Starting Your Own Zoo

And I know that zoos take a lot of time, but at least kids are capable of understanding the importance of zoos and animals (not strings of As, Ts, Gs, and Cs). A research scientist has even less family time. Business paperwork and such can be worked on in a study. I really just see family time opportunities as between a research scientist mom, a zoo owning mom, or a stay at home mom. I pick zoo.
 
Hey man i am considering to open a zoo in my country (it will be the first here)... could you help me to see if it is feasible or not?

Please tell me how to contact you if you wish to help me with it
 
My zoo

I have long thought of having a zoo. And as I am only 15 years I still have many years left, of time to build my dream zoo. Well first of all, I know that it is very difficult to build my own zoo. But in this project I have sat a timeline of 30+ years to build it.

First I have to decide where the zoo is going to be located. The zoo would be located in Europe, but I do not know in which country. My first choice would be to have it located in my own country, Norway. But because the country have a pretty cold climate, and also very strict laws when it come to zoos, I dont think it is my best bet. An alternative would be to have it in Sweden, but they also have very cold winthers, and also very strict laws about zoos. I have also thought about the large countries in Western Europe; UK, Germany and France. I think I have settled on France because it has a pretty warm climate, in the mediteranean region. Also the country have large fields and forests in the countryside, with good space for a zoo, but it is not so far away from the cities and tourist places that it is going to be a problem. The only problem I can think of is the language, as I dont speak french, but I can speak both english and german. But I guess I can learn the language over time.

When I have found the country I would like to have the zoo in, I have two main problems. The first problem is money. But I also think it is the easiest of the two problems. The way I would solve this, is to take large loans, and some money from my own pockets. After the zoo have gotten larger and get to be more visited I could start taking money from private sponsors. When I have gotten large visitor numbers it would also pay the debt I have.

As the first problem have been solved I would solve the second one. The problem is that it would take very much space to build a zoo of this size. Also it had to be located not to far from a city. I would solve it with buying a large area of agricultural land and maybe forest.

When you have solved the money and space problems, there are not really any large problems with the startup of the zoo.

I would use the first years, to get money, plan the building process, getting building permits and hiring people. I would not hire any people from the zoo industry. All that knowledge would come from me. However I would hire a business assistant to keep track of my money. I would also hire a couple of keepers, some craftsmen and maybe a vet. But I would hire more people as I go. I will maybe post a plan of how I am going to build my zoo later, but I do not have time for it now.
 
YEs

im only 13, and im starting a zoo and sanctuary in haiti, and iucn is already supporting me. its actually happening, so you guys can do what you want
 
All he asked for was proof. No need to use offensive language towards him for that. It just seems extremely unlikely that a 13 year old has managed to open a zoo in a foreign country with IUCN backing. We'd just like to know that you aren't trying to fool us is all. If you did this, good for you. If not, then why are you wasting our time?

And for the record, I believe we have a member or two on here that work for the IUCN.

Good night!:D

~Thylo:cool:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
ThylacineAlive said:
All he asked for was proof. No need to use offensive language towards him for that. It just seems extremely unlikely that a 13 year old has managed to open a zoo in a foreign country with IUCN backing. We'd just like to know that you aren't trying to fool us is all. If you did this, good for you. If not, then why are you wasting our time?

And for the record, I believe we have a member or two on here that work for the IUCN.

Good night!:D

~Thylo:cool:
Click to expand...

well its not open, and i dont think its that unlikely. teens start organizationa pretty often. ive interned at the prospect park zoo, and lived in haiti, where people keep endangered animals illegally pretty often, and they need protecting. starting a zoo just takes determination and time.
 
A.Phantomhive said:
I apologize for my outburst. I understand that this is very difficult business (and that's an understatement). I have no zoo experience. The closest zoo to me is the Detroit Zoo, and it's a bit of a drive. The bus system in Michigan sucks, and I don't really have any other way of getting there. I really won't have the opportunity to volunteer at a zoo until college. So, here's my new plan. In college, I befriend marine biology majors and professors. Together, we become some of the first people to successfully breed nudibranchs. Our nudibranch business will be very lucrative, as aquariums want nudibranchs, but have to keep a steady supply of wild ones (that die slowly of hunger, how sad!). I volunteer at zoos in my college years.

