Toronto Zoo If You Bought Toronto Zoo...

Penguin Point
Leaving Australia the guests will encounter a moderate sized pavilion called Penguin Point. Initially I wanted a solely Antarctic pavilion which would house the Antarctic penguins, leopard seals and elephant seals. I reined myself in because getting the seals would be almost impossible and impractical. As well by eliminating the other penguins from the pavilion based on geography would mean additional strain on the zoo as I would have to build and maintain filtration systems capable of handling the penguins needs in several locations. It makes much more sense to keep everything together and close to Oceans Odyssey which already has massive life support systems for its inhabitants. What’s a couple more exhibits? And by locating it to the south of Ocean Odyssey all but the African penguins can be placed in geographically correct locations. I can live with the one misplacement.

Since guests are approaching the building from outside I will cover the outdoor exhibits first. Outside the pavilion will be surrounded by pools only visible from above. There is the indoor underwater viewing valable so there isn’t much need for more. Unfortunately none of the penguins can be kept outside year round. In the summer guests will find the African Penguins, Little Penguins, and South American penguins outside most of the time. The Antarctic penguin pool will be opened up to allow neighbouring seals and sea lions to use the space. As the seasons change and the African and Little Penguins can no longer be outside their outdoor space can be opened up to the South American penguins and as the temperature drops further the Antarctic penguins. Due to the fact that all of the penguins will have access to the pools at one time or another the outdoor exhibits will be fairly similar. The exhibits will feature deep, temperature controlled pools with modest rocky beaches to the back of the exhibits. To better simulate the natural environment of the penguin whose home it traditionally is the exhibits will be planted with grasses and plants as necessary for the penguin and the rock colours will change to simulate the environment where they are from. Shade structures will also be installed to help keep them from overheating in the summer sun.

Also outside to the north of the African penguin exhibit will be a small playground nestled against the pavilion. The playground will obviously be penguin themed. While it is surrounded on all sides by African exhibits I think it would look better being a snowy Antarctic design. All of the play structures base and most of its activities will be made to look like rock and snow. There will be a snow fort, icy slides, swings, teeter totters, rocks walls, icy stairs, a bouncy bridge, spinning icebergs, a wiggly iceberg to try and balance on, and more. Adding the animals will be harder. I think random penguin sculptures will have to do for the most part. There could be bouncy penguins to ride. Maybe series of penguin ziplines with the body being the part the kids hold onto. A killer whale and seals will also be around as sculptures.

Entering the pavilion from the southern most entrance between Australia and South America guests will enter a central room set up to look like an Antarctic research station. The room will have interactive displays, videos, touch tables, experiments and penguin sculptures. All of the activities will demonstrate either the scientific work being conducted at the South Pole or the effects global warming is having on Antarctica. Examples of what would be in there are videos of glaciers crashing down creating icebergs, photos of disappearing glaciers, a wall showing the rockeries of the penguins and more.

Another feature of the research station will be a ramp leading down into the underwater viewing room. The underwater viewing gallery will be a single large room with impressive 20 foot tall floor to ceiling glass walls allowing guests to views the activities of all of the penguins at once. Guests should feel surround by the penguins. It would be a fantastic room for holding special events.

Depending on the safety concerns for the penguins the tanks will either have fake rock works to simulate the ocean floor or the rocks will be painted on to a flat concrete surface. Everything will be well lit. And to make the underwater viewing more realistic looking each of the underwater views will feature life sized partial models of the penguins underwater predators. By partial I mean maybe just the side or a front on view. In Antarctica there will be killer whales and leopard seals. In Africa it would be Cape Fur Seals and sharks. In Australia it will be New Zealand Fur Seals and various sharks the oceans pavilion doesn’t exhibit. In South America it will be leopard seals and sea lions and sharks. I would like to add appropriate fish to the tank to encourage hunting but there would then be no way of knowing which penguins were getting the right amounts of foods and nutrients so live fish will simply be added in small quantities just to get a little bit of action and not to provide their diet.

Heading back up to the the research station there will be 4 doors leading out into the four sections, Antarctica, Africa, Australia and South America. Each section will be its own climate and light controlled. By doing this first and foremost will enable the penguins to have habitats ideally suited to them. The temperatures can be adjusted to match the temperature in its home environment at various points in the year and the light can be adjusted to match the amount they would be exposed to during that time of the year. This should help encourage breeding. Additionally by having different rooms that can be decorated to better great the feel of that region it will help people get the idea that not all penguins live in Antarctica.

Each of the rooms will be similar in that the penguins will be kept behind giant windows and their ground area will be slightly elevated with a very low underwater view. This will be done so that the guests can watch the penguins dive in and jump out of the water. Going much deeper than a few feet would be silly because the ground would be too high for kids to see and there is already underwater viewing down below. As well each room will be connected to the research station and to the neighbouring exhibits enabling someone to see all of the penguins without entering the research station.

Since we have just left Australia we will head to the exhibit in the southwest which will feature Little Penguins. There will be a colony of 20 birds to start with plus their offspring. It will have a rocky beach with grasses and small scruffy shrubs growing in small sand patches. It will be the lushest looking of the exhibits. The area will be littered with little rock caves and burrows for nesting. The burrows will be designed so keepers can open trap doors to check on eggs and chicks. It will be rather simple looking with a massive mural on the back wall will simulate the Australian coast. The displays in this room will tell the story of how invasive species such as foxes, large reptiles, ferrets and stoats, as well as domestic dogs and cats are proving devastating to the Little Penguins population. It will also explain the attempts being made to protect them.

Heading north from the little penguins, guests will enter Africa which will be the home to African Black Footed Penguins, White Breasted Cormorants, Pink Backed Pelicans and Great White Pelicans. The penguins will start out with about 20 birds and the flock can grow based on space available and genetics. The cormorants and pelicans will be kept in smaller groupings and breeding won't be necessary. The exhibits land will be basically rocks and pebbles with some minor grasse to keep the penguins happy. Towards the back of the exhibit will be sand patches just so the sand doesn’t end up in the pool. There will be caves and tunnels build like the little penguins to encourage breeding and allow keeper checks. Along the back wall a mural simulate the African Coast. The story in their room will be one of mans influence impact on their population. There will be displays on the impact of the fisheries and guano collection.

Further north from the African Penguins will be the feature exhibit comprising half of the exhibit space, Antarctica. It will be the home of the Adelie Penguins, Chinstrap Penguins, Macaroni Penguins, Gentoo Penguins, King Penguins and yes, Emperor Penguins. Each species will have 10-20 penguins to start and breeding will be actively encouraged. The room may need to be divided into two exhibits but ideally I would like it to be one massive exhibit. The ground will be designed to look like the open ice fields of Antarctica with snow, ice, and minor rock work and rocks to create climbing opportunities and ideal nesting sites. Due to the fact I need more than one exit from the building in the northern point of the exhibit an exit will be located leading to Ocean Odyssey. It will be a tunnel under a modest raised rock feature. The back wall will feature a massive mural that creates the illusion of space and an even larger flock of penguins. A couple of fake icebergs will also be in the water to encourage them to hop out onto an unstable surface. Due to the big impact global warming is having on them that will be the message of their room.

In this section I would very much like to represent the fish and other species living in the Southern Ocean. However I don't know who to best achieve that. Do I mix them with the penguins and risk overfeeding? Do I create a separate tank? Do I create a tank within the penguin tank? I dont know. Someone smarter than me can solve this one.

The Antarctic section will have one special feature the other exhibits will not. A small area will be sectioned off with low glass walls and for a fee people can book a behind the scenes penguin tour where they will get an opportunity to be up close and if possible meet some of the penguins. This exhibit was chosen because it is the largest of the exhibits and holds the most penguins to interact with.

In the winter select trained penguins will be allowed to come out of the exhibit for a daily penguin parade provided the conditions are ideal for them.

Heading southeast from Antarctica will be the South American penguins. Their exhibit will feature Rockhopper Penguins, Humboldt Penguins, Magellanic Penguins and Inca Terns. Surplus Macaroni’s might be included. All of the birds will be in groups of 10 to 20. The beach area will be rocky and pebbly with light grass growing around. There will be burrows and caves available for breeding. Like all of the other exhibits there will be a mural on the back wall. It will feature the South American coast. The story being told in this exhibit will be the dangers of oil spills.

Completing the tour of the pavilion guests would have the choice to head south and back out into Australia or venture into South America, or to head north to Ocean Odyssey. Since we have almost completed the tour of the zoo its time to head into the heart of the zoo, Ocean Odyssey. Passing through the tunnel under the Antarctic penguin exhibit guests would enter a giant glass hallway. Along the eastern wall guests can look out to the Sea Lion and Harbour Seal outdoor exhibit and an outdoor penguin exhibit. Along the western wall will be views of the penguin playground and caracal exhibits. Halfway down the corridor will be exits to the east and west. Here guests can cross a pair of bridges that will lead them out to either Africa to the west or South America to the east. Continuing north is the goal though.
 
Ocean Odyssey
The next stop on the tour Ocean Odyssey which in essence is the zoo's main aquarium. Ocean Odyssey will be the worlds largest aquarium which is fitting for the worlds largest zoo. It is located at the heart of the zoo because it is the oceans which connect all of the continents. I thought it was a nice metaphor. I had considered breaking up the oceans and slipping them in between the continents where they belong but that would have involved so much more work and facilities to maintain. One big building works so much better.

It will be feature exhibits from the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean and the coastal tide pools. The Southern Ocean was already covered in Penguin Point.

The actual shape of the building will be left to designers but I have two visions. If I can be built mostly of glass and work with the exhibit designs, layouts and animal needs then I would like to go that way. It would keep everything looking light and bright. However if this is unfeasible for whatever reason I would like the outside of the building to be painted blue to look like its underwater and then have all kinds of species of whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals and sharks on the building. I want them life size. It would give people a chance to see just how big a blue whale is. I picked the whale group because I won't have any in the zoo to watch.

I am not a fish fan so the explanations here will be brief because I just don't know much. Ultimately I would like the exhibit I am suggesting to be one large tank. However I don't know how all of the fish will get along. Not everyone will. If an exhibit needs to be split into multiple tanks fine. I will leave those kinds of decisions to experts. And because I am completely unsure about the ability to get any of the fish or the wiseness of having them in captivity all of the species I am suggesting are just rough lists that the zoo’s curator of fish will be welcome to add and subtract from.

I have tried in each exhibit to pick a variety of animals with different shapes, sizes and colours. Looking through fish has convinced me of one thing I like bright colours. Might be a little light on grey and brown fish but like I said my curator can fix my mistakes. I just want the exhibits to be bustling with life, filled with colour, and displaying odd looking creatures. People should be happy just spending the day roaming Ocean Odyssey and taking in one of the finest aquariums on the planet.

