Think along the lines of a disney experience for much much less. And you dont even have to travel.
 
Moving on from my new african desert...

On the other side of the ramp would be a big sign welcoming you to the African Rainforest. It would be 2 huge trees with a pair of monkeys dangling from them holding the sign written on leafs. Photo Op time.

Here would lay a bigger better African Rainforest Pavilion and outdoor yards. I’d want all of the animals from Madagascar out first off. Don’t worry I have plans for them, just need the space.

The gorillas would stay because what’s a zoo without gorillas? They would be joined chimps or bonobos who would rotate with the gorillas unless that’s not good for them health wise. If not an exhibit for them. I’d also see the return of the mandrills (I love them) and patas monkeys. I’d add in bush babies. I love more monkeys but I have to draw the line somewhere because realistically there is only so much space.

In addition to monkey mania, there would be a free flight aviary where there would be as many kinds of parrots, bee eaters, turacos, ducks and geese as possible given the space and availability. I’m not fussy about what would go in there. Just bright colourful birds who will live together peacefully and not attack visitors.

I could not bring myself to live without my beloved pygmy hippos. They would get a bigger area possibly with underwater viewing. I’d let them exhibit share with any water fowl they would do well with. Nearby would also be the African dwarf crocodile also with underwater viewing and a much bigger African otter exhibit. Can’t let Fred and Lila down, especially since their playful nature will be a huge draw. The underwater viewing for all of them would give a nice feel to the space and if I put visitors down in a tunnel... wait maybe even a tunnel right through the water features... Yes, I like the idea of hippos, crocs and otters swimming all around me. Done and under water tunnel it is. I’d love to see another tank like the cichlids exhibit. Perhaps bigger and with more species. Around that area I’d like more fish I just don’t know what species. Possibly a lung fish so its unique adaptation can be shown off.

I’d also want to see more of the chameleon species, with as much intermixing as possible. I also want a nile monitor. I also realize I need more amphibians and reptiles, especially snakes but I just don’t know enough about them to make picks. Anything will do.

Possibly an indoor and outdoor exhibit for shoebills would be a nice addition. They look so amazing. I’d want a nursery nearby with some visibility because I know the shoebills have two babies but one is always abandoned so it would be neat to take the second egg and rear the chick in the nursery for people to see. Keepers can show off how they hand rear chicks.

Just outside the pavilion but mixed in with the chimps, gorillas and mandrills outdoor exhibits I would want homes for okapi, bongos, duikers (any type would be great) and red river hogs. I think I’d like them to be able to transfer between each other’s exhibits throughout the day for stimulation.

Beyond the rainforest pavilion in the general area of the current penguin exhibit I think I would like to build Mysteries of Madagascar a small pavilion dedicated to the unique animals that inhabit the island. I don’t know about that sign but probably something with lemurs.

Obviously my main goal here is lemurs. I like the idea of a walkthrough lemur exhibit. In here I would post a couple of staff members as a precaution and should it fail I would have designed the pathways to easily accommodate the installation of fencing or glass. I would only want lemurs that would do well with people in it as I don’t want to cause the animals stress or get someone attacked. I don’t know what would work but lemurs I would want would be ring tailed lemurs, coquerel’s sifaka, indri, and black and white ruffed lemurs to start. I like the looks of those ones most. I’m happy to add any other species I can get my hands on. If necessary the walkthrough can be divided into chunks for each species and divided by mesh and doors.

Beyond the walkthrough perhaps a species or two of mouse lemur depending on their availability would be a nice addition. Again I would love to mix and match the mouse lemur species as much as possible. I would add a darkened exhibit area for Aye Ayes. Fossas would be nearby. Need to include at least one cool predator here.

Other species I would include in the building would be Radiated tortoise, Madagascar tomato frog, leaf tailed gecko, lined day gecko (I like their blue tail), Hamerkop (included here instead of the rainforest because of its unique looks and the fact it is found in Madagascar too) and any other unique bird, reptile, fish or amphibian from the island that could be brought in and be part of a sustainable population.

I don’t think the pavilion would have to be huge since almost everyone would be there for the lemurs primarily. There is the possibility of taking over the picnic area behind the African restaurant if necessary.

I’d love to have a kids activity in between the two pavilions but I haven’t come up with an idea for that yet. Im thinking some kind of playground that looks like a forest and involves tons of climbing and swinging to simulate being a primate. Its not a fully formed idea clearly. But maybe I forgot an activity here and put something cool in the savannah instead?
 