My plan for a zoo would be trying to get a lot of interaction-friendly animals and unusual animals that not a lot of people have heard of. I live in the suburbs, and kids around here think that giraffes are the coolest animals ever and get really excited when a groundhog is spotted. I think that a highly interactive zoo with lots of interesting and adorable animals (but not lacking big hitters) would inspire kids to actually care more about the environment. Even simple, cheap, small animals like hedgehogs, pikas, and quokkas would make a huge difference in an area like mine. Especially since the Detroit Zoo is out of the way and either everyone has two working parents that don't have time to get out there, or the parents don't work, meaning they can't afford the gas and tickets. A big problem is that this area is very common in Michigan, but Michigan weather is not very zoo-friendly. However, I believe that a zoo here could be very successful if advertised correctly and designed for this audience. Even our nature centers are lame!
Click to expand...

If I was to be blatantly honest with you right now, one of the things that you should demonstrate before you even try to open a zoo is to be driven with passion, which right now it sounds like you are shying away from a few opportunities to show this drive. Check to see if there are any bus routes that make getting to the zoo possible even if they take a little longer than wanted. If this is not possible consider other options. Do you have a bike? If so, bike to the zoo if you want to be a volunteer. If those two options aren't feasible check to see if any of your friends or family work in Royal Oak and would be willing to give you a lift but, if you do this you have to be willing to participate in a little bit of give an take. For instance, when I first started volunteering at the zoo in Grand Rapids, I did not have car. So what I did instead was ride down with my aunt instead who worked in Grand Rapids. Being that she is a nurse her hours were a little weird. This meant some mornings I would wake up at 4:30 am to catch a ride down with her even though I didn't start at the zoo till 8:20. If none of these options are at all feasible check to see what other options there are to work with captive animals or wildlife in your local area. Prior experience is probably the most important thing to have when going into the zookeeping field! Do you know those local nature center's which you called lame? They most likely need volunteers to help keep things spruced up and to make them more interesting to the public. Most of the time these sort of places have a very heavy finanicial burden. As part of your volunteer work you could help run fundraiser's for the nature center. These sort of places normally need money which would also be great practice for the type of fundraising and donors you would have to get when you run a zoo. There could also be animal rehabbers in the area which you could offer to help to gain experience. What about getting a job at your local vet, groomer, or pet store? Whatever you can do to get you foot into any sort of animal keeping door is handy. For instance, at John Ball Zoo we have a keeper who has gotten her bachelors in zoology from MSU and in high school volunteered at the zoo for 4 years. As an adult she continued to volunteer at the zoo. After college to get her foot in the door she accepted a maintanence position at the zoo. It was partially thanks to this position that she is now a zookeeeper. These were all the different steps it took just to become a zookeeper, and it will only be harder if you want to open your own zoo. I know a man that started a fairly popular zoo in the UP about 25 years ago. In the beginning just to make ends meet he would have to drive big rigs at night to cover the feed for the animals He then would have to spend however many hours during the day just to take care of his animals. The trouble of getting to the zoo or gaining experience is just a small drop of water in the bucket when compared to the other challenges you will face in opening your own zoo. But, it is how you handle these challenges, that shows how well you are to do in your future endeavors.
 
A.Phantomhive said:
...Even our nature centers are lame!
Click to expand...

I hate to be judgmental, but comments like that make me believe that your heart really isn't with the animals. I recently drove over 3 hours to go to the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle. Have you been to Belle Isle? Right in your "backyard" is the oldest aquarium in the nation! If you don't think that's cool, you might want to reevaluate some things! Of course I've heard lots of negatives about the Belle Isle Nature Zoo, but at the end of the day, they are giving people a chance to experience animals and that is SUPER COOL! Also, there are numerous places throughout Michigan that could be considered micro zoos. You just need to get out there and see them. Hopefully your views will change as you get older and get out in the world, but if they don't then being a zookeeper may not be what your cut out for.
 