Upon entering the aquarium guests will immediately be immersed in the undersea world. They will enter the first of four galleries running north, south, east and west. In each of the galleries there will be massive glass walls 30 feet tall to help create that illusion. I dont think I will go for the longest single viewing window. Several breaks in each with rock work would enable designers to insert additional fish tanks for species who would do better on their own, those too small to really see in the tank well or offspring. The floors will be style to look like sand while appropriate coral, fish, shells, and plant models will decorate the rock work walls.

The signage in here will be digital and available on dozen of different screens throughout the area. They will be touch screens with a selection of photos you can tap to get more details on that animal. It will cycle back to the main page after two minute of inactivity. Hopefully by doing this I can give guest the best chance to identify what they are looking at. There might need to be a couple of photo pages in some tanks. But I want it to be completely guest friendly and not make people wait for a long cycle to identify the little orange fish with the yellow dots (made that up).

Each gallery will have windows into two geographically different exhibits so to create separation I would like to try a glass wall running down the center with life sized models of whales, dolphins and porpoises. The larger whales will serve as good visual barriers on the ground. The smaller dolphins and porpoises can also hang from the ceiling. The models will be placed geographically as best as possible. The additional value of having the models throughout the aquarium is to give people an appreciation for the animals without having to house live animals at the zoo. Signage will be posted near the model describing the animal and threats to its existence to add the educational value in. It would also be interesting to place some models within the right tank so long as its size does not impede the movement of the first or views for guests. For example have belugas and narwhal models in the Arctic tank and Killer Whales in the Kelp Forest.

Under each of the large tanks there will be glass tunnels running through the exhibits so that guests can get the feeling of being under the water walking on the ocean floor. It will provide wonderful views of the fish all around them. However the tunnels will be shelter from the main viewing galleries by rock and coral so that guests outside the tunnels can still feel as though they are in an underwater world too. The closeness of the rocks will enable the guests in the tunnel to get up close and personal looks at some of the tanks smaller reef dwellers.

It may be nearly impossible but if it could be done I would like the zoo to try and get real coral growing. Each exhibit will be more dynamic if it has real coral and native plant species but again I will defer to the experts.

The activity in here will be another scavenger hunt type game. The rules would be similar to the one in Rainforest Refuge where guest can capture photos on their cells and an app will assign point for finding things. It will be a scuba divers adventure. Guest would have to find and photograph, various plants, animals, coral, as well as very well hidden garbage. By collecting all of the human garbage found in the worlds oceans guests will score massive points. This will help to bring awareness to what we do to the oceans while keeping things fun and light.

Another key money maker in this pavilion would be scuba diving opportunities. Guests can join dives in four of the big tanks, the Great Barrier Reef, Surfing with Sea Turtles, the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean Reef. I would like dive opportunities to be available for both experienced divers and inexperienced people.

Great Barrier Reef
As guests headed into the aquarium they stayed to the west side of the southern gallery. Part of the way along the gallery will be the underwater tunnel leading into the Great Barrier Reef.

In the Great Barrier Reef tank species would include, Big Bellied Seahorse, Pot Belly Seahorse, Leafy Sea Dragon, Semicircle Angelfish, Scribbled Angelfish, Bicolor Angelfish, Longnose Butterflyfish, Blackback Butterflyfish, One Spot Butterflyfish, Saddleback Butterflyfish, Copperband Butterflyfish, Threadfin Butterflyfish, Humbug Damselfish, Orange Lyretail Anthias, Sapphire Devil, Coral Beauty, Yellow and Blueback Fusilier, Pennant Coralfish, Pinecone Fish, Round Batfish, Ornate Cowfish, Harlequin Tuskfish, Clown Triggerfish, Mimic Surgeonfish, Palette Surgeonfish, Purple Firefish, Blue Tang, Convict Tang, Lightning Wrasse, Dusky Anemonefish, Quoy’s Parrotfish, Saddleback Clownfish, Maroon Clownfish, Percula Clownfish, Brown Banded Bamboo Shark, Red Lionfish, Blue Spotted Fantail Ray, Shovelnose Ray, Porcupine Ray, Snowflake Moray Eel, Spotted Wobbegong, Pacific Angel Shark, Spiny Dogfish, Hammerhead Shark, and Mako Shark.

Upon exiting the Great Barrier Reef exhibit guest would immediately enter the tunnel for the Sea Turtles.

Surfing with Sea Turtles
The sea turtles could easily be mixed in with the other tanks but I would like to give them their own home where all of the sea turtle species can be found together for comparison. They share the worlds oceans so mixing is fine. The idea here is to make sure people see lots of the turtles at once.

The exhibit will feature Kemps Riddley Sea Turtles, Green Sea Turtles, Leatherback Sea Turtle, Hawksbill Sea Turtles, Loggerhead Sea Turtles, Flatbacked Sea Turtle, and Olive Riddley Sea Turtles. How many sea turtles the zoo will have and of what kind is hard to say. The zoo will work with rescue groups to secure injured or sick turtles who either cannot be returned to the wild or will need long care rehabilitation in a natural type environment prior to release. And if the zoo can get the turtles breeding while in its care great. The young turtles will be reared until they reach a suitable size for release.

The sea turtle tank will be almost identical to the Great Barrier Reef exhibit and feature many of the same fish just nothing that pose any risk to the turtles. Above and out of sight of guests will be a beach area for the turtles with plenty of sand should the females wish to lay eggs. What the zoo chooses to do with the young should the eggs hatch is an interesting question? I would like to keep a couple so people can see the tiny ones but I would also like the majority of them to be flown south to popular nesting beaches and released. Perhaps the zoo would keep them until they are bigger just to increase the odds of survival. I would leave that kind of decision up to experts. A couple of baby turtles would be fine every now and then though.

Exiting the tunnel would put guests in the western gallery which features another view of the Great Barrier Reef, a first good few of the Sea Turtles and further north the Indian Ocean. Guests can also exit to Africa to the west or head to the center of the aquarium where the jellyfish tanks are.

Indian Ocean
Heading north guests can enter the tunnel under the Indian Ocean. This will be the largest of all of the tanks taking up a quarter of the space. As such it will house some of the largest species of fish. Some of the larger fish in the other tanks can also inhabit the Indian Ocean and if it outgrows the other tanks they can be shifted.

Included in this tank would be Eyestripe Surgeonfish, Anemonefish, Southern Orange-lined Cardinalfish, Longnosed Hawkfish, Guineafowl Puffer, Flame Angelfish, Scribbled Angelfish, Emperor Angelfish, Royal Angelfish, Threadfin Butterflyfish, Racoon Butterflyfish, Azure Damselfish, Maldives Damselfish, Orange-Green Triggerfish, Black Triggerfish, Barred Mudskipper, Gold Saddle Goatfish, Bowmouthed Guitarfish, Giant Grouper, Potato Grouper, Flathead Mullet, Humphead Wrasse, Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse, Coconut Octopus, Mimic Octopus Crimson Snapper, Golden Trevally, Bigeye Trevally, Fringefin Trevally, Cownose Ray, Leopard Whipray, Sawfish, Manta Ray, Spotted Eagle Ray, Whitespotted bamboo shark, Zebra Shark, and Black Tip Reef Shark.

A possible addition would be Whale Sharks. It would all depend on what the curator said. They would certainly be show stoppers but I want to pick based on what is suggested by experts.I dont want to be cruel and keep them if we still dont know enough about keeping them to do it correctly. Based on the current success elsewhere I think its entirely possible we will have whale sharks.

When exiting the tunnel guest would enter the northern gallery featuring views of the Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean and Kelp Forest. To the north guests could exit to Indo Malaya, while to the south they could visit the Jellies. Continuing the journey through the tunnels the guests would choose to enter the Arctic Ocean.

Arctic Ocean
Honestly this is the hardest exhibit for me to populate so it will be the smallest of the tanks. To help fill this exhibit I definitely want models of belugas, walruses and narwhals in it. I know I have live walruses elsewhere but their models in here will just help to make the exhibit more realistic.

In the exhibit would feature, Arctic Char, Capelin, Arctic Cod, various starfish, Red King Crab, Blue King Crab, and Snow Crab. Obviously I need the curators help again.

Heading south guests would then enter the Kelp Forest.

Kelp Forest
Entering the Kelp Forest will hopefully be an impressive experience. The tank will be filled with tall kelp and various other plants that belong in the forest. The kelp will tower overhead.

In the tank there will be Giant Pacific Octopus, Sockeye Salmon, Kelp Bass, Black Rockfish, Blue Rockfish, Copper Rockfish, Blacksmith, Kelp Greenling, Painted Greenling, Cabezon, Pacific Herring, Orche Sea Star,Purple Sea Urchin, Pink Sea Star, Bat Sea Star, Brittle Sea Stars, Garibaldis, Abalone, Leopard Shark, and Horn Shark.

With the Kelp Forest being such a large space it would be interesting if something could be rigged up so the sea otters could swim between their indoor exhibit and this tank. It would give them tons more space to exercise and vast amounts of enrichment. I would only consider this if it could be done safely and if the otters would be safe with their exhibit mates and their exhibit mates relatively safe with them. If they were added the tank would receive land space out of view of the guests since I dont want the otters to be without a space to climb out if necessary.

As guests leave the Kelp Forest they will enter the eastern gallery which features views of the Kelp forest and the Caribbean Reef. Heading west would lead to the Jellyfish, while heading east would lead to the Tide Pools and Canadian Coast. In this case heading south would bring guests to the final big tank exhibit the Caribbean Reef.

Caribbean Reef
Caribbean Reef representing the Atlantic Ocean. Naturally it will not encompass all of the species held with in the Atlantic Ocean but it will provide a colourful rich display. In the exhibit there will be a huge pirate ship wreck displaying how wrecks are homes to ocean life.