I’d like to back track a little. I thought Gerenuks and Steenboks were savannah animals but they belong in the desert or scrub so I would like to add them to my desert hoof stock yard.

Now on to the savannah. It would need several signs. I think I’d like them being held up by a pair of giraffes.

It is in the savannah I face another dilemma. Personally I love the elephants. I would love to have them. Because of building requirements Thika, Iringa and Toka would have to go to another facility while construction happened. But due to their age and the stress of moving them I would just let them go to a new permanent home. And because I care more about them than the ****** on city council I would immediately cancel the PAWS deal, tell Bob Barker to take his holy than thou money and shove it and let the keepers decide on a new home. Whatever they want I will give them and forget the activists. My elephants, my keepers decision! But moving them means bringing in a new breeding age herd of 4 females and a bull. Why have them if they don’t reproduce right? Baby elephants would draw huge crowds. That’s great for business. But this means I will lose a ton of space to do things right. I would have to build an enormous barn capable of keeping them happy during the long winter months and a huge track of land would be needed for their outdoor exhibit. I’d likely have to consider space for a bachelor herd to house my growing male calves once they can’t behave anymore until they are old enough to move and breed. I’d love to have them but all this space would be just for them since it’s still not common practice to keep them with other species. One species as cool as it is for all that land isn’t worth it considering I have big plans for this area. More people will probably come to see greater diversity, and thanks to that statically more babies. I think I’d have to abandon elephants, which makes me sad.

That being said I think I can do a lot with the space available now. First off all the wasted space with no animals or purpose would be used. I know we need picnic areas but lots of spaces isn’t being used for that. I look at the savannah now in three sections, the wetlands area, hoof stock and predators.

Now starting out behind the rainforest pavilion I think I would like to include my water based exhibits. The rainforest exhibit closest to this area would be the shoebills which are a water bird so the transition will be good. I would have a flamingo exhibit with either greater or lesser flamingos depending on what will work best with other zoos. Depending on their compatibility I would include some saddle billed storks (they look very cool), yellow billed storks and African spoonbills and any ducks or geese that would do well with them. If they can’t mix and match then separate exhibits for them but with the goal being the exhibit looks like it’s one watering hole.

Across from them possibly Nile crocs, but if forced to chose between them and salt water crocs I want the salty who will be in Australia. Unfortunately the AZA is trying to move away from Nile crocs... I don’t know if I would want one of the replacement species. I’m not a reptile person so if I can’t get what I want then I might just do without and go with other animals.

To the side there would be the hippo exhibit. A nice large one that could handle a female or two and their young plus a male. Naturally I want underwater viewing available since they will be one of my feature animals now that elephants aren’t a possibility. The hippos will be off exhibit in the winter since you can see pygmy’s inside. Why spend the money on an indoor exhibit when there’s another hippo already with one? They will still have a very nice indoor space.

Beside the wetlands area I would start the transition to hoof stock with Sitatunga, Waterbuck and Nile lechwe. They would get a nice exhibit that would give them a water feature and plenty of bush to hide in if that’s their choice.

Possibly across the path will be an African buffalo exhibit. I’d like them to have exhibit mates but I know they are ornery and will probably do better alone. And since the white rhinos are dangerous they can have their own exhibit with a great mud wallow right beside the buffalo. This would enable me to use the barn for both species who I would assume will need protected contact systems for keepers. The yards and barn could be divided up similar to the Indian Rhino house now but on a bigger scale. The exhibits would be on either side of a central barn with indoor exhibit space and off exhibit holding in the rear for management purposes. This way in winter they can split the day in the indoor exhibit and get a chance to do things. I’d like to add Black Rhinos but I don’t think there is space for them too.

Next I would like a hoof stock complex with a combination of animals and exhibits. If possible it would be great to have just one or two massive yards. If not I can deal with several smaller yards but with as many different species as possible. I can’t pick what will work together but my list would include Masai Giraffes, wildebeest, hartebeest, bontebok, Bushbuck, dik dik, Greater kudu, Zambian sable antelope, zebra (maybe Grevy’s and mountain if I have 2 exhibits so they don’t interbreed), South African springbok, Giant Eland, Ugandan Kob, Thompson’s gazelle, and impala. Mixed in with them I would include grey crowned cranes, marabou storks, southern ground hornbill, ostriches and any other bird that will stay put in an open exhibit. I’d like to add in warthogs but I don’t if that will work so I’d give them an exhibit that looked like it was part of the hoof stock space but was separated. And because some of these species are fairly rare in North America I would import almost all my animals from African reserves. Naturally this complex will take up a fair bit of space so it can house so many species. Good thing I’m gaining so much space by losing the elephants, taking over wasted space and combining more of the species into single spaces.

