Van Beal
Well-Known Member
I think I might take you up on this at a later date. Side note, what program do you use to get the animals cutout so well?
Mr Gharial's zoo design
- Thread starter Mr Gharial
- Start date
Lundaeyja
Based on the cliffs and beaches of Iceland and the Faroe islands, this medium-sized greenhouse is based around cliff-dwelling seabirds and sea-faring waterfowls.
The path inside is relatively simple. You walk along a sandy beach, the path is only indicated by small poles connected by ropes. The path goes along two tide pools, partially embedded within the rocks, and is inhabited by a few species like anemones, crabs and gobies. The rocks on the back side of the tide pools are relatively tall, and the glass in front has an electrified top (with signs warning visitors about it). This should keep the gulls and auks from seeing the pools as a buffet table.
If you enter from the left side, you'll quickly be greeted by a few sharp, rocky plateaus in the water, and partially on the beach. A good eye might spot some mussels and sea snails that could have made their home here.
On the other side of the large water feature, there is also a coastal waterfall visible. The water flows over a rounded rock and onto the beach, where it has made a shallow stream that flows into the larger water feature. The shallow stream, as well as the small sand delta, is made with concrete to avoid the water fully washing away the sand.
Opposite the tide pools, large sea stacks rise up from the water. These, like the surrounding cliffs, are partially covered in different plant species. Such as Grey hairgrass, Hairy stonecrop and Mother-of-Thyme. The larger stacks have Black crowberries covering the top. Small ledges provide nesting ground for the gulls and auks.
After the seastack that is partially on the beach, there is a small pier you can walk on, this provides shelter for some of the fish in the water, as well as a good viewpoint into the central part of the archipelago.
Finally, you exit in a cozy little beach corner, surrounded by large cliffs where you can exit through a recreated sea cave (which is also the shape of the entrance).
Two other features you may notice in the aquatic area are the dashed line and the darker area.
The dashed line shows where the beach begins/ends during low tide. The archipelago area has a daily tidal system in place.
The tidal system takes place between 12.00 and 16.30, where the water slowly lowers into the lowest point (at the dashed line), where it remains from 13:30 to 14:00, where it starts rising again.
When the tidal system is active, so are the wave machines, which are hidden in the cliffs on the right side of the hall. The waves become more intense the lower the water is, though not so rough that the visitors will get wet feet. During high tide, the wave machines still work, but the waves are barely noticeable on the open water. You really only notice them when looking at the water line.
During low tide, some of the areas next to the cliff emerge. These areas are not sandy beaches, unlike the yellow-coloured areas on the map. Instead these are rocky gravel beaches, which are only fully visible during the lowest tidal space. Though the larger rocks surface earlier, of course.
Also visible on the map is the dark blue area. This area of the water is much deeper, and surrounded by underwater cliffs (which are not noticeable from above water of course). The underwater cliffs actually have imbedded viewing windows, which are accessible through the -1st floor, which has multiple other aquariums as well. I might describe the underwater area better when I describe the lower floor in whole. This area should also house most of the marine creatures, of which there are quite a few, to be out of range of the birds. Of course, it is impossible to fully avoid any being eaten, so you might see a gull with a crab every now and then.
Also noteable features of the iceland hall:
Though most of the hall has cushioned greenhouse walls, the back wall is actually netted. This provides a more open, natural view of the central lake of Wetlands Park Europe. A rocky wall at the bottom of the aviary wall (not shown on the map) makes sure the salt water of the Iceland hall and the freshwater of the Wetlands Park lake have zero chance of mixing, while also creating the illusion that the Lundaeyja archipelago is located inside a volcanic atoll. There is a special system in place that can close off the aviary wall with harder materials at night and during storms.
Another addition that I couldn't really fit into the description: The underwater area, both deep and shallow, is also home to a few North Sea plant species, namely Common Corralline, Bladder wrack, and Peacock's tail. The latter probably being the most visible from above-water, seeing that they'll grow underneath the pier and in-between the rocks.
The light green patches on the beach are larger fields of Grey hairgrass.
The Iceland hall is heavily inspired by the puffin enclosures of three other zoos. Hopefully these will better showcase the general view of the hall:
Montreal Biodome
Tierpark Hagenbeck
Oceanário de Lisboa
Species list Lundaeyja:
Free-roaming birds
(Yes, I am aware there are quite a few repeat species. But the varied environments should showcase these animals in different enough habitats to not feel like you're seeing the same thing)
Marine animals
Tide pool inhabitants
Based on the cliffs and beaches of Iceland and the Faroe islands, this medium-sized greenhouse is based around cliff-dwelling seabirds and sea-faring waterfowls.
The path inside is relatively simple. You walk along a sandy beach, the path is only indicated by small poles connected by ropes. The path goes along two tide pools, partially embedded within the rocks, and is inhabited by a few species like anemones, crabs and gobies. The rocks on the back side of the tide pools are relatively tall, and the glass in front has an electrified top (with signs warning visitors about it). This should keep the gulls and auks from seeing the pools as a buffet table.
If you enter from the left side, you'll quickly be greeted by a few sharp, rocky plateaus in the water, and partially on the beach. A good eye might spot some mussels and sea snails that could have made their home here.
On the other side of the large water feature, there is also a coastal waterfall visible. The water flows over a rounded rock and onto the beach, where it has made a shallow stream that flows into the larger water feature. The shallow stream, as well as the small sand delta, is made with concrete to avoid the water fully washing away the sand.
Opposite the tide pools, large sea stacks rise up from the water. These, like the surrounding cliffs, are partially covered in different plant species. Such as Grey hairgrass, Hairy stonecrop and Mother-of-Thyme. The larger stacks have Black crowberries covering the top. Small ledges provide nesting ground for the gulls and auks.
After the seastack that is partially on the beach, there is a small pier you can walk on, this provides shelter for some of the fish in the water, as well as a good viewpoint into the central part of the archipelago.
Finally, you exit in a cozy little beach corner, surrounded by large cliffs where you can exit through a recreated sea cave (which is also the shape of the entrance).
Two other features you may notice in the aquatic area are the dashed line and the darker area.
The dashed line shows where the beach begins/ends during low tide. The archipelago area has a daily tidal system in place.
The tidal system takes place between 12.00 and 16.30, where the water slowly lowers into the lowest point (at the dashed line), where it remains from 13:30 to 14:00, where it starts rising again.
When the tidal system is active, so are the wave machines, which are hidden in the cliffs on the right side of the hall. The waves become more intense the lower the water is, though not so rough that the visitors will get wet feet. During high tide, the wave machines still work, but the waves are barely noticeable on the open water. You really only notice them when looking at the water line.
During low tide, some of the areas next to the cliff emerge. These areas are not sandy beaches, unlike the yellow-coloured areas on the map. Instead these are rocky gravel beaches, which are only fully visible during the lowest tidal space. Though the larger rocks surface earlier, of course.