Species I would like to see included are, Banded Butterflyfish, Rock Beauty Butterflyfish, Reef Butterflyfish, Spotfin Butterflyfish, Blue Chromis, Cero, Coney, Graysby, Blue Headed Wrasse, Clown Wrasse, Creole Wrasse, Blue Angel, Queen Angelfish, Flameback angelfish, French Grunt, Glasseye Snapper, Blue Tang, Surgeonfish, Fairy Basslet, Royal gramma basslet, Black Dragon, Hog Fish, Longspine Squirrelfish, Princess Parrotfish, Spotlight Parrotfish, Striped Parrotfish, Ocean Triggerfish, Sargassum Triggerfish, Peacock Flounder, Puffer Fish, Rock Beauty, Sand Diver, Spotted Drum, Trumpetfish, THree Spotted Damselfish, Yellowtail Damselfish, Tobaccofish, School Master, Tomtate, Sharknose Goby, Jackknife fish, Spotted Trunkfish, Sand Tilefish, Painted Elysia, Great Barracuda, Green Moray Eel, Spotted moray Eel, Grouper, Tiger Grouper, Caribbean Reef Octopus, White Spotted Eagle Ray, Southern Stingray, Spotted Scorpion fish, Arrow Crab, Coral Crab, Spiny Spider Crab, Banded Coral Shrimp,Scarlet Lady Cleaner shrimp, Spiny Lobster, Lined Sea Horse, Red Reef Hermit Crab, Whitetip Reef Shark, Nurse Shark, Lemon Shark, Bahamas Sawshark, Coral Catshark, and Caribbean Reef Shark.

Finally after a full tour of the tunnels guests would exit again into the southern gallery, the point at which this journey began.

Joyous Jellyfish
There’s no point in heading out the southern exit because Penguin Point has already been explored so guest would head north to the central gallery in the aquarium called Joyous Jellyfish. Jellyfish have very special needs when it comes to their care so it seemed logical to separate them from the other species and provide them with homes perfectly suited for them.

The gallery will feature Moon Jellyfish, Planet Jellyfish, Blue Blubber Jellyfish, Flower Hat Jellyfish, Umbrella Jellyfish, Upside-down Jellyfish, Fried Egg Jellyfish, Red Eye Medusas Jellyfish, and Elegant Jellyfish.

Each species will have their own circular tank. It is recommended that jellys be maintained in single species exhibits and that to prevent damage to the jellies they live in tanks with rounded sides. What’s better than a circular tank then?

Tide Pools
Heading east along the Eastern gallery guests will enter the last zone of Ocean Odyssey, Tide Pools. This area is already the home to the indoor exhibits for the fur seals, sea otters, sea lions and harbour seals. The rest of this space is dedicated to the coast and tide pools.

Before getting into the animals housed in here guests can walk along the western wall of the Tide Pools. Along the wall will be trash collected from the worlds oceans with photos and stories of how these items impacts animals. For example there will be fishing line that has been recovered from around the neck of a Steller’s Sea Lion, there will be a photo or video of the damage that it inflicted upon the sea lion and an accompanying story of how the sea lion (who will be given a name to make a deeper impact on people) was injured by the fishing line. Also added will be ways people can prevent these things from happening. It will not be the prettiest exhibit in the zoo but it is the one that will hopefully have an impact.

Heading out into the main part of Tide Pools guests will find 5 tanks. There will be one central tide pool tank and four touch pools surrounding it. The tide pool tank will be a unique exhibit that will demonstrate how animals thrive in tide pools. In the exhibit the tide will appear to go in and out. The all glass exhibit will feature a shore area with a sand beach and rocky tide pools. The tide pool and beach will be only a foot or two above the ground so that people can get an angle to look down into the tide pools. When the tide comes in the water level will rise significantly. A mild wave generator will be added to replicate the natural movement of the ocean. In the exhibit will be starfish, sea urchins, abalone, barnacles, mussels, hermit crabs, anemones, snails, shore crabs, sculpins, sea cucumbers, worm tubes, and shrimps. The exhibit might also serve as a nursery for baby sea turtles if any are hatched at the zoo or newborn octopuses or stingrays.

In the tide pools will be brown banded bamboo sharks, white spotted bamboo sharks, grey bamboo sharks, epaulette sharks, shovelnose guitarfish, cownose stingrays, round rays, southern stingrays, horseshoe crabs, shrimp, starfish, cleaner fish and any other safe to handle animals. If it is possible the exact species of animals will be grouped by regions. If not then well it will be a mix for all the pools simply enabling the animals to not be overcrowded

Passing by the otters, seals and sea lions one last time guests would return to the Canadian Coast to get access to South America.

Now I just need to type up South America. I have been looking things over and have had to rig some things because I didnt like the layout of some areas and I made some big animal changes. It will arrive slowly like Australia did but I have some nice plans for it.
 
Your ocean area seems like it would be amazing. I love that you have tanks representing all the world's oceans. I also like that even though you are not keeping large marine mammals in your collection, you are still educating your guests about them. Additionally the scuba diving and scavenger hunt sound really fun.

In addition to being busy, one of the reasons why I haven't posted anything here recently is because I've been making quite a few changes to the plans I already have. This includes removing the Backyard Wildlife section (I felt like there wasn't enough space for it and I was able to create new exhibits for most of the main animals), adding a few more species to North American outdoor area and completely changing some parts of the North American Pavilion. I will for sure be reposting my plans for the Pavilion but for the outdoor exhibits, most of the exhibits are staying the same. If you want I can also repost all of the plans for the outdoor area because I made them more detailed or I can just make a quick post with the new exhibits that I added. It's your choice.
 
Thanks for the comments. I liked the fact I was able to have all the oceans represented too. I do still wish I could have included whales and dolphins but they are more hassle then they are worth. Activists would have been all over me and that wouldnt be worth it even in a fantasy scenario.

Post the changes to your zoo however you choose. Whatever is easiest for you.
 
I will just be posting the highlights of my new North American outdoor area. Some other changes were made, but they are very minor and unimportant.

- the lynx will not be a part of the exhibit anymore and in their place will be a small mammal complex, which will be where many of the animals from the Backyard Wildlife section will go. Species here will be raccoons, skunks, red foxes and porcupines. The reason why I removed the lynx is because I will be having another very similar cat species in another part of my zoo so I would rather use the space for other animals.

- a new sea lion exhibit will be created. It will take up part of the new grizzly bear exhibit and also the Beaver Tails stand. The exhibit will include a massive underwater viewing window for guests to watch the sea lions swim.

- the Beaver Tails and a new shop selling North American animal themed merchandise will be built in the place of the artificial whale skeleton. A playground will replace the Tundra Air zip line. It will allow children to slide like otters, jump like cougars and climb like porcupines. There will also be giant turtle shells and an eagle nest for them to climb in.

The new North American Pavilion plans should be up soon. I will be posting them all at once. The major changes include relocating the desert species and expanding the Great Lakes region.
 
Interesting you're getting rid of the lynx, a species you would already own. If your considering Eurasian Lynx, they are on phase out.

But a small mammal complex is a good idea to handle the animals no longer in the backyard section. Would their exhibits be naturalistic or still show how they interact with an urban environment?

I dont remember where was your grizzly habitat going?

I like the ideas for the playground.

I loved your placement of the desert species! I could totally see that one working brilliantly. I'm interested to see what you think will work better.
 
Instead of the lynx, I will actually be having bobcat. Although the species do have some differences, I thought it would be better to have four species of small mammals. Their exhibits would be made to look natural to fit in with the rest of the area although there will be signage with information about how they interact with humans.

The grizzly bear complex was going to be in the area where the polar bear exhibit is now. My original plans has two exhibits, but since grizzlies aren't recommended to breed in captivity, I decided to keep only one or two animals that can live together and use the other exhibit for sea lions. The sea lions were originally going to go in the North American pavilion, but that idea seemed unrealistic so I moved them.

I also liked my desert area and even though the Great Lakes section will be less exciting and creative, it is better for me. There were lots more Great Lakes animals that I wanted to include and I didn't mind removing a couple desert reptiles and birds. Actually, now that I think about it, there might be a way to keep my desert area the way it was and move the Great Lakes. I'm going to have to do a little more thinking about it and see how everything works out.
 
I thought the grizzlies were going there but couldnt remember and I was too lazy to go back to check. By giving the sea lions the polar bear pool it would require only minor changes so thats smart. Are you going for Californians or Stellers?

Look forward to the pavilion.
 
South America
Sad as it is to say we are heading into my final section of the zoo, South America. It’s nowhere near the size of Africa or North America but may be one of the more interesting sections for bird and plant lovers in particular as both of those collections will be impressive here.

South America will be divided up into four main areas, the Galapagos Islands, the Andes, the Amazon, and a bird breeding center. It will feature two massive pavilions and 2 very small pavilions as well as a number of outdoor exhibits and access to their barns. With many of the animals needing homes for the winter lots of indoor space became necessary so that the zoo didn’t have to just shut down the area come winter.

I last left you standing outside Ocean Odyssey in Coastal Canada. You will now need to head southwest along the sea lion exhibit, which is nice because you get to visit with them for the second time today. Reaching Penguin Point you head south along the Antarctic pool and the South American pool. You will ignore an entrance into the pavilion to the east simply to avoid backtracking. From there you will head east to the first of the small pavilions, Galapagos Gathering.

Galapagos Gathering
When it came to South America I was at first inclined to ignore the Galapagos. I didn’t see the point for so few species. I could easily have added the Galapagos Tortoises I wanted somewhere else but the more I thought about it the more I felt this section was indeed needed. The Galapagos is a very unique and isolated area. By including it the zoo can discuss evolution and delicate ecosystems.

It is receiving its open distinct pavilion because while considered part of South America it just wouldn’t fit in any of my other sections. It’s not a rainforest. It’s not a mountain range. It didn’t belong with my penguins. It’s an isolated group of islands and as such deserves its own isolated pavilion. It’s being located opposite the South American penguins because they are connected by the ocean.

The pavilion will be kept light and bright like all other pavilions. A soundtrack will play to help immerse people in the environment and rainfall will be consistent with rain in the area.

There doesn’t seem to be a large collection of Galapagos fauna in zoos. This poses a problem to my vow to be somewhat realistic, except in Australia. There are species, the shore birds for instance, that I can fairly easily source from other zoos. I could care less if they are part of the Galapagos population. A pelican is a pelican. However there are species that will be harder to get. I would like to work with the government to export a small stock of breeding animals with a promise to return any offspring possible for reintroduction. I’m not even sure some can be kept in captivity but I would like my staff to explore the option. If it turns out only a handful of them could be kept I would dump the whole pavilion in favour of more space for my bird breeding facility. It would nearly double the facilities space meaning I could do more.

As you pass by the pavilion you will get your first look at the Marine Iguanas. They are the first of the species I don’t know if its a good idea to keep but I’m willing to try. They are too cool not to try to get and I don’t even care what subspecies. The zoo will house a group of 10-15 iguanas with the majority being females. They live in groups naturally so this should help them feel at home. It also allows for the males to squabble over harems during breeding season which would naturally occur hopefully encouraging actual breeding. Young iguanas, if any hatch, would be placed in with the adults once staff feel they are ready.

