Private zoos with naturalistic exhibits?

Davdhole

Davdhole

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
Not that it's a bad thing, but most, if not every privately-owned zoo in the US have mostly large "cages" or fenced-in yards for their animals. I know that most zoos are government-owned or something like that, so they obviously have the funds to create large, more naturalistic exhibits, but is it possible someone seeking to own a zoo could gain the funds to develop a zoo with larger, natural exhibits? How could they go about getting enough to pull something off like that?
 
While most private facilities are not good at making natural enclosures, I know 2 who do a decent to good job of it. Southwicks zoo is does a good job of displaying there animals in somewhat natural enclosures, and the Alabama gulf coast zoo used to look garbage, but recently got a beautiful looking new location. So yes, some private zoos have good enclosures that look natural. But it is uncommon and hard to find. And the zoo needs to have at least somewhat of a reputation. The southwicks zoo had many animals the ether weren’t displayed in the area, or are very rare, and Alabama gulf coast zoo got hit by 3 hurricanes and somehow pulled through, then an animal planet documentary was made on it, it got a lot of donations, and got a new, much better facility. These zoos are not perfect by any means, and I don’t agree with many of there practices, but they are far better than most private zoos.
 
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I think it depends on the species. For instance, a private citizen with a large backyard could easily make a naturalistic zebra enclosure, as zebras only really need a large grassy field with some shaded areas. It is more difficult though for some species, like big cats or tropical species. Also, most private zoos I know of are primarily outside, meaning it is sometimes impossible to have the right plants to make an exhibit naturalistic.
 
Davdhole said:
Not that it's a bad thing, but most, if not every privately-owned zoo in the US have mostly large "cages" or fenced-in yards for their animals. I know that most zoos are government-owned or something like that, so they obviously have the funds to create large, more naturalistic exhibits, but is it possible someone seeking to own a zoo could gain the funds to develop a zoo with larger, natural exhibits? How could they go about getting enough to pull something off like that?
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With Doué-la-Fontaine and Burgers' Zoo, two zoos with among the highest enclosure quality in the world, Europe has it's examples of such private zoos. Many zoos that really made to enclosure design, including Hagenbeck and Apenheul are/were privately owned. Such independence almost seems a necessity for making bold decisions.
 
Davdhole said:
Not that it's a bad thing, but most, if not every privately-owned zoo in the US have mostly large "cages" or fenced-in yards for their animals. I know that most zoos are government-owned or something like that, so they obviously have the funds to create large, more naturalistic exhibits, but is it possible someone seeking to own a zoo could gain the funds to develop a zoo with larger, natural exhibits? How could they go about getting enough to pull something off like that?
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I find that most US private zoos manga two have one or two good naturalistic enclosures.
 
I'm not sure if it is private, but Alligator Adventure, while with its fair share of troubles, has some beautiful swamps for their alligators. I can't find any personal photos, so maybe check the gallery or a Google search
 
How are we defining private? Like owned not by a government/society or not open to the public?
 
Davdhole said:
Not owned by a government or society.
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This is a re-hash of a topic which has been covered many times on here before. The conclusion is/was that there is a major difference in the comparison between private v Govt zoos in the US and those in other countries - at least pre-Covid.
 
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