Unatural mixing » Longleat Safari Park

Unatural mixing
01-11-2008

I have been to longleat 2 times and have noticed unatural mixing,
what do people think about it

01-11-2008

may u please define wats "unatural mixing"..i cudnt get the term right!

01-11-2008

Species from different parts of the world living together

01-11-2008

Maybe if you highlighted some examples, for people to dicuss about it may help.

From what I remeber there was only one Bactrian Camels in with White rhino and ankole cattle!

01-11-2008

also - llamas, giraffes and domedary camels

pere david deer, eland and white rhino

02-11-2008

From an educational point of view it is silly, Like I believe all those animals live in a section known as Africa? maybe im wrong? anyway visitors will not realise that llamas dont roam the African plains. However from a management point of view the space the animals get is fantastic and most hoofstock will graze in mix groups herds in the wild so I wouldnt say the animals mind their unusual company!

02-11-2008

the area is east african reserve and big game reserve and yes it has a very bad educational stucture!

02-11-2008

Yeah, that's bothered me a bit. Personally, if I was in charge there, I would:

- Remove the Camels & Llama from EAGR. Replace them with the Scimitar-Horned Oryc from BGP and Nyala. Move pygmy goats to Pets Corner or Animal Adventure then adapt the exhibit for cheetahs.
- Expand the current tapir enclosure to take up half the grassy land behind the EAGR, also mixing rhea, capybara and anteater with the tapirs. Use the second half as a paddock for spectacled bears, creating a South American area.
- Mix Elephant & Okapi with the bongo, creating a Congo forest.
- Move out the Camels & Pere David's deer from BGP, withe the Oryx going to the EAGR. Replace with the Eland, Wildebeest, Kudu & Bontebok.
- Move out the Red & Fallow Deer into a new deer park just outside Longleat House, creating a more scenic setting. Move the Camels & Pere David's deer from BGP here, along with Bison & Prezwalski's Horse, creating a Eurasian Reserve.
- Mix the Flamingoes, Ibis, Spoonbills and Ducks with the pelicans, in order to give the elephants a pool. Add marabou stork to create an even larger African Wetlands aviary.

As you can see, this would give Longleat a much more educational value. However, it is of course a visitor vision, so it would be very unlikely, but still provides a better insight.

02-11-2008

I get your points, guys, and support them on principle of course. But the reality is that 99% of the zoo visitors would neither notice nore care. So if the unnatural mixing actually works and is benefitting to the animals, I would not consider it a major problem.

02-11-2008

Yeah why make all zoos the same? I suppose the mixes add character to the place. plus why would they bring in Elephants when they have just got rid of them and good luck to them getting Okapi! Id have more chance of winning the lottery.

02-11-2008

marwell darlek was refering to what they would do if they were in charge not what longleat is palnning!

02-11-2008

is anyone else getting annoyed with people who keep turning legitimate threads into fantasy "this is what I would do...", or is it just me?

02-11-2008

Yes, it devalues the point of thread and confuses things alot.

02-11-2008

Think that was obvious! however I would really hate to see every zoo with the exact same species displayed in the same way. then we would only have to go to one zoo and we would have seen them all!

Some zoos def should retain their common animals, how boring would it be if every zoo had just okapi, gorrillas, sumatran tigers and sun bears laid out in the same way. I love going to zoos to see an animal that I have seen before no matter how common they are! It seems that the "common" animals are becoming quite a rarity in UK zoos. I saw my first black bear last year when I visited woburn, also longleat are one of the few places to exhibit rhesus monkeys! are we going to loose the animals that were really the foundations of most modern zoos?

02-11-2008

a seperate thread would be the best idea for fantasy idea's, they just confuse normal threads