Interesting Exhibit Concept

A

aw101

Well-Known Member
I was thinking, there are countless African Plains exhibits but how about an 'Edge of the Savannah' exhibit featuring:

Honey Badger
Warthog
Vulture
Baboon
Impala
King Cobra
Mongoose
Meerkat
Leopard

I think this sort of multi species exhibit would be fascinating and something not seen commonly in zoos. What do you guys think?
 
you might be right, well some species of reptile that is African in origin....

I love the African Loppe exhibit at the Sd Zoo, it is small but well designed...

Honey Badgers are rarely seen in zoos so they should really try to breed them or build them a more appropriate enclosure
 
You could use the Egyptian Cobra or "Rinkhals" Spitting Cobra. Honey Badgers are rarely seen in the wild here either so breeding would be good.

Would need good visual barriers or the exhibits could be very stressful as not only are those predators and prey but natural enemies. Gemsbok would be another good addition.
 
I was thinking for the exhibit to have a similar theme to 'Heart of Africa' at the SD Wild Animal Park...

With African vegetation everywhere..
 
There is a similar indoor exhibit at the Staten Island Zoo in New York with

Baboons
Meerkat
Ball Python
Ground Hornbill
Rock Hyrax
Superb Starling
Dik-Dik
Bushbaby
Burrowing Python
Pancake Tortoise
Leopard Tortoise
Turaco sp.
Ring-tailed Lemur
Leopard

There should be more small animal exhibits like them!
 
Prague Zoo has similar "Into Africa" house. It has honey badgers, bat-eared foxes, black lemurs and very many African rodents, reptiles and insects. Unsure about meerkats.

It is obviously designed for children, with lots of terrariums realised like peeking into rock cracks.

Unfortunately, when I was there, children were ignoring it. And I learned that mice can be so varied.
 
Okapikpr:

You have to admit, however, that the Staten Island exhibit is way too small and quite, well, ugly.

Check out the Prague Zoo's "Africa Closely" exhibit--everything from ratels, yellow mongoose, bat-eared fox, doormouse, dung beetles, chamelons, vipers, spiny mice, zebra mice, leopard tortoise, egg-eating snake, crested procupines, springhaas, ground squirrel, assassin bugs, fennec foxhedgehogs, hyrax, agamids, sungazer, skinks, Africn bullfrog, Calabar python, spiders, weaverbirds etc. Plus, inappropriately, black lemurs.

It's quite nice.

Basle's Etosha exhibit includes a number of smaller species as well--bee-eaters, hyrax, dwarf mongoose, locusts, Puff Adder (with mice!), along with crocodiles, lions and wild dogs.
 
I have to agree that the african Kopje exhibit at San diego was very impressive. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I think that exhibits that show the smaller species in an ecosystem are even better then the ones that show the larger ones. Chester zoo is trying to show more of the smaller species in it's new okapi exhibit. There are 5 rodent species, three fish species and one snake. This exhibit is very well thought out, and shows the species that are 'looked over.'

I think that zoos should try to use rodents/insectivores/herptiles in their exhibits more often, as they are very important in the ecosystem, and because of their size are often left out and forgotten about.
 
The Bronx Zoo's Congo features large mammals (gorillas, okapi, red river hog, colobus, mandrill, deBrazza and Wolf's guenon), but also has rock pythons, lungfish, Nile monitors, zebra mice, several frogs, Congo peacock, hornbills, wood hoopoes, crakes, cichlids, scorpions, millipedes, tetras, butterfly fish pygmy geese. mud turtles and egg-eating snakes. It really adds a lot to the experience.
 
Writhedhornbill said:
I have to agree that the african Kopje exhibit at San diego was very impressive. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I think that exhibits that show the smaller species in an ecosystem are even better then the ones that show the larger ones. Chester zoo is trying to show more of the smaller species in it's new okapi exhibit. There are 5 rodent species, three fish species and one snake. This exhibit is very well thought out, and shows the species that are 'looked over.'

I think that zoos should try to use rodents/insectivores/herptiles in their exhibits more often, as they are very important in the ecosystem, and because of their size are often left out and forgotten about.
Click to expand...

Just building on hornbill's point, it seems to be a policy of Chester to include the smaller animals alongside the main attraction in new exhibits:
Okapi: Puff Adder, Rodents, Fish
Elephant: Hornbill, Turtle, Fish, Tree Shrew, Birds
Orang utan: Snakes, Invertabrates, Lizards, Gibbons, Birds
Jaguar: Snakes, Frogs, Ants, Fish
Rhino: soon to be an african aviary, meerkats

Back on topic, doesn't Colchester have small savannah animals (aardvarks, vultures etc) in exhibits close to elephants, rhinos, giraffes etc?
 
I think small animal exhibits have some problems.

