Two small carnivore taxonomy-themed exhibits
Foxes on the Edge
Concept: Though they are immediately familiar to many people, foxes are not especially popular as zoo animals. When they are exhibited, it is usually in a smaller side habitat that does little to highlight their uniqueness and adaptability. Foxes on the Edge places these small canines front and center, highlighting three species of the genus Vulpes which have managed to thrive in three very different yet challenging habitats across the globe by being flexible and adaptable. The overarching message of this exhibit is that different habitats pose different challenges for the animals that live there, and that in order to survive and thrive in harsh environments, animals must be well-suited to their environment.
Species: Arctic Fox, Fennec Fox, Red Fox
Spatial Requirements:
Keeper Requirement: A single keeper is sufficient to take care of this exhibit, while still being able to take on additional habitats.
Description: Foxes on the Edge does not feature one specific habitat type, so its physical campus is more generic than many exhibits, which are trying to invoke a specific place or feel. The broad cement sidewalk, lined with shrubberies, leads to a pair of indoor habitats, going into an alleyway between the two. Besides the sidewalk, a large, colorful world map shows the distribution – natural and introduced – of all the fox species, underneath the banner “Foxes of the World, a World of Foxes!”
The front of each building is dominated by a massive graphic of a fox – an arctic fox on the right hand side, a fennec fox on the left. Each graphic is surrounded by highlights of the features, both behavioral and physical, that make each animal well-suited to its habitat, while also pointing out similar, unrelated animals that have similar traits. For example, the fennec fox graphic will call attention to how the massive ears help dissipate heat (similar to elephants), how the cream-colored coat helps reflect sunlight (similar to sand cats), and how the foxes stay cool by staying in their burrows during the day (similar to many rodents). A highlight that appeals to many visitors is a large bronze of a pair of fennec fox ears, which visitors may place their heads between for a photo-op.
The twin buildings each provide indoor housing for one of the respective fox species, measuring 40 feet long by 20 feet deep. The arctic fox exhibit is air-conditioned to provide comfortable summer housing. It consists of several slate slabs forming a rocky backdrop to a foreground of soil buried under a thick blanket of pine needles. Several small live pine trees, as well as two large hollow logs, are also provided, as is a shallow (6 inch) pool. The rock formation in the back provides may climbing opportunities, as well as several small nooks and caves for the foxes to shelter in.
The fennec fox exhibit, directly opposite, is a sandy landscape with several prickly pear plants and a palm tree or two, as well as a red rock formation of its own. Mostly, however, it is an open, desolate habitat. The glass-paneled roof helps hold in sunlight, keeping the exhibit very warm (to highlight the different preferences of the two foxes, each species has a thermometer at the front of the habitat to allow visitors to compare the temperatures).
At the end of the alley is a third fox habitat, this one resembling a small townhouse at the edge of a city. The house itself provides the backdrop (as well as keeper space and indoor holding, including holding space for other arctic/fennec foxes if separations are needed), while the yard – a 30 by 30 foot grassy plot with a few planter beds, a bird bath (which provides water), some small trees, and a small patio table provides the main habitat for a pair of red foxes. The foxes also have constant use of the patio, where a porch swing and railings provide further climbing structures. Here, signage explains how red foxes around the world have adapted to urban life, complete with photos depicting foxes in cities around the world, from the US to France to Japan. The lesson presented here is that, while the arctic and fennec foxes are specialists adapted to specific habitats, the red fox is a canny survivor which can make its home in diverse landscapes – sometimes even crowding out its specialist cousins.
After the red foxes, the path bifurcates and curves backwards, around the backs of the two fox buildings. At the back of each building is an outdoor habitat for the foxes; the arctic foxes have outdoor access in the winter, the fennecs in the summer, though at some times in the year both may have full indoor and outdoor access. The paths then merge again at the front of the exhibit.
Cat’s Cradle
Concept: Virtually everyone is familiar with the big cats, such as the lion and the tiger, but how many zoo visitors are familiar with the many equally fascinating but far-less studied small cats that are found across the globe? The smaller felids have often been overlooked in zoos, written off as poor exhibit animals of limited interest to the public, likely to hide all day. As a result, breeding programs for many of these species have suffered from a lack of space and institutional interest. Cat’s Cradle seeks to remedy this by creating an innovative, exciting, flexible habitat for five species of small felid.
