Wanted to ask if anybody else had the same impression with a zoo, like I had with the so called zoom erlebniswelt gelsenkirchen.
A decade ago was the zoom erlebniswelt pretty much the one institution I have visited the most. It was only a bit later that I realized the pattern and I started to ask myself why. Back then I did not know of my autism and related mental health issues, but the park offered one thing sadly not that many other institutions were able to and that was that due to the size in combinations with the lay out and number of enclosures and viewpoints the visitors spread out way more easily, so that I was able to walk as fast or slow as I needed then without bothering anybody.
That lay out is not even particularly good, some parts of the park actualy manage to properly create round about the impression of the original habitat they are meant to represent, other parts not at all. The so called alaska area can feel relatively immersive, the plants match the coastal rainforest of northwest north america, but from the reindeer enclsoure over the the brown bears to the polar bear and sea lion pool the quality does not just gradualy declines but suddenly drops to floor. There is not too much of a spectrum of how the species are presented the different levels one could have created for aquatic species or arboreal instead of tree porcupines living on dead trunks sitting on sausage shaped concrete islands in the concrete beaver pond.
Africa starts with the famous african european decioduous forest with ankole cattle, somali sheep and african pygmy goats, but then the actual african plain savanna starts with lots of different coloured sand and red rocks and one thing that can be said over this part is how not immersive it is so one wanders through the landscape and watch antelopes and giraffes like cars rolling over the high way.
Think the parks rock work even went viral due to their shape and purpleish colouration.
In general would I claim that the one could rather get the impression that the landscape was the starting point and the inhabitants an afterthought.
The park lacks diversity, there are lots of megafauna, the educational programme is well I cant remember a single thing about it and I am not one of the people who just walks past them, so lets say nonexistent.
They had some money left over after having build the last part asia and instead of improving existent such as the small lion and hyena enclosures they decided to build another too small carnivore enclosure.
Saying reptiles amphibians and fish were an afterthought is not even a metaphor any more, they literaly added terraria only later on in places that I am very sure they did not planned previously to, I mean I have the original masterplan brochure and they were not included, but malayan bears, gibbons, indian rhinos and walrus were.
All in all does this park does not feel like the scientific institution other zoos are, rather than them working for the animals did births of rare species rather feel like a saving grace for their concept because their design did not appeared to prioritize the husbandry rather than the adventure.
A decade ago was the zoom erlebniswelt pretty much the one institution I have visited the most. It was only a bit later that I realized the pattern and I started to ask myself why. Back then I did not know of my autism and related mental health issues, but the park offered one thing sadly not that many other institutions were able to and that was that due to the size in combinations with the lay out and number of enclosures and viewpoints the visitors spread out way more easily, so that I was able to walk as fast or slow as I needed then without bothering anybody.
That lay out is not even particularly good, some parts of the park actualy manage to properly create round about the impression of the original habitat they are meant to represent, other parts not at all. The so called alaska area can feel relatively immersive, the plants match the coastal rainforest of northwest north america, but from the reindeer enclsoure over the the brown bears to the polar bear and sea lion pool the quality does not just gradualy declines but suddenly drops to floor. There is not too much of a spectrum of how the species are presented the different levels one could have created for aquatic species or arboreal instead of tree porcupines living on dead trunks sitting on sausage shaped concrete islands in the concrete beaver pond.
Africa starts with the famous african european decioduous forest with ankole cattle, somali sheep and african pygmy goats, but then the actual african plain savanna starts with lots of different coloured sand and red rocks and one thing that can be said over this part is how not immersive it is so one wanders through the landscape and watch antelopes and giraffes like cars rolling over the high way.
Think the parks rock work even went viral due to their shape and purpleish colouration.
In general would I claim that the one could rather get the impression that the landscape was the starting point and the inhabitants an afterthought.
The park lacks diversity, there are lots of megafauna, the educational programme is well I cant remember a single thing about it and I am not one of the people who just walks past them, so lets say nonexistent.
They had some money left over after having build the last part asia and instead of improving existent such as the small lion and hyena enclosures they decided to build another too small carnivore enclosure.
Saying reptiles amphibians and fish were an afterthought is not even a metaphor any more, they literaly added terraria only later on in places that I am very sure they did not planned previously to, I mean I have the original masterplan brochure and they were not included, but malayan bears, gibbons, indian rhinos and walrus were.
All in all does this park does not feel like the scientific institution other zoos are, rather than them working for the animals did births of rare species rather feel like a saving grace for their concept because their design did not appeared to prioritize the husbandry rather than the adventure.