My Zoo

I would start a small zoo as a petting zoo with farm animals and some exotics, such as scarlet macaws, wallabies, some type of exotic tortoise, etc. I would gradually increase to animals such as deer, exotic ungulates, and into a full-fledged zoo.
 
I've always said that if I started making obscene amounts of money, (lol as if) I'd want to open an animal sanctuary. Though I would consider doing a zoo, or perhaps some odd combination. Like a zoo with lots of rescue animals.

If I were to open a zoo, starting from the bottom? I suppose I'd have to start small, getting little animals. I'd want to do lots of interactive stuff to attract people, since one likely wouldn't be able to get any big animals right away. Personally I'd want to put a lot of focus on education cause that's just how I roll. It would be kind of presented a lot like a museum so people aren't going in solely to look at the pretty animals. Maybe start a program where schools and family events and the like can pay the zoo for an educator/zookeeper to come over with a few small animals to talk about them. In addition, try to add a couple of non-animal attractions. I'd rather like to have a stage area set up where scientists and professors and activists and such can come give speeches and talks, or maybe local groups can come put on shows. (educational animal/nature related ones, of course) Maybe have a screen and projector for documentary showings as well. Host different events in hopes of attracting people to come more frequently.

For obtaining the big animals later on, I'd look into rescues. Native wildlife, of course, sometimes gets rescued and can't be returned to the wild. Exotics? There are a lot of people who get exotic pets and then need to rehome them when they can't handle them, and then you have animals being retired from circuses, entertainment industry, and tourist venues and such. In addition to helping animals in need, rescues could allow a small zoo to get a big-ticket animal like a lion or tiger for a lower cost. Shoot, even at the start I'd probably be attempting to obtain rescues/rehomes. Parrots (and some other small exotics) are rehomed pretty frequently.

Realistically, I'd likely never open up a zoo. Fund one if I had the money, but that's it. But if I attempted, I'd try the stated route.
 
Last edited:
A petting zoo with some exotics

I would start my zoo in Geauga Co, Ohio on a 10-acre lot of land. It would have the typical farm animals for petting, including-
Merino sheep
Shetland sheep
Pygmy goats
Jersey cows
Miniature horses
Poitou donkeys
Pot-bellied pigs
Rabbits
Guinea Pigs
Ducks, geese, and koi would live in a pond and chickens and turkeys in pens. The exotic part would start with squirrel monkeys and golden lion tamarins in a fenced-in area with trees and "nest" boxes for South America. Chinchillas and degus would have enclosures fitted into a large tree. For Africa, fennec foxes and sulcata tortoises would live in glass-fronted enclosures. The tortoises could go in and out of the glass and into a fenced yard.
Instead of having an Asia area, there would be an Australian area with various wallabies, sugar gliders, and bearded dragons.
 
Openning your own Zoo

That would cost alot of money and government regulation. I would recommend it if you start small.
 
Start Small

My "dream" small zoo would be called Safarmi and located in Ohio's Geauga County.
The farm part would have miniature donkeys, sheep, goats, potbelly pigs, rabbits, and guinea pigs for petting as well as chickens, turkeys, a chick hatchery and a waterfowl pond.
The zoo part would have Wild Walkabout, with Australian species easily acquired for pets, World of the Arthropod, and South American Trek.
Wild Walkabout= sugar gliders, wallabies, bearded dragons
South American Trek= chinchillas, degus, tamanduas
WotA- various arthropods.
 
Wow this thread is really inspiring and raises confidence to many people. Unfortunately I wouldn't even dream about owning one. While I do keep imagining it I think to myself, think of all the stress and money.So I think I will just be a (above average;)) zoo goer and at the most, work at an internship for college or something like that
 
To all those future idealistic 13-15 year olds firmly declaring they want to create their own zoo one day, by stating their dedication and posting lists of all kinds of fancy species they want to keep, may it be elephants, orcas, polar bears or black mambas: please take a look at what @chrisbarela advised you to remember again and again on this thread: why not think out of the box?

