If you could change anything you feel is wrong in any zoo, what would it be in your book?

Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
Yes, I agree, but then again I do think that the bigger draws to the zoo in this sense would be their orangutangs, gorillas and spectacled bears.
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Despite what you referenced about the study earlier? That meerkats and otters were among the most popular species? I have seen a lot more kids "playing" with otters and meerkats than I have interested in apes or bears.

Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
I think that with a bit of revamp work on the enclosure I would replace the Asian short claw with either the giant otter (much better thematically given how many South American species are kept) or the marine otter (yes, difficult to obtain but not impossible) which I believe was originally the intention of Jersey back just before the ASCO was brought into the collection
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Giant Otter might be a good replacement. Marine Otter I agree would be difficult to get.
 
Great Argus said:
Despite what you referenced about the study earlier? That meerkats and otters were among the most popular species? I have seen a lot more kids "playing" with otters and meerkats than I have interested in apes or bears.



Giant Otter might be a good replacement. Marine Otter I agree would be difficult to get.
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Yes, like I said before objectively and pragmatically I understand that these species have popular appeal for the visitor but even knowing and accepting this I do still feel that Jersey should eventually replace these species.

I think that giant otters would be an excellent choice given that they :

A.Fit well thematically with the South American species that form a large part of the collection.

B. These are an endangered species and not particularly difficult to obtain.

C. These are large, active and charismatic and bound to be popular with the public.
 
Less about a particular zoo or animal and more about the industry as a whole, I think zoos need to do better with creating a racially diverse staff. It’s probably too complicated to talk about in a forum but it’s definitely something that is talked about in the field and solutions are being worked towards. An idea is greater outreach to underprivileged communities. A lot of zoo outreach programs are expensive and it is expensive to visit a zoo. Unfortunately this problem hits our most racially diverse communities the hardest.
 
Echobeast said:
Less about a particular zoo or animal and more about the industry as a whole, I think zoos need to do better with creating a racially diverse staff. It’s probably too complicated to talk about in a forum but it’s definitely something that is talked about in the field and solutions are being worked towards. An idea is greater outreach to underprivileged communities. A lot of zoo outreach programs are expensive and it is expensive to visit a zoo. Unfortunately this problem hits our most racially diverse communities the hardest.
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I think this may be a problem in the USA and perhaps Canada, a few European countries ,Australia and South Africa but it is not as big a problem in other parts of the world though certainly class prejudices and barriers are and do represent challenges.

That said in some countries it is more problematic in terms of people of different ethnic backgrounds eventually reaching senior or leadership positions within institutions.
 
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Zooplantman said:
It is Soooooo much easier to contain an Asian short-claw otter than a giant otter and space requirements and holding surely are different. In short, more than a bit of revamp work.
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Yes , I totally agree that it would have to be enlargened quite a lot and the fence raised significantly higher but I still think that this would be potentially possible with the giant otter and that this species would be a good replacement.

A species that I think would make a great replacement for ASCO in terms of size of enclosure and not having to change the current setup would be the European mink, particular given it being a critically endangered species and Jersey's involvement with rewilding and the relative proximity to France / Spain.

However, I know that this species just would not work at all in terms of visitors as it would hide away during the day and would be nowhere near as popular with the crowds.
 
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The Tiger Trail at the Kansas City Zoo should be demolished and rebuilt. Almost every single species kept in this area, especially the tigers and orangutans, I don’t think have enough space. None of the animals have anywhere to hide from view and have privacy, so I feel like some of them are stressed.
 
Alex Roman said:
This is an opinionated question, but if anything in any particular zoo doesn't feel right to you (it could be inaccurate geography in an exhibit, animals you think are "boring" or "overused", or the exhibit feels substandard), what would you prefer it to be?

In my book, I think that Sunset Zoo in Manhattan, KS, the Trails of South America part, geography-wise, could use some improvement; For example, replace the Canada geese and Indian peafowl with something actually from South America, such as the Orinoco goose and blue-billed curassow, respectively, especially given that the latter is critically endangered.

Also, in same exhibit at said zoo, the red-eared sliders could be replaced with something like a mata-mata if the turtles are kept-indoors, if they still had the former.

Apparently, in the African loop in Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, the Amur leopard has died and was replaced with a lappet-faced vulture, which actually is from Africa.
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That lappet-faced vulture was a chiock reared at the zoo and that was the best place they could house it when they removed it from the parents.
 
Echobeast said:
Less about a particular zoo or animal and more about the industry as a whole, I think zoos need to do better with creating a racially diverse staff.
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It appears that everyone is advertising "diversity" (in a very American interpretation) as a "must have" these days without much concern in regard to the practical Implementation and the actual results. And I doubt that the representative "role model" effect of single individuals is as efficient in promoting interest as some might assume.
 
