Best murals / mosaics at zoos

Thanks for sharing @Dianamonkey

It looks like a little bit of a strange painted background for a sun bear enclosure as the background looks more like a Himalayan or temperate landscape.

 

I think it was for sun bears but could be wrong?

 

No, I think you are right, but I wonder whether it was originally the enclosure for a more temperate species of bear or other mammal.

 

Wroclaw zoo, entrance to afykarium

 

Now thats an unusual looking mural, this is for the entrance to an African themed area of the zoo ?

These animals in the mural look like very stylized pangolin.

 

Entrance to the African building, massive building with aquariums, hippos and manatees. Agree think they are meant to be pangolins

 

Side of old Dolphinarium, Nuremberg zoo

 

My last one
Berlin zoo, giraffe house entrance

 

That one must be early 20th century.

Not sure what it is meant to portray though.

Perhaps Bedouin or Somalis hunting oryx ?

 

Thanks for sharing @Dianamonkey !

This is an interesting one and very old too (mid 19th century I think).

These murals are an example of the "Egyptomania" craze that was sweeping Europe back then and that would return in the early 1920's post WW1 with the discovery of Tutankhamun.

 

ZSL Clore Pavilion wall art , London Zoo, UK:

Elephant and mammoth mosaic, Berlin zoo, Germany :

Mural of Amazonian biodiversity, Zoo Miami , USA:

Tile mosaic on the elephant house, Shanghai zoo, China:

Mosaic bench of native species, Gaiazoo Kerkade, Netherlands:


Amphibian mural, Detroit zoo, USA:


Photo credits to @Crowthorne, @KevinB , @devilfish,@Potamaogole , @Miss Gulch and @snowleopard .

 

I love the murals at the International Crane Foundation:


Mural outside the Whooping Crane exhibit. Note the Passenger Pigeons and bison in it as well.


Mural on the wall of the Blue Crane exhibit. Also, note that the Blue Cranes are actually in this photo, the pair ICF has is super shy and almost never comes out into public areas.


African wetland mural. From this spot one can see the exhibits for Black-crowned, Gray-crowned, and Wattled Cranes (of which the latter two are featured in this mural, alongside the hippos). That's the Black-crowned Crane enclosure on the right.

(Photos by @Otter Lord and @snowleopard)

The best mural ICF has, though, is actually behind the scenes. I saw it on a school field trip. A massive mural covers every wall of a room, surrounding you with its environment. It features a marsh filled with all sorts of local wildlife, and the sky of the mural is filled with thousands of Sandhill Cranes. Among them, if you look close enough, is a single Whooping Crane. Sadly I can't find any photos of this mural and it seems likely I won't see it again.

 

Not a mural, but entrance gate to Warsaw Zoo is pretty neat.

 

Thanks for sharing @birdsandbats !

These are really beautiful murals and I think they are of great educational value too in that convey to the visitor what the natural habitat of the cranes look like.

I particularly like the one of the African river.

Pity about the mural that you mention being behind the scenes, I wonder why it isn't showcased ?

 

Predator mural at Melbourne zoo, Australia:



Photo credits to @Jason_Melbourne , @WhistlingKite24

 

All of these are wonderful, but that Raguan Zoo mural in Indonesia is just absolutely spectacular. That must have taken months.

 

Totally agree, it is a wonderful mural, I particularly like the tapirs and cassowary in it.

 

I don't have a picture of them, but there are some nice murals in the Sadler Building of the Capron Park Zoo depicting African ecosystems. Originally they matched the species on display, but as the species changed over time the murals stayed the same. There are four murals all opposite the four habitats in the hall.

 

Columbus zoo reptile house mural, USA:

Weribee open range zoo mural, Australia:

Butterfly house mural, USA:

Mural about reptile trafficking at Reptielen zoo , Netherlands:

Day gecko artist mural Buffalo zoo, USA:

Wildlands EMMEN African wildlife and lady mural:

Washington park zoo animal mural, USA:

Hamerton zoo tiger mural, UK:

Great auk mural at Living Coasts , UK :

Whale shark mural at Marine Life park, Singapore:

Puffin Mural at Portland aquarium, USA:

Tropics mural at Chester zoo, UK:

Great and lesser ape mural at Santa Barbara zoo, USA:

Seahorse mural Monterey Bay aquarium , USA:

Rainforest at Cleveland Metroparks zoo, USA:

Great apes and other wildlife mural at Sedgewick park zoo, USA:

Point Defiance zoo Asiatic mammal mural:

Cotton top tamarin & Golden lion tamarin murals at Marwell zoo, UK :


Strange Victorian house ornithology scene mural ZSL London zoo, UK:


Photo credits to @TinoPup , @Chlidonias , @Crowthorne ,@eggshelluk , @Sarus Crane , @Mr.Weasel , @WhistlingKite24 , @Skipper6302 , @vogelcommando , @snowleopard , @zoosnbrews, @zoogiraffe,

 

Last time I checked Werribee Open Range Zoo is still in Australia