In 1973, Bill Conway wrote this little tongue-in-cheek story that is still popular among zoo people:
http://www.zoolex.org/publication/conway/how_to_exhibit_a_bullfrog.pdf

Why shouldn't YOU be the first to exhibit a bullfrog properly?
 
SuperPeacockman said:
I think if I were to start a zoo it would be around Riverhead NY. Riverhead already has an amazing aquarium that is doing great (the have enough money to make $15 and $24 million dollar renovations). Long Island already have a Zoo of a sorts but The Long Island Game farms main exhibits are a mountain lion and a single giraffe. They have some cool thinks like lemurs, but on the whole I think they are lacking. Riverhead does not boast a huge population but literally millions of tourists have to pass through to vacation farther out on the island.

As for the collection I would start out with
Indian Peafowl - Many colors, free ranged
Green peafowl - Whatever variety needs most conservation at the time, penned
Lions - Transvaal Lion, hopefully a mixed pride of white and tawny to minimize inbreeding. I know feelings on white lions a mixed, I would hope for a white male at least one white female and then tawny females

The Idea for these next ones is like a wilds of Kenya Exhibit - A elevated walkway, over/around this would give people good viewing access, parts with see-through flooring would be cool
Cheetah - 1.1
Thompsons Gazelles - Near Cheetahs, hopefully mixed with other hoof stock. What animals are compatible?
Giraffes - Reticulated, with the Thompsons Gazelle if that is safe
Plains Zebra - Small Heard, with Gazelles if safe
Wildebeest - not sure what subspecies, with gazelles if safe
Ostrich - whatever subspecies is available, and native to kenya

Pygmy Hippos - Breeding group
Sun Bears - a breeding pair would be cool but I will take what I can get
Guineafowl - Helmeted or Vulturine
New World Monkeys - Not sure what species
Pheasant Aviary - As many species as possible

Eventually I would like to have
Big Cats - As many species as I can house, snow leopard are kind of a dream of mine
Tapir - Malaysian preferably
Lemur - Ringtailed and maybe other species
Blackbuck - Breeding group
Gerenuk - breeding group
Spectacled Bears
Other Hoof stock - It order to be successful I think they would need to be exotic, colorful like the Blackbuck or odd looking like the Gerenuk, bongos would work I think

An Amazonian World Exhibit
Jaguars - If possible
Giant Anteater
Amazonian Tapir - If possible
Cougars - One of the South American subspecies
Other animals native to the amazon

Rhinos - possibly
Elephants - Possibly
Baboons, Drill, or Mandrill - Possibly

Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Click to expand...

If the Long Island Game Farm could do that, that would be amazing! It would (most likely-I don't see how it wouldn't) finally give Long Island, NY an AZA accredited institution (unless you count Brooklyn and Queens).

The only thing I'm not a fan of (concerning Long Island zoos) is how everything "fun" is in Suffolk County (for those "Zoochatters" not familiar with the area, Long Island consists of Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Nassau is more densely populated and Suffolk is larger in size. I'd love to see a zoo in Nassau County. There are nature centers, but not everyone would count them as a zoo. What do you all think?
 
iluvwhales said:
If the Long Island Game Farm could do that, that would be amazing! It would (most likely-I don't see how it wouldn't) finally give Long Island, NY an AZA accredited institution (unless you count Brooklyn and Queens).
Click to expand...

Well both the Prospect Park and Queens Zoos are AZA accredited institutions so they count:p

~Thylo:cool:
 
ThylacineAlive said:
Well both the Prospect Park and Queens Zoos are AZA accredited institutions so they count:p

~Thylo:cool:
Click to expand...

It sometimes depends on who you ask. Although Brooklyn and Queens are boroughs of NYC, they are on the Long Island land mass, the same land mass that also houses Nassau and Suffolk Counties. I consider it a debate as old as time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top