So most zoos in the Fantasy Zoos forum are medium to large sized zoo, final plans that would take years to build up to. (unless you have hundreds of millions of dollars to spare, I guess) Say you were to start a zoo from the bottom. You don't have tons of money, so you won't be able to get lots of big animals right away. As a result, you have to figure out how to attract guests without all of those big animals they normally expect to see in a zoo. What kinds of animals would you obtain and how would you try to get them? What would you do in the short and long term? What do you do to provide a fun and memorable experience?
I'd give the zoo a heavy focus on education and kind of present it as a museum, so people might be motivated to go for more than just entertainment. I'd also try to present the place as something for all ages, not just kids. To help promote the zoo (and make a little extra money) I'd set up a service where a zookeeper will take a selection of small animals and bring them to schools and events and talk about the animals. For more promotion, I'd have the zoo keep an active social media presence. In the zoo, free tours would be offered daily. I'd try to offer more than just looking at animals, to make up for the lack of charismatic megafauna.
Now, as for the animals? Without the presence of large animals, I'd try to shift focus onto interaction and learning. Have certain times of day where visitors can pet, hold, and/or play with various small animals such as chinchillas, hedgehogs, parrots, maybe even a serval and a fennec fox, and so on. But the zoo would likely need some more exotic animals as well. I'd first look into rescue cases, since lots of people get small exotic pets and then have to rehome them for whatever reason. Hopefully this would allow the fantasy zoo to get some exotics at a lower price. (and even better, bringing potentially mistreated animals to a good home) I'd also see about getting in contact with rescue organizations to offer to take in seized/surrendered exotics. After that, look for reputable and affordable breeders. Getting primates would be a priority, since they tend to be active and playful, so people enjoy watching them. I'd want to set up a bird show, featuring many different types of birds, since bird shows can be easily made entertaining and educational. I'd try to find unusual, interesting-looking animals that people aren't used to seeing, (such as emperor tamarins) and I'd set up some kind of feeding encounter as well. Lorikeets, I guess. Later on I'd might try to get a large animal suitable for feeding encounters.
This zoo would most likely be in south Texas, where I'm from. I'd want to put in some exhibits for native Texas wildlife such as white-tailed deer, ring tailed cats and American alligators. Also bats, (Mexican free-tailed preferred) cause bats need more love. In part to teach people about the different animals that live in the area, but also to encourage them to view nature as something that exists everywhere, not just in some jungle on the other side of the planet. This area might eventually expand into a general North American wildlife area.
Larger animals would likely have to be reserved for long-term plans. As with the small animals, I'd first look at obtaining them through rescues cases. You know, former pets, and retirees from circuses, roadside zoos, and other entertainment venues. Largely out of personal bias, I'd want tigers, though there's no denying that they'd be popular with the crowds too.
Maybe wolves and some kind of bear for the North American area. Depending on how well the zoo does, American bison could probably be obtained early on, since lots of places raise them for meat.
I'd give the zoo a heavy focus on education and kind of present it as a museum, so people might be motivated to go for more than just entertainment. I'd also try to present the place as something for all ages, not just kids. To help promote the zoo (and make a little extra money) I'd set up a service where a zookeeper will take a selection of small animals and bring them to schools and events and talk about the animals. For more promotion, I'd have the zoo keep an active social media presence. In the zoo, free tours would be offered daily. I'd try to offer more than just looking at animals, to make up for the lack of charismatic megafauna.
Now, as for the animals? Without the presence of large animals, I'd try to shift focus onto interaction and learning. Have certain times of day where visitors can pet, hold, and/or play with various small animals such as chinchillas, hedgehogs, parrots, maybe even a serval and a fennec fox, and so on. But the zoo would likely need some more exotic animals as well. I'd first look into rescue cases, since lots of people get small exotic pets and then have to rehome them for whatever reason. Hopefully this would allow the fantasy zoo to get some exotics at a lower price. (and even better, bringing potentially mistreated animals to a good home) I'd also see about getting in contact with rescue organizations to offer to take in seized/surrendered exotics. After that, look for reputable and affordable breeders. Getting primates would be a priority, since they tend to be active and playful, so people enjoy watching them. I'd want to set up a bird show, featuring many different types of birds, since bird shows can be easily made entertaining and educational. I'd try to find unusual, interesting-looking animals that people aren't used to seeing, (such as emperor tamarins) and I'd set up some kind of feeding encounter as well. Lorikeets, I guess. Later on I'd might try to get a large animal suitable for feeding encounters.
This zoo would most likely be in south Texas, where I'm from. I'd want to put in some exhibits for native Texas wildlife such as white-tailed deer, ring tailed cats and American alligators. Also bats, (Mexican free-tailed preferred) cause bats need more love. In part to teach people about the different animals that live in the area, but also to encourage them to view nature as something that exists everywhere, not just in some jungle on the other side of the planet. This area might eventually expand into a general North American wildlife area.
Larger animals would likely have to be reserved for long-term plans. As with the small animals, I'd first look at obtaining them through rescues cases. You know, former pets, and retirees from circuses, roadside zoos, and other entertainment venues. Largely out of personal bias, I'd want tigers, though there's no denying that they'd be popular with the crowds too.
Maybe wolves and some kind of bear for the North American area. Depending on how well the zoo does, American bison could probably be obtained early on, since lots of places raise them for meat.
. Geese might be a bad choice for a petting zoo unless they were kept in a pen where the public couldn't go in.
