Osedax
Well-Known Member
Taronga Western Plains Zoo keeps two male ostriches and two male rhinos with male giraffes, female zebras, blackbuck, eland, oryx and guineafowl, although it is a 9ha paddock.
Mixed species exhibit ideas
- Thread starter LowlandGorilla4
- Start date
Yeah that'll be space saving that mix.
La Cucaracha
Well-Known Member
The most interesting part of that mix to me is the blackbuck.
How do zoochatters feel about mixing species from different continents?
Osedax
Well-Known Member
The reason the blackbuck are there is to "represent" small African antelope species, as due to our import laws in Australia, they are the closest thing we have to, for example, a gazelle or an impala. Two of Australia's three open range zoos mix blackbuck with African species. Hopefully they will fix this soon, as recently a Bovidae IRA was completed and Thomson's and Grant's Gazelles are now able to be imported.
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AndyJ08
Well-Known Member
Would it be good for me to replace the two male Ostriches with a pair of Waterbuck?
The more antelope species added, the higher the chances get for interspecies aggression.
AndyJ08
Well-Known Member
The exhibit in question would be somewhat vegetated, yet open, and known as “Bush Country”. It would have separate hidden barns for the species at night, and the land area would be about 5 acres.
That would probably work okay.
One thing I'd like to point out in relation to a lot of recent discussion is that bigger space does not inherently solve all problems. SDZSP, The Wilds, DAK, etc all have to be monitoring their field exhibits and have added and removed species and individuals as necessary. Even in very large exhibits aggression can be a problem if there is a poor mix or incompatible individuals. There is also the increased challenges of finding and tracking newborns, and making sure all animals are present, accounted for, and getting sufficient food. Additionally removing animals from larger exhibits is quite a lot harder much of the time. The more species mixed, the more difficulty and risk being undertaken.
AndyJ08
Well-Known Member
Another idea is semi-hidden “Ranger stations” which would look somewhat like deerstands, in which rangers could monitor the animals from time to time, as well as hidden access corridors hidden by vegetation.
This may take a bit of explaining, but I have a rotational mixed-species idea that I'm wondering people's thoughts on. This exhibit will be similar to Giants of the Savanna in that it's a mixed-species exhibit with elephants, however in this case twelve smaller ungulate species will rotate through a series of habitats. This complex will include three larger habitats, each two acres. Two of these three habitats will always house elephants, while the third will always house Masai giraffes and ostriches. There will also be five, smaller 10,000 square foot habitats which will each house a single species on a rotational basis. The idea is that out of the twelve species, on any given day two will be in each elephant exhibit, while an additional three will be in the giraffe exhibit. The remaining five species will be having a "day off" from mixing. The mix will be on a semi-randomized basis, in that there isn't a set schedule as to who is in what exhibit on what day, but at least once every four days each species will have an off-day.
The twelve species are as follows:
In case it matters, the ostriches will be an all-female group, the giraffes will be a breeding group, and everything else would be either breeding or male bachelor groups depending on SSP/TAG needs.
The twelve species are as follows:
- Common Eland
- Lesser Kudu
- Hartmann's Mountain Zebra
- Somali Wild Ass
- Gemsbok
- Sable Antelope
- Roan Antelope
- Nile Lechwe
- South African Springbok
- Impala
- Bontebok
- White-Bearded Wildebeest
- Somali wild ass will never be mixed with mountain zebra.
- Roan antelope, gemsbok, and sable antelope will never be mixed together in any combination.
- Eland and lesser kudu will never be mixed.
- Mountain zebra will never be mixed with either impala or springbok.
In case it matters, the ostriches will be an all-female group, the giraffes will be a breeding group, and everything else would be either breeding or male bachelor groups depending on SSP/TAG needs.
Sounds like a lot of extra work for the keepers to me - semi randomizing mixing fifteen species (many of which tend to be aggressive) is a lot of chance for error and for species to not show true colors and be comfortable with one another. You're relying very heavily on the basis all animals will shift off daily. I'm not sure that some of the smaller species would be comfortable with elephants - as it is I've heard elephants are more often excluded from Giants of the Savanna than they're included due to comfort and compatibility of the rest of the inhabitants.
I'm curious to hear opinions from those more versed in hoofstock.
Thanks, it's an idea I'm playing around with but aren't super set in stone with yet. I know I want elephants and giraffes in this particular complex, I know I want a number of ungulate species, but I'm not super sold on the exact habitat compositions except for that I know I want both elephants and giraffes to be in mixed-species exhibits. The alternate solution I have is to mix the bontebok, lesser kudu, springbok, and wildebeest with the giraffes and ostriches, mix the impala, eland, and possibly Somali wild ass with the elephants, and keep the rest of the species in single-species exhibits, but I would like it if more of the species could be mixed. Zebras, gemsbok, Nile lechwe, and the two Hippotragus species are the ones I am most skeptical of.