The exhibit will have to be carefully designed to meet the needs of this unique species. They will be given both an indoor and outdoor space. Since your first look at the marine iguanas is their outdoor exhibit lets explore that first. First off conditions for keeping them outside must be ideal. If its not they will be inside. Only the adults will be allowed outside so that the outdoor exhibit can be kept as an open air exhibit. I dont want to risk juveniles being eaten by birds of prey. The space will be divided up between land and water. The land area will be about half of the space. It will be covered in volcanic rocks of varying sizes and sand. A few sparse plants will dot the space with a tree or two for shade… though I doubt the iguanas will want it. There will be basking rocks with heaters in them to help keep the iguanas happy. The water portion of the exhibit will be a deep pool with cold salt water. A wave and tide generator will be part of the pool to simulate natural feeding behaviours. The water will be filled with rocks and edible marine plants for them.

Inside they will have a much larger exhibit as all of the iguanas will be on display together. It will be a mix of beach and pool. Ideally the pavilion will be a lot like a greenhouse so the iguanas will get plenty of natural light. If it cannot be a mostly glass structure I would want a mural on the back wall. The land area will be filled with volcanic rocks to bask on. Many rocks will be heated. Behind bigger rocks will be heat lamps so that they don’t ruin the natural views. Also hidden would be fresh water dishes. Sandy patches will be all over. At the back of the exhibit will be deep volcanic ash patches suitable for nests. There will be some light shrubs and grasses and a tree or two. Along the eastern edge of the exhibit will be the pool. It will be a big cold saltwater pool about 10 to 15 feet deep and filled with rocks and seaweed. There will be small tidal pools further inland to give baby iguanas a nice place to eat without competing with the adults. To ensure the tidal pools are just that the exhibit will have both a wave and tide generator. Other sea life could be added to the pool. Underground there will be a moderate sized underwater viewing room. Deep diving doesn’t happen as often but by making the pool shallower guests will get a chance to see the bigger guys swim underwater which should be a real treat.

East of the entrance is the outdoor mixed habitat for the Galapagos Tortoises and Galapagos Land Iguanas. When it comes to the tortoises I would be happy with whatever subspecie that is available. I would even be happy with a mix of subspecies so long as I can get at least a male and female of each for breeding attempts. Ideally for both the tortoises and iguanas I would like breeding groups with two or three males and four or five females. Breeding would be great for both species so that the young can be released back into the wild. However if breeding attempts fail I wont be too concerned because both species have long lifespans.

Outside the pavilion will be a nice sized summer exhibit for the tortoises and iguanas. I would like the exhibit to be open to the sky so smaller iguanas and tortoises will be kept indoors until keepers feel they will be safe from predators. The smaller ones can stay inside on display. The exhibit will be a large sandy exhibit with lots of rocks for basking iguanas, grass clumps, bushes and a tree here or there for shade should they want it. A small pool will provide fresh water or a place to cool off on hot days. As part of the outdoor exhibit there will be a tortoise and iguana feeding station. Guests can purchase the a ticket to feed them at a set time which should be fun for the reptile fans who will not get an opportunity to feed reptiles anywhere else in the zoo.

Inside the pavilion there will be a similarly dressed exhibit with native plant life. Plants will need to include lots of cacti that they can munch on and a few more trees. There will be cooling rocks as well as the heating rocks giving the iguanas a chance to regulate their body temperature. The rocks will have temperature controls keepers can adjust so that each day the rocks will be different leading the iguanas to spend time every day looking for for that perfect spot. Man made tunnels of various sizes will also be put under the exhibit for the iguanas since they use burrows at night. Lots of volcanic ash will also be added to help encourage nesting. There will also be a couple of good sized pools for the tortoises to cool in. The major difference in the exhibit will be that it will be completely enclosed. Why you ask? Because besides the iguanas and tortoises this exhibit will also be home to Galapagos Doves, Large Tree Finches, Small Ground Finches and Hooded Mockingbirds. I figured I would add them for a little additional liveliness. The doves and finches eat similar things to the iguanas and tortoises so it makes sense to just add them to the exhibit. The ground finches in particular were added because they have a symbiotic relationship with both tortoises and iguanas. They will clean parasites off the reptiles and it will be a great display of symbiotic relationships and unique behaviours. The mockingbirds worry me slightly because they will eat eggs but the tortoise and iguana eggs are being removed for incubation and the other birds don’t need to breed so if it happens so be it.

Heading further north in the pavilion along the eastern wall will be a large flight pen for Galapagos Hawks. This is one of the rare instances I want more males than females. Ideally there will be three males and a female which is the usual style of grouping. The female likes to mate with multiple males so they will all invest in the single chick they raise. Since they lay two eggs but only rear one I would like to conduct a fostering experiment. If at all possible staff will manipulate their breeding to coincide with either Red Tailed or Swainson’s Hawks who could foster the second chick. The red tails would be ideal because fratricide isn’t practiced. Swainson’s occasionally do so if it appears the more precious Galapagos is in danger there the foster parents actual chick will be removed for hand rearing. This way the second chick is parent reared.

Since I am trying to tuck the exhibit in a tight pavilion with no real room for an outdoor exhibit I’m willing to be creative with space. I would like the flight pen to have a giant glass sliding wall along the eastern wall of the exhibit. This way in the summer months when its warm enough out the wall can be retracted during the day and the hawks can have fresh air… infact the whole pavilion can. Guests walking along the pathway to the east of the pavilion will be able to see the hawks inside and I won’t have to go to the expense of building an outdoor flight pen. The hawks may also be able to watch birds in the breeding centers outdoor exhibits which will add more stimulation to their days. Keepers can then close the panel at night and once its too cold out but the birds will still be able to look outside. Along the border of the pen with the tortoises a glass wall will be installed so that the hawks can have the mental stimulation of watching all of the activities next door. Inside the exhibit the hawks will have sandy, rocky ground, boulders, shrubs, grasses, and a number of trees to enjoy. A few big ledges will be added to the walls to provide nesting options. Keepers will naturally have access to the nest sites so they can pull that second egg. A huge feature of the exhibit will be the fact that the hawks will be encouraged to hunt. I won’t give them live prey. Instead there will be lures all over the exhibit set with food that the hawks will have to “catch.” The hawks will be called off exhibit before the day starts for a snack while another keeper sets the lures with food. Then at random points throughout the day the lures will be pulled scooting the food across the exhibit on trollies. The food will be hidden under bushes and rocks where the bird can’t see them until its spring. This should make them want to hunt. At random times keepers will also go into the exhibit with a flying lure for them to hunt with. This should display their hunting skilles nicely while hopefully training chicks.

Across the pathway there will be a small exhibit which can house baby land iguanas and tortoises. They could stay with their parents but I want keepers to be able to monitor their growth until they are big enough to easily be spotted on exhibit. Normally the exhibit will house other things providing surplus animals but if there are tiny babies the zoo can promote then I want people to see them. The exhibit will be filled with sand, rocks and volcanic ash. Lots of hiding spots will be offered among the grasses, cacti and shrubs. There will be a little pool and heat lamps.

Feeling a need for a couple of bugs in the pavilion you next find exhibits for both Galapagos Land Snails and Large Painted Locusts. There are many species of snails the zoo could exhibit and I am open to holding as many variations as possible.

Next door will be an exhibit for Lava Lizards. I would like to try mixing up the different subspecies a bit so people can see how the different species evolved differently on separate islands. Ideally the exhibit would be one big exhibit but if keepers say it should be multiple species specific exhibits thats fine. It can be a large tank with several glass panels breaking it up. The subspecies I would like to see are Hooded Lava Lizards, Floreana Lava Lizards, Santa Cruz Lava Lizards, and Santiago Lava Lizards. The lava lizards exhibits will feature sandy floors, lava rocks, volcanic rocks, fallen logs, grasses, and a bush or two. Small water pools will be in each exhibit.

Lastly along the western wall perhaps the most potentially difficult species I would like to attempt in this challenging pavilion, Sharp Beaked Ground Finches. A single pair will be kept and because they aren’t even threatened eggs will be replaced with dummies to prevent unwanted offspring. If other zoos would like to exhibit them then we will breed a couple times. Their feeding habits forced me to exhibit them alone. I dont want any of the other animals being pecked to the point they bleed so the finches can feed. However because of their unique diet they are interesting to keep. They will get an netted aviary with sandy floors covered by rocks, grasses, shrubs and cacti. The cacti will be important for feeding since they will drink prickly pear nectar. In fact a fake cactus or two will be added with a nectar feeder in it to provide them with all the nectar they want. Adding to the diet will be bugs added in with rotten logs, already dead naturally. Seeds will be scattered around to help encourage foraging. Ground nests will also be added where chickens eggs can be placed so the finches can “steal” the egg and crack it on rocks like they do in the wild. And last but not least will be a couple of fake blue footed boobies (their favourite meal) which will be stocked with blood that they can access. An engineer might have to build that but it would give people a look at a fascinating behaviour while not harming any other birds.

At this point you could head out to the west and back to the penguins but why? Instead by following the pathway to the east you will come across the sea bird exhibit which will be home to Blue Footed Boobies, Red Footed Boobies, Magnificent Frigate Birds, Flightless Cormorants, and Brown Pelicans. I really, really wanted to keep any species of Albatross anywhere in the zoo but they just aren’t suited to captivity so I went with 4 species I know I can get easily from the AZA and one species I hope the government of Ecuador will part with, the cormorants. If the cormorants aren’t available so be it. All species, except the pelicans will start off with groups of 10. The pelicans being rescued birds will simply be what’s available. To prevent unwanted pelican breeding this group will also be the opposite gender of the birds on display in the coastal exhibits. Breeding will be done as requested and unnecessary eggs removed and replaced with dummies.

The exhibit will fill the whole northern wall of the pavilion giving the birds tons of room to nests and explore. Like the hawks the back wall of the exhibit will be retractable allowing the birds to feel like they are outside while not wasting additional space on an outdoor exhibit. Tons of vertical space will also be provided so that the birds can fly if they wish. The exhibit layout will be interesting. Since the birds will be viewable from both the north and south the birds wouldn’t have as much land if I had to place water on both sides. Instead the land will be divided into two sections. One will be on the western edge of the exhibit while the other will be on the western edge. Both islands will be connected to keeper quarters. The area will be predominantly rocks with a few plants thrown in here and there and a tree or two for the frigate birds. Keepers will provide sticks, grasses, and other materials for nesting when necessary. There will be sandy sections but keepers will have an easier time cleaning the rocks. To make the birds entry and exit of the water as easy as possible, mostly with the cormorants in mind, there will be several shallow beach areas that will allow them to easily access land. In between the islands will be the saltwater pool which will be 15 feet deep to allow the birds to dive if they wish. Underwater there will be rocks, coral, and various prey species so that the birds are encouraged to hunt. Keepers will naturally feed everyone to ensure proper nutrition but it will also be good for the birds to hunt a little. I considered adding underwater viewing but if hunting doesn’t work it won’t be worth the expense.

