Thoughts on mixing domestic species with wild ones?

elefante

elefante

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
What are your thoughts on mixing wild species with domestic species in mixed-species enclosures? I have mixed feelings on that. In Disney's Animal Kingdom it was neat to see Ankole cattle in the plains exhibit but I also kept remembering they were just cattle. What other exhibits have any of you seen where domestic animals were mixed with wild ones? Did it "work" or not?
 
The ankole cattle on an african savanna is a growing trend that I really do not like. My thoughts are that domestics mixed with wild animals is always bad.
 
elefante said:
What are your thoughts on mixing wild species with domestic species in mixed-species enclosures? I have mixed feelings on that. In Disney's Animal Kingdom it was neat to see Ankole cattle in the plains exhibit but I also kept remembering they were just cattle. What other exhibits have any of you seen where domestic animals were mixed with wild ones? Did it "work" or not?
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When I was at DAK earlier this year I did not see the Ankole so they might have been removed. I like how some zoos (Busch Gardens) have seperate exhibits for their Ankole.
 
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Arizona Docent said:
The ankole cattle on an african savanna is a growing trend that I really do not like. My thoughts are that domestics mixed with wild animals is always bad.
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You've repeated this feeling often on this forum, but I don't recall you ever stating why you feel this. I feel that there are certain situations where it can be justified with proper interpretation.
 
The fact that Ankole cattle are exotic and have impressive horns probably makes this more acceptable, as would possibly Texas longhorns. If cows like Angus were in a mixed species enclosure that would probably not be too pleasing for anyone. What about dromedary camels or llamas? Dromedaries only exist as a domesticated species but are exotic and llamas look just like guanacos. I probably would object to llamas more just because you see those on sheep ranches whereas dromedaries are something I wouldn't see very often.
 
I agree with Docent. I prefer biosphere based exhibits and a domestic animal doesn't belong. To me putting for instance ankole cattle on a savanna exhibit hearkens to a cheap drive through safari as a "cheap" option to add diversity to a collection not based on authenticity.
 
Not authentic?

grazing-zebra-and-cattlle.jpg


Coexistence of Cattle and Wildlife | Ecology Global Network
 
They have a place like in a Masai Village exhibit but just throwing them out there like a wild species no.
 
But cattle don't live just live in villages (or towns, or cities or any other conglomeration of human dwellings). In Africa as well as here in North America cattle are allowed out to forage amongst the animals, potentially competing with wild animals for food. If interpreted properly, there is a strong message to present there. In fact having ankole cattle penned up in a Masai "Village", as you say, would be even LESS appropriate as the cattle would truly only be within the boma fence at night.
 
Ituri said:
But cattle don't live just live in villages (or towns, or cities or any other conglomeration of human dwellings). In Africa as well as here in North America cattle are allowed out to forage amongst the animals, potentially competing with wild animals for food. If interpreted properly, there is a strong message to present there. In fact having ankole cattle penned up in a Masai "Village", as you say, would be even LESS appropriate as the cattle would truly only be within the boma fence at night.
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You are right that cattle forage with other species in Africa and North America. However, if you went to a zoo that had a display of elk, pronghorn, or bison, would you really want to see a herd of black Angus cattle with them? To me it wouldn't be the same as having the elk, pronghorn, or bison by themselves, it wouldn't look as authentic. This creates a sort of double standard as I do have to admit I found the exotic Ankole cattle to be very impressive animals (I took plenty of pictures at Disney's Animal Kingdom). Since they are an exotic breed that is probably why most of the visitors probably overlooked the fact that they were just cattle. Even though I took pictures I still kept thinking that they were cattle and not wild animals and it did tend to take away a little of the experience. I can also see how this could be a strong message talking about forage competition though.
 
elefante said:
You are right that cattle forage with other species in Africa and North America. However, if you went to a zoo that had a display of elk, pronghorn, or bison, would you really want to see a herd of black Angus cattle with them? To me it wouldn't be the same as having the elk, pronghorn, or bison by themselves, it wouldn't look as authentic. This creates a sort of double standard as I do have to admit I found the exotic Ankole cattle to be very impressive animals (I took plenty of pictures at Disney's Animal Kingdom). Since they are an exotic breed that is probably why most of the visitors probably overlooked the fact that they were just cattle. Even though I took pictures I still kept thinking that they were cattle and not wild animals and it did tend to take away a little of the experience. I can also see how this could be a strong message talking about forage competition though.
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Honestly I think that's a brilliant idea and as I have said earlier, if interpreted appropriately, could be a very compelling message.
 
A trickier mix is domestic dogs with big cats as companion animals (such as at Houston Zoo).
If it is thought to benefit the exhibit animal now how do you feel about it?
 
@Ituri, I guess I would have to see how it is pulled off.

@Zooplantman, I would worry that the big cats would kill the domestic dogs. To me big cats shouldn't be mixed with anything.
 
elefante said:
@Ituri, I guess I would have to see how it is pulled off.

@Zooplantman, I would worry that the big cats would kill the domestic dogs. To me big cats shouldn't be mixed with anything.
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Well, we're not actually talking about big cats. They're cheetahs. Which are often raised with dogs in US zoos to help calm them down.
 
Ituri said:
But cattle don't live just live in villages (or towns, or cities or any other conglomeration of human dwellings). In Africa as well as here in North America cattle are allowed out to forage amongst the animals, potentially competing with wild animals for food. If interpreted properly, there is a strong message to present there. In fact having ankole cattle penned up in a Masai "Village", as you say, would be even LESS appropriate as the cattle would truly only be within the boma fence at night.
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I think that a group of Ankole cattle and a heard of Boer (or other African) goats could greatly enhance an African exhibit, especially if they were clearly showing how they were encroaching on wild animals habitats. This might be nicely done in an exhibit between an African village and the main savannah, with a moat, for example seperating the domestics from the wild species. Differences between the two exhibits could show the degradation caused by the domestics, and signage could highlight the issues explicitly. I think this sort of arrangement is the best way to incorporate domestics into a zoo.

The main problem I have with domestics is that they might be using up space that could be used for an exotic species, I would not be impressed if a zoo shipped out an exotic species and replaced them with Ankole Cattle, Cameroon Sheep or Boer Goats though.
 
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