La Cucaracha
Well-Known Member
On the topic of flightless bird mixes:
-Pesquet's parrot
-Palm cockatoo
-Victoria crowned pigeon
-Blyth's hornbill
-Black necked stork (RIP unnamed Zoo Miami specimen)
-Southern cassowary
I have a nightmarish exhibit desire for a walk through aviary with cassowaries... maybe it'd work with an elevated path.
-Pesquet's parrot
-Palm cockatoo
-Victoria crowned pigeon
-Blyth's hornbill
-Black necked stork (RIP unnamed Zoo Miami specimen)
-Southern cassowary
I have a nightmarish exhibit desire for a walk through aviary with cassowaries... maybe it'd work with an elevated path.
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You definitely can't mix two cassowaries of different species. I mean, you can't even mix two cassowaries of the same species. They're aggressive and territorial animals, especially to larger species (such as humans and other cassowaries). They should be fine with Crowned pigeons and parrots, but I'm not 100% sure about storks.
La Cucaracha
Well-Known Member
Apologies, I meant Blyth's hornbill.
Guess I do have cassowaries on the mind a lot.
Apologies, I meant Blyth's hornbill.
Guess I do have cassowaries on the mind a lot.
Happens to the best of us. All animals should be fine with the cassowaries, but I'm not 100% sure about the Blyth's hornbill/Cockatoo mix.
A lot of potential problems there... Stork with the cassowary likely won't end well.
Haliaeetus
Well-Known Member
I don't know the case of the Mountain Zebra, but in Beauval there were Grévy's Zebras and Springboks together for 20 years. Both bred in this exhibit, but they had separated quarters in the night house, and small outdoor paddocks in addition to the main enclosure.
La Cucaracha
Well-Known Member
Ah, maybe I can't have every notable bird from New Guinea in one zoo enclosure.
How do the large aviaries get so many different birds to cohabitate?
As a hoofstock keeper, I am very much inclined to agree with @Great Argus. While I appreciate exhibits that try to think outside of the box and try new things -- what you are describing sounds like my own personal Hell
Hoofstock, in general, are usually poor shifters, especially larger groups. They do not like to go where they cannot see what is ahead of them, they do not like being funneled through tight spaces, they do not like being separated from other members of their herd (some facilities will do "separation training" and try to work hoofstock as individuals, but in my professional opinion, you have to be really careful in doing this because it breaks down the natural herd dynamics at play, which can lead to a lot of behavioral and social dynamic issues. I am much more fond of managing hoofstock in and as natural social groupings. This does not mean they cannot be desensitized or trained in any way -- it is just more nuanced. You cannot apply the same ideology used in training carnivores or marine mammals or elephants because hoofstock just do not work the same way.) They are also creatures of habit. As prey animals they are very suspicious of anything novel and of any change in their routine. New spaces can be extremely stressful for these animals and that stress is usually contagious to other prey species. I do not think the animals would adapt well to a lack of routine or really understand what or where they are supposed to go or do, and in many cases, I do not think many of them would shift voluntarily. I think you would be dealing with permanently stressed and high strung animals in this sort of set up, especially with the lechwe, impala, and springbok. The majority of injuries or deaths in hoofstock in human care occur during shifting. Also, in general, the more moving parts and the more complicated a setup is, the more room there is for human error as well. Something else that will add another level of complexity to this is the different dietary needs of the different species and how you are going to manage that. Equids really should never have free access to pellet or alfalfa. Too rich of a diet can lead to colic, and equids are known to not stop eating when they are satiated, so in a non-controlled environment they are prone to gorging themselves, which can also lead to colic or rapid weight gain. The alfalfa would mostly be a concern if mixed with the giraffe, where alfalfa would be plentifully available; however, the lesser kudu, as browsers, would also require alfalfa over grass hay, as well as a richer pellet. Impala and lechwe could also be supplemented with alfalfa -- the other species would need to be on grass hay to avoid excess weight gain and an overly rich diet. Roan antelope are prone to copper deficiencies and will require a copper enriched pellet.
As far as the mixes go, bontebok seem to, in general, not do well in mixed species habitats. They are almost always held separately. Not only are they irritable, but they are also valuable. Otherwise, some of your biggest issues are going to arise when calves are on the ground or if there is perceived competition over resources. Both Hippotragus species, both equid species, gemsbok, and wildebeest are all known baby killers, so without massive field exhibits (where even then calves are still lost), you would have to figure how you wanted to manage mothers and calves with the other species. Are you breeding on rotation and housing calving species separately during that period? How are you going to go about reintroducing them to the mixes? Even when older the calves will still be something novel and attract attention. Wildebeest and impala are already seasonal breeders. Bachelor groups are a whole other can of worms because they almost always break down at some point. You can milk them for longer in some species than others, but they will eventually be a problem.