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snowleopard

Coyote - Northwest Trek Wildlife Park

October 2006. Gorgeous, naturalistic exhibit.

Coyote - Northwest Trek Wildlife Park
snowleopard, 24 Jun 2008
    • snowleopard
      October 2006. Gorgeous, naturalistic exhibit.
    • snowleopard
      My goal is to visit this park again sometime in 2009 and take an enormous number of photos. It only focuses on North American animals, but the collection is tremendous and the exhibits are all set in either huge meadows or thick, lush forests.
    • snowleopard
      Where are the barriers in this large, naturalistic environment? Visitors find themselves against a log cabin wall, gazing out into open space that is not so much an immersion exhibit but rather a fenced-in forest. It feels as if you are inside the enclosure with the animals, and this is an example of a fairly inexpensive development that ends up being a terrific example of "nature within a zoo".
    • Maguari
      Here is the important point - concentrating on native species is by far the best way to get this style of exhibit right - all the plants and the terrain and there for you right from the beginning, and you get results that look the part.
    • snowleopard
      @Maguari: you have a great point regarding native species, and at Northwest Trek every single enclosure is basically a massive, fenced-in area that works perfectly at this particular wildlife park. However, what about for exotic animals? I can recall a discussion on a photo from a European zoo (in perhaps Sweden or Denmark?) where there was a terrific, large, heavily forested African wild dog exhibit. I personally thought that the habitat looked to be impressive and quite large, but there is always the nagging question about how authentic the experience must be for the average visitor. Should that specific zoo build termite mounds and created a grassy African Savanna for its dogs, or should it be justified in allowing them to roam a European forest? I'm not saying that I disagree with the zoo, but it poses an excellent conundrum. What if Northwest Trek was suddenly given millions of dollars to showcase animals from Africa? Would it be acceptable to have fenced-off forest for lions, hyenas, gazelles and even elephants? Probably not. As far as native species is concerned then often the best idea is to simply fence in a large tract of land!:)
    • Maguari
      Providing a stimulating environment that meets the animals needs is always more important that the 'authenticity' of the experience - obviously in an ideal world this wouldn't be an 'either/or' but in the real world zoos may have to choose. I'd always much rather see an active and stimulated pack of dogs in a large coniferous woodland than have them in a much smaller artificial savannah.

      Why not? OK - elephants would destroy the woodland over time, but why not lions? Would make a great exhibit and probably allow the exhibit to be much bigger than if they are spending money on theming it.

      Exhibits that are 'Not Acceptable' for me are ones that are harmful to an animal's physical or behavioural wellbeing or are not securely and safely constructed. After that it's just different approaches and there are no right or wrong answers.
    • Toddy
      I have to completely agree with Maguari here. I enjoy a well-done immersion exhibit very much but it is not what matters most to me. What really matters is if the exhibit is good for the animals! Secondly it is about creating a good visitor experience. Like Maguari said it really shoulden't have to be an either/or situation but this world is not ideal and zoos have limited budgets. So of course it is acceptable to have a group of lions roaming in in a large fenced-off forest!

      And snowleopard the exhibit that you are thinking of is probably the wild dog exhibit in BorĂ¥s Zoo, Sweden :)
    • snowleopard
      @Toddy: thanks for the clarification on the African wild dog exhibit at the Boras Zoo. I actually like the enclosure and agree with both you and Maguari, but I was recalling some sort of mini-debate on the enclosure with the wild dogs as the central topic of discussion.

      @Maguari: I too would enjoy seeing a pride of lions in a thick northern forest as an alternative to a poorly-designed African savanna. I'd much rather a zoo fence off a section of land in a northern climate and designate it as a geographic zone that was out of context (Africa, Asia, Australia, South America) than badly recreate an "authentic" experience that fails on all accounts. Of course as you mentioned in a perfect world money would not be an issue and we'd all be visiting realistic African savannas in every zoo all over the world.
    • Meaghan Edwards
      What a gorgeous enclosure! Probably the nicest coyote exhibit, tied with the one in the Living Desert Museum.
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    Northwest Trek Wildlife Park
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    snowleopard
    Date:
    24 Jun 2008
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