Mixed species exhibit ideas

Great Argus said:
The three species have been mixed successfully before in non-breeding situations.



This is very similar to the Great South American Aviary at Doue la Fontaine, I don't know if perhaps that was some inspiration here.

The sloths I could see as being problematic simply due to difficulty of finding them, if they were allowed free roam. It would be difficult to keep tabs on them and reach them if necessary.



I'm a bit surprised you consider the more specialist Yellow-crowned to be of equal threat as the highly opportunistic Black-crowned. I'd agree caution is good in considering them, but Yellow-crown seems much less likely to be an issue.



Various jay species have been kept with King Vultures without issues. I agree the sloths might be considered interesting if spotted crawling along the ground.
They might prove interested in eggs, but I've not read any reports of them eating eggs. I'd be more concerned about nestlings, and potentially their presence proving too intimidating for other species to breed.
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I agree Yellow-crowned Night-Heron is less likely to be an issue than Black-crowned, but I still would absolutely not trust them with nesting birds in a captive setting.
 
Great Argus said:
This is very similar to the Great South American Aviary at Doue la Fontaine, I don't know if perhaps that was some inspiration here.
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I wasn't aware of that exhibit, I'll have to look it up, thanks! It was more so an amalgamation of two separate ideas (a Houston Pantanal-style exhibit and a large Flamingo aviary) into one large exhibit.
 
Neil chace said:
Thanks, this isn't visually similar to what I'm going for, as mine would have less rockwork and more foliage, but it does seem like there are lots of overlaps in terms of species.
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Lots of species overlap and also large with extensive species mixing, which is what made me think of it.
 
birdsandbats said:
I agree Yellow-crowned Night-Heron is less likely to be an issue than Black-crowned, but I still would absolutely not trust them with nesting birds in a captive setting.
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Are there any species yellow-crowned night herons could be mixed with in a setting where breeding for all species involved is desired? Are there examples of breeding in setups involving them, and if so, with which species?
 
Would you be able to mix Kirk's dikdik and Garnett's greater galagos with reptiles like Keel-bellied lizards, Tropical girdled lizards, Giant plated lizards, Pancake tortoises, Hingeback tortoises and Two-coloured skinks?
 
Mr Gharial said:
Would you be able to mix Kirk's dikdik and Garnett's greater galagos with reptiles like Keel-bellied lizards, Tropical girdled lizards, Giant plated lizards, Pancake tortoises, Hingeback tortoises and Two-coloured skinks?
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Probably yes, except for the Galagos that would harass or even eat the smaller lizards.
 
Mr Gharial said:
Would you be able to mix Kirk's dikdik and Garnett's greater galagos with reptiles like Keel-bellied lizards, Tropical girdled lizards, Giant plated lizards, Pancake tortoises, Hingeback tortoises and Two-coloured skinks?
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Not sure I see a point in mixing nocturnal galagos with diurnal lizards - you'd either see one or the other in the exhibit.
 
Do species of the same genus usually mix well? I’m excluding obvious bad ideas (Panthera, Canis, Ursus, etc) and specifically considering Hylobates combining Mueller’s and Lar, and Tauraco combining White-cheeked Turaco and Red-crested Turaco.
Note: not the same exhibit :p
 
Van Beal said:
Do species of the same genus usually mix well? I’m excluding obvious bad ideas (Panthera, Canis, Ursus, etc) and specifically considering Hylobates combining Mueller’s and Lar, and Tauraco combining White-cheeked Turaco and Red-crested Turaco.
Note: not the same exhibit :p
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Not necessarily. Mixing Panthera isn't that much more risky than mixing Tauraco quite honestly. Hybridization is often as much an issue as the different species not getting along (Tragelaphus antelope, Ara macaws, etc) when mixing species from the same genera. Both your potential mixes have hybridization potential. I'm not sure how the gibbons would work as a duo of different species held together, I certainly wouldn't try two different pairs of gibbons together. Turacos can be decidedly picky about tolerating other turacos, different species or not; it's often highly individual dependent and birds that started put fine together may suddenly sour. It can be a bit ugly if things do go sour and it's generally recommended to be extremely careful when attempting more than one turaco in an enclosure.
 
With turacos and other birds, they say that the more different the two species are in appearance, the less likely they are to view each other as either rivals or potential mates. So, you could more easily mix a green species and a purple species than you could two purple turaco species
 
Aardwolf said:
With turacos and other birds, they say that the more different the two species are in appearance, the less likely they are to view each other as either rivals or potential mates. So, you could more easily mix a green species and a purple species than you could two purple turaco species
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The same philosophy is used with territorial fish as well, like surgeonfishes and butterflyfishes.
 
