If You Could Tweak One Existing Exhibit?

TheGytrash

TheGytrash

Well-Known Member
If you could renovate one real zoo exhibit, keeping the existing exhibit footprint and continue to exhibit at least one of the same species, which one would you upgrade and how? How would you take an 'okay' exhibit to great?

This could be from an animal welfare standpoint, a guest experience standpoint, or both!
 
Broken record here: I wish Cincinnati would absorb the old Bear Line into Jungle Trails in terms of theming and continuity. You Ould have any number of species in that space. I'd renovate for a larger clouded leopard exhibit. maybe even a new exhibit for another leopard species. You could always add birds or smaller primates as well. They are in love with otters, so giant otters could slide in if acquirable. Perhaps even a pygmy hippo or outdoor crocodilian holding would fit.

I wouldn't overdo the number of species. I'd just scrap the unexciting Bear Ridge concept and utilize the space for something different.
 
Cleveland: Going to go against the usual grain of "Wipe PC&A off the earth" and instead say- Renovate the African Savanna exhibit. Move the Zebra in with the Giraffe and Ostrich. Turn the central exhibit into a Nile Hippo exhibit, since it already has an elevated viewing platform.

Akron: Merge the Snow Leopard and Vulture exhibit into one exhibit for the Leopards.

Columbus: Can't really think of anything.

Cincinnati: Renovate Bear Hill Ala Cleveland's Bear Hollow. Fill in the moat and bring the guests closer to the bears.
 
Fan and member of the ABQ Biopark. Currently there is a large remodel of the zoos Australia section and because of this on the former cat walk section of the zoo I would turn the current large exhibit for Kangaroos and split it in half, to have a larger reptile on one side like an Orinoco crocodile or Spectacled Caiman and on the other half a new exhibit for the zoos capybaras and various South American aquatic birds. The space is large and could easily hold these two exhibits. It would be a larger area for the capybaras and remove them from the zoos Africa section. The zoo eventually wants plans to redo the catwalk as an animals of the Americas Section any. This would also work with the theming being right next one of the zoos newer exhibits in its Jaguar exhibit.

As for the ABQ Biopark Aquarium, I would simply redo the tanks for the cutthroat trout. It is the state fish and I think should be displayed in a larger remodeled tank.
 
My 'tweak' would simply be to add a lot more shade/trees to the Great Ape outdoor yards at the Smithsonian National Zoo. The few trees they do have have the trunks protected so they can't damage them-- I might suggest adding it at least one really big sturdy tree to the gorilla yard and maybe even add some kind of shade canopy from the Great Ape house.

The exhibit as-is isn't terrible, with plenty to climb on and some foliage to interact with, but when you look at the best ape habitats in the country, the biggest difference is the suggestion of an actual forest with numerous trees. I can't picture Tarzan living in the current gorilla yard in DC, let alone his adoptive ape family!
 
TheGytrash said:
If you could renovate one real zoo exhibit, keeping the existing exhibit footprint and continue to exhibit at least one of the same species, which one would you upgrade and how? How would you take an 'okay' exhibit to great?

This could be from an animal welfare standpoint, a guest experience standpoint, or both!
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I think the Bronx could do with extending the Birds of Prey exhibits back to give them more space, most of them feel a bit too small for the occupants and could deal with some extra space.
 
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AnActualFan said:
I think the Bronx could do with extending the Birds of Prey exhibits back to give them more space, most of them feel a bit too small for the occupants and could deal with some extra space.
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I agree that the birds of prey enclosures are a definite weak spot in the zoo collection. I haven't been able to find anywhere whether all of their birds of prey are injured and unable to fly and/or see or just some of them, but I imagine that would also affect exhibit design.
 
TheGytrash said:
I agree that the birds of prey enclosures are a definite weak spot in the zoo collection. I haven't been able to find anywhere whether all of their birds of prey are injured and unable to fly and/or see or just some of them, but I imagine that would also affect exhibit design.
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I think even if they were injured, just giving them more space would work wonders cause they feel a bit too small, it's especially doable as there's nothing behind the cages that would be truly affected.
 
I would 'tweak' Brookfield Zoo's Aardvark House by reopening it and putting an aardvark in it. (Too on the nose?)
 
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