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Batto said:
It appears that everyone is advertising "diversity" (in a very American interpretation) as a "must have" these days without much concern in regard to the practical Implementation and the actual results. And I doubt that the representative "role model" effect of single individuals is as efficient in promoting interest as some might assume.
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You have made several leaps of logic there to make your point.
Hardly seems to reply thoughtfully to Ecobeast's comment
 
Zooplantman said:
You have made several leaps of logic there to make your point.
Hardly seems to reply thoughtfully to Ecobeast's comment
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Oh, I have thought this through long enough. And I don't see any logical leaps from my side here.
It might help to look beyond one's nose before projecting current American concepts onto the "rest" of the world. May it be due to national differences in ethnic diversity / homogeneity or due to societies that reject the general concept of human "races".
 
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Batto said:
Oh, I have thought this through long enough. And I don't see any logical leaps from my side here.
It might help to look beyond one's nose before projecting current American concepts onto the "rest" of the world. May it be due to national differences in ethnic diversity / homogeneity or due to societies that reject the general concept of human "races".
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Feel free to sneer at US trends as you please. Means nothing to me
My point was simply that you started with Echobeast's call for greater diversity. You lept to the notion of having a single individual as a role model (where was THAT in Echobeast's comment?). If you have an argument to start why not spell it out? Perhaps in a new Zoo Cafe thread
 
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Zooplantman said:
Feel free to sneer at US trends as you please. Means nothing to me
My point was simply that you started with Echobeast's call for greater diversity. You lept to the notion of having a single individual as a role model (where was THAT in Echobeast's comment?). If you have an argument to start why not spell it out?
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Why so snarky? I'm not "sneering" at American social trends; I'm just pointed out that they are quite often not universally true outside of the USA, for various reasons.
As for "THAT" - when trying to implement "diversity", businesses often refer to individual staff members of whatever is deemed a "diverse" background as token examples of their progressive business culture. Quite often against their will, these individuals are highlighted as role models.
I do challenge this notion, as an individual is usually not representative of a larger group, both positively and negatively.

If it truly meant nothing to you, you wouldn't have replied in the first place, would you? ;)
 
Changing things eh?

The Minnesota zoo is a great zoo, but pet peeves would be adding a little more something to that brief nocturnal area in the Tropic trails, Mainly on that walk up there with all the pictures on the walls(If you know what I'm talking about)
Como zoo needs to add more species signage in their brief Jungle area,
The cat section should either be eradicated entirely (Is that part of there master plan? @Dhole dude), or just revamped to only be a large outdoor exhibit for one species such as a Snow leopard or Amur tiger.
 
CheeseChameleon1945 said:
Changing things eh?

The Minnesota zoo is a great zoo, but pet peeves would be adding a little more something to that brief nocturnal area in the Tropic trails, Mainly on that walk up there with all the pictures on the walls(If you know what I'm talking about)
Como zoo needs to add more species signage in their brief Jungle area,
The cat section should either be eradicated entirely (Is that part of there master plan? @Dhole dude), or just revamped to only be a large outdoor exhibit for one species such as a Snow leopard or Amur tiger.
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The Large Cats Building was recently renovated, so it is unlikely that it would be demolished or renovated anytime soon. The Orangutan exhibit is next up after the Aquatics Buildings renovation is finished. I personally have no problem with the outdoor cat exhibits. There large enough, and get the job done decently. Sure, there nothing like Minnesota’s cat exhibits, but there perfectly fine. I do agree about the signage in Tropical Encounters, though. It’s a real pain to have to try to identify all of the rare tanagers, manakins & honeycreepers without proper signage!

The nocturnal trail is supposedly being turned into a “canopy” exhibit in the relatively near future (although judging by the zoos recent financial troubles, we may have to wait a little while longer). I’m not quite sure what that entails, but hopefully more Reptiles & Amphibians are included.
 
Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
The wild type axolotl is very very different from the axolotls that are commonly kept as pets and in most zoos which typically have extremely low genetic diversity due to genetic inbreeding and are therefore of no utility to ex-situ conservation.
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A bit off topic, but do you know of any zoos with wild type axolotls? I’m intrigued and want to see one now:)
 
Dhole dude said:
The Large Cats Building was recently renovated, so it is unlikely that it would be demolished or renovated anytime soon. The Orangutan exhibit is next up after the Aquatics Buildings renovation is finished. I personally have no problem with the outdoor cat exhibits. There large enough, and get the job done decently. Sure, there nothing like Minnesota’s cat exhibits, but there perfectly fine. I do agree about the signage in Tropical Encounters, though. It’s a real pain to have to try to identify all of the rare tanagers, manakins & honeycreepers without proper signage!

The nocturnal trail is supposedly being turned into a “canopy” exhibit in the relatively near future (although judging by the zoos recent financial troubles, we may have to wait a little while longer). I’m not quite sure what that entails, but hopefully more Reptiles & Amphibians are included.
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Thanks for this Multitude of information. I do have differing opinions about the Cat exhibit, but I guess it is okay for what's provided. You definitely have to stay long enough to see birds other than Saffron finches, and then you don't know what your'e looking at!!! And I'm also (for signage) even talking about the Fish exhibits for goodness sake, they also have very little signage other than "this is a turtle".
 
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