Also visible on the map is the dark blue area. This area of the water is much deeper, and surrounded by underwater cliffs (which are not noticeable from above water of course). The underwater cliffs actually have imbedded viewing windows, which are accessible through the -1st floor, which has multiple other aquariums as well. I might describe the underwater area better when I describe the lower floor in whole. This area should also house most of the marine creatures, of which there are quite a few, to be out of range of the birds. Of course, it is impossible to fully avoid any being eaten, so you might see a gull with a crab every now and then.
Also noteable features of the iceland hall:
Though most of the hall has cushioned greenhouse walls, the back wall is actually netted. This provides a more open, natural view of the central lake of Wetlands Park Europe. A rocky wall at the bottom of the aviary wall (not shown on the map) makes sure the salt water of the Iceland hall and the freshwater of the Wetlands Park lake have zero chance of mixing, while also creating the illusion that the Lundaeyja archipelago is located inside a volcanic atoll. There is a special system in place that can close off the aviary wall with harder materials at night and during storms.
Another addition that I couldn't really fit into the description: The underwater area, both deep and shallow, is also home to a few North Sea plant species, namely Common Corralline, Bladder wrack, and Peacock's tail. The latter probably being the most visible from above-water, seeing that they'll grow underneath the pier and in-between the rocks.
The light green patches on the beach are larger fields of Grey hairgrass.
The Iceland hall is heavily inspired by the puffin enclosures of three other zoos. Hopefully these will better showcase the general view of the hall:
Montreal Biodome
Tierpark Hagenbeck
Oceanário de Lisboa
Species list Lundaeyja:
Free-roaming birds
(Yes, I am aware there are quite a few repeat species. But the varied environments should showcase these animals in different enough habitats to not feel like you're seeing the same thing)
Marine animals
Tide pool inhabitants
Attachments
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The trick isn't really in the program (I use powerpoint for everything). The trick is finding the perfect photo. Unobstructed and in a simple environment that won't confuse the program (woodchips will mess it up, for example). For some species I'll spend hours trying to find the right foto. Especially the Five-bearded rockling pictured above took quite a while, as there are barely any photos of the animal fully uncovered. In some cases I use digital scans or models because I just couldn't find that perfect photo. This is the case with the Wels catfish, Common barbel, Silver carp and especially the Chinese perch, which is a museum model.
You can see with the Palm civet, Giant salamanders and the lizards in the riverine temple that the images are a little rough around the edges (at least, compared to the others). These are barely photographed and I couldn't find the most high-quality images. Sometimes I venture out myself to take better photos for some of the animals, as is visible above for the Shorthorn sculpin, Beadlet anemone and Small-eyed skate, which are my own photos
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I'm roughly 1/3rds of the way done with Rio Dourado. The species list is now final and the basic layout is done, now I still have to finish the detailing and the animal pictures. Just for fun I made some comparisons between the Rio Dourado and some existing aviaries and greenhouses in the Benelux, so you guys might be able to get a good look at the size of this thing.
With the species list complete I now also now how many unique species will be displayed and I was surprised to learn that I was wrong about the Oriental garden being the most species-dense part of the zoo...
102 species total in the Oriental garden and 113 species total in the Rio Dourado.
In the case of the Rio Dourado, by the way, that's:
52 fish species
27 bird species
14 mammals
13 reptiles
7 amphibians
I hope to have it done around the end of the week!
With the species list complete I now also now how many unique species will be displayed and I was surprised to learn that I was wrong about the Oriental garden being the most species-dense part of the zoo...
102 species total in the Oriental garden and 113 species total in the Rio Dourado.
In the case of the Rio Dourado, by the way, that's:
52 fish species
27 bird species
14 mammals
13 reptiles
7 amphibians
I hope to have it done around the end of the week!
Attachments
Well, I managed to complete the Rio Dourado a few days sooner than I expected. I'm really quite happy with the result!
Based on the biggest river basin in the world, the Amazon greenhouse also includes a colossal river system that, thanks to the meandering shape, is over 300 meters in length! With over 50 different fish species and over 30 free-roaming animals, I present to you:
O Rio Dourado
The Amazon hall
If built, the Rio Dourado greenhouse would be the third biggest greenhouse in the Netherlands, being slightly smaller than Burgers' Bush. The river, which you cross can cross six times on the route, has underwater viewing at five different points, all showcasing different fish.
For some ease of explanation, I've also made a foliage-less version with some numbers.
The (unofficial) route starts at the right entrance. You walk through a small portion of rainforest with a slightly more open area to the left, before stepping onto a wooden bridge where you can view two groups of medium-sized islands, which are interconnected trough ropes and large fallen logs which sit in the middle of the islands. Two small huts on poles stand in the background, providing shelter for the small monkeys that inhabit the islands. These can be best compared to a miniature version of the gibbon island in Rimbula. Having both some climbing structures and heavy foliage. Both islands are home to one species on endangered marmoset, one species of more commonly-found Callitrichid, and one larger species of monkey. On the other side of the bridge you can also see a beach area, which is one of the spot where some of the river's turtles might be seen.
Also in the first area is a small adventure path, similar to those found in Burgers' Bush. These adventure paths are narrow and unhardened, and lead right through some of the densest foliage in the greenhouse. This path reunites briefly with the main path before starting to go downward. The lowered path leads to an underwater viewing, which is covered with a large fallen tree. A larger branch hangs over the visitor area and onto the rocky ledge on the other side, two branches also go down onto the path, which would allow for a free-roamer to escape this partial pit, but also generally provides for an interesting area. The adventure path goes up through a rocky staircase and back up to the main path.
Speaking of the main path: if we pick that up from where we left it, the main path comes across two more bridges. The first provides another view to the right group of monkey islands, the second provides views to fallen trees on both sides. Though the view to the left should provide at least a little peek to the beach area, where a lot of small islands have formed.
The end of the first adventure path is immediately also the start of a second adventure path. This goes over a small viewing bridge which provides viewing to an enclosure surrounded by rock ledges on one side, the main river on the other side, and a mini-river and the viewing bridge on whatever side is left. This enclosure ("habitat 4", for lack of a better name) is home to Armadillos, Tamanduas and Pygmy marmosets. The foliage in the middle form a sort of island, with the sandy colour representing a lowered area in comparison to the middle (as well as actual sandy substrate for the armadillos).
From here you also have a good view of multiple waterfalls. A mini-waterfall that starts on the right side of the viewing bridge that creates the small river to prevent escapes. You can also see the large, main waterfall that starts the whole river in the background, as well as the medium-sized waterfall that connects the waterfall basin to the first river area. (Waterfalls 1, 2 and 4)
The adventure path continues into a small stepping stones path, on the other side of which it joins a "normal" path, which immediately leads to a small viewing window into the waterfall basin (Basin A), which includes Amazon puffers, South American lungfish and Giant Raphael catfish.