Heading to the east you will find an exit that will lead you to the pathway tucked in between Galapagos Gathering and the bird breeding center.
 
That is a great start to your South American region. I agree that if you want to keep Galapagos species, they should have their own area since it is such a unique part of the world. Since you already are exhibiting lots of Australian animals that would be extremely hard to get, I don't see why you can't do the same with animals from the Galapagos. Some of your species choices are really great and I actually had to search for a couple on Google since I had never heard of them before. I can't wait for the rest of your South American area!
 
I really had to stretch hard to find any species for the Galapagos. Off the top of my head I had the tortoises and iguanas. That's it. Took me hours to find that many.

I tried not to go nuts bringing in animals that cant be acquired. I promised myself I would rein myself in everywhere else but Australia. The Galapagos was another minor exception. Its why the pavilion isnt bigger and housing even more species. I didnt use the seals, penguins, more sea birds, fish, and a ton more finches. I could have filled my spare space with those additions but I think you will like my more reasonable choice of a bird breeding center.
 
@TZFan & arcticwolf, sorry to gate crash your thread, but just wanted to let you know that there is at least one other person reading and enjoying it! I really like reading the descriptions of each zone, although I haven't read the whole thing, I do like some of the sections, especially the Galapagos one, that sounds awesome! But I reckon you should try to combine the marine iguana and sea bird exhibits, maybe have a walkthrough type thing, so that the species are contained but you can still get unobstructed views of them.

Keep the exhibits coming! :cool:
 
zooboy28 said:
@TZFan & arcticwolf, sorry to gate crash your thread, but just wanted to let you know that there is at least one other person reading and enjoying it! I really like reading the descriptions of each zone, although I haven't read the whole thing, I do like some of the sections, especially the Galapagos one, that sounds awesome! But I reckon you should try to combine the marine iguana and sea bird exhibits, maybe have a walkthrough type thing, so that the species are contained but you can still get unobstructed views of them.

Keep the exhibits coming! :cool:
Click to expand...

I'm so glad that someone else is reading this thread. It's nice to know that we're making exhibits for more than one other person to read. I'm guessing the main reason why others don't read this thread is because it is only focused on the Toronto Zoo, but I think that's what makes it so special. TZFan and I love our home zoo and I'm happy that someone else is able to see what we would do to improve it. Feel free to keep posting here as I know I (and probably TZFan) would love your feedback on our exhibits.

In other news, tonight I had a great idea of what I want my zoo to look like. For the first time, I have a complete vision of my zoo and I'm really excited about it. I'm going to give a quick warning now that this new plan will completely change some parts of the zoo and it will involve sending away some popular animals. It also involves bringing in lots of cool new species so in the end, everything evens out.

To start, I'm just going to post a rough outline of the new zoo. It will remain in the zoo's current location.

- Australasia and Eurasia will be combined to form a massive Asian section with Chinese forest, Indian grassland and Southeast Asian rainforest regions
- A new Canadian wilderness area will be built in the space with the Mayan Temple and Tundra Trek. The Americas Pavilion will be knocked down and a Sonoran Desert building will be created in its place. These exhibits together will form the North American section.
- Africa will continue to hold African species with areas focusing on the savanna, rainforest and Madagascar.
- The Indomalaya Pavilion will be used to create an Amazon Rainforest building and the Indomalaya Outdoor Exhibits and Malayan Woods will be turned into an Australian section.
- The Kid's Zoo will be used to create an Arctic area and part of the parking lot will be turned into a giant aquarium with coral reef, rocky coast and Antarctica sections.
- The entrance will be completely renovated and a new parking garage will be built to save space.

I will be doing a lot of research for the zoo this week and will probably start posting next weekend if I have time. I hope everyone will enjoy it!
 
arcticwolf said:
I'm so glad that someone else is reading this thread. It's nice to know that we're making exhibits for more than one other person to read. I'm guessing the main reason why others don't read this thread is because it is only focused on the Toronto Zoo, but I think that's what makes it so special. TZFan and I love our home zoo and I'm happy that someone else is able to see what we would do to improve it. Feel free to keep posting here as I know I (and probably TZFan) would love your feedback on our exhibits.
Click to expand...

I haven't been to Toronto Zoo, but I do read the threads on it, and know the rough layout from the map. But TZFan's zoo is new build anyway so the existing zoo is essentially irrelevant (although local conditions, weather, etc. are important for the design).

I'll try to respond to your exhibits when I get a chance! :cool:
 
zooboy28 said:
I haven't been to Toronto Zoo, but I do read the threads on it, and know the rough layout from the map. But TZFan's zoo is new build anyway so the existing zoo is essentially irrelevant (although local conditions, weather, etc. are important for the design).

I'll try to respond to your exhibits when I get a chance! :cool:
Click to expand...

Even though TZFan moved the zoo, there are still lots of references to the current zoo such as the statues for popular animals that live (or lived) at the zoo. In my plan all you really need to know is the basic layout of the current zoo (which it seems like you already do) because there will also be many changes done to it. The only section that is staying somewhat the same is Africa, but even that will be very different than it is now.
 
Welcome to the chat Zooboy28! Feel free to crash our party. I know there are quite a few out there reading but not commenting. Hi guys! And that's fine. If they are reading they are enjoying. Cant have over 12000 views just between Arcticwolf and I. You are more then welcome to comment. The more the merrier.

When you have time go back to the beginning Zooboy28, this is Arcticwolf and I's second redesign. The first time I leveled the zoo onsite. And rebuilt in a somewhat reasonable way. Arcticwolf always tries to stay realistic which is great. This time I went all out and just moved the zoo to the biggest peace of flat looking land near the zoo that was still in Toronto. Thank you Google Maps.

I considered combining the marine iguanas and birds. My biggest problem is although I know my zoo is enormous I have huge problems visualizing size. I feel like the iguana exhibit wouldnt be big enough but if I laid it out on a map it would probably be an acre. I kind of wanted the land and marine iguanas across for comparison. I have a giant map I have drawn myself so I can visualize things. When I have my final South American exhibits done I will try to scan or take a photo of it so you can see the layout. Right now I have a giant blank hole which is the my Amazon pavilion. Everything else is good.

Arcticwolf Im glad you finally see your zoo. I think you have hit so many false starts with this version because it just wasnt clear in your mind. I like the layout thus far. As you know I have long been a fan of moving Indo Malaya to Eurasia. I have always hated how Asia is broken up. Doing that alone is enough for me. One small suggestion though. What if you put Tundra Trek the second around the area of Australasia to serve as a link to Asia. The arctic would serve as a nice transition space from North America to Asia if you are going with some northern species like Amur Tigers. Just a suggestion.

If your doing research I found a good site that has older AZA husbandry manuals and lots of Australian manuals. Not everything is there or available but it can give you some great ideas on groupings, exhibit dressings, and mixed species compatibility.

Mammal Husbandry Manuals

and

husbandry.husbandry.ews

Thank you Australians.

Oh Zooboy28 the zoo is on Google Earth Street View. If you are interested in seeing the layout for yourself without having to go. They haven't mapped the indoor spaces but you can see most pathways.
 
Thanks for the suggestions and links TZFan. I know that I have made a lot of different plans, but this time I think I will actually finish it. I almost have the full species list (except for some small animals- especially fish) and I know the locations for a good portion of the exhibits. I like the idea of having the Arctic connect to Asia and North America but I just don't think I will have enough space. The reason why Australasia will also be a part of Asia is because there is a good chance that I will need all the extra space I can for Asia. I downloaded Google Maps on my computer a few minutes ago to try to see how everything will fit in my zoo.
 
Your welcome. Dont worry about the stop and start plans. I always find having a clear vision of whatever Im doing really helps. Without that Im usually dead in the water not knowing where to start.

Looking at google maps here's a proposal to get the arctic in that neighbourhood. Level that section of the core woods right behind the pavilion and towards the Caribou Cafe. If you look at the size of the woods right in there and the size of Tundra Trek as it sits. But if your making additions you might have to rip up more of the woods. And Im still a huge fan of completely replacing the main parking lot to gain more space for everything. The overflow lot is about half the size of the main one. Stack two levels on it and you would have the same space as both lots and bingo you get a space about the size of Eurasia to play with.

Geeze now Im already re-imagining the zoo onsite.
 
Deforestation Devastation
After leaving Galapagos Gathering you head north west to Deforestation Devastation which is a combination playground and educational center devoted to demonstrating the effects of deforestation.

The space will be an area of contrasts. To the western side of the area there will be a lushly planted forest area. Naturally this will all be native Ontario species standing in for tropical species, not wanting to introduce invasive species. Walking trails will wind through this densely planted forest so that people can appreciate all of the aspects of a wild forest. Feeders will be added to encourage wild birds, squirrels and chipmunks to the area. This whole area is designed to show what a healthy forest is like and serve as a contrast to the eastern side of the area which will be a clear cut area.

Before discussing the clear cut area I want to discuss the first half of the play area which will represent the healthy forest. Located just outside of the actual forest the playground will have massive fake tropical trees providing the base of the play structure. The big trees will hold the shade sails keeping the playground cool and dry. They will also serve as bases for treehouses with spiral staircases inside and look out windows winding up the trees. On the inside near the windows there will be sculptures or paintings of the different South American species which would take up residence in tree hollows. Other methods for climbing up the trees will include vine like cargo nets, knotted ropes, rock walls, chained ladders, and rock stepping stones. A combination of bouncy bridges, vine bridges, swinging steps, and tree top stepping platforms will provide connections between the trees and their treehouses. All of them will have safety features built in. Fire poles will offer one way down from the tree’s canopy.A variety of slides will all be designed to look like giant anacondas. There will be a giant spiderweb strung between two trees for climbing on. Jungle gyms and monkey bars will be designed to look like sticks and branches with different sorts of money sculptures near by adding a little life to the area. There will be natural rock climbers with lizards and snakes moulded in. The rocks will be broken up into three groupings. Simple ones for the toddler set, medium sized for the 5-7 crowd, and larger ones for the big guys. A variety of swings will exist with baby swings, accessible swings, normal swings and tire swings being offered. On the swing structures there are opportunities for more animal sculptures, perhaps parrots, macaws and toucans. And because kids love to get dizzy stand up, sit down and hanging spinners will be offered and be designed to look like flowers. Double and quad seesaws on springs will be designed to look like jaguars, Andean bears, tapirs and capybaras. Single spring bounces will be made to look like anteaters and tamanduas. A balance station will be designed to give kids lots of crossing points for a fake river painted onto the ground with models of caiman in it. Floating pods will be made to look like lily pads, a balance beam log, rolling logs, rings, and cables made to look like vines. The playground should be alive with activity, colour and fun.