Kind of central to all of these exhibits I’d like to have I think it would be cool to have any kind of weaver bird kept in their own aviary. Their communal spirit and amazing nests would be a sight to see. The way they work together could be used by keepers as a metaphor for the way all of the animals on the savannah depend on each other, hence their location.

This brings me to my next section predators. Sure I could have them mixed in with their preys’ exhibits but I think I would like to have them close together for comparison. First up as that transition species between predator and prey I would the scavengers. I think I would start with a large free flight pen for a vulture grouping. It would be neat to have a daily feeding session where say a cows ribcage was brought in by keepers and they could go to town while the keepers explained the role of the vulture in the ecosystem. I wouldn’t have too many vultures in there that a big brawl would break out. Just a couple of species in pairs, Egyptian vultures and any other vulture it gets along with. Now if feeding time on a dead cow is too graphic... might be... then the keeper could chuck meat in like they do with the lions. And I’m not so concerned with having breeding pairs of vultures. Same gendered sets are fine. And if one kind is being bred then I think i would keep them in a rear holding pen for the privacy of rearing a chick anyway.

Right by them I would have a honey badger exhibit that was sharing their barn with servals who had their own exhibit. In fact I would like them to rotate yards for stimulation. I think I would have the two outdoor exhibits flank an indoor pen viewable from outside. No need to go inside to see them in winter just walk past the glass.

And while aardwolves are on phase out I want them anyway. They look cool and would definitely be a unique species people generally haven’t heard of. I would be happy even with a non breeding pair. They aren’t endangered or threatened so if they aren’t breeding I don’t mind.

That brings me to my apex predators complex which I think would go right around the lion, hyena and giraffe exhibits. I’d have spotted hyenas (I like stripped but they are phase outs), lions (I might just have the whites or keep both whites and regulars), African leopards (I know they are being phased out but I want all of the top predators and I’m happy here to take no breeding animals), African wild dog, and cheetahs. I think they would likely have their own houses but I’d like to go ambitious and build overhead ramps so they could all rotate through each other’s exhibits over the course of the day like Philadelphia Zoo is doing with its big cats and primates. They don’t necessarily have to rotate to all exhibits either. Being temperamental the cheetahs might be excluded from the rotation.

In the savannah I think it would be cool to have a small laser tag circuit where people are divided into two teams predators and prey. The prey just get a vest while the predators get the guns. Every time your tagged your dead. Every time you tag someone you got to eat. Have something like a ten minute session for $5. It would always be hopping with the preteen and teen set. Everything would be closely monitored and rules would be strictly enforced by refs. Would the kids get as much education out of it as we’d like probably not but it would be a money maker while not impacting the animals the way a rollercoaster would. Heck I bet you could offer the facility to a company to run and the zoo just take a slice of the action and none of the liabilities.

Washrooms, water fountains, picnic areas, benches, first aid stations, restaurants ect could be placed by the team building my dreams.

Then there’s the bush camp to consider. I like the idea of it. But I also don’t want to sleep in a tent. I’m thinking centrally located in the African Savannah section I’d like to build a small safari lodge. Maybe about 30-50 rooms, no more than 2 or 3 stories tall. Great views of as many of the exhibits as possible. Competitively priced. Nicely decorated. A modest zero entry pool made to look like a watering hole. A restaurant on the first floor that buts right up against one of the exhibits so big windows can be installed. The restaurant would have the nicest dinning at the zoo and be accessible to all with a separate entrance to the lodge. It would be a great spot to host a wedding, reunion, anniversary or adult birthday party. It could be open seasonally. Guests would get into the zoo free for the length of their stay (I’m guessing in most cases a night or two) and/ or zoomobile passes depending on the room rates.

Now if at all possible given my grand plans I would like to let much of the Canadian domain go natural. Probably much of the bison exhibit. I would build a state of the art health facility down there, with a research center, green house and off exhibit breeding facilities for the more finicky breeders like cheetahs and conservation species like black footed ferrets. I would make the slop more gentle for driving. The moving of the health center will free up much needed space in the main part of the zoo and the breeding centers demolition would provide tons of space. Staff parking could be moved down into a small section of the current parking lot. The keything here is the space I’ve cleared up behind tundra trek to rebuild the Canadian Domain in a much friendlier space for guests.
 