Before we follow that route, we again return to the main path where we left off. This area is the highest accessible point in the greenhouse. In the beginning of the route, the bridge was only slightly above the water. Here, the viewing bridge above Paca beach is about a meter above the beach itself. And yes, spoiler alert, this area is home to a group of Lowland Pacas, a smaller but equally aquatic cousin of the Capybara. This beach area should also be a popular area with the turtle species inhabiting the river, as well as some of the waterbirds of the greenhouse. The Pacas also have access to a smaller forest area in the back of the enclosure, which allows them to hide away from visitors a little more.
After the Paca beach main viewing area we encounter a split path...
I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave the rest of this post for tomorrow. I haven't split a post like this so far, but there's a first time for everything, ay? I've been typing for a while now and I wouldn't like to leave you with nothing to chew on for too long.
So see ya tomorrow I guess.
I'm tired...
Based on the biggest river basin in the world, the Amazon greenhouse also includes a colossal river system that, thanks to the meandering shape, is over 300 meters in length! With over 50 different fish species and over 30 free-roaming animals, I present to you:
O Rio Dourado
The Amazon hall
If built, the Rio Dourado greenhouse would be the third biggest greenhouse in the Netherlands, being slightly smaller than Burgers' Bush. The river, which you cross can cross six times on the route, has underwater viewing at five different points, all showcasing different fish.
For some ease of explanation, I've also made a foliage-less version with some numbers.
The (unofficial) route starts at the right entrance. You walk through a small portion of rainforest with a slightly more open area to the left, before stepping onto a wooden bridge where you can view two groups of medium-sized islands, which are interconnected trough ropes and large fallen logs which sit in the middle of the islands. Two small huts on poles stand in the background, providing shelter for the small monkeys that inhabit the islands. These can be best compared to a miniature version of the gibbon island in Rimbula. Having both some climbing structures and heavy foliage. Both islands are home to one species on endangered marmoset, one species of more commonly-found Callitrichid, and one larger species of monkey. On the other side of the bridge you can also see a beach area, which is one of the spot where some of the river's turtles might be seen.
Also in the first area is a small adventure path, similar to those found in Burgers' Bush. These adventure paths are narrow and unhardened, and lead right through some of the densest foliage in the greenhouse. This path reunites briefly with the main path before starting to go downward. The lowered path leads to an underwater viewing, which is covered with a large fallen tree. A larger branch hangs over the visitor area and onto the rocky ledge on the other side, two branches also go down onto the path, which would allow for a free-roamer to escape this partial pit, but also generally provides for an interesting area. The adventure path goes up through a rocky staircase and back up to the main path.
Speaking of the main path: if we pick that up from where we left it, the main path comes across two more bridges. The first provides another view to the right group of monkey islands, the second provides views to fallen trees on both sides. Though the view to the left should provide at least a little peek to the beach area, where a lot of small islands have formed.
The end of the first adventure path is immediately also the start of a second adventure path. This goes over a small viewing bridge which provides viewing to an enclosure surrounded by rock ledges on one side, the main river on the other side, and a mini-river and the viewing bridge on whatever side is left. This enclosure ("habitat 4", for lack of a better name) is home to Armadillos, Tamanduas and Pygmy marmosets. The foliage in the middle form a sort of island, with the sandy colour representing a lowered area in comparison to the middle (as well as actual sandy substrate for the armadillos).
From here you also have a good view of multiple waterfalls. A mini-waterfall that starts on the right side of the viewing bridge that creates the small river to prevent escapes. You can also see the large, main waterfall that starts the whole river in the background, as well as the medium-sized waterfall that connects the waterfall basin to the first river area. (Waterfalls 1, 2 and 4)
The adventure path continues into a small stepping stones path, on the other side of which it joins a "normal" path, which immediately leads to a small viewing window into the waterfall basin (Basin A), which includes Amazon puffers, South American lungfish and Giant Raphael catfish.
Before we follow that route, we again return to the main path where we left off. This area is the highest accessible point in the greenhouse. In the beginning of the route, the bridge was only slightly above the water. Here, the viewing bridge above Paca beach is about a meter above the beach itself. And yes, spoiler alert, this area is home to a group of Lowland Pacas, a smaller but equally aquatic cousin of the Capybara. This beach area should also be a popular area with the turtle species inhabiting the river, as well as some of the waterbirds of the greenhouse. The Pacas also have access to a smaller forest area in the back of the enclosure, which allows them to hide away from visitors a little more.
After the Paca beach main viewing area we encounter a split path...
I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave the rest of this post for tomorrow. I haven't split a post like this so far, but there's a first time for everything, ay? I've been typing for a while now and I wouldn't like to leave you with nothing to chew on for too long.
So see ya tomorrow I guess.
I'm tired...
Attachments
AAAAND we're back for part 2
I'm going to continue my description from the stepping stones onward, as this path converges with the top route of the split path. After we've taken an underwater look into the waterfall basin, the route goes past a group of islands with fallen logs, these are surrounded by shallow water and doesn't house any creatures in particular, though it is designed to attract some of the free-roaming birds like Sunbitterns, Spoonbills and Ibises. After these islands are two waterfalls, which are also visible from the bridge. The paths come together and lead to a rock arch, where some ropes hang over the path to block birds from getting into the next region: Caiman creek!
Caiman creek is a separated region of the Rio Dourado, large netting surrounds the area, designed to keep the larger birds away from the predators. Though smaller birds, like grassquits, manakins and honeycreepers, still have access to this area.
Inside, there is also a free-roamer inside the area that cannot free-roam in the larger hall. This would be the Caiman lizard.
You can take the path downward to an underwater viewing area, where you can see a large group of Piranha, along with other fish and some turtles. On the other side of the viewing window, the side of the river is rocky and steep. With, once again, a large fallen tree sitting in the water.
You can take the path back up and follow two routes. One route goes over a small boardwalk, which provide a better view of the main inhabitants of this area: Cuvier's dwarf caimans. The side of the river on the other side of the boardwalk is a sloping beach. This way you can see the Caimans and turtles above water on this side, and under water on the other side.
You can also walk through a jungle area, which has another small pool, which is designed for the Caiman lizards. The Caiman lizards can also swim in the main river, which is accessible through a thinner log, which can be climbed up and down by the lizards, but not by the caimans.
When the path and the boardwalk come together, we encounter another rock arch with ropes. This leads into another separated area with an extra warning sign:
Warning: You are now entering Snake Territory. Welcome to Serpent pass.
Like Caiman creek, Serpent pass is separated from the rest of the greenhouse. But this area is a little more fortified. Instead of large netting, this area is surrounded by thin mesh. The central enclosure in this area is home to Green Anacondas. The river area on the visitor's side is designed with a slippery metal overhang, which should prevent the large snakes from getting out. The top is covered with hanging plants, which makes it more natural to the visitor's view.
The normal path goes down and leads to another underwater viewing area, this one being under the boardwalk area, meaning we can't see it from the top view. Here, we can see Knifefishes, Cichlids and multiple catfish species among others.
No birds can get into serpent pass, as this area is even more unsafe than caiman creek. The free-roamers here are what give the area it's name, and the warning sign it's meaning.
