Side Animals

L

Lizard_boy

Well-Known Member
Have you ever seen in zoos or aquariums the have those little animals in tanks and stuff near like a big exhibit like at underwater world those axoltols elephant nose fish and blind cave fish in the tanks near the seals and everybody ignores them and looks at the animals that are bigger and rarer and they are squished into these tiny tanks in the wall and ignored do you guys thinks this is ok???
 
YES! Akron Zoo in Ohio does this. So does Erie. They have turtles, lizards and fish near lemurs, meerkats, etc. Akron puts axolotls, frogs, roaches, etc. near their fruit bats.
 
From your post I take it you don't like the idea of animals in small enclosures rather than them being ignored.
For what it's worth my view is this:
Lots of the animals you mention are usually attractive to children, who can relater to their small size and odd appearances, but adults tend to want to rush on to see the so called rarer animals.
Personally I feel a lot of the time it is down to education, for example in the wild the axolotl is one of the rarest of the worlds amphibs as the only place it lives are la couple of lakes around Mexico City which thanks to man, have been so degraded and drained, coupled with introduced fish species for fishing that prey on the axolotl, they are now very near extinction in the wild state.
In fact there are probably more of them in captivity than ever lived in the wild, but I bet the zoo doesn't tell the people that, if they did more folk would actually look at and appreciate these exhibits. Most zoo's just fit things in were they can and sometimes the theme doesn't go together so is overlooked.
 
See dean now even your doing it you just totally left out the elephant nose fish and the blind cave fish also clouded leopard describe it better to me
 
I didn't miss them out, I just don't know so much about them I was trying to explain why they keep animals in smaller areas in with larger ones. I know only the elephant nose fish can be used to test the quality of water, as it is very susceptible to toxins and impurities. and that blind cave fish can sense there food with little electric charges as well as scent.
Most zoos today try to mix animals only from the specific areas that the main display animal comes from.
Say Kangaroos, they could have displays of platypus and wallabies as well as stick insects, and golden bell frogs near by, even marine toads to show invasive species.if you get the idea.
As long as the tanks are large enough to accommodate the species they house and allow naturalistic behaviour I think they look rather good, and will try and do something similar for my self next year in my own garden using European species of captive bred lizards and amphibs, as well as fish.
 
Dean platypuses are NOT side animals they are extremely rare and I have only ever seen one in the wild and 4 in captivity oh ps wallibies and kangaroos are usually in the same walk through exhibit but the stick insect and golden bell frog thing true
 
There's 6 tanks stuck in the wall near the exit, after the fruit bats for emperor scorpions, millipedes, mantellas, roaches, axolotl, etc (Akron).
 
I.m not sure what you are getting at by side animals, i kn ow platypus aren't side animals I also know Mantellas are a variety of frog from Madagascar as I used to breed them myself, your original statement asked if we thought it OK for animals to be in small tanks, I was trying to explain why they are there, but that in my opinion they should be related to the animals on show. By that I mean all from the same region rather like the exhibit in Taronga zoo with birds and lizards etc all in one large enclosure, but within there own smaller enclosures and if they had shown frogs or spiders in even smaller enclosures.or side animals as you like to call them. These are called themed or immersion exhibits. I take it from your postings you are very young, well a lot of folk on zoo chat are much older have vastly more experience of zoo's than you or I have so listen and learn from them, I do.
 
Yeah dean but Dean what about the small tanks 2 axoltols are crammed in this tank that I wouldn't house one of them in their (please don't ask how big
It it is)
 
Lizard boy with out seeing the tank or even a photo of it (a zoochatter always carries a camera of some sort:D) I can't comment but I would say the people to ask are the owners of the place you saw them, even an email may help to sort it out to your satisfaction.

Gerald Durrell always said that people should ask questions about enclosures etc when ever they encountered ones in zoo's they didn't like. I don't know if you have heard of Gerald Durell or not, but he was a prolific writer of animal catching and conservation books, as well as the founder of Jersey zoo here in the UK.
I would recommend his book the stationary ark for any would be zoo builders, some of his books are very funny My family and other animals is one of his most famous and I think rather funny.
 
eBay usually has a good supply of the Durell books. or a second hand bookshop, possibly amazon too.
 
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