Great Argus said:
I'm not sure how the gibbons would work as a duo of different species held together, I certainly wouldn't try two different pairs of gibbons together.
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Alright, now I must ask, if I did an individual of each species (Lar and Mueller's) of the same sex, of course that rules out hybridization but would it be likely to also rule out the aggression risk?
Aardwolf said:
With turacos and other birds, they say that the more different the two species are in appearance, the less likely they are to view each other as either rivals or potential mates. So, you could more easily mix a green species and a purple species than you could two purple turaco species
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Ah so assumedly Red-crested Turaco Tauraco erythrolophus and White-cheeked Turaco Tauraco leucotis, given their similarities in coloration, would be risky?
 
So I've been conceptually thinking of an Islands exhibit lately, and also thinking a lot about more complex walk-through aviaries, and have a unique idea I'd like to propose, I wonder if anyone has any ideas on this. The exhibit would be approximately 37,000 square feet, but will be subdivided into a number of smaller exhibits. This will be located in a US Zoo.

The core of this exhibit will be a series of exhibits for mammals and reptiles that do not allow overlap, with a number of free-ranging birds and bats able to fly between the exhibits, visitor areas, and extra areas strictly for the free-ranging animals.

The proposed enclosures could all be viewed from a slightly elevated boardwalk, with visitors not sharing space with any of the residents. These exhibits would house the following, would you think each of these would work in a walk-through aviary with various birds:
  • 1.1 Malayan Tapir and 1.3 Visayan Warty Pig- approx. 7,500 sq ft
  • 1.1 Lowland Anoa- two, approx. 2,500 sq ft exhibits
  • 1.1 Northern Sulawesi Babirusa- two, approx. 2,500 sq ft exhibits
  • 1.3 Matschie's Tree Kangaroo- two, approx. 1,500 sq ft exhibits, plus indoor areas
  • 0.0.2 Aldabra Giant Tortoises and 0.0.3 Galapagos Giant Tortoises- approx. 3,000 sq ft exhibit
  • 1.1 Binturong- approx. 3,000 sq ft exhibit
  • 3.0 or 0.3 Ring-tailed Lemurs, 1.1 Mongoose Lemurs, 0.0.6 Radiated Tortoises- approx. 3,000 sq ft exhibit
Free-Ranging Animals, able to access all of the above seven exhibits plus additional areas (which specifically includes a pond area for waterfowl), would be the following, however I'd be willing to consider adding additional species as well if anyone has suggestions:
  • 1.1 Victorian Crowned Pigeon
  • 1.1 Pheasant Pigeon
  • 3.3 Pink-Necked Fruit Dove
  • 3.3 Nicobar Pigeon
  • 3.3 Pied Imperial Pigeon
  • 1.1 Luzon Bleeding-Heart Dove
  • 6.6 Metallic Starling
  • 2.2 Bali Mynah
  • 0.0.20 Rodrigues Fruit Bat
  • 0.0.8 Malayan Flying Fox
  • 2.2 Nene
  • 2.2 Philippine Duck
  • 1.1 Madagascar Teal
  • 1.1 Spotted Whistling Duck
  • 1.1 West Indian Whistling Duck
  • 1.1 Crested Coua
  • 1.1 Palawan Peacock Pheasant
  • 2.2 Madagascar Pond Heron
  • 3.3 Madagascar Sacred Ibis
Other species I'd like to include in the Islands complex, but will be featured in standalone enclosures are listed here. All of these exhibits would be visible from the main aviary, but through either glass or mesh viewing. None of these would be accessible to the free-ranging animals, either due to the timidity of the smaller aviary's birds or due to the predation risk:
  • Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise and Maleo (smaller mixed-species aviary)
  • Wrinkled Hornbill (standalone aviary)
  • Guam Rail and Guam Kingfisher (smaller mixed-species aviary)
  • Fossa (tall, vertical 1,500 sq ft exhibit)
  • Island Fox (1,000 sq ft exhibit)
  • Bornean Orangutans (large, flagship exhibit)
  • Sumatran Tiger (large, flagship exhibit)
  • Japanese Macaques (large, flagship exhibit)
  • Reptile House with various species
 
Mr Gharial said:
In a (very) large forested plains enclosure, would this mix work?:

South-east Asian elephant
Blackbuck
Chital
Dwarf zebu
Rhesus macaque
Northern plains grey langur
Indian peafowl
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I sense a Peafowl being trampled or killed. Birds of small size don’t fare well, e specially if clipped
 
Mr Gharial said:
In a (very) large forested plains enclosure, would this mix work?:

South-east Asian elephant
Blackbuck
Chital
Dwarf zebu
Rhesus macaque
Northern plains grey langur
Indian peafowl
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I would retain only the Blackbuck, Deer, Zebus, Langurs and Peafowl (not a real problem if they are free-ranging like in most zoos).
I would avoid the Elephants (unless the exhibit is very, very large) and the Macaques.
 
Haliaeetus said:
I would avoid the Elephants (unless the exhibit is very, very large)
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Well, it is supposed to be an elephant enclosure with a group of "secondary species", and it would be roughly the size of Beekse Bergen's combined elephant enclosures (or roughly twice the size of Beauval's combined elephant enclosures)
 
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