Free-roaming here are three species of boas, as well as Poison frogs and some butterflies to give the region some more colour.
Separate from the river are two small waterfalls. One waterfall (waterfall 5 on the schematic) runs along the rock wall, this is the typical type of rock waterfall often found in paludariums for Dart frogs or Vampire crabs.
A larger waterfall (waterfall 6 on the schematic) flows downhill into a small pool, which should provide a bathing area for the boas.
After this waterfall, there is a small hut to be found on the side of the rock wall, this holds the chrysalises of the butterflies. After this the paths leads under a final rock arch, which brings us back to the main hall.
Both Serpent pass and Caiman creek have two caretakers to make sure the reptiles don't escape into the main hall, as well as to make sure visitors don't see the reptile's slower movements as an invitation to pet the wildlife. These are also here for education purposes of course. Some educators are also present in the main hall, some of which follow particular free-roamers for similar reasons.
Before we continue, we're going back to the split path, this time we walk further through the Rio Dourado's main area rather than the separated areas.
Taking the bottom path we again find ourselves going over a bridge over the main river, this provides a final view into the Paca beach area on one side, and a small island on the other side. This island has a few wooden climbing structures hanging over it, which allows for some of the mammalian free-roamers to more easily get to the other side of the river. Similar structures can be found near the monkey islands.
We go over a second bridge almost immediately, this brings us close to a final separated enclosure. A small viewing gallery, in the shape of a shabby jungle hut, allows viewing into the steel mesh enclosure, which holds Ocelots. The small cats also have access to a small part of the river for swimming, with once again a fallen log which acts as a climbing structure.
In the back of the enclosure is another small hut, which is a multi-purpose building. As it's also the drainage of the large basin at the end of the river, from here the water leads into an underground filtration system that cleans and pumps the water back to the larger waterfall at the beginning of the river.
The route goes further along some rock walls, which has mosses and hanging plants to make it more natural. These hide the the separated areas, of course.
We encounter the final bridge of the greenhouse, which goes over the main basin. With some luck you can actually see one of the mighty Arapaimas swimming below you.
The final area of the greenhouse is clearly inspired by the viewing window in Burgers' Mangrove, I can't deny it. The main path slopes down for a bit, which leads to a larger slope area into the lowered viewing area. Two staircases lead back up to the main path, which almost immediately leads to the exit of the greenhouse.
The viewing window is nearly 20 meters wide and provides underwater viewing into the deepest area of the river. A small island in the middle as well as, as you might guess, more fallen logs provide sitting spots for some of the turtles in this area. Though this area does have more aquatic turtles in comparison to the rest of the areas.
This main basin, basin F, has the most fish species with 18 different species (one more than the main river area, basin C, which has 17). These include some of the Amazon's largest river monsters, with Arapaimas, Redtail and Ripsaw catfishes and Speckled peacock bas among some other very large animals.
The area around this final path and the main basin has some large, rounded rocks. Which are mostly for aesthetic, but partially also to make the height differences between the main path and the underwater viewing more natural-looking. As well as providing heating spots for the greenhouse's cold-blooded animals, and perching spots for some of the larger birds.
For the broad explanations I'm going to place the Schematic version again.
Numbers 1-6 are the different waterfalls, and letters A-F are the different basins.
Waterfall #1 starts the river. It's the biggest waterfall and it flows into Basin A, the waterfall basin. The waterfall is similar in height and amount of water flowing out of it to one of the waterfalls in Rimbula River. A smaller waterfall also flows on the other side of the basin A, near the underwater viewing area.
Basin A is roughly 1.5 meters deep, meaning you can view both under and above water of the basin.
An underwater pump pumps extra water into the waterfall basin, meaning that waterfall #2 actually has a lot more water flowing through it than waterfall #1
Waterfall #2 flows from Basin A to Basin B. Basin B is the shallowest part of the river, and includes the least fish. Only being home to some small fish like guppies and pencilfish. Waterfall #2 has a rock in the middle, splitting the waterfall in two. The waterfalls are roughly 2 meters tall. Because of the large amount of water flowing through the waterfall and the shallowness of Basin B, this area of the river is the most fast-flowing, though it is slightly slower in the island area.
Waterfall #3 is another split waterfall, this time being split earlier than the ledge thanks to one of the islands. A large log sits between the two waterfalls. These waterfalls are roughly one meter tall and flows into Basin C. It is the last waterfall in the river, so the rest of the basins are a lot more calm. Though they do still flow, as the water eventually comes all the way around to the multi-purpose building in Basin F, where it is pumped back to Basin A.
Basin C is the largest, and includes a shallow area at Paca beach, and a deeper area from the underwater viewing log to the monkey islands.
Basins D and E are separated by underwater mesh. This is of course done to hold the aquatic predators, but also to hold in the fish to make sure every underwater viewing window has a unique species lineup. The basins have no real difference in side or depth in comparison to Basin C.
Basin F is the final basin, and has the largest single area. The basin starts in a river area, which is slightly more shallow, though still easily accessible to the monster fish inhabiting the basin. The larger area of the basin is the deepest area of the entire river, being four meters deep at the deepest point. Though the viewing window here is only two-and-a-half meters tall.
I already described waterfalls #5 and #6 of course. And waterfall #4 is nothing special. It's only a small waterfall of roughly 1 meter tall made to start the stream to keep the marmosets into their enclosure.
I'm fairly certain I've described everything now. Apart from the foliage, I supppose.
The foliage map (in the beginning of this post) represents the visitor's viewpoint, not the top view. The dark green areas of foliage are the really heavy foliage, including trees, bushes and other non-see-through foliage. Light green areas are lower ground foliage. Tree cover and vines with hanging plants would still cover the top view, of course. The foliage, on top of the usual greens, also includes some colours like lobster claws and bromelia plants. There are also a few palm-like plants (Including Acaí palms and Banana plants) and fruit trees like Papayas and Avocados.
The underwater is also heavily planted with multiple Amazonian plant species, including a lot of Amazon sword plants.
I'm going to continue my description from the stepping stones onward, as this path converges with the top route of the split path. After we've taken an underwater look into the waterfall basin, the route goes past a group of islands with fallen logs, these are surrounded by shallow water and doesn't house any creatures in particular, though it is designed to attract some of the free-roaming birds like Sunbitterns, Spoonbills and Ibises. After these islands are two waterfalls, which are also visible from the bridge. The paths come together and lead to a rock arch, where some ropes hang over the path to block birds from getting into the next region: Caiman creek!
Caiman creek is a separated region of the Rio Dourado, large netting surrounds the area, designed to keep the larger birds away from the predators. Though smaller birds, like grassquits, manakins and honeycreepers, still have access to this area.
Inside, there is also a free-roamer inside the area that cannot free-roam in the larger hall. This would be the Caiman lizard.
You can take the path downward to an underwater viewing area, where you can see a large group of Piranha, along with other fish and some turtles. On the other side of the viewing window, the side of the river is rocky and steep. With, once again, a large fallen tree sitting in the water.
