ZooChatters sometimes complain about hippo exhibits that have the animals in pools surrounded by small concrete islands, but the advantage with those habitats is that the animals can often be seen via underwater viewing. With a massive enclosure like the one in this photo the hippos might have what first appears to be a fantastic exhibit but in actual fact they are often grey blobs far off in the distance and many visitors become bored and quickly leave the viewing area. It is not difficult to keep hippos in captivity, and they can be prolific breeders at some zoos, but underwater viewing is what creates magical moments for visitors.
As hippos are grazers (and in the wild spend a good deal of the night-time hours on land grazing) providing a large grassy enclosure fior them to graze is excellent behavioural enrichment for the animals, and so much better (nutritionally as well) than a concrete island with bales of hay thrown in. http://www.zoochat.com/82/hippo-grazing-enclosure-2007-a-47842/ In my experience, visitors seeing a hippo in the distance grazing found it something novel and educational, and even from several hundred metres it was obviously a hippo and they were fascinated. Admittedly, if the hippo lay down to sleep it would have looked like a big blob and not held their interest. But a sleeping hippo up close doesn't hold attention for very long anyway. Any zoo that can afford the space of a large grassy meadow beside the pool will have the best exhibit they possibly can for the animal. And in my book, thats what counts.