Indo-Malaya Outdoor Area

Indian Rhino House would stay pretty much the same. I would probably give the rhino side of the building the same face-lift that the tapir/babirusa side got. Outside, the tapir/babirusa exhibit would get a larger pool. The rhino exhibit would have more trees. Muntjac deer would come back as well. The tapir would move to the current gaur exhibit.

Lion-tailed macaque would stay the same

Malayan Woods Pavilion would stay the same, except the bird aviaries would be made much more visible/expanded into one large aviary. The stream part in the clouded leopard exhibit would be removed as well.

The sumatran tiger exhibits would remain the same. The holding would be expanded to allow for greater capacity.

Gaur would move out, with their exhibit becoming a new home for the tapirs. A pool would be added outside, along with more trees.

Indo-Malaya Pavilion

The orangutan and gibbon exhibits would become one exhibit, with siamangs instead of white-handed gibbons. The exhibit would be renovated to look more like the gorilla exhibit. An outdoor exhibit would be adjacent to the pavilion, one which would be tall enough to enclose some of the mature trees on the hillside for climbing. Asian small-clawed otter would also live in the indoor exhibit.
 
I have no doubt all of us would love to see the orangutans with a beautiful outdoor exhibit and perhaps a revamped natural looking indoor exhibit. I really hope the zoo can get to their plan to give them an outside space as soon as possible. Given her age I hate that Puppe, a wild born animal, might die without ever being outside and feeling things like wind, rain, grass and the rays of the sun beating down on her ever again. And for the rest of the group, they have never had the opportunity to be outside to enjoy what we take for granted. As much as I would love the Canadian domain moving up to level ground I would trade it opening next after the Eurasian Wilds for an outdoor orangutan habitat.
 
Now I think instead of continuing on in the clockwise motion I’ve been going thus far I’d like to go back to the kids zone and work counter clockwise.

I’d like to make an addition to Penguin Point. On the north side of the building I would add little blue penguins as a transition species similar to the African penguins leading into the African Desert. The little blues will lead us to Australia. If I could introduce other species of New Zealand penguins I would but right now little blues are the only one the AZA keeps.

Taking over the Discovery Zone, the panda waiting and interpretive center as well as the splash pad and as close to the current gate as my penguin facilities will allow, would be the Australian pavilion and outdoor yards. The sign welcoming you to the Walkabout would be two large kangaroos, one with a joey in its pouch holding up a sign with the Australian Walkabout written in boomerangs. Another fantastic spot for you guessed it a Photo OP.

The area would include animals from Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and smaller islands in that zone. The focus would be heavily Australian though. Step one in this area is fostering a good relationship with Australia so I can get as many orphaned animals as possible to bring in much needed breeding stock to North America. If necessary I would be willing to buy founding stock for other zoos to kick start breeding programs throughout the AZA.

In outdoor exhibits there would be a pair of salt water crocs with underwater viewing. A croc feeding would definitely be part of the keeper talk line up. But nothing crazy were keepers would be in the exhibit with the crocs. Just a feeding from a safe distance and talk. In an adjoining exhibit there would be an exhibit for black swan, cape barren goose and royal spoonbill. A nice little display of Australian waterfowl. They can share the same indoor barn in the winter, obviously with different holding spaces.

There would also be a pure bred dingo pack. I know how have we lived so long without dingos? Beats me but they would have a good sized yard and a barn, perhaps another one with a window inside for winter viewing opportunities.

Because of their dangerous nature the cassowaries would get a separate exhibit and holding devoted solely to them. They are very cool looking and it would be my goal to display all of the big land bird species. I would be inclined to place them on the opposite side of the pavilion from the dingos and crocs since they inhabit a tropical environment where as the others don’t. The dingos and crocs would be nearer to the present entrance while the cassowaries closer to the new tropical Asian section.

I’d also like a big walkthrough exhibit, even bigger than the current walkabout, with several different species. I feel the need for red kangaroos, grey kangaroos, Swamp wallabies, wallaroo, red necked wallabies and emus. I know I only added the reds, and wallaroos to our current collection but I’d like to see them all intermingle if possible. If not then break up the exhibit into smaller sections as necessary and let people still travel through. I’d probably have it wrap around the pavilion on one side. Inside the pavilion there would be a large space for them to hang out in the winter. During the summer months other species cans sprawl out into it.

Bordering this big space would be smaller outdoor exhibits for the wombats, Parma Wallabies, and a rotational exhibit or 2 for critters inside all the time.