You can take the path back up and follow two routes. One route goes over a small boardwalk, which provide a better view of the main inhabitants of this area: Cuvier's dwarf caimans. The side of the river on the other side of the boardwalk is a sloping beach. This way you can see the Caimans and turtles above water on this side, and under water on the other side.
You can also walk through a jungle area, which has another small pool, which is designed for the Caiman lizards. The Caiman lizards can also swim in the main river, which is accessible through a thinner log, which can be climbed up and down by the lizards, but not by the caimans.
When the path and the boardwalk come together, we encounter another rock arch with ropes. This leads into another separated area with an extra warning sign:
Warning: You are now entering Snake Territory. Welcome to Serpent pass.
Like Caiman creek, Serpent pass is separated from the rest of the greenhouse. But this area is a little more fortified. Instead of large netting, this area is surrounded by thin mesh. The central enclosure in this area is home to Green Anacondas. The river area on the visitor's side is designed with a slippery metal overhang, which should prevent the large snakes from getting out. The top is covered with hanging plants, which makes it more natural to the visitor's view.
The normal path goes down and leads to another underwater viewing area, this one being under the boardwalk area, meaning we can't see it from the top view. Here, we can see Knifefishes, Cichlids and multiple catfish species among others.
No birds can get into serpent pass, as this area is even more unsafe than caiman creek. The free-roamers here are what give the area it's name, and the warning sign it's meaning.
Free-roaming here are three species of boas, as well as Poison frogs and some butterflies to give the region some more colour.
Separate from the river are two small waterfalls. One waterfall (waterfall 5 on the schematic) runs along the rock wall, this is the typical type of rock waterfall often found in paludariums for Dart frogs or Vampire crabs.
A larger waterfall (waterfall 6 on the schematic) flows downhill into a small pool, which should provide a bathing area for the boas.
After this waterfall, there is a small hut to be found on the side of the rock wall, this holds the chrysalises of the butterflies. After this the paths leads under a final rock arch, which brings us back to the main hall.
Both Serpent pass and Caiman creek have two caretakers to make sure the reptiles don't escape into the main hall, as well as to make sure visitors don't see the reptile's slower movements as an invitation to pet the wildlife. These are also here for education purposes of course. Some educators are also present in the main hall, some of which follow particular free-roamers for similar reasons.
Before we continue, we're going back to the split path, this time we walk further through the Rio Dourado's main area rather than the separated areas.
Taking the bottom path we again find ourselves going over a bridge over the main river, this provides a final view into the Paca beach area on one side, and a small island on the other side. This island has a few wooden climbing structures hanging over it, which allows for some of the mammalian free-roamers to more easily get to the other side of the river. Similar structures can be found near the monkey islands.
We go over a second bridge almost immediately, this brings us close to a final separated enclosure. A small viewing gallery, in the shape of a shabby jungle hut, allows viewing into the steel mesh enclosure, which holds Ocelots. The small cats also have access to a small part of the river for swimming, with once again a fallen log which acts as a climbing structure.
In the back of the enclosure is another small hut, which is a multi-purpose building. As it's also the drainage of the large basin at the end of the river, from here the water leads into an underground filtration system that cleans and pumps the water back to the larger waterfall at the beginning of the river.
The route goes further along some rock walls, which has mosses and hanging plants to make it more natural. These hide the the separated areas, of course.
We encounter the final bridge of the greenhouse, which goes over the main basin. With some luck you can actually see one of the mighty Arapaimas swimming below you.
The final area of the greenhouse is clearly inspired by the viewing window in Burgers' Mangrove, I can't deny it. The main path slopes down for a bit, which leads to a larger slope area into the lowered viewing area. Two staircases lead back up to the main path, which almost immediately leads to the exit of the greenhouse.
The viewing window is nearly 20 meters wide and provides underwater viewing into the deepest area of the river. A small island in the middle as well as, as you might guess, more fallen logs provide sitting spots for some of the turtles in this area. Though this area does have more aquatic turtles in comparison to the rest of the areas.
This main basin, basin F, has the most fish species with 18 different species (one more than the main river area, basin C, which has 17). These include some of the Amazon's largest river monsters, with Arapaimas, Redtail and Ripsaw catfishes and Speckled peacock bas among some other very large animals.
The area around this final path and the main basin has some large, rounded rocks. Which are mostly for aesthetic, but partially also to make the height differences between the main path and the underwater viewing more natural-looking. As well as providing heating spots for the greenhouse's cold-blooded animals, and perching spots for some of the larger birds.
For the broad explanations I'm going to place the Schematic version again.
Numbers 1-6 are the different waterfalls, and letters A-F are the different basins.
Waterfall #1 starts the river. It's the biggest waterfall and it flows into Basin A, the waterfall basin. The waterfall is similar in height and amount of water flowing out of it to one of the waterfalls in Rimbula River. A smaller waterfall also flows on the other side of the basin A, near the underwater viewing area.
Basin A is roughly 1.5 meters deep, meaning you can view both under and above water of the basin.
An underwater pump pumps extra water into the waterfall basin, meaning that waterfall #2 actually has a lot more water flowing through it than waterfall #1
Waterfall #2 flows from Basin A to Basin B. Basin B is the shallowest part of the river, and includes the least fish. Only being home to some small fish like guppies and pencilfish. Waterfall #2 has a rock in the middle, splitting the waterfall in two. The waterfalls are roughly 2 meters tall. Because of the large amount of water flowing through the waterfall and the shallowness of Basin B, this area of the river is the most fast-flowing, though it is slightly slower in the island area.
Waterfall #3 is another split waterfall, this time being split earlier than the ledge thanks to one of the islands. A large log sits between the two waterfalls. These waterfalls are roughly one meter tall and flows into Basin C. It is the last waterfall in the river, so the rest of the basins are a lot more calm. Though they do still flow, as the water eventually comes all the way around to the multi-purpose building in Basin F, where it is pumped back to Basin A.
Basin C is the largest, and includes a shallow area at Paca beach, and a deeper area from the underwater viewing log to the monkey islands.
Basins D and E are separated by underwater mesh. This is of course done to hold the aquatic predators, but also to hold in the fish to make sure every underwater viewing window has a unique species lineup. The basins have no real difference in side or depth in comparison to Basin C.
Basin F is the final basin, and has the largest single area. The basin starts in a river area, which is slightly more shallow, though still easily accessible to the monster fish inhabiting the basin. The larger area of the basin is the deepest area of the entire river, being four meters deep at the deepest point. Though the viewing window here is only two-and-a-half meters tall.
I already described waterfalls #5 and #6 of course. And waterfall #4 is nothing special. It's only a small waterfall of roughly 1 meter tall made to start the stream to keep the marmosets into their enclosure.
I'm fairly certain I've described everything now. Apart from the foliage, I supppose.
