Best enclosure / exhibit design for lesser known smaller mammals.

Yes, I imagine that this is quite a challenge in Nocturnal house style exhibits which are artificially darkened, how to display information signs effectively in such environments.

In the London Zoo they have a nocturnal house with a number of very interesting species like aye-aye, Malagasy giant jumping rats, pottos, galagos, Australian water rats, slender loris, Seba's short tailed bat and blind cave fish.

All of these species are absolutely fascinating and in fact it was my favourite area of ZSL. I would actually go there a number of times specifically to see these animals and spend quite some time watching them (so much so in fact that when I left the house my eyed would sort of ache in the sunlight).

I had prior knowledge of the species on display so I was alright in terms of information. However, as the information signs were difficult to read in the environment I imagine that for many visitors who were bothered enough to try and read them or to find out what they were looking at it could be quite a frustrating experience.

 

Thank you for your comment @twilighter !

Sounds like Nurnberg has some fascinating small carnivores on display there, do you have any pictures of the enclosures and the information signs there ?

What about these exhibits make them outstanding in your opinion ?

I love the fact that Vienna zoo has a rat house but sadly they seem to be missing one of the most interesting species, the Malagasy giant jumping rat.

 

Yes, I have seen all of those species above except for the Rakali (Australian water rat) and the Slender loris, which they might still have at Memphis, can anyone confirm? I had all prior knowledge to most species at the zoo, the only species that I remember not knowing of before I entered a zoo, was the Turquoise dwarf gecko, which has to be my favorite species of its kind.

 

@gulogulogulo thought I would tag you in this thread as you just uploaded some photos I've been admiring of Shaldon zoo which is one of those places which is an excellent example of a zoo specialising in small mammals.

Just wondered if you'd like to share some of your observations of Shaldon and its enclosure design and education signs in this thread, if so then feel free to, would be much appreciated.

@Sausagefingers similarly thought I would tag you in this thread as you worked at Shaldon for many years and had an inside look into the way that this zoo deals with its limited space in terms of innovative enclosure design and information displays.

Would love to hear some of your thoughts on this topic so feel free to share them here.

 

I’ve not been to Shaldon this year, but remember their compact nocturnal house hosting three species of loris, plus mouse deer, attractively and successfully

 

So I've had a look through the Axe valley gallery here on the site and found some pictures of the enclosure and its occupants.

Harvest Mouse enclosure - ZooChat

Harvest Mouse - ZooChat

It looks like a great enclosure for harvest mice, very spacious for such a small mammal too.

Is the viewing just mesh or do they also have glass windows for people to watch the mice through ?

Haven't been to Shaldon at all (or Jersey for that matter) but I am very impressed with this little zoo and its concept / ethos.

They have certainly helped out our project in the past with the mountain marmosets too which I am very grateful for.

I love the range of species they keep but knowing that they have / had both mouse deer and loris (not to mention all the Callitrichids and Malagasy giant jumping rats) really makes me even more impressed.

Were the loris kept in the same enclosure as the mouse deer ?

What loris species were kept ?

 

One side of that Harvest Mouse enclosure is Zoomesh.
I think one of the Loris species concerned is Grey Slender Loris. Certainly one of those three species shares with Mouse Deer.
Newquay of course have successful breeding history with Mouse Deer and Grey Slender Loris.

 

I have always appreciated San Diego Zoos mixed Swamp Monkey, Red River Hog Red-necked monkey, and Spotted Necked otter exhibit. It is a good mix and highlights the lesser-known spotted necked otters. When I went with my dad a few years back even he realized that the exhibit complemented the otters and actually figured out what species they were. It really helps educate and grab the focus of the average zoo guest.

 

I have to say that I really like the idea of a mixed species enclosure with loris and mouse deer.

Biogeographically it is suitable and that is something quite desireable in my opinion. It is quite similar to aye-aye and Malagasy giant jumping rat mixed species enclosures with one species being arboreal and the other terrestrial.

I've actually always thought that it is just a much better idea to house species from the same natural habitat / region together.

Also I imagine in terms of the animals being compatible there are no problems on that front either.