Nearby would be a good sized outdoor exhibit for koalas. They would also get space inside because why have them off exhibit most of the year? Considering the draw they would be they could have the dominating main exhibit in the pavilion. I’m thinking we get a group of 4 females and 2 males plus offspring. That way we have genetics to trade with other koala zoos.

Inside the pavilion there would be a mix of exhibits. Along with the koalas there would be indoor exhibits for the walkabout animals, wombats, perhaps sharing with the parma wallaby, bettong, and anything else it would get along with.

There would be a raised echidna exhibit. I don’t want it down and possibly hard to see. A nice sized exhibit at eye level for most kids. I think I’d keep them behind glass. I’d like everyone to get a good opportunity to see and photograph this unique egg laying mammal.

In other exhibits in the same area I would like to add in thorny devils, frilled necked lizards, goanna, snake necked turtle and any safe to handle snakes (I know quite a few are super poisonous and I couldn’t risk the staffs lives).

Part of me feels like edge of the night should be resurrected in some fashion. I always loved that area. I’d trade the great barrier reef back for it any day. All of the exhibits could be organized in such a way as to give edge of the night a second life.

Now I have some other species I’m not so sure about status in the AZA institutions so if it would work I’d like to add Quokkas, Bilibies, bandicoots, Quolls, Numbats and brush tail possums. I can give up on all of them though if it’s just not sustainable.

I do have two other dream species. I want to be part of the Tasmanian Devils healthy reserve population. We need to be part of the North American just in case population. Heck if I and my imaginary funds in this scenario need to buy a base population for North America to build upon so be it. I’ll get the founding stock and share with other zoos, even pay for their devil exhibits if necessary just to have them. They can’t go extinct because of a contagious facial tumor. Not when with a large enough group of founders a sustainable devil population could be built and crossed with Australian devils to further their genetic diversity. I loved them as a kid and I remember them always being up to something which made them a good draw.

My other dream species is the platypus. Yep its impractical, they really haven’t been kept outside Australia and breeding is nearly impossible so a manageable population is not going to happen. Still I would like to make the attempt for the most unusual mammal on earth. Heck they could be a bigger draw than the devils, koalas and pandas (I plan on keeping them). I would based on what I’ve read about them keep the pair in a very large tank that had stream like movement. It would obviously have underwater and above ground viewing. And if I could get the male to use a den tunnel we built cool. I’d rather let the female breed off exhibit if that were to happen. And if we could get them breeding I would build a offsite breeding facility just for them down in the Canadian Domain and leave the male on exhibit until the mother and young emerged from the den. But I wouldn’t count on breeding. Just having the only pair outside of Australia would be enough for me. It’s not like they are endangered and I was pulling necessary animals from the wild population. The platypi will definitely earn their keep just by bringing in the visitors.

Because not all of the region is desert or savannah I feel there needs to be another portion of the pavilion dedicated to the tropical forests. I would have exhibits for sugar gliders, flying fox, Spotted cuscus and tree kangaroos. I love my tree kangaroos since I first saw a little head poking out of a pouch and demanded to come back to see them the very next weekend.

Kiwis would have their own special exhibit with an adjoining nursery exhibit for young kiwis hatched in the nursery. And since other zoos like to use them as animal ambassadors with great success the zoo would also train one or two for that purpose.

Also part of this area would be a big free flight aviary. Flying around I would want a mix of birds, king lories, tawny frogmouths, rainbow lorikeets, kookaburras, sulphur crested cockatoos, red tailed black cockatoos, Lyrebird, Victoria Crowned pigeons and any other bright bird that will get along. I’d like to see a return of feeding the lorikeets for a fee (why did that end anyway?). If that means a separate space for them fine.

For those of you saying what about the great barrier reef and coastal animals, don’t forget I build that massive ocean pavilion in the parking lot way back when I started this thing. I haven’t forgotten you fish lovers.
 
All of these ideas are great! I've started thinking of a new plan for what I would do if I bought the zoo, but I probably won't post it here until I have all of the details.

To answer TZFan's question: I think the lorikeets left the zoo because they got some kind of disease. If I'm wrong please correct me.
 
Oh thats too bad that they got sick. I never got a chance to feed them and from videos I've seen of it, it looked like so much fun. Pity they havent revisited the idea. I mean seriously when people can feed the animals for a fee why not let them. The animals have to eat anyway and the cost for the opportunity to do it would certainly more than pay for the food. I highly doubt those dippy little cups of whatever cost more than the fee. Why not put the profits into feeding the other animals? Feeding the lorikeets would be cool but I'd kill to be able to feed a giraffe.
 
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