The foliage map (in the beginning of this post) represents the visitor's viewpoint, not the top view. The dark green areas of foliage are the really heavy foliage, including trees, bushes and other non-see-through foliage. Light green areas are lower ground foliage. Tree cover and vines with hanging plants would still cover the top view, of course. The foliage, on top of the usual greens, also includes some colours like lobster claws and bromelia plants. There are also a few palm-like plants (Including Acaí palms and Banana plants) and fruit trees like Papayas and Avocados.
The underwater is also heavily planted with multiple Amazonian plant species, including a lot of Amazon sword plants.
Attachments
Free-roaming animals 1:
Free-roaming animals 2:
Fish of the Waterfall Basin / Basin A:
Animals of the main river / Basin C:
Animals of the deep basin / Basin F:
Animals of Caiman Creek:
Animals of Serpent pass river:
Serpent pass free-roamers:
Separate enclosures:
And finally, there are a few fish that can be found in all areas of the river except the Waterfall basin. These are the only fish held in Basin B, but can also be found in all of the main river, as they are the only fish small enough to fit through the underwater meshes in the Sepaarted areas:
Notable species groups:
The neon tetras are the most numerous, as there are multiple thousands of these in the river. The other mini-fish are also found in very large amounts, with the Guppies and Rummynose tetras in second place with around 800 at release. Their population will not be controlled so a natural amount will eventually stabalise.
All thee boa species are only held in pairs, so these can be more easily monitored.
The Dwarf caiman and Pacas are both held in larger groups than usual. With 8 Pacas and 4 Dwarf caimans.
Alright, well that was the Rio Dourado greenhouse. I hope you guys enjoyed and let me know what you all think!
Free-roaming animals 2:
Fish of the Waterfall Basin / Basin A:
Animals of the main river / Basin C:
Animals of the deep basin / Basin F:
Animals of Caiman Creek:
Animals of Serpent pass river:
Serpent pass free-roamers:
Separate enclosures:
And finally, there are a few fish that can be found in all areas of the river except the Waterfall basin. These are the only fish held in Basin B, but can also be found in all of the main river, as they are the only fish small enough to fit through the underwater meshes in the Sepaarted areas:
Notable species groups:
The neon tetras are the most numerous, as there are multiple thousands of these in the river. The other mini-fish are also found in very large amounts, with the Guppies and Rummynose tetras in second place with around 800 at release. Their population will not be controlled so a natural amount will eventually stabalise.
All thee boa species are only held in pairs, so these can be more easily monitored.
The Dwarf caiman and Pacas are both held in larger groups than usual. With 8 Pacas and 4 Dwarf caimans.
Alright, well that was the Rio Dourado greenhouse. I hope you guys enjoyed and let me know what you all think!
Attachments
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I absolutely loved your latest project. You are definitely inspiring me for when and if I ever decide to get back into speculative zoo design.
I really like the intricate and detailed designs and your descriptions are also rather good - relatively concise yet also complete.
The choice of species is also very good - the only thing I kind of miss is a macaw aviary, but I understand not everything can be included.
I am definitely looking forward to future submissions.
I really like the intricate and detailed designs and your descriptions are also rather good - relatively concise yet also complete.
The choice of species is also very good - the only thing I kind of miss is a macaw aviary, but I understand not everything can be included.
I am definitely looking forward to future submissions.
Thanks, I'm very glad to hear it! It took quite some research getting the species together. At some point I ended up going through pet shops to see which animals could be available in private collections
and don't worry, macaws are (/will be) present in "Het Moeras" (the Pantanal aviary)
Alright then, time for some audience participation!
Firstly: Which of the areas I proposed would you guys like to see next? Right now there's no region I'm particularly inspired for so I'm just going to ask you guys.
Secondly: do you guys have any ideas for other aquatic habitats to show in the Wetlands house?
The enclosures I currently have planned are:
Congo river (Slender-snouted crocodile)
Ganges (Indian gharial)
New guinea paludarium (Rainbowfish)
Watering hole (Extinct-in-the-wild fish from Mexico)
Sri Lanka paludarium (Water monitor)
North Madagascar aquarium (Endangered cichlids)
Pantanal aquarium (Yellow anaconda)
Mississippi river (Snapping turtle)
Kosciuszko creek (East Australian reptiles)
As well as range of European habitats, so no need to worry about anything from the local area
Firstly: Which of the areas I proposed would you guys like to see next? Right now there's no region I'm particularly inspired for so I'm just going to ask you guys.
Secondly: do you guys have any ideas for other aquatic habitats to show in the Wetlands house?
The enclosures I currently have planned are:
Congo river (Slender-snouted crocodile)
Ganges (Indian gharial)
New guinea paludarium (Rainbowfish)
Watering hole (Extinct-in-the-wild fish from Mexico)
Sri Lanka paludarium (Water monitor)
North Madagascar aquarium (Endangered cichlids)
Pantanal aquarium (Yellow anaconda)
Mississippi river (Snapping turtle)
Kosciuszko creek (East Australian reptiles)
As well as range of European habitats, so no need to worry about anything from the local area
Platypusboy
Well-Known Member
I'd love to see De savanne or Tierra del Fuego made next. For you're other question, perhaps a Lake Malawi aquarium with endangered cichlids could fit well into the Wetlands house.
Personally I would love to see what you do with the Tierra del Fuego or Indonesian sections of the wetlands house.
With regards to habitats to add, perhaps the Nile river, with the impressive Nile perch and/or the Nile crocodile as main species, and perhaps with some Egyptian theming.
Thanks for the responses! I'll be working on the Tierra Del Fuego hall next.
As for the proposed exhibits: I already have a Congo river enclosure with crocodiles. With five crocodilians in the Wetlands house, I don't think it would be a great idea to add in the Nile croc. Especially since most of the other crocs are endangered, and the zoo is quite focused on conservation. And though I do like the fish from the Nile and the rift lakes, it is difficult to find out anything about the many species of Malawi cichlids, as I found out whilst trying to make zoo guides for Amersfoort. I would've loved to add Tangayikan tilapias (from lake Malawi), but there are plenty of interesting African fish in the Congo basin, including the interesting Sixbar distichodus and the Nile perch
Hello again! I'll admit that I finished the Tierra Del Fuego a few days ago, but I worked on a few new zoo guides for my upcoming vacation to the Alps. Speaking of: this will be the last addition for the next few weeks, as I'll be going to the French and Swiss alps for some zoos and motor tours with my father for almost all of July. I might work on De Savanne in the background a little bit, but I won't be able to upload anything.
For now: Enjoy the Wetland Park's penguin hall: Tierra Del Fuego!
A lot of Subantarctic penguin exhibits are formed out of barren rocks or simple beaches. which is fine, since the enclosures are based on the smaller islands around the Antarctic islands. Which is fine of course. But I'm slightly disappointed in the fact that there are very few Antarctic penguin enclosures with any foliage or co-inhabitants. That's why this isn't an Antarctic hall, or a Falklands hall. This is the Tierra Del Fuego hall.
