Hi, this is my first post here and i was hoping i could ask your opinion about the project i am working on it now. i am landscape architect and i am working on a mixed species enclosure for asian elephants and blackbucks. i was wondering if you have any idea to design a barriers as “escape” for blackbucks. i was thinking of poles like copenhagen zoo but as it is on the viewers side it blocked the view so much. any idea, photo or other zoo examples will be appreciated. thank you all. i already learned so much from you.
My suggestion for optimum viewing would be some kind of water body, ditch or a ha-ha (ditch with a slope into it, that way they’re still viewable but can’t get out, in theory. Please keep in mind this is only a suggestion, I’m sure there’s loads of people on here who would be better help. Hope this helps.
thank you so much for your message. it is kinda a big area and we have these too... i meant there is a small area that should be accessable for blackbucks but not elephants...so it is like double boundry . one is between viewer and blackbucks and one between the elephant and blackbuck which blackbuck can pass through but elephant shouldn't. for now we are thinking of 2.5 m tall poles with about 0.5 m distance with eachother
Welcome to the forum @arghavan Just be aware that although there are some members here who work in the zoo industry, the vast majority of users are fans and enthusiasts of zoos. For professional advice on enclosure design you would be best to talk to other zoos with mixed species enclosures with elephants, who would be able to give practical advice.
I guess you will keep bachelor group of blackbucks? You can make use of their ability to jump easily. Instead of a line of metal poles, you could experiment with an "invisible" dry moat (lets say 1m deep) that would have a line or two of live electric wire (so low it will be invisible to visitors) that would stop elephants - but blackbuck can easily jump over. Even cheaper but slightly more obtrusive model would be a line of tree stems on the ground that are lined with electric wire on top. Again, you just need to teach your antelopes to jump over it. Look at elephant outside pen at Prague zoo for inspiration - it is successfull to keep elephants in for years without any incident. Look at the plastic holders placed in regular distance on this stem - a live wire is running through them. There is also a slowly sloped dry ditch between the elos and visitors as a second line of security and to create a space that don´t allows visitors feed the animals
I would never rely on electric fencing or wire to stop or even deter elephants. I would also advise against designing such a refugia dependent on the blackbucks' jumping. The chance of accidents is too great. Yes the poles work well to provide the refuge you require. You'll need to work on their location and design to make the aesthetics and visitor experience work as well.
thank you so much . it was an interesting idea. i searched about it and i saw they use the same methode in magdeburg zoo as well.
is there anywhere i can check the dimension for locomotion of animals? like how high is elephant step? or how long can it reach behind the bars.... things like that .
In most projects we ask the client to provide that info. Best that they take responsibility for such details.
can you check my other question about bearcats too? do you know any other source i can check? i am kinda new in this profession .there is still much to learn
Dublin Zoo has/had Blackbucks in their Asian Elephant exhibit which previously also included a breeding bull, Upali. You could perhaps contact them and see how they did it.