First, public simply ignores them. Extra innovative presentations are needed. I would welcome e.g. walk-thru exhibits. Many small animals are harmless, why not also feeding and handling sessions? Feeding ground squirrel from a hand is better than rhino in the bush. ;)

Second - zoo should try to focus on threatened species. But threatened small animals usually come from different places than threatened big animals. I can't recall one threatened small vertebrate with zoo population which comes from mainland sub-saharan Africa. Maybe better to break this geographical concept?
 
okapikpr said:
There is a similar indoor exhibit at the Staten Island Zoo in New York with

Baboons
Meerkat
Ball Python
Ground Hornbill
Rock Hyrax
Superb Starling
Dik-Dik
Bushbaby
Burrowing Python
Pancake Tortoise
Leopard Tortoise
Turaco sp.
Ring-tailed Lemur
Leopard

There should be more small animal exhibits like them!
Click to expand...

Does it bother anyone else when lemurs are included in African bioclimatic habitats?
 
Ituri said:
Does it bother anyone else when lemurs are included in African bioclimatic habitats?
Click to expand...

yeah, I noticed that that when I visited busch gardens. They have an island in the 'edge of africa' exhibit next to hippos, lions and hyaenas.
 
Regarding the house with small african animals in Prague - there were recently some changes. Black lemurs were replaced by talapoins, dwarf mongooses are mixed with Garnetts galagos, terarium with chameleon is now an insectarium, and the "labyrynth" new inhabitants naked mole rats are already in the carantene.

But there are still mixed some animals from Madagascar in this house - giant jumping rats, mouse lemurs and tanrecs in the night section.

There exist another house for small african animals, in Pilsen. In the daylight-section are exhibits of: "Barbary" lions, yellow mongoose, dwarf mongoose, ringtailed lemur, hyrax and different squirels. In the night-section: Gaboon viper, african hedgehog, different mices, elephant shrew, 3 types of flying foxes, Garnett and Senegal galagos, brush-tailed porcupine, springhare, jerboa, doormouse, Emins and giant pouchet rats, black-backed jackal, common kusimanse and sand cat.

They have opened a Madagascar-house in Pilsen few months ago (it is also divided into day and night section), so I hope they will remove the lemurs from their African house.
 
i think this is a wonderful concept and has could be particularly effective where Eureopean and North American zoos are interpreting and simulating exotic habitats.
first and foremost zoos should showcase their indigenous fauna, but in regions where a large choice of exotic species are available a focus on lesser-known eco-systems would be cool, where perhaps a few key, or iconic species are central the enclosure and lesser known animals, such as small mammals, birds, herpes, inverts and fish are displayed around them. the examples mentioned above all sound fantastic, and I believe if the smaller exhibits were well designed could actually hold visitors attention at exhibits for longer. For example, if the leopards are sleeping, the visitor could be guaranteed action at the mongoose enclosure, and probably walk away with a better appreciation of both species.
here in Australia where pretty much limited to recreating, with our exotic animal selection....
the African Rainforest, using apes, monkeys and birds, fish and some herpes
the African Grasslands with the usual species but few small mammals
the African drylands, mountain ranges and Madagascar have potential to be interpreted
the Asian rainforest, highlands, steppe, and grassland
the South American rainforest
Whereas American zoos and Eureopean zoos could choose to focus, if they wanted, on an eco-system within a habitat and do it with a high level of authenticity, there is a trend in Australian zoos to create moreorless generic exotic habitats. doesnt really matter that much, but it would be far more exciting choosing species for a new exhibit in an american zoo than it would be an aussie one.
 
you forgot south american grasslands. whilst many of the species are dying out we have..

guanaco, patagonian cavies, andean condors, greater rhea (the chilean flamingos are all but dead) collared peccaries, pumas and even chinchillas in new zealand...

they pretty much wrap up the main species found in patagonia.

then there are maned wolves from the tropical grasslands further north around central brazil. capybara and giant anteater are common in these lands too, both species planned for re-import. in addition, greter rhea, collared peccary, puma, jaguar, coati, brazilian tapir, brown capuchin, anacondas and even common marmosets all hang out in this habitat.

so too can you find white-tail deer. though i'm not sure if there are any left in australia (they are introduced in NZ)
 
Back to the original concept I like it very much...

The zoo industry seems to move slowly (in some ways and yes I understand the constraints), i.e. someone thinks of a great concept and then over a period of years every zoo gets something similar until the next great idea comes along... It causes zoos to look quite uniform (there is nothing wrong with that, I find comparing zoo exhibits from zoo to zoo quite like a friend of mine compares paintings by their favourite artist)...

My point is has anyone been to an institution where the vast majority of exhibits were unique..?

Montreal looks quite unusual and well done...

Does anyone think San Diego's Elephant Odyssey may be the next "idea"..?

Nothing makes me sadder than going to a zoo to see the new, shiny, hyped exhibit which is really a departure from the modern (i.e. going back in time) and you know will be there for the next 20+ years...
 
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