The Perfect Zoo

pendraig_milnerae

pendraig_milnerae

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
What are the key elements that would help to create the perfect zoo or an ideal one (perfect is a strong word tbf). So far I can think of unique species that aren’t kept in many other zoos and in-situ conservation projects in remote and/or local parts of the world.
 
The requisites of what makes a "perfect zoo" will differ widely from person to person as it is a totally subjective.

I don't believe in "perfect" as there is always room for improvement but here are some criteria which would make me rate a zoo highly :

  • A strong commitment and focus on ex-situ conservation of endangered species and one that does not focus on the large and "charismatic megafauna" (especially not African and Asian megafauna) but on the "small brown jobs" that urgently require captive breeding programs whether these be mammals, birds, reptiles or amphibians. The best example of a zoo with this focus that I can think of would be Jersey Zoo.
  • The total absence or at least scarcity of species kept that are common or judged as "least concern" by IUCN guidelines and which are not needed in captivity.
  • A strong commitment to contributing (either through funding or logistical / technical / advisory / training support) to the in-situ conservation of threatened and endangered species. Again the best example of a zoo with this ethos would in my opinion be Jersey zoo.
  • A strong commitment by staff to the welfare / wellbeing of captive animals in all senses whether these be veterinary care, nutritional requirements, environmental enrichment, enclosure design etc. Participation by a zoo in research to improve these is always a good indicator that welfare is being taken on board.
  • A strong and long-term commitment to meaningful environmental education of visitors to the zoo and in outreach programs with the wider general public with a dedicated team of educators working for the institution.
  • The internal organizational culture / leadership of the zoo would be one that discouraged toxic interpersonal behaviour and destructive norms in staff and therefore work to prevent the institution from rotting from the inside through creating a sustainable working environment.
  • A strong commitment to the conservation of native and endemic species. If the hypothetical zoo was located in a biodiversity rich part of the world (i.e. Latin America) then it would be good if the institution focused its effort mostly or even entirely on keeping and breeding endangered native species rather than on "ABC" exotic species.
  • A visible social media and internet presence with blogs, videos and updates that encourage greater (and quality / meaningful) interaction with the general public.
  • A zoo that has managed to become a fixture and part of the local community and has therefore built up a history and connection in the lives of local people.
  • This maybe just a personal preference but no theme park atmosphere with rollercoasters, monorails, mini golf etc
  • Personal preference but no kitsch aesthetics in enclosure design and a tasteful overall look of zoo (preferably no overblown pretentious recreations of Rajasthani, Bolivian or Kenyan marketplaces, Mayan, Egyptian or Khmer ancient ruins, lifesize animatromic dinosaur models etc).
  • Sustainable practices such as recycling services.
  • Again, a personal preference but preferably no meerkats.
 
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I completely agree with all of this. What I meant by perfect is more sort of an ideal zoo that is as high a quality as can be realistically expected. One thing you mentioned was conservation of native species, which I think is particularly interesting in European and Uk zoos as most of our native species are relatively unknown and require a lot more focus, as these are conservation projects that most of the visitors will be able to get directly involved in if they choose to (places that do this well are the Scottish wildcats in places like the Aspinall Foundation and the great crested best project at Dudley zoo).
Another key element I think would be a general census of quality over quantity, as so many zoos try to contain a classic collection but end up keeping them in fairly average exhibits. The best zoos in my opinion that I’ve been to are ones that either have a fairy limited collection (although ironically this does contain quite a few large mammals) like Colchester Zoo, or ones that have a very large collection, but is made up primarily of animals that are smaller and lesser known, in this case ZSL London Zoo.
 
Paleoarchontas said:
The best zoos in my opinion that I’ve been to are ones that either have a fairy limited collection (although ironically this does contain quite a few large mammals) like Colchester Zoo, or ones that have a very large collection, but is made up primarily of animals that are smaller and lesser known, in this case ZSL London Zoo.
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I agree, quality over quantity always, and I think smaller more conservation focused collections are much better than big ABC theme park type zoos.

I don't know a lot of UK zoos but I would say that Jersey Zoo (simply the best in my opinion, in all regards), Shaldon Zoo (small animals, intimate and a lot of heart and commitment to supporting conservation) and Bristol Zoo (commitment to smaller and endangered species) stand out to me as being among the best.

ZSL is impressive to me in terms of the history and some of the smaller and lesser known species they keep and involvement in in-situ conservation but I wasn't that impressed at all with the direction they are taking at the zoo, the garish aesthetics of the site, and seemingly nebulous leadership.
 
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Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
I agree, quality over quantity always, and I think smaller more conservation focused collections are much better than big ABC theme park type zoos.

I don't know a lot of UK zoos but I would say that Jersey Zoo (simply the best in my opinion, in all regards), Shaldon Zoo (small animals, intimate and a lot of heart and commitment to supporting conservation) and Bristol Zoo (commitment to smaller and endangered species) stand out to me as being among the best.

ZSL is impressive to me in terms of the history and some of the smaller and lesser known species they keep and involvement in in-situ conservation but I wasn't that impressed at all with the direction they are taking at the zoo, the garish aesthetics of the site, and seemingly nebulous leadership.
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I sort of know what you mean (primarily in terms of the direction of ZSL). On my last visit I was very impressed with Land of the Lions (despite the fact it doesn’t fit with the zoo’s aesthetic), Gorilla kingdom and the conversion of the old elephant house to house obscure hoofstock and birds, but I don’t like their plans for the Snowdon aviary, which involves replacing unique Afro-Eurasian birds like starling and waldrapp ibis with another primate walkthrough, despite the fact that the zoo has two already.
 