The Tierra Del Fuego is the Southernmost region of Chile and Argentina, and it's home to a lot of different waterfowl and most of the Antarctic penguin species. I chose this region because of the higher foliage, and the higher biodiversity.
You enter the hall on the left side, where you walk on a path next to a gravel beach, at the back of the beach is a higher area which has some small trees and bushes. This should provide some better cover for some of the free-roaming animals.
You enter a large metal path, similar to one you might find in an Antarctic research center, going over the central water area. The path has metal railings that's high enough to allow for the penguins to get from the path into the water if they want.
On the other side of the path, and against the back wall, there is a large hill of relatively sharp rocks, partially covered in mosses and grasses. This provides space for the very large group of Rockhopper penguins, though the other species can be found here too of course.
The penguin nesting spaces can be found between the rocks and underneath the rock ledge behind the gravel beach (underneath the tree area).
The path continues through some coastal rocks sticking out of the water, where you can hopefully see the larger King penguins standing (relatively) tall
From the final part of the metal path you can see into a separated aviary, this is home to one of the most cold-dwelling birds of prey: The Striated caracara. The aviary has two small waterfalls inside it, with small whitewater streams flowing through the gravel. The final path over the beach area is surrounded by more bushes and grasses. Surrounding the aviary are also some large fallen logs. Partially to hide the netting and partially to allow for the Caracaras to perch.
Species in the Tierra del Fuego:
The penguins all live in larger groups, all four species living in groups of around 20-50 animals. The Rockhoppers being the most numerous, and the King penguins the least.
The Ibises, Lapwings, Parakeets and Night-herons all live in relatively small groups, all being around 5-10 animals.
The ducks, except for the Steamer ducks and geese, live in groups of around 5-20 animals.
Finally, the Geese, Steamer ducks and Caracaras all live in pairs.
The cooling and heating systems of the Wetlands house are similar to a clever system used in Blijdorp. Air conditioning systems produce cold air by expelling heat. In Blijdorp (and in the Wetlands house), the systems that make the Falkland/Tierra del Fuego cold, expel heat into the tropical areas. Which means that the Rio Dourado and the Indonesian hall require very minimal heating systems, if any. The Tierra del Fuego is cooled to between 5 and 15 degrees during the day. Depending on the outside temperature and the time of day. During the night, the hall goes down to a minimum of -7 degrees.
At some moments, sprinkler systems on the roof structure form snow during the night, which slowly melts over the day. These systems are not always active, so you can also see the non-snowy hall at points.
The cold air in the Tierra del Fuego is pumped out of the hall pretty quickly. This is simply because, well, penguins stink. And nobody wants to spend too long in a closed-off hall that smells like penguin poo...
For now: Enjoy the Wetland Park's penguin hall: Tierra Del Fuego!
A lot of Subantarctic penguin exhibits are formed out of barren rocks or simple beaches. which is fine, since the enclosures are based on the smaller islands around the Antarctic islands. Which is fine of course. But I'm slightly disappointed in the fact that there are very few Antarctic penguin enclosures with any foliage or co-inhabitants. That's why this isn't an Antarctic hall, or a Falklands hall. This is the Tierra Del Fuego hall.
The Tierra Del Fuego is the Southernmost region of Chile and Argentina, and it's home to a lot of different waterfowl and most of the Antarctic penguin species. I chose this region because of the higher foliage, and the higher biodiversity.
You enter the hall on the left side, where you walk on a path next to a gravel beach, at the back of the beach is a higher area which has some small trees and bushes. This should provide some better cover for some of the free-roaming animals.
You enter a large metal path, similar to one you might find in an Antarctic research center, going over the central water area. The path has metal railings that's high enough to allow for the penguins to get from the path into the water if they want.
On the other side of the path, and against the back wall, there is a large hill of relatively sharp rocks, partially covered in mosses and grasses. This provides space for the very large group of Rockhopper penguins, though the other species can be found here too of course.
The penguin nesting spaces can be found between the rocks and underneath the rock ledge behind the gravel beach (underneath the tree area).
The path continues through some coastal rocks sticking out of the water, where you can hopefully see the larger King penguins standing (relatively) tall
From the final part of the metal path you can see into a separated aviary, this is home to one of the most cold-dwelling birds of prey: The Striated caracara. The aviary has two small waterfalls inside it, with small whitewater streams flowing through the gravel. The final path over the beach area is surrounded by more bushes and grasses. Surrounding the aviary are also some large fallen logs. Partially to hide the netting and partially to allow for the Caracaras to perch.
Species in the Tierra del Fuego:
The penguins all live in larger groups, all four species living in groups of around 20-50 animals. The Rockhoppers being the most numerous, and the King penguins the least.
The Ibises, Lapwings, Parakeets and Night-herons all live in relatively small groups, all being around 5-10 animals.
The ducks, except for the Steamer ducks and geese, live in groups of around 5-20 animals.
Finally, the Geese, Steamer ducks and Caracaras all live in pairs.
The cooling and heating systems of the Wetlands house are similar to a clever system used in Blijdorp. Air conditioning systems produce cold air by expelling heat. In Blijdorp (and in the Wetlands house), the systems that make the Falkland/Tierra del Fuego cold, expel heat into the tropical areas. Which means that the Rio Dourado and the Indonesian hall require very minimal heating systems, if any. The Tierra del Fuego is cooled to between 5 and 15 degrees during the day. Depending on the outside temperature and the time of day. During the night, the hall goes down to a minimum of -7 degrees.
At some moments, sprinkler systems on the roof structure form snow during the night, which slowly melts over the day. These systems are not always active, so you can also see the non-snowy hall at points.
The cold air in the Tierra del Fuego is pumped out of the hall pretty quickly. This is simply because, well, penguins stink. And nobody wants to spend too long in a closed-off hall that smells like penguin poo...
Attachments
Right then, before I'm going on hiatus I decided I could give you guys some general descriptions of some of the zoo regions I haven't described yet, as well as what basic plans I still have.
The Wetlands house:
The Wetlands house will have three floors in total. We've already seen three of the greenhouses located on the sides, but we've seen nothing of the central Discovery hall.
The discovery hall is themed after an old zoo gallery, similar to Antwerp's aquarium building. Two large enclosures in the middle hold Gharials and Slender-snouted crocodiles, with fish from the Ganges and the Congo rivers. The gallery-style paludariums showcase multiple different habitats like Mexico, Sri Lanka, North Madagascar, East Australia and New Guinea.
On the ground floor, you'll have the underwater viewing to the crocodile enclosures, and the entrances to all the greenhouses. On the second floor, you can see above water for the crocodilians. The exits from the Caribbean and Indonesian halls are also here, as the paths in both of these go upwards.
On the -1st (?) floor, there are multiple different exhibits. A few tropical ones, but mostly European freshwater aquariums. Underneath Lundaeyja there are some North Sea aquariums, as well as underwater viewing into the large basin in Lundaeyja itself.
