Best enclosure / exhibit design for lesser known smaller mammals.

It is a great looking enclosure in my opinion, bet the drills absolutely love it !

 

Yes, I agree, I really think that it is great that they put the information regarding the conservation of the species so prominently.

Signs with facts about the ecology / morphology of the species are great but sometimes I find myself frustrated that zoos do not do more to highlight the conservation status of a species / threats faced in the wild etc.

 

I do think that it is changing with some zoos especially when they build an exhibit with a geographical region in mind to highlight their vulnerable species. It’s definitely a message zoos need to push out there more so it’s not just for the sake of visiting a zoo to see animals. The same goes for the recently built Tiger Trail at the SDZ Safari Park and Africa Rocks at the SD Zoo. They all share messages of what impacts their environment as well as their biodiversity of said species being displayed. I’m glad that they do highlight the issues with their conservation status. I do believe that in modern times, exhibits have to not only meet or exceed in welfare of the animals, but also tell the story of their struggle and what is being done to help them out. And that simple sign for tree kangaroos kind of hits a few different points: their status, small bites of information, very palatable, and shows what the zoo is doing to help out whether with SSP or ex-situ conservation

 

Yes, I totally agree with that comment.

I do think it is the job of modern zoos to really tell these stories to the public of the wider issues at stake when it comes to the conservation of biodiversity.

Afterall if the two main purposes / roles claimed by zoos are conservation and education then why wouldn't they merge these two concepts and put them into action when it comes to exhibit design and information displays for the public ?

I think the tree kangaroo exhibit that you shared is a case in point which highlights how this can be done and it is quite interesting too because the issues of deforestation and the bushmeat trade in Papua New Guinea are not as well known as comparable situations in Africa, South-East Asia and Latin America.

 

I truly found out from that sign that they’re sought after for bushmeat, I didn’t even think about it other than habitat loss being the key reason. I know zoos tend to not often portray smaller mammals as opposed to their mammal megafauna, yet it’s a big step forward when we’ll established zoos want to make them forefront of their exhibition such as that exhibit. I can’t think of so many exhibits that fall under this category which is the sad part but that is from my own personal experience, I have a bucket list of zoos and aquariums to visit haha

another one I can think of that is done well are the lemur exhibits in Africa Rocks at SDZ. They rotate 5 species around with one another in the two exhibits: ring tailed lemurs, blue eyed black lemurs, coquerel’s sifaka, red collared lemurs, and red ruffed lemurs. They do display inter-species interaction between one another yet respect one another’s boundaries regarding each specie. I wish I had photos of the exhibits but there are some in the gallery posted by others

 

So here are two enclosures / exhibits that caught my eye and interest. Both enclosures hold endangered megabat species endemic to Indian Ocean islands.

I've only seen one of these in person (Bristol zoo) as I have never been to Jersey zoo (though I would like to in the future).

Bristol zoo - Livingstone's fruit bat enclosure

The Bristol zoo enclosure impresses me because it is a walkthrough and allows for close contact between the public and the bats. It is also an immersion style exhibit which I believe has strong educational value in helping to instill empathy and fascination for these endangered species in the visiting public.



The enclosure is furnished with lots of climbing materials and the bats can use the mesh itself to hang from and clamber around so that the enclosure itself is actually a form of enrichment for the bats. As I remember it there are several furnishings where fruit can be hung from branches and hanging wires so the bats can receive enrichment.



When I visited Bristol many years ago this walkthrough was one of the highlights of the trips and created strong memories almost two decades on which I guess says something about the design.




Jersey zoo - Livingstone's and Rodrigues fruit bat tunnel enclosure

The Jersey Zoo enclosure which holds both Livingstone's and Rodrigues fruitbats is interesting for me for several different reasons. First of all it is quite significant in historic terms because although it isn't the original enclosure for the first individuals kept it was at Jersey where the ex-situ captive breeding of both species was successful which ultimately has saved the species for the forseeable future.



The second reason I like this enclosure is it's ecological / green design and the enormous attention paid to the husbandry needs of the species. It is apparently an incredible 800 square metres which allows the 54 bats kept here to have ample room to fly around in and this may make them even more prepared should they be reintroduced back to the wild at some point.



In addition is well planted and is furnished with plenty of climbing materials and enrichment for the bats to hang onto and check out. Another quality of this enclosure which is quite unique is that it generates its own heat through a biomass burner which is ecologically friendly.




