I know pandas have a different climate tolerance, but because of the habitat design, they are always visible. Even in the heat of the summer, those air conditioned open grottos directly facing the visitor enable their visibility. One way they made room for so many species in Asia Trail was by building all the keeper areas and indoor habitats underneath the outdoor exhibits, This was fascinating to watch, seeing the skeletons of entire buildings that later disappeared under the outdoor areas and visitor paths. However economical this was spacewise, though, it meant that we could never look down on the sloth bears and see the entire exhibit. As a result, they were not always visible even when outside, also because there is no incentive for the bears to hang out near the spectators.
It would help a lot if the pathways could be elevated, but it takes a lot of winding pathway, such as what they've already utilized in Asia Trail, to achieve a higher elevation without the grade becoming too steep. What they could do is put heaters and ACs emanating from the visitor windows, build play structures and resting areas with radiant heat or mist cooling, and place their favorite enrichment items and food to forage for all along the line of visibility. With considerable control over the climate along the entire face of the exhibit, keepers could simply have the bears go out every day without giving them a choice. Put big termite mounds at the glass that can be refilled from below. I think all of this would be required if we ever have a chance of seeing sloth bears at all, let alone frolicking and playing the way Spellman envisioned. As of now, the empty exhibit does just the opposite of exciting visitors right off CT Avenue.
I wonder what ZooPlantMan would recommend for this exhibit?
), I saw an assortment of about 8 Smokey signs from decades going back 75 years. I found this very interesting, a kind of hidden treasure that I've never seen, because, without animals, I skip that whole path. I made the mistake of trying to get a sign and the exhibit in each picture, so the thumbnails of the ones I posted look ridiculous, with the signs mostly out of the frame.