There are also multiple enclosures on the outside of the Wetlands house, including a few birds-of-prey aviaries, mainly birds that are found around water. Like African fish eagles and Ospreys. There is also a large enclosure for European beavers, which are held together with a plethora of different fish species. Underwater viewing to these animals can also be found on the -1st floor.
The Great Boardwalk:
The Great Boardwalk is the largest area of the zoo. The boardwalk goes around the central lake of the zoo (the Wetlands house is located in the lake as well). There are, of course, the boardwalk regions of the great boardwalk. Large wooden paths going over the marshy shores of the lake, and past multiple larger animal enclosures.
The different parts of the Boardwalk are divided into continental regions. Every continent has one island area. These islands have smaller enclosures for animals like Minks, Raccoons and River hogs. These enclosures are surrounded by continent-specific villages. These villages will be partially based around the relationship between humans and water.
The European village will be an "Oerdorp"; a Dutch prehistoric village, based around the mud towns built back when The Netherlands was basically a giant marshland. Museum-Villages like these can be seen in some places in the Netherlands, like in Eindhoven, and to a lesser extent in Arnhem.
The North American village will be a logging town, which uses water for power and log transportation. Essentially a way bigger version of the Raccoon creek region of wildlands. Which is criminally underrepresented in any gallery. I hope to change this during my next visit, which I hope to be soon...
Other areas of Wetlands Park:
Of course, there are also non-animal areas in Wetlands park that I can briefly discuss. I will go into these in more detail at a later point.
First a slightly less interesting area is the parking lot. Wetlands park will be a giant zoo so the parking area will be big. The primary parking lot, which is always in use, will be nicely decorated with live trees and some rock gardens. In the secondary parking lot, which is larger and will only be used during busy days, the parking spaces are partially covered in solar panels, which provide the main source of power for the zoo.
Wetlands park actually has a small resort attached to it. The resort consists out of two lots of small, cube-shaped apartments which can be booked for up to a week. Each lot also has a restaurant and a small indoor pool. These resorts are known as "The Mudflats". Pun intended.
Each apartment is named after a different animal, and the houses will be partially decorated after that species. These, too, will be powered by solar panels on the roofs of the apartments.
Mudflats lot 1 is located near the Netted gardens, and the apartments will be named after different bird species.
Mudflats lot 2 will be located near a wetland reserve, and the apartments will be named after wetland mammals.
Speaking of: the park will have a large Wetlands region, which is a part of the zoo you don't have to pay for. There are only a few animals displayed here. For example, you can see the back of the American Bison enclosure.
"Map"
This layout is nowhere near final, but it roughly shows how the whole zoo will be laid out:
The Wetlands house:
The Wetlands house will have three floors in total. We've already seen three of the greenhouses located on the sides, but we've seen nothing of the central Discovery hall.
The discovery hall is themed after an old zoo gallery, similar to Antwerp's aquarium building. Two large enclosures in the middle hold Gharials and Slender-snouted crocodiles, with fish from the Ganges and the Congo rivers. The gallery-style paludariums showcase multiple different habitats like Mexico, Sri Lanka, North Madagascar, East Australia and New Guinea.
On the ground floor, you'll have the underwater viewing to the crocodile enclosures, and the entrances to all the greenhouses. On the second floor, you can see above water for the crocodilians. The exits from the Caribbean and Indonesian halls are also here, as the paths in both of these go upwards.
On the -1st (?) floor, there are multiple different exhibits. A few tropical ones, but mostly European freshwater aquariums. Underneath Lundaeyja there are some North Sea aquariums, as well as underwater viewing into the large basin in Lundaeyja itself.
There are also multiple enclosures on the outside of the Wetlands house, including a few birds-of-prey aviaries, mainly birds that are found around water. Like African fish eagles and Ospreys. There is also a large enclosure for European beavers, which are held together with a plethora of different fish species. Underwater viewing to these animals can also be found on the -1st floor.
The Great Boardwalk:
The Great Boardwalk is the largest area of the zoo. The boardwalk goes around the central lake of the zoo (the Wetlands house is located in the lake as well). There are, of course, the boardwalk regions of the great boardwalk. Large wooden paths going over the marshy shores of the lake, and past multiple larger animal enclosures.
The different parts of the Boardwalk are divided into continental regions. Every continent has one island area. These islands have smaller enclosures for animals like Minks, Raccoons and River hogs. These enclosures are surrounded by continent-specific villages. These villages will be partially based around the relationship between humans and water.
The European village will be an "Oerdorp"; a Dutch prehistoric village, based around the mud towns built back when The Netherlands was basically a giant marshland. Museum-Villages like these can be seen in some places in the Netherlands, like in Eindhoven, and to a lesser extent in Arnhem.
The North American village will be a logging town, which uses water for power and log transportation. Essentially a way bigger version of the Raccoon creek region of wildlands. Which is criminally underrepresented in any gallery. I hope to change this during my next visit, which I hope to be soon...
Other areas of Wetlands Park:
Of course, there are also non-animal areas in Wetlands park that I can briefly discuss. I will go into these in more detail at a later point.
First a slightly less interesting area is the parking lot. Wetlands park will be a giant zoo so the parking area will be big. The primary parking lot, which is always in use, will be nicely decorated with live trees and some rock gardens. In the secondary parking lot, which is larger and will only be used during busy days, the parking spaces are partially covered in solar panels, which provide the main source of power for the zoo.
Wetlands park actually has a small resort attached to it. The resort consists out of two lots of small, cube-shaped apartments which can be booked for up to a week. Each lot also has a restaurant and a small indoor pool. These resorts are known as "The Mudflats". Pun intended.
Each apartment is named after a different animal, and the houses will be partially decorated after that species. These, too, will be powered by solar panels on the roofs of the apartments.
Mudflats lot 1 is located near the Netted gardens, and the apartments will be named after different bird species.
Mudflats lot 2 will be located near a wetland reserve, and the apartments will be named after wetland mammals.
Speaking of: the park will have a large Wetlands region, which is a part of the zoo you don't have to pay for. There are only a few animals displayed here. For example, you can see the back of the American Bison enclosure.
"Map"
This layout is nowhere near final, but it roughly shows how the whole zoo will be laid out:
Attachments
Almost forgot to mention another area on the map! As you can see there is another wetlands region in the corner between the parking lots. This is not the Wetlands region I discussed earlier. This is actually a separate Wetlands area. It is owned by the park, but not accessible. The wetlands region I discussed earlier is the Wetlands park reserve pointed to above the Mudflats lot 2, not drawn into the map as it is quite large and essentially semi-wild nature.
Also: let me know what you think of this general idea. I realised I hadn't properly discussed the larger concept of the zoo and it was about time I described it at least a little bit
Herring Gulls would eat the smaller birds up to at least Redshank size
Would the problem persist with the black-headed gulls?
You can’t keep Steamer Ducks with other waterfowl because they kill them. Ok with penguins I’m told
Less predatory, but I wouldn’t trust them with Redpolls or wagtails