Some of the best zoo exhibits combine natural elements like live plants with man-made features that look natural. The Bronx Zoo's Jungle World is a great example with many realistic artificial trees, logs, vines, riverbanks and waterfalls combined with numerous live plants, logs and rocks.
Great video, and I agree with most of what you said. One other thing I feel is worth mentioning here is the use of chain link/mesh as fencing for primate exhibits. There seems to be a trend where zoos are moving away from chain link or mesh fencing, and while I can understand the rationale for this (photographers don't like it, disrupts visitor's sightlines, might be easier for visitors to break the rules and stick stuff into the exhibit, etc.), I actually feel as though for most arboreal primates, some sort of chain link or mesh can be one of, if not the best, choice for fencing. When I've gone to zoos using chain link or mesh as fencing for their primates, more often than not I've seen primates utilizing the fence as additional climbing space. Primates can then, if chain link or mesh is used, receive substantially more opportunities to climb than if there was, say, glass viewing windows, or a moated habitat. Not saying that other barriers are wrong, just that using chain link or mesh for primate habitats shouldn't be frowned upon, as it can actually be a really great thing for the animals.
Hey thanks for your message. I agree 100%! I’ve seen some really “ugly” exhibits for primates and apes which work incredibly well for them in terms of increasing useable space and encouraging climbing behaviours. With your eye, I imagine you’ll have lots of good input on videos going forward as I work out how to discuss this sort of topic. Still working out how best to tackle these topics in a way that can educate and entertain everyone from “experts” to regular zoo visitors. But for sure discussions on fencing and exhibit design are in the pipeline! Thanks again!
As someone who regularly climbs on chain linked fences and thus know all about the pros and cons to doing so, i have to say i can imagine several reasons for a zoo to avoid using chain linked fences for their arboreal animals. reason one is just simply that they are not designed to be climbed on repeatedly, or generally at all for that matter. I dont mean this as "they are difficult to climb", but more so that they provide inherent dangers while being climbed. For some examples, if you have hundreds of feet/meters of chain linked fence, it would be easy to miss a single broken link that could result in the puncturing and/or lacerations of the animals. reason two is how the wire is generally so thin that over time from constant climbing, it can dig into the animals hands and cause damage to the animal that thicker material wouldnt (think bumble foot in birds). one i have personally seen in some zoos too are lesions caused from animals constantly pushing their extremities as hard as they can through the links trying to grab stuff just beyond their reach/whatever guests are trying to give them (for better or worse). and lastly that i can think of; depending on the climate and animal, the dangers of contacting the bare metal during particularly cold weather. due to metals conductivity its easy to imagine an animal touching it or heck, licking it for some reason on a cold day and you have a panicked animal with frost bite or worse, ripping its tongue off.. Im not saying any of these are particularly common, but i can see it as safety concerns for sure. That being said, i certainly do think there is merit to the idea of creating barrier structures in ways that are intended to be used for climbing- not just for the animals sake but guests really like seeing the animal so close up (literally as close as can be) while doing animal things (like climbing)
Thank you so much for this video! People often claim that zoo exhibits should always be natural. And I disagree. The most important aspects of a proper zoo animal's habitat should be that its safe, comforteble and provide enrichment. And if you can do that through artificial items and non-native plants, I see no issue. A lion doesn't care wether the bark it sharpens its claws on is from Africa or not, especially if said lion was born in captivity (which is the norm).
I agree. As much as I love animals I find people tend to humanize them far to much. Yes they have preferences, but the colour of the walls isn't going to grate on them like it would a human. They won't care about the kind of scratching post so long as they get that itch, if it's the ugliest thing in existence their buddies aren't going to turn around and mock Simba for using a pink scratch post. The flamingos aren't going to care if the bottom of their water feature is dirt, concrete, or the made of diamonds. So long as there's appropriate clean water and they don't sink when they step in it they're happy to use it. If the climbing structure is cut wood from home hardware that the designers got on sale because someone added an extra zero when they did the inventory order the day previous, monkey is still gonna swing. It may not be African wood from a live tree but it is still possible to taunt the tourists while they look down from their wooden throne. A human might care about colours and textures. They might care about the colour or texture of the wood being used or if it matches the rest of the house. But that is because humans are humans. The only exception I can really see are in species like chameleons that use colour for communication (and thermoregulation) where certain colours will actively bother them. For instance one of my chameleons can't stand having anything red in the room or he throws a fit, won't let me near him, and refuses to eat. Even a red hoodie thrown over a chair makes him have a meltdown. In those cases colour might be an aspect of habitat to consider. Such as for instance in falconry setups nocturnal species of owl are more likely to have behavioral/psychological issues in lighter toned setups that reflect light better then in darker toned exhibits even when the actual light available is the same (and vise versa). It's why you can easily obtain permits for raptors, but for most species of owl you generally have to be a zoo, rehab centre, etc to legally keep them. They have amazingly low tolerance for shit. It's also why despite being prey driven and excellent senses, they aren't used in falconry because they get easily over-stimulated and especially their sense of hearing makes them very distractable/hard to focus. It's why most flying demos will have them at the end or the second to last bird shown because then if they decide to fuck off into a tree guests aren't being 'cheated' of the show they came to see as most of the birds will have already been demonstrated. Animals are animals. Intelligent yes, but they do not place value the same way that humans do.
You mentioned the rotting log being its own little system. What about insects and the like that would naturally go to town on something like that, which are native to the *zoo's* location, and harmless to *locally* occuring species, but could be harmful for animals that are *not native* to the area and may decide to poke about or eat them. Even those animals that aren't insectivores necessarily might enjoy the occasional bug, or might see some crawling about and decide to poke at it. Certain species of monkeys for instance, or birds, etc? Their native biome might have insects that are edible for them but most people dont go to zoos to see what they can find in their backyard for free. Or how butterflies and ladybugs are toxic to chameleons and many other reptiles, but where i live we get swarms of them every year like prettier, friendlier mosquitos. Sure, one or two wont hurt but when you have a month that is straight up dedicated to "caterpillar season" how do zoos keep them from being a problem. Pretty hard to bug proof after all. And i know my chameleon is certainly dumb enough to gorge or things he shouldn't just because he saw it move. He wouldn't care to make the distinction between feeder hornworm...and toxic catapiller. (Mind, hes also a food whore and a social whore, which I'm told is not normal for chameleons. And who is selectively highly intelligent. He can do tricks on command, a rather large variety of them too...and has figured out how to open his own enclosure and bypass the locks... but he's also dumb enough to grab his own foot then panic because something's got his foot... or flirt with beardies. I dont know why he has a kink for beardies. And its definitely flirting not aggression/dominance, he only goes for the females but ignores the more interesting morphs like red beardies)
The bug thing is a really interesting questions. Here in the uk I never heard anyone mention insects. We did however have to remove certain plants before flowering and restrict access to grazing pastures when certain plants were in specific life phases. Would love if another keeper or person would jump in here about their country though. I guess I never considered it because it wasn’t something I was ever told to be wary of.