There was actually a scientific paper written and published last year on how the enclosure design of this bat house has improved the health / wellbeing of its occupants. I'll post a link to the paper below, all you need to do to read it is copy and paste the title "Flight patterns in zoo‐housed fruit bats (Pteropus spp.)" into sci-hub.com and you can download and read.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/zoo.21481

 

Yes I totally agree with you that it is a huge step forward for zoos indeed. I think you are right, it does deserve to be commended that they are really making the effort to showcase and champion the smaller and endangered mammals like tree kangaroos alongside charismatic megafauna.

That lemur enclosure sounds like it is really quite interesting as it that is quite an unusual combination of species and I'm sure the inter-species interaction is fascinating to watch. If you find pictures or videos of it please do share as I would be curious to see it.

 

The Bristol Zoo exhibit is one I really would love to see, that’s such an amazing and immersive experience that can help subside any prejudices or fears people may have of bats. Fruit bats are stunning creatures that need to be pushed more forward and I can see why they may unsettle some visitors, yet when done right like with this exhibit, it’s a positive experience that helps people appreciate them as an important part of their ecosystem.

 

It will be a while before I visit due to our increase of COVID cases here in California and will get videos to show you, they are wonderful to see and are crowd pleasers. It’s a plus that they exhibit endangered species in the two exhibits in need of protection and illustrate the uniqueness of these prosimians!

 

Totally agree and yes the Bristol enclosure is an incredible exhibit indeed.

Are there walkthrough enclosures of this kind for megabats in the USA?

The Jersey bat enclosure I haven't seen in person yet but from what I've read about it in the paper linked above and seen in videos and pictures it looks like an incredibly well designed enclosure.

I think fruit bats are stunning creatures too but I can understand why bats terrify some people. For example, my significant other is absolutely terrified of them so I dont think I would ever be able to go through the Bristol walkthrough enclosure with her without her fainting, lol. That said, I really think these kind of enclosures do help dispell some of the harmful myths / stigma surrounding bats for people with mild fear and not deep rooted phobias.

When people see these megabats munching on a watermelon or papaya or whatever and realise that not only are they not preparing to swoop down bite their jugular and drink their blood but they are actually pretty peaceful and intelligent then the myth is dispelled. Also in contrast to the hideous bat image of popular culture they may think that they are actually rather cute with their foxy looking faces. This can really promote a sense of empathy and concern for their conservation IMO.

Beyond ex-situ in zoos of course what really is more effective for the conservation of species like the Rodrigues and Livingstone fruitbats is exhaustive long-term in-situ work to keep the species going in the wild and part of that is also about changing perceptions.

It is important to help change the perceptions of local peoples from the islands they are endemic to so that there is recognition of these bats ecological importance through the ecosystem services that they provide. It is also important to help educate communities so that the bats are not persecuted as crop raiders or overhunted as bushmeat.

 

I don’t know if there is a walkthrough bat exhibit although maybe Disney Animal Kingdom may have one based on photos I’ve seen but can be wrong. I think out here they would be hit or miss for the general public here in the states due to either lack of respect or overwhelming fear people have. Whenever there is an up close encounters kind of exhibits, I’ve seen where children or even adults will act out and try to interact with animals in an uncomfortable way that could put both in a potentially bad situation. Yet the closest I’ve been to these mega bats would be at the SDZ Safari Park in their indoor Rodrigues Fruit Bat habitat which there is a thin mess between guests and the bats.

 

The Weasels are not very active during the day hours, unfortunately. I only manage to spot and snap one early on the morning, around 8:15, despite multiply visits afterwards. There are two different exhibits - one next to the Desert House and one in the Giraffe House with both indoor and outdoor access. The signage was not something special as far as a remember, but the Saharan striped weasel, available only at one more remote place in Europe is pretty engaging by itself

The signage in Vienna Rat House was pretty engaging and intriguing. I will try to find some photos. When it is come to conservation Bronx signage was particularly interesting, but this is not a surprise, have in mind WCS conservation role. The Mouse House in NY is another cult small mammals destination, even though they count more on the quantity, than on the quality.

Frankfurt's Grzimek House should be mentioned here. Besides the fantastic small mammal collection, they have some interesting posters with information and bar codes linked to YouTube Aye-aye and Slender Loris movies.