For parents comfort lots of benches that look like fallen logs will be around. brightly coloured flower picnic tables will sit in the middle of Deforestation Devastation. A few food vendors will be added and the area can also work for cultural events.

As mentioned before the eastern half of the area will be clear cut in direct contrast with the lush lively playground side. The area I’m putting this in is currently flat farmland so there aren’t any trees to just destroy and leave behind. In fact much of the zoo is clear so getting huge mature trees to topple won't happen. I don’t want to be responsible for clear cutting Canadian forests just to get logs for display purposes. That’s nuts. Instead the zoo will use more fake logs and stumps. These will last longer, can be spruced up from time to time, be repurposed in other exhibits down the line if its eliminated and won’t need to be cut down. They can be fastened to each other for stability. Guests can wander through a smaller path here to get a good look at what clear cutting does. Small versions of the equipment used in clear cutting will be on site and accessible for the kids to touch and explore. The equipment wont work for safety reasons but kids can climb in the cabs of bulldozers, logging trucks, backhoes, and other equipment.

A small touch station will be set up with all kinds of things and information on health forests verse clear cutting and strip mining.

For the kids a second smaller playground will be here. Its base will be wood chip but several coverable sandbox areas will also be in the area. There wont be any shade sails since I'm trying to prove a point here about deforestation. To give a little shade a rock structure will be added that the kids can climb. Mostly the playground will have fallen logs which will be hollowed out for crawling through, log piles to climb on and over, and wooden like slides. There will be tree stump stepping stones. The rolling log will show up again. Log see saws and stump spinners will also be around. In general there should be a real lack of life in the playground and it shouldn’t outshine the friendly and inviting playground on the other side.

After resting, replenishing, learning and watching kids burn off extra energy you will head east to the northern entrance of the bird breeding center.

Paradise Preserve
With so many birds being endangered in South America I have decided in my infinite wisdom to build a bird breeding center on site called Paradise Preserve. I had a little extra space left over when I laid out South America so I wondered what good could I do with it. The space was too large for my usual space fillers, playgrounds, picnic areas, markets and restaurants. I could have planted a small forest there but what’s the fun in that? A South American bird breeding center seemed a good fit since I wanted so many South American birds anyway. This enables me to pull out the most critical to breed from my pavilion and give them more space, the ability to socialize and a more natural environment. With the endangered and threatened birds out of the pavilion I can keep more species in the pavilion who aren’t endangered.

The pavilion will be a good size but far from the biggest on site. It will be kept light and bright with tons of glass creating a greenhouse effect. This is being done to reduce heating costs. Air vents will be in the glass roof and be netted so the birds don’t escape on me. Tons of sprinklers will be added in strategic places to simulate natural rainfall patterns. This should help convince the birds to breed when the time comes. All kinds of jungle sounds will play on speakers helping with guest emersion.

A real difference in this pavilion will be the way its set up. Most pavilions house animals guest can’t share the same space as. All of the species in here are relatively people friendly so for the most part the pavilion will be a gigantic walk through aviary… well gigantic compared to the other walk through aviaries offered at the zoo. The aviary will be divided up into 8 different exhibits so that species are kept separate to avoid any unnecessary conflict or stress during breeding season. Guests will enter each of the exhibits through double doors that are connected to the wooden paths. The pathway will snake through the exhibits. An additional two exhibits that are not walkthroughs will lay to the south. To prevent this like all of the other birds in the pavilion keepers will work with them daily to build the birds trust in guests. If the birds are willing they can do meet and greets with guests while the keeper hand feeds them.

In the northern entry gallery guests will be educated about the impact the pet trade is having on the bird species. The devastating impact it is having on wild populations will be explained. Also discussed will be the horrible way in which they are often captured, the high death rate, the devastation of nesting sites, and the poaching trade. The idea here is to convince the guests that they don’t want to be part of the problem by creating demand for these difficult to care for species.

For convenience sake the walkthrough exhibits will all be extremely similar. By admitting this right off the bat I can describe the general appearance of the exhibits and then simply make any necessary additions to assist with specific needs of a species. All of the exhibits will have wood chip floors for easy keeper clean up. The exhibits will be filled with dense plant life. On the ground there will be ferns, flowers, bushes, grases and other plants. Back from the paths will be lots of trees of varying size. Since fruits and nuts are a major part of all of their diets it makes sense to simply plant those particular species they will benefit most from having. This will allow for natural foraging. Of course keepers will supplement their diet with foods and vitamins they need. Fallen logs and branches will provide additional perches closer to guests. Nesting sites vary between species but there will be fake trees with large hollows in them wired with video surveillance for keepers. Others need crevices in rocky cliff faces which will also be added. These nests will have one way glass and keeper access allowing them to pull chicks if needed. Nesting sites will all be back away from the paths to provide the parents with a sense of privacy thus reducing stress. In the summer each of the exhibits will have retractable panels along the outer walls opening the exhibit up to fresh air at least part of the day. Humidity needs to be maintained so conditions need to be what keepers feel is ideal for the panels to be opened. With all of the walkthrough exhibits being similar hopefully keepers can use this fact to rotate the birds on occasion just to spice up their lives.

So what are these eight exhibits going to hold? Great question. In the north western pen you will find the Red Fronted Macaws. There will be at least one breeding pair with more being a possibility if they can get along. Chicks will stay with their parents as long as possible. The exhibit will be the one exhibit in the aviary that will have its own separate entrance/exit. To make the pathway make sense one exhibit had to be a stand alone. Since this is the one species in here that doesn’t live in the rainforest. Their exhibit will be dressed to simulate more of a scrub environment. The exhibit will have sand on the ground, rocks, cacti, bushes, and a few good trees. They will also get log and branch climbers for entertainment. Another modification to their exhibit will be that it will be completely sealed off from the rest to accommodate the natural temperature fluctuations necessary and keep it a dry environment unlike the rest of the humid pavilion.

Heading back out into the main northern entry room you will cross the room to the northeastern exhibit housing the Lear’s Macaws. Being more social birds three breeding pairs will be present in this exhibit. It will give them a social mix and mate choice while not creating too much competition for nesting sites in the exhibit. Again young will stay with the group until either the parents push them out of the flock or the reach sexual maturity. Young will then go to another zoo for breeding. If a group of Lear’s cannot be sourced they will be replaced with Hyacinth Macaws which are slated to be put in the main pavilion even though they too are endangered. The reason the hyacinth’s are in the other pavilion is because people would just confuse the two similar looking species.

South of the Lear’s will be the Blue Throated Macaws. Like the their northern neighbours the blue throats will be kept as three breeding pairs with young remaining as long as possible. The young will need to be pulled in advance of the next breeding season to ensure their parents do breed but once their parents are invested in the next clutch they can be returned. This will create a larger flock which is why they are getting one of the biggest exhibits. These young can easily be dispersed throughout the AZA. However because they are critically endangered I would be willing to set up a breeding flock in the actual breeding center with as many individuals as is required. Keepers will have to closely monitor the third chick in a clutch since parents will only feed it enough to keep it alive as an insurance policy. With the abundance of food and no need to forage really the parents will hopefully feed it enough. If not then the chick can be pulled for hand rearing or be given supplemental feedings depending on the ease of reaching the nest. It is also possible if the parents consistently Unlike the other exhibits they will have a majority of palm trees. They eat the palm fruit more than seeds, nuts and other fruits so their exhibit will take that into account.

Moving west this time you will encounter the Plate Billed Mountain Toucans. A group of two or three breeding pairs will be in the exhibit. Ideally they will be fine with this though the group might have to be reduced to a single pair and their offspring. They are not an AZA sponsored species but they are such an interesting looking species I can’t resist. Does’nt hurt that they are threatened. I would encourage other zoos to take some of our young. To add to their natural behaviours other nests would be added to the exhibit with chicken eggs in them so the toucans can “steal” them.

Sliding south will bring you into the Yellow Headed Amazons. The zoo will house 5 breeding pairs and their young. All of these birds will have to be zoo born animals and not unpedigreed animals from the pet trade. However I will take in any amazons that need a home and use them in shows and outreach. With males possibly being too aggressive during the breeding season collapsable netted tunnels can be pulled out over the walkway. This will keep the guests safe while the amazons might be overly aggressive but still allow them to see the birds inside their habitat.

Turing east the pathway will now lead you into the home of the Great Green Macaws. Two breeding pairs and their young will live on exhibit. They are birds that tend to be shy and if the genetically valuable birds refuse to breed on exhibit they will be moved off exhibit to the breeding center. Instead they will be replaced with rescued great greens from the pet trade who I wouldn't want breeding but am more than content to display. Because they are shy their exhibit will have denser foliage then the rest so the birds can seek privacy if they wish.

With another turn to the south you will meet the zoo’s Sun Parakeets. This will be one of the biggest flocks in the pavilion with at least 10 birds. I am willing to include birds collected through the amnesty provided they prove gentle. The first flock of zoo born parakeets will need to all be hand reared to create gentle friendly birds. Keepers will have to work daily with them to keep them friendly so their aggressive little natures stay tamed. The zoo will attempt to manipulate the pairings so that genetically desirable mates are together and rescues are together. Once eggs are laid all rescued eggs will be pulled to maintain genetically sound lines. Valuable eggs will also be pulled and replaced with dummies but these chicks will be hand reared to keep the birds friendly. Yes most will go to other zoos where they will not need to be friendly because people won’t walk through their exhibit but I need to keep them manageable while at the zoo. Perhaps rescues could foster chicks for other zoos off exhibit in the breeding center.

Last in the walkthrough to the west you will find Golden Conures. A large group of conures will also be exhibited. Ten to fifteen birds will be on display which will allow dominant breeding pairs to have helpers in the form of previous young. The conures will probably be on edge during breeding season because the pavilion is home to toucans the natural threat to nestlings. Due to this their exhibit will also offer the same retractable needed tunnel as the amazons which will protect guests from perhaps overzealous parents. The nets won’t be needed year round.

Exiting the walkthrough you are now in the southern gallery which divides the southern portion of the pavilion in two.

On the eastern side of the pavilion will be a large aviary for Seven Coloured Tanagers. A group of 10 to 20 tanagers will live in the aviary where they will forage and breed amongst a natural habitat.

