Immersive Storylines

[lee456]

Dear all,

Firstly I hope everyone had a great christmas. Today I returned to Zoochat and came across this picture:

http://www.zoochat.com/40/immersion-maned-wolf-exhibit-124457/

This picture prompted many points about immersion. With valid points made on both side covering issues such as cost, realism and hubandry. Now my viewpoint is that immersion exhibit enhacne the viewing experience and also aid in showing the animals natural habitat!. I have not, however strated this thread to talk about immersion the above thread covers it quite well, but immersive Stroylines. Now the "Zoo" which I would highlight as using immersive storylines the most is Disney's Animal Kingdom. Maybe that is due to it being Disneys and needs a story. When I say stroyline I mean something more than another ruined Malayan temple covered in tamarins!

For example I will use a snippet from Geomorph's excellent review (A recomended read for anyone who hasn't already):

http://www.zoochat.com/22/review-disneys-animal-kingdom-134912/

Snippet of description (hopefully in context) about the Maharajah Jungle Trek:

It is a lush jungle walkway that visits a ruin with a backstory, announced by a sign at its entrance: “Anandapur Royal Forest. Since very ancient times the rajahs of Anandapur have hunted tigers in this forest. In A.D. 1544 King Bhima Disampati decreed the forest a royal preserve. Closed to all save his guests and built a royal hunting lodge whose ruins lie nearby. After 1948, the royal forest was given to the people of Anandapur. Today the forest protects not only the remaining tigers and other wildlife but is a valuable watershed of the Chakranadi River and some of the last remaining virgin forest in this region.” This kind of fuzzy fantasy history based loosely on bits and pieces of actual time and place infuses a fun spark to the complex, but can also be very misleading for the gullible; like many theme park attractions, it offers a taste of far-flung adventure with a wink. Visitors can pick up a laminated identification guide at this entrance, since the complex is largely devoid of signs except for small symbols that correspond to the guide. The first two exhibits are both large rocky-walled yards set along the path in what is the least culturally-themed section, with just a scattering of tiny shrine lanterns on the ground. They are both good exhibits, one for komodo dragon, the other for Malayan tapir with a swimming pond. Next a small rustic wood structure is entered; visitors can either walk through it and exit outside (for those wanting to avoid the ‘creepy-crawly’), or turn to its main room for the viewing area for Rodrigues fruit bat and Malayan flying fox mixed together. The room has wire and wood partitions that are actually open-air with the bat enclosure, which is a large scenic high rock-walled yard filled with small temple-like perches and draped with lines of prayer flags that the bats enjoy climbing. The top is enclosed by wire mesh but is hidden unless looking directly up at the edge of the viewing window. It is an excellent and scenic exhibit. Sharing the viewing room are three average terrariums: the larger for blood python, and on the other side the two smaller for Asian giant centipede and white-lipped tree frog. The next two exhibits are for tigers (unidentified cross-breed apparently) that are viewed from a series of elaborate Indian-like temple ruins covered with faded frescoes of hunting parties and prey. The first one viewed is the much larger and successful of the two, backed by a rolling hill and forest that effectively blurs the back of the enclosure. It is viewed from an elevated open structure first, then a few windows on the ground. It has a large formal fountain ruin as its centerpiece that spills into a water moat. Then a courtyard taken over by foliage is passed through before another temple-like viewing area is entered, open to the sky via its ‘collapsed roof’. It has more windows into the ground level of the first exhibit, as well as the first ground-level viewing windows into the smaller second exhibit which is backed by an imposing high temple wall that also forms part of the aviary enclosure described later. After exiting this viewing area, ruins of the formal gardens are entered to a curved viewing area for a very large mixed species hoofstock exhibit that also features a rolling hill and forest backdrop: this is the home of banteng, blackbuck, and Eld’s deer. From here, a wire-enclosed elevated wood bridge draped with prayer flags has views into more of this exhibit as well as another view of the second tiger exhibit and its formal fountain ruin swimming pool. Finally, the aviary is entered through another temple ruin after passing a small room with two more small windows into the second tiger exhibit. The aviary is a lush medium-to-large size wire flight cage with a few more garden ruin structures and one side dominated by an elaborate tile-accented temple wall.

The Kilamanjaro Safari also is told as a story along with the connected Pangani Trail will also has a story loosely linked to the that of the safari.

But what do you guys think? Are they effectives ways of potraying animals or do they distract from the actual animals themselve?