 

That is quite interesting and I hadn't really considered that there may be cultural differences between the USA and Europe that would make a megabat walkthrough more problematic in the former.

Yes, true, this kind of acting out by either children or adults could potentially lead to someone being bitten when it comes to megabats. Something like this happening ultimately wouldn't be good for a zoo which could potentially end up being sued by the injured party and PR problems.

I'll check the SDZ indoor Rodrigues fruit bat habitat out as I am kind of interested in the way that this species is displayed in enclosures around the world.

 

I'll have to check that out, the idea of a rat house is quite an interesting concept for me as I'm kind of fascinated by rats and rodents in general.

I'm curious, in terms of the Bronx zoo what conservation signage relating to small mammals do you mean specifically ?

The Frankfurt's Grzimek House is another one that I'll have to check out as I've seen its name crop up in other threads before regarding small mammal collections and I know several other zoochatters consider it to be stellar.

Regarding zoo exhibit barcodes linked to youtube this concept was tried out a little while ago by the Sorocaba zoo here in Brazil in their reptile house and I think it did a pretty good job and the app was somewhat popular with the public.

Here is one of the videos for the golden lancehead viper with Marcos Tokuda the zoos reptile expert :




Here is another video for the tegu with the beautiful Luana Longon who is chief biologist and veterinarian :

 

@twilighter I found this video of the fishing cat enclosure at Nurnberg and it just confirmed what I already think which is that it has to be the best zoo enclosure for this species in the world.

Very impressed and even quite moved with the amount of space that has been given to this species.

Lets be honest, in most zoos this amount of space in a feline enclosure would only ever be given to a big cat like a tiger or lion.

I also think an enclosure like this for fishing cats is excellent for the public in terms of education too. Visitors get to see the species behave far more freely within a more naturalistic environment that is less confined than most enclosures.

 

Zurich Masoala hall - the biggest species is ruffed lemur.
Koeln zoo meerkats are the best meerkat exhibit I have seen - although it is difficult to get a meerkat exhibit wrong.
Frankfurt zoo exotarium and Amersfoort night house are great row of small mammal exhibits.
A number of German zoos have open, fenced or moated exhibits with natural trees and vegetation for wildcats, servals, foxes, raccoon dogs, fennecs and such, and this may be the optimal way to exhibit small mammals.

 

I don’t mean to talk ill of my own country and by no means am saying it as blanket statement. I’ve also seen visitors respect rules at zoos and understand that animals deserve their space and respect. But knowing how litigious some in the country can be for a multitude of reasons, whether at fault or not, would be a migraine for zoos to have such exhibits. Yet something that can be implemented would be watchers inside the exhibit to remind anyone of the rules. They do this along during the walkthrough kangaroo/wallaby/duck/geese exhibit at SDZ Safari Park and it makes sense due to some kangaroos and wallabies not being shy that will occasionally cross you, ergo making someone to pet them. So I think they could be done for mega bats but would require some oversight to make sure visitors adhere to the rules since some bats are unfortunately endangered species as well.

 

Something I think they could perhaps do better, and zoos in general, is give the visitor tips on where to see the animals and what size and kind of movement to look out for. I think this is especially relevant with small mammals.

Of course I'm not always lucky but my sister said going to places like nocturnal houses is easier with me because I generally have a good idea or personal experience of where to find things and what we are looking for.

So with a potto for example, I could say they are usually up at the top and moving slowly and indicate roughly how big it is. Then it's easier to spot.

 

Thank you for your comment @Jurek7 !

The other examples you listed are interesting but as they are not with threatened species this one with the ruffed lemur sounds the most relevant to this thread.

What is the enclosure like for this species ? what makes it stand out in terms of exhibit design and information for the visitors ?

 

Yes, I definitely agree with you about that. I also think it helps because otherwise you can sometimes (with a certain kind of visitor) end up with people banging their fists on windows to try to startle and to get animals to move so they can spot them.

What you mention about the potto is interesting and I don't remember there being any signs at all like this at the Clore in ZSL for this species or indeed any of the others that are displayed there (though there were signs not to use artificial lights and not to make loud noises).

However signs could have helped as some people walked straight by the enclosure or took a couple of glances in it and thought that whatever was there wasn't visible. In actual fact the potto was either watching them, momentarily hidden amongst the foilage or at the top patrolling around in what I presume is territorial type movements.