The western side of the pavilion will be divided into five smaller exhibits for hummingbirds. I could try a mixed hummingbird exhibit but they don’t all live in the same places and hummingbirds can be territorial… I might even have to divided further into ten exhibits so the pairs can be kept separate. The exhibits will hold Black Incas. Honduran Emeralds, Royal Sunangels, Sapphire Bellied Hummingbirds, and Scissor Tailed Hummingbirds. Their exhibits while far smaller than the big aviaries will be similarly decorated so why repeat the obvious. They will also get nectar feeders shaped like flowers all over the exhibits to keep things looking natural while luring the little birds towards the glass which will be their outer wall.

Outside the pavilion there is a large predatory bird complex which only houses two near threatened bird species. But I don't see any reason not to include this outdoor complex in Paradise Preserve. It’s a continuation of birds.

After exiting the pavilion the first large aviary you will encounter is the home of the Ornate Eagle Hawk. A breeding pair plus their most recent young. I highly doubt I will get young though. The eagle hawks breeding cycle will probably be disrupted by the fact that they will have to be pulled from the exhibit once colder weather hits and reintroduced in the spring. Breeding would be nice but from courtship to fledging its about 6 months. They might not be in their flight pen long enough or at the right time of year. Plus moving them could disrupt the year long process of the father teaching the chick how to be self sufficient. The zoo will just have to wait and see what happens.

During the summer the eagle hawks will enjoy a large spacious tall pen where they can fly and hunt. I assume they will probably take down birds and rodents foolish enough to enter their home. With a wooded area to the east of them its probably very likely wild animals will make the mistake. However it will provide them with good mental stimulation. Also adding to that stimulation will be ground lures with snacks running along on trollies. Likewise if the eagle hawks can be trained by keepers they will also be part of daily flight lure displays with keepers. Its a good way to keep them in shape. The exhibit will be decorated with tall trees, rocks, bushes, fallen branch perching structures, fallen logs that can be used by fledging chicks to climb up, and a couple big trees with nesting platforms on them. If they get used great. If not its another perch site. There will be access to the off exhibit bird barn to the rear of the exhibit and the barn will be covered in rocks and ledges. During the summer the barn offers a safe dry place to sleep. During the winter the eagle hawks will be moved to the breeding center or another barn to chill for the winter freeing up space in their normal home for the bigger birds.

The western neighbour of the eagle hawks will be King Vultures. A breeding pair with their most recent chick will live together. Breeding will be done when SSP asks but it might not happen due to the 5 months they need to hatch and rear their chick. It could work though. During the winter they can be housed in the barn. Their summer exhibit will be a large flight pen with tall trees, sturdy bushes, fallen branch perches, and boulders. The vultures will be given nesting sites in fake trees with big deep hollows. Inside the potential nesting sites there will be surveillance cams. Its possible that they could be converted to webcams or be shown on TV’s outside the exhibit. The vultures will be given animal carcasses to eat at least once a week. If they are breeding though the parents will be fed in the barn so that keepers can access the nest from time to time to check on the egg and chick. However if they breed inside during the winter things would change and you could watch the chick in the yard learning from its parents.

The central exhibit in the complex will be a huge Harpy Eagle pen. Although the zoo will most definitely house a breeding pair and their chicks because of the exceptionally long chick rearing process there is no way they can be held in the outdoor exhibit. The parents and their most recent chich will live in a specieally designed enclosure in the breeding center. Instead they exhibit will hold their last chicks who will not yet be sexually mature. It will also be beneficial to the second chick who will have to be hand reared since parents often ignore the second egg unless the first is lost. The hand reared chick can learn how to socialize form its parent reared clutch mate while the parent reared chick will learn from its sibling that keepers are friends. If the zoo is lucky by the time they are 6 years old and ready for their future homes and mates the next clutch will be ready to take up residence. However if there are no chicks to live there I would be happy offering a home to a surplus eagle or using the exhibit for the maturing young of another species in the complex.

The exhibit will be the largest in the complex which is good considering they will need to have lots of trees in their exhibit to best simulate their canopy living. The trees chosen will be ones with less dense canopies so that guests can see the eagles but I don’t want them in a barren exhibit. There will be grass on the ground with bushes, boulders, fallen trees for perching. To encourage the birds to come closer to guests food will be placed near the front. It would be interesting to see how keepers suggest we create natural actions from very active hunters. I would be good to have food hidden in trees like monkeys and birds would be. Perhaps they will be trained for lure hunting but they may be too large to do that safely for the keeper.

Continuing south you will meet the Black and White Eagle Hawks. These are not an AZA sponsored species but I like them. That said I wont necessarily keep a breeding pair. I will take two of whatever I can get. Two males fine. Two females fine. A non breeding male female pair fine. If they are a breeding pair ok. I wont be worried about them breeding but they will be pulled off exhibit for the winter and kept in another barn anyway. If the birds do not get along they can rotate on exhibit and possibly be trained as outreach animals so they can have more time out and stimulation.

Their exhibit will be another large flight pen which should reduce possible conflicts between same sexed groups. Long grasses will cover most of the floor while prefered roosting areas will get easy to clean wood chip underneath them. Bushes and trees will fill most of the exhibit. Fallen trees will offer all kinds of perching opportunities and place for the birds food to be placed. They will be trained on a lure so guests can see them hunt like they naturally would from time to time.

Rounding the corner of the eagle hawks you will head to the east, just before crossing the Little Rouge you will find the Northern Crested Caracara. I could have picked the Southern Caracara but I think the northerns are the ones that are part of the AZA. Im fine with whichever species is part of the AZA. Since we are talking about a bird which isnt even threatened I am more than willing to house a single sexed sibling set. They can be social so it will work out fine. If a breeding pair is what the AZA recommends then that is fine too.

Their exhibit will be the smallest of the group but barely so. Unlike the other exhibits in the complex their exhibit will be far less densely planted. They like open areas so the feature of their exhibit will be a big grassy area with a few boulders, fallen trees and wood chip patches. There will be several trees and bushes around the edges but the birds will benefit more from the open space. Also adding to the exhibit there will be fake cacti where they can perch and build nests if they want. Along the front of the exhibit there will be a shallow beach area where fish and crabs will occasionally be added for additional stimulation. There will also be the ground lures used with other birds.

This bring you to the end of Paradise Preserve. I now apologize because you are about to back track. You will need to head west along the same pathway until you hit the transition between Australia and South America and you will go back along this path as you explore Ascending the Andes.
 
Sorry for the longer pause. I procrastinated a little.

Ascending the Andes
Ascending the Andes as the name suggests will be home to animals who live on or in the shadow of the Andes Mountains. It will consist of three large outdoor enclosures and a few smaller exhibits inside a small barn.

The first animal you will encounter in the Andes living in three exhibits moving north, across from the eagle hawks and harpy eagle, will be Andean Bears. With a small population size in the AZA I would like to increase the zoos potential cub output by keeping two male, two females and their cubs. Ideally I will be able to import the adults adding valuable genetics through their cubs. All of the adults will be kept separately and rotate through the exhibits. By having a second male we can offer the females mate choice which might help to encourage pregnancy. The second male will also mean that while a female is off exhibit for a couple of months caring for tiny cubs her exhibit won't sit empty. This might be very important if both females become pregnant in the same year.

Guests will view the bears through glass barriers all along the space. This will keep the bears and guests safe will allowing people to come face to face with the bears. The exhibits will all be designed to look like they are part of the same mountainside. The southern exhibit will slope to the northwest ever so gently. The central exhibits slope to the northwest will be more pronounced. The northern exhibit will simply slope to the west. These grassy slopes will hide the barn. All three of the exhibits will be dressed in a similar manner with minor differences in each to change things up. The exhibits will all have lots of boulders and rocks to help create that mountside feel. Well placed, mature, manicured trees will provide climbing opportunities. They will be joined by a climbing structure constructed out of a jumble of dead and fallen trees constructed out of concrete. Denning opportunities will be a mix of caves, rocky ledges and fallen hollowed out trees with heating and cooling pads in the floor. To encourage them to forage smaller rocks, rotting logs, bushes and other objects. Water will play a big roll in the three exhibits. The southern exhibit will get a deep pool the bears can swim in located along the southern edge of the exhibit. In the southeast it will be deepest and guests will get a little underwater view of maybe two or so feet. The ground will slope up towards the west and north. Along that exhibits eastern edge a small stream will trickle along feeding the pool. The central exhibit will also have a stream running along its eastern edge which will have a deeper pool in it for a bear to cool off. The northern exhibit will feature a waterfall cascading down the mountain into a small pool which will then trail off into a minor stream heading to the southeast corner. All of the water features should make the three exhibits appear to be situated al

Before going further I would like to discuss my ideas for the barn. Because of its location and the fact I expect most animals to be out much of the year it will not be a public area. It will be a two to three story home for the animals. Along the northern and western walls not visible to guests will be giant windows letting tons of light into the space. On the first floor there will be the Andean bear holdings with a large indoor enclosure to house the 4th bear not on display and adolescent cubs awaiting homes with plenty of space while off display. It will also have two sound proofed maternity dens. On the second floor would be a chick nursery. It would have several incubation units to care for all of the large South American birds’ eggs. The eggs in here will be incubated until hatched then either carefully placed back in their egg to “hatch” in the parents nest or initially hand reared in the unit. Yes there is the very expensive nursery in the health center but the chick nursery can keep all of the young together so they imprint on each other and nothing else. Plus I have some spare space here so I can go up to the third story. On this final level will be the condor quarters. It will have keeper access to nesting sites and have spots for the condors to stay in when its too cold.

Having seen the southern bear exhibit and not wanting to backtrack you head west instead of north to the Andean Condor exhibit. With condors being highly social birds and to meet the needs of the young, three breeding pairs will be kept in this massive exhibit. The adults will benefit from each others company and with all three pairs breeding at once hopefully at least two healthy chicks can be housed together in a juvenile flock until new homes are chosen. Due to the current demographics for the population I would have keepers remove and hand rear at least one egg. This will ensure that in a months time a second egg will be produced doubling the parents output every season. The weather just isn’t good enough here to try for 4 eggs like other zoos far to the south have been able to achieve. Six healthy chicks will work for me. If any pair is recommended to produce a chick for release the egg will be sent away to a facility with all the tools needed to successfully rear the chick. Prior to the next seasons breeding all of the parent reared chicks will be introduced to the hand reared chicks and an older adult role model in the zoos breeding center so they can all learn their manners before being sent to new homes.