Species: Sand Cat, Black-Footed Cat, Ocelot, Fishing Cat, Pallas’s Cat
Spatial Requirement: Approximately ¼ Acre
Keeper Requirements: 1 Keeper der day
Description: Unlike many other zoo exhibits, Cat’s Cradle makes no pretense of immersing the zoo visitor in the habitat of the animal. This is because the species featured here don’t have “a habitat” – they come from varied habitats around the globe. While the habitats themselves are made reasonably natural, the public spaces are glossy, modern, and high-tech, evocative of a science museum. The message that the visitor absorbs as they walk through the door is that this is a scientific facility devoted to the study and conservation of endangered small felids.
The building itself is relatively unconventional looking. Cats are everywhere. Right in front of the entrance is a replica skeleton of a Smilodon, posed standing on top of a rocky outcrop in a silent roar. A pair of pillars, shaped like the Egyptian cat goddess Bastet, flanks the entrance, while a series of metallic sculptures depicting cats leap in an arc over the doorway. Immediately inside, visitors walk down a corridor heavily decorated on one side with depictions of cats – big and small, exotic and domestic – in our literature, culture, and religion. The other side is a mural of the living felid species in a tableau, with a key one the side identifying each one.
Inside, the building is circular, with visitors traveling around a central island that holds educational displays. These displays – some graphics, some mounted TV screens playing looped clips, some scale models, some taxidermy mounts of mounted skeletons, and some props. These displays pose and answer a variety of questions, such as: “Where in the world do cats live?” “What makes a cat a cat?” “What makes cats such successful hunters?” and “Why are cats in danger?” A special exhibit gallery takes a look at the most common of the word’s cats – the domestic cat - exploring how this species came to be domesticated, how humans have changed cats from their wild ancestor, and how domestic cats can act as invasive species and imperil native wildlife (this exhibit is unapologetic in its advocacy of keeping cats indoors and includes resources for how to build an enclosed “Catio.”
The outer walls of the building are made up of habitats for the five species of wild felids exhibited here. The first two exhibits are paired dryland enclosures for two representatives from Africa, the sand cat and the black-footed cat. Exhibits are situated three feet off the ground to allow easier viewing. Each of these glass-fronted exhibits is about 25 feet long and 10 feet deep and 10 feet tall, making them unusually spacious for small cat exhibits. Each is floored with a mixture of sand, soil, and gravel and contains live plants (including small trees), extensive rockwork, and deadfall for climbing. The rockwork at the back is pockmarked with caves and burrows, providing ample hiding spaces for the animals. Half of each ceiling is made up of skylights, allowing in natural light, while the other half has lights that can be manipulated by staff to alternate between day, twilight, and night (the later achieved through blue lighting). Overhead misters can provide a fine, misty drizzle as an occasional light rain.
The Pallas’s cat exhibit is roughly the same size as the desert cat enclosures, though slightly taller (15 feet) to accommodate more rockwork. This exhibit is a towering rock heap with a few small scraggly pines growing from planters.
The longer back wall of the building is taken up by two jungle habitats, one for fishing cats and once for ocelot. Each is about 40 feet long and 15 feet deep and 10 feet high. These exhibits are each densely planted. Each has a pool – a mere six inches deep in one, two feet deep in the other – which can be stocked with live fish for enrichment.
The design of the building facilitates the shifting of the sand cats and black-footed cats between each other’s exhibits for increased exploration opportunities and enrichment. The same set up exhibits between the fishing cat and ocelot exhibits.
Outside the building, a small trail meanders in an arc around the building, encompassing five habitats for the small cats. Each is roughly the size of the indoor exhibit and made in roughly the same mold, though with more live plants. Again, the option to rotate between exhibits exists, meaning that each sand cat, black-footed cat, ocelot, and fishing cat really has four habitats that it can be shifted between, two indoor and two outdoor, while the Pallas’s cats have two (being much more cold hardy that the other species, the Pallas’s cats get more winter access).
The exhibit fall of the building is the show space; much of the breeding takes place behind the scenes. The basement level of the building contains holding space for additional small cats, including stalls for private housing and rearing of kittens, as well as larger rooms for introductions. This area also includes a small amount of quarantine space, a small kitchen, a small workshop for making enrichment, and a keeper office. The building is equipped with a small number of closed circuit cameras which can be placed in various dens and exhibits and monitored remotely from the keeper office.