 

I probably have more info and pictures, but first this is the one I uploaded to the galleries:

Northern Luzon giant cloud rat and Gambian giant pouched rat neighbor enclosures, Rat house



Saharan Striped Weasel exhibit


Fishing Cat exhibit


Yellow- throated Marten exhibit

 

Some of Twilighter's pictures reminded me of the Bronx Zoos Dhole exhibit that looks very forested and peacful.

 

I’m going to have to be controversial here, and say that one of the best small Mammal exhibits I’ve seen is WMSP’s Meerkat exhibit in the African Village. Most zoos just have a half-hearted sand pit with a few pipes for burrows, and although I by no means have any interest in Meerkats in zoos (in the wild is a different matter) they really seemed to put a lot of effort into this one, or ones as there are two of them, with red sand, efficient glass viewing, African huts dotted around nearby with educational displays, carved termite mounds and rocks, and even heat lamps. (I was going to go with Port Lympne’s new Drill exhibit because they technically fit the criteria, being old world monkeys, but I’m not sure it was a good choice given their size)

 

Thank you for your comment @Paleoarchontas !

Unfortunately have to say that meerkats don't really apply in this thread as although they are a small mammal species they are not of conservation concern.

The drill exhibit at the Aspinall parks that you mention on the other hand does apply so tell me more about that.

What about this particular drill exhibit impressed you ? The size ? The commitment to husbandry of the animal ? The education displays ?

 

These are some fantastic looking enclosures here and thank you for sharing them @twilighter.

The Saharan striped weasel exhibit looks great and I love the landscaping / planting with the desert palm trees. Two questions on it, are the weasels quite active ? what about the information signage is it engaging ?

I remember seeing an image in the gallery of this particular fishing cat exhibit and though I haven't seen it in person I still think that it is probably the best enclosure for this species that I've seen / heard of given the incredible size of it and the lush planting and access to water. It is a really impressive exhibit indeed.

 

Makes sense on the Meerkat front. Don’t get me wrong, they are interesting animals with complex social behaviours, but they are of no conservation value and I’m bored half to death of seeing them in zoos.
In terms of the Aspinall Drill Exhibit, it is a huge improvement on their old enclosure, which is essentially a large wooden aviary with a few ropes and a dusty floor, and is now occupied by Capuchins. The new exhibit on the other hand is comprised of three segments: an off-show house (fairly basic), a large wooden aviary very similar to their old one that now acts as a holding enclosure (used to be the entirety of the Javan Langur exhibit) and a large grassy open-top paddock with low fences that use the ground wire technique to keep them from escaping, thick natural vegetation so you can’t see the back, plenty of climbing opportunities and new methods of feeding, which in addition to the platform feeding they also do scatter feeds.
I’ll see if I can find an image. Can I post an image that isn’t my own as long as I credit the person whose image it is?

 

How do I do photos on Zoochat?

 

The drill exhibit sounds great and it is good to hear that these endangered monkeys have such a great enclosure for them that meets their husbandry requirements as best as possible.

The planting / landscaping in particular seems to be a great idea so that these monkeys can retreat when they feel stressed or want to avoid the public.

Seems like it was designed to mimic the different habitat types that a drill would encounter in the wild such as dense forest and glade type environments.

Of course you can post an image and I don't think there are any problems in terms of zoochat as long as you credit the photographer.

 

I ought to point out that the exhibit has been open a couple of years now, and since this photo was taken the planting has grown quite a lot (or at least it had on my last visit in July)
Also that small aviary in the background is the holding enclosure/old Javan Langur exhibit

 

I think that the actual signage about the animal was made that size primarily for children, it’s about the height of a young kid and has easily digestible info which I found myself astounded when kids read up on them. I’ve noticed that it’s been relatively the same with most of the signage at both the zoo and safari park where they offer more tidbits of information on their signage. This one for the tree kangaroos is pretty much the same for their other exhibits in the Walkabout Australia complex and I love them. It certainly is helpful for visitors to remember these facts instead of some of the usual stats of diet or region they belong to.