The great thing about the condors are that they can do well during the winter. Naturally they will be brought in at night and kept in on very cold days but they could probably stay out most of the winter. This is great because that eliminates my desire for indoor display quarters. The barn can be strictly off display. Much like the Andean bear exhibit, the condor exhibit will gently slope up to the north where a huge rockwall will hide the barn. The rocks will provide several nesting site caves, all of which will have keeper access, and various sized ledges of perching. Each nest will have a fallen tree or rock steps leading back up to it so chicks who haven’t fledged yet can get in and out of the nest safely. Along the grass covered slope there will be a variety of trees, shrubs, rocks and large fallen trees with plenty of perching branches. This will create an ideal environment. A pool will be placed up near the front which doesn’t need to be huge just big enough to for the two birds to bathe in at once and no deeper than their legs. It will provide them with fresh water while also giving them a chance to bathe. Unfortunately for guests feeding will always be done in an off exhibit holding pen to condition all of the parents to leave the main pen at the same time allowing keepers to examine the chicks and remove or monitor eggs. By establishing this routine keepers will not risk angering the parents who may abandon or kill their chick. Depending on keeper suggestions the parents may be fed inside the barn so that they learn coming in means food just in case it’s ever too cold for them. Keepers will rarely enter the exhibit to clean so they don’t interfere too much with the condors. Minor tidying will be done while they are off being fed to prevent the exhibit from becoming too overgrown or dirty which could lead to disease.

You could continue along the pathway to the west but that would just lead you right back to the Tasmanian pavilion in Australia. Instead you turn your attentions to the south to a large field mixed exhibit featuring Llamas, Guanacos, Vicunas, Alpacas and Greater Rheas. First off I know what you’re going to say Rheas are grassland animals that don’t belong with the others. You’re right however this is a large open exhibit with a mix of flat land and hill where the rhea will be perfectly happy and they do associate with guanacos in the wild and the other species I didn’t have a big grassland section so this works for me. The misplacement would be noted with signage. So now I suppose you want to know why the greater over the lesser? Well easy the greater is the one backed by the AZA. When it comes the the rhea I would be comfortable with a breeding flock consisting of a male or two and four to six females plus young or to go with a bachelor group of males. Breeding is all well and good but I don’t mind housing surplus males either. When it comes to the llamas and alpacas I would like to work on the same principle as my farm yard animals and have the animals owned by a farmer who lends them to me. To keep the whole mixed group integrated I would prefer the animals stayed year round but I would like the herd to either consist of females and their young. Once a year the farmer can bring in his stud to do his business and let us rear the calves until they are mature then come pick them up. It would be great if I could find a rancher with guanacos and vicunas to work out that same deal with but it will likely be hard to find someone. In that case then I would turn to the AZA and breeding the animals when asked to do so. The guanacos and vicunas herds will consist of a male and four to six females, plus young. The hardiness of all of the animals, except the rheas, means they can stay on display year round. The rheas will be kept inside at the keepers discretion.

As I mentioned before the exhibit will be a rather nice flat area at the along the northern edge of the exhibit. It will look like an open plain with a few rocks, bushes and fallen trees to provide obstacles and visual barriers for the animals when desired. A small shallow pond will offer a watering hole for drinking. For the most part though the area will just be a nice grassy area for grazing. Also on the plain area there will be a small farm area where there will be a house, pens (not closed to allow freedom of movement), ect. It will all be done in a rustic style to show how the domesticated llamas and alpacas are cared for by their owners in their native range. The home can provide a resting place for the animals out of sight of guests but wind a water proof. To the southern edge of the exhibit the rocky terrain will rise slowly into a mock mountain, disguising the barn. While the flat area will allow grazing and suit the needs of the rhea, the hill area will give a better feeling of the area the others all inhabit. A few trees and bushes will be planted on the slopes to provide shade. I would like to make the exhibit a walkthrough exhibit but I’m not as sure if this is wise. Yes all of the species can be very tame but I worry about biting and spitting. A walkthrough will only be attempted if keepers feel it will be safe. Both llamas and alpacas will be trained as outreach animals who will tour around the zoo with their keepers. If possible all of the alpacas and llamas will be trained, depending on their dispositions, so that their expeditions will be a great form of enrichment and exercise. They won't all be out at once. A couple at at time is enough but they will rotate allowing each to get some extra attention.

Continuing to the east you will now encounter a moderate barn. This isnt a pavilion because it simply isnt that big. This will be the home to other animals who live on or in the shadow of the Andes. Keepers quarters and night quarters will be kept in the northeast and northwest corners out of sight but connected to the three habitats.

The first exhibit you will come upon is the outdoor Chilean Pudu exhibit. The zoo will house two breeding pairs and their most recent young. While solitary animals they are also skittish animals so I would like to attempt to house the breeding pair together so that they can comfort each other. However if this doesn’t work for them I would switch to a male and two females and during the winter a rotation will be needed. Getting four may prove difficult through the AZA considering how small the population is but if necessary I would be willing to import from other places. Living with the puds will also be Yellow Scarfed Tanagers, Swallow Tanagers, and Andean Cock of the Rocks. As none of these birds are threatened the group kept will be small, four to six of each species who will only be allowed to breed when recommended or when homes are already secured for chicks.

The mixed group will have three exhibits available. The one fully netted outdoor exhibit and two indoor netted exhibits. By fully enclosing the outdoor exhibit I’m guaranteeing the safety of the pudus from large native predators and allow the birds to be outside as well. I know this impairs views so a few viewing windows will be added. The outdoor exhibit will be a good size for the pudus and birds. It will be planted with Canadian species which are safe for the pudu to eat. There will be lots of trees, bushes, rocks and rock piles with caves underneath, fallen logs, hollow logs and caves. Because the pudus are skittish I want them to have tons of opportunities to hide from guests if they feel threatened. Grass and wood chip will cover the ground while a small pool will offer them water. The pool won’t be close to the glass so the pudus don’t feel stressed while getting a drink. Inside the building the two exhibits will extend along the western wall of the barn. The two exhibits indoors will be divided by either a half rockwall or large fake fallen tree with a transfer door in it. The idea is that the pudus will be kept in their own separate spaces when everyone is inside while the birds will be able to have full access above to both exhibits. During the summer when one group is outside the the pudus the other group can have full access to the indoor space. An elevated passage will exist for the birds so that they can have full access to all three exhibits during the summer so on any given day you will have no idea who will be inside or outside. The indoor exhibits will have native species of plants in them. There will be lots of fruit trees, bamboo, shrubs, grasses, flowers, rocks, fallen logs, hollow logs, caves, and nesting boxes. If keepers feel the pudus would do better with one way glass along guest viewing spaces to reduce stress then that would be added. Otherwise the exhibit will have a half wall and netting.

Along the northern wall there will be a mixed exhibit completely sealed off from the others so that the environment inside can avoid the humidity of the other exhibits. This will be the home of Long Tailed Chinchillas, Degus, Southern Viscachas, and Elegant Crested Tinamous. I cant see any reason why all four cannot be exhibited together in a dynamic exhibit however if necessary it can be subdivided. The chinchillas and Degus will be rescues from the amnesty and adoptions from shelters as there are no programs for them. To offer a good home to as many as possible all males will be neutered so no babies are ever born. The viscachas will live in a group consisting of three males and six females plus young. The males will be pulled when breeding season arrives if we don’t want young. There will be a flock of eight tinamous, with an equal split of genders. As the only SSP animal in the group they will be bred whenever asked and if they aren’t to breed the eggs will be replaced with dummies.

As I stated before their exhibit will be sealed off. The chinchillas cannot deal with humidity or wetness so their exhibit will need to be self contained. All of the animals here will live on exhibit full time. The back wall of the exhibit will ideally be glass looking out into a nice treed area. With no keepers quarters needed to the rear there can be big beautiful windows. The eastern and western walls will be rock work with piles of rock leaned against them, ledges, and crevices of varying size. Because we are talking about a lot of small animals the exhibit will be raised about two feet off the ground, offering kids a nice view while not making adults stoop too much. The flooring would be a mix of grass and wood chip to keep cleaning easy. There will be bushes, rock piles with caves underneath, fallen logs, hollow logs, tree stumps, and a tree or two. For the degus and chinchillas there will be a couple of rock piles holding dust bath dishes. All of them will be up by the glass ensuring kids will squeal with delight watching them bathe. Underground there would be a series of tunnels stopping always in a nest keepers can clean from time to time and check on any babies or missing animals. The tunnels will run along the front of the exhibit so people can see them moving around or sleeping in nests.

Several of the chinchillas, degus and viscachas will be trained to be outreach animals. Hopefully these ones can live on exhibit but if they can’t surplus males will be used and kept in any of the other areas where outreach animals live.

Along the eastern wall will be Arcticwolf’s choice, the Darwin’s Fox. I had originally left them off my list because with just 250 individuals getting a pair would be virtually impossible. However I did buy off the Aussie’s so I suppose I could buy off the Chileans. Probably cheaper to get two foxes then my massive list of Australian species. Ideally I would get a four breeding pairs. A single pair would be on exhibit while the other three would live in an isolated exhibit in the breeding center. By having four pairs I can mix and match kits to create more pairs and eventually return kits to the wild. The alternative would be a single pair and the kits would be returned to the wild as soon as possible. In both scenarios I would even like to work with scientists to collect semen to further increase the genetic diversity of the kits being produced. AI can be attempted to ensure different paternity.

They will be given two exhibits, one in and one out. Since we are inside lets start here. The exhibit will stretch the entire eastern wall giving the foxes tons of space in the winter when they cannot go outside. The eastern wall itself will be glass. This will provide a great deal of light and a beautiful backdrop as the forested area next to the Little Rouge will be here. To ensure the foxes do not feel intruded upon they will be behind one way glass. By keeping the sight of people to a minimum theres a better chance pups can be reintroduced one day. People will be kept back by a secondary boundary to prevent tapping. Everything possible will be done to keep noise to a minimum so soundproofing throughout. The exhibit will be planted with a wide variety of natural plants, trees, grasses, shrubs, flowers, rocks, fallen logs, hollow logs, and caves. It will be one of the denser planted exhibits to best simulate their normal home. A single tunnel will lead the foxes to the maternity den where keepers can supervise and intervene if necessary. Inside I have done everything possible to keep things ideal for the rearing of pups who will be returned to the wild. If they are going back to Chile then they won’t be allowed outside. There is no way I can control what they hear out there. Their parents can go outside but once the kits are mobile they will all need to stay in my controlled environment until the kits are removed and sent to the breeding center or wild. However if they kits are staying on as part of the breeding program I won’t worry about the influence of people as much. Outside will be dressed similarity but with Canadian plants. They will be viewable through glass and netting. To ensure nothing can attack them, my biggest concern with such rare and critically endangered species, the whole exhibit will be enclosed. Ideal no but I dont want to take a single unnecessary risk if I’m going to ask the Chileans to give me any animals.

This brings you to the end of the Andes. Next up you will cross the Little Rouge into the Amazon.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top