The wait is OVER! Here is a summary of my zoo, HEARTLAND SAFARI.
WILD MISSOURI: This area will be one of the first exhibit set to open at my park. Guests will be able to view native white-tailed deer and the extripated bison and elk in large paddocks while sitting or standing in shaded overlooks. Carnivores too will be observed up close and personal as glass panels and make-shift dens will provide an unobstructed view of such predators as black bears, bobcats, cougars, coyotes, and gray wolves. The cougar exhibit will also have a walkway that goes over the main path giving the patrons a thrilling experiance. There will also be free-ranging turkeys, a fencerow exhibit for a covey of bobwhite quails, and multiple wildlife gardens and ponds.
LAS PAMPAS (the pampas): Immediately follow "Wild Missouri", this area will feature wildlife from the grasslands of South America. Guests will be able to walk amongst Patagonian cavies or maras and see guanacos and rheas in a nearby seperate enclosure. Mixed-species enclsoures will be featured, with such examples as a paddock featuring giant anteaters, capybaras, and tapirs, and a bird exhibit featuring Chilean flamingoes, waterfowl, giant wood rails, and possibly screamers. Indiviual species exhibits will also be featured here as well. They will house coati, collard peccary, jagaur and possbily other species.
DANDARAGA (good country): From kangaroos to budgies, they all can be seen at "Dandaraga. Visitors can feed budgies, cockatiels, and finches, hear the kookaburras and see more birds at "Bimbimble" (many birds). Soon they will encounter emus, waterfowl, and Bennet's wallaby living together in "Canberra" (meeting place). Finally kangaroos and wallabies abound in "Laane-Corre" (home of the kangaroo). The highlights here include a walk-through red kangaroo exhibit, multiple species of macropods, and dingoes.
SAFARI CENTRAL: The heart of the zoo, this area features various species of domestic and wild animals. There will be a contact yard featuring rare and endangered breeds of livestock, "Companion Animals" (featuring pets), "The Land of Lilliput" (miniature breeds of livestock), and various wildlife exhibits featuring animals that live alongside people like fallow deer and red fox. Plants will also be a feature here. There will be a pizza garden (plants used for pizza toppings) and an orchard in "The Land of Lilliput" with dwarf fruit trees. This area will also serve as a roundabout for guests travel to and from "Wild Missouri", "Las Pampas", "Dandaraga" and "Expedition Eurasia".
SMALL ANIMAL BUILDING: As the name hints, this exhibit will focus on the smallest inhabitants at the zoo. Featuring durial and nocturnial wildlife, this exhibit will explore how they adapt to their environment. Examples include predator-prey relationships (marble polecats and steppe lemmings), solitary lifestyles (raccoons, possums, skunks, etc), and animal communities (Mongolian gerbils). Mixed species exhibits will also play a significant role here as well. Examples include a native amphibian exhibit and native fish aquarium.
EXPEDITION EURASIA: Perhaps the most ambitious of my current exhibit ideas, this area will feature wildlife from throughout central Asia and imploy more immersion-type exhibits. Starting right at the entrance, guests will immediately see Amur tigers, followed by Dybowski's sika deer, Eurasian lynx, wild boar, and several species of birds in a recreated East Asian temperate forest. Up next is the Asian steppe exhibit where brown bears, Bactrain camels, yaks, and hopefully goitered gazelles, Przewalski's wild horse, and kulans will roam multiple paddocks with shaded overlooks for guests to view their antics. Finally, this area ends with wildlife from the Asian mountains, featuring snow leopards, urials, and possibly gorals. I have thought of the possibility of ading a bamboo forest section with red panda, pheasants, and maybe some rarities.
Sorry for delay. I hope all of you enjoy my summary.
. (I realize it's at least a few years away, but I think many of us would gladly travel out there for your grand opening).