Paleoarchontas said:
I sort of know what you mean (primarily in terms of the direction of ZSL). On my last visit I was very impressed with Land of the Lions (despite the fact it doesn’t fit with the zoo’s aesthetic), Gorilla kingdom and the conversion of the old elephant house to house obscure hoofstock and birds, but I don’t like their plans for the Snowdon aviary, which involves replacing unique Afro-Eurasian birds like starling and waldrapp ibis with another primate walkthrough, despite the fact that the zoo has two already.
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Yes, not very impressive overall, which is a shame as it is a zoo with a lot of history and doing a lot for in-situ conservation around the world.
 
Bubalus said:
No meerkats
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Although they’re good in a children’s zoo, Every time I visit a zoo with friends or family I try and get past the meerkats as quickly as possible, and my mother in particular always seems perplexed when I remind her that they are in basically every zoo in the world. I had this exact incident happen a few months ago when I visited port lympne with my family, and while me and my dad were looking at the European bison, my mother and sister walked on ahed, and we found them among a crowd of people next to the new meerkat enclosure.
 
PossumRoach said:
What's it with the hate towards meerkats?
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Not hate (I don't hate them), just frankly quite bored with the mediocrity of this species being kept.

Namely their ubiquity in zoos, the fact that they are "least concern" and not of any conservation importance and keeping these takes up space (even if this isn't very much it is too much IMO) that could be allocated to a species that does require a space on the ex-situ "ark" / a presence in zoos.
 
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I don't get the hate for Meerkats either. I rarely see them and in fact I find them to be one of the more interesting zoo inhabitants to watch, as they always seem to be active.

The perfect zoo doesn't have White-tailed Deer.

Also, I think the perfect zoo's landscaping needs to be made up mostly or entirely of native plants.
 
birdsandbats said:
I don't get the hate for Meerkats either. I rarely see them and in fact I find them to be one of the more interesting zoo inhabitants to watch, as they always seem to be active.

The perfect zoo doesn't have White-tailed Deer.
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I suppose its all relative, right ?

In a part of the world where zoos don't commonly keep white-tailed deer people might want to see these cervids instead of meerkats.
 
birdsandbats said:
Also, I think the perfect zoo's landscaping needs to be made up mostly or entirely of native plants.
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I know what you mean. Zoos can create equally naturalistic exhibits using native plants with sometimes a few non-native, but not that many are needed for it to be convincing. Although I do still think that indoor exhibits benefit more from non-native plants than outdoor ones.
 
Paleoarchontas said:
I know what you mean. Zoos can create equally naturalistic exhibits using native plants with sometimes a few non-native, but not that many are needed for it to be convincing. Although I do still think that indoor exhibits benefit more from non-native plants than outdoor ones.
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Exotic plants in indoor exhibits are fine, but outdoors it should all be native plants. This creates excellent habitat for local wildlife, and gives the zoo an opportunity to educate about why this is important. I have yet to see a zoo that does this very well.
 
birdsandbats said:
I don't get the hate for Meerkats either. I rarely see them and in fact I find them to be one of the more interesting zoo inhabitants to watch, as they always seem to be active.
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The Meerkat phenomenon seems to be limited to the UK, where they have achieved public fame through a pair of popular Attenborough documentaries and a long running insurance ad campaign. British zoos now seem to feel that they need to exhibit them, and they are usually featured in the advertising and prominently signposted. Even the Aspinall zoos have them, which rather flies in the face of a certain person's public statements. Personally I doubt whether anybody has ever visited a collection specifically in order to see the Meerkats, but their ubiquity is very much marketing led so I dare say the PR people know more than I do and if Meerkats are getting people through the turnstiles and thus paying for rarer and less marketable taxa then fair enough.
 
I think that another thing that I forgot to write in my first comment would be that the zoo had an active program of involving both early career zookeepers / biologists / conservationists and volunteers from the general public in opportunities to gain experience / training / conducting research etc.

I think it is very important that zoos have these kind of opportunities available for people who are interested in both starting out in this career and helping out and learning etc.
 
Jennings said:
The Meerkat phenomenon seems to be limited to the UK, where they have achieved public fame through a pair of popular Attenborough documentaries and a long running insurance ad campaign. British zoos now seem to feel that they need to exhibit them, and they are usually featured in the advertising and prominently signposted. Even the Aspinall zoos have them, which rather flies in the face of a certain person's public statements. Personally I doubt whether anybody has ever visited a collection specifically in order to see the Meerkats, but their ubiquity is very much marketing led so I dare say the PR people know more than I do and if Meerkats are getting people through the turnstiles and thus paying for rarer and less marketable taxa then fair enough.
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I wish it was a phenomena endemic to the UK but unfortunately it is now a global thing and can even be seen in zoos in Brazil. :rolleyes:
 
Jennings said:
The Meerkat phenomenon seems to be limited to the UK, where they have achieved public fame through a pair of popular Attenborough documentaries and a long running insurance ad campaign. British zoos now seem to feel that they need to exhibit them, and they are usually featured in the advertising and prominently signposted. Even the Aspinall zoos have them, which rather flies in the face of a certain person's public statements. Personally I doubt whether anybody has ever visited a collection specifically in order to see the Meerkats, but their ubiquity is very much marketing led so I dare say the PR people know more than I do and if Meerkats are getting people through the turnstiles and thus paying for rarer and less marketable taxa then fair enough.
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Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
I wish it was a phenomena endemic to the UK but unfortunately it is now a global thing and can even be seen in zoos in Brazil. :rolleyes:
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It is certainly not like this in the US.
 
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