Walk-through exhibits

As we all know, walk-through aviaries have been popular fixtures in zoos for decades now, and the last few years have witnessed a dramatic rise in the number of walk-through exhibits for other animals too, particularly lemurs, squirrel monkeys, callitrichids, fruit bats, sloths, wallabies, and butterflies, and occasionally penguins. I believe at least one UK zoo has a walk-through Meerkat enclosure. At Trentham Monkey Forest in Staffordshire, one can walk amongst free-roaming Barbary Macaques, something I would never have believed possible until a few years ago. But what other species, never previously considered, could theoretically make promising candidates for a walk-through exhibit if anyone had the initiative and courage to try it. How about Brazilian Tapirs? And are they any carnivores, besides Meerkats, that visitors could possibly walk amongst? How about small members of the Felidae? At the risk of getting shot down in flames, I reckon walk-through exhibits might even be possible for Cheetahs and wolves. What other species could be considered by a bold and unorthodox zoo-director?

 

Have seen that done at both Plantaria and Sttuggart in Germany!

 

south lakes has a free roaming yellow Anaconda in their tropical house.

 

While small cats would be very unlikely to attack someone in a walk through,its their need for privacy and isolation that would limit its suitability.

It's amazing the possibilities for walk throughs now,you could almost design a new zoo with only walk through exhibits.....penguins, bird avaries, lemurs, squirrel monkeys,tamarins,marmosets, titi/saki monkeys, Barbary macaques, meerkats, farm animals, wallabies, rhea and other Pampas mammals such as guanaco, owls, Andean condors and king vultures, sloths, deer, waterfowl, the list goes on. As for new possibilities,I'm not sure,but I do remember - and have photos as proof - of walking amongst giraffes,camels and zebras at longleat when I was,about 6. Walk through ungulste enclosures for things like nyala and duiker are possibles,and it won't be long before hamlyns monkeys,patas and colobus monkeys appear in walk throughs I'm sure.

 

In one small local private (licensed) zoo, there is a walk-trough Cheetah exhibit, the Cheetah is 2,5 years old and hand-reared. On slow days, you can be there easily for 1/2 hour alone without a keeper. She likes beeing scratched on her neck and belly.

But wolves - I don´t think I would ever enter such an exhibit (especially not without a keeper). One small German zoo offers visits into its wolf enclosure on occasions together with a keeper (can´t remember its name).

 

Would capybara or mara work, I know they have big teeth, but would they use them to nibble passing kids?

 

I've been 'walking through' both today at YWP - South America Viva has maras, capybara, agoutis, rheas and squirrel monkeys all together in a walk-through. To be honest the maras and capys are probably the last ones to worry about doing damage!

Maras are a reasonably common walkthrough species - London has them in its squirrel monkey walkthrough as well.

 

I've seen free-roaming mara at Newquay & some where else, can't recall.
Don't YWP have capybara in their S.American walk-through?

 

We crossed posts!
Knew I'd seen them some where else.

 

I'd imagine a rhea could give a good kick, and to my cost I know those small monkeys have a powerful nip!

 

And of course agoutis can crack Brazil nuts with their teeth - wouldn't want a nip from one of them!

The rheas are probably the ones I'd be most wary of though - powerful and difficult to deter if one took a dislike! So far it seems no problems, though.

 

All animals could bite, even a pet dog could do that. If the exhibit has enough space where the animals can 'escape' from the tourists, it shouldn't come to that. I think even in this day and age people are generally sensible enough to know if you try and chase it, catch or hold it, itll bite you. Leave it alone and look at it, and it's very unlikely to randomly run up to you and sink their teeth in.

rhea are quite docile and feature in a few walk-through enclosures now.

I reckon gibbons will be next to appear in such enclosures. Not with rhea I mean, but in barrier-free exhibits.

I would really like to see larger, mixed exhibits - titi monkeys, douracouli, goeldi's monkeys, emperor tamarins, golden-headed lion tamarins, silvery marmosets and pygmy marmosets are all in separate genuses and could be held in together in a very large tropical walk through, and dont eat other animals so could be kept along side amazonian birds, tamandua, green iguana and sloths, cpaybara, pudu, agouti and banded armadillos. It would make an amazing exhibit if properly planted up and forested, with waterfalls and walkways at tree height.

 

Gibbons; the only gibbons that would be safe for a walk-through are young hand-reared ones, excessively socialised to people. My understanding is that adults of either sex are likely to be extremely dangerous. The only male gibbon I know personally, would kill you.
When they had walk-through Giraffes at Longleat, there were always keepers around with big sticks -- you don't want to upset an animal that can kick a Lion into the next world. Zebras are not known for their fluffy-cuddliness, either.
The most unlikely thing I have known to have to be removed from a walk-through, was a male Germain's Peacock Pheasant, which started hunting people and trying to spur them.

 

Colobus walkthroughs certainly exist elsewhere in Europe: http://www.zoochat.com/316/walk-through-colobus-enclosure-serengetipark-hodenhagen-33477/

 

Gibbons -definitely not. Even the hand-tame ones are more likely to be aggressive.

About the mega mixed exhibit of small primates, the problem may well be competition of niches. Jersey have successfully mixed lion-tamarins and marmosets in free-range exhibits, so it is entirely possible to integrate more than one species, but you be might well be biting off more then you can chew. I am also familiar of one species of tamarin 'hunting' another species in a mixed captive enclosure. Maybe space is the issue. Get the separate niches correct and I'm sure the mixes will be fine.

Did wonder how a walk-through coati exhibit might work. Given enough space and height (and a no public feeding!) they might not be too bad.