Creative uses of old enclosures.

Not off-hand, but let me check and see what I can come up with.

 

Thanks for that @PAKMan , much appreciated!

 

After the death of the last brown bear in 2015, the former "Bärenzwinger" in Berlin is currently used for temporary art exhibitions.
Bärenzwinger

 

I think that its great that is being put to use to showcase art and as a cultural monument but don't you think its a bit of a shame though ?

I mean the bear is the symbol of Berlin afterall and it could have been possible to update the enclosure and make it more suitable.

 

Given the mess Berlin is, I'm
A) not surprised that they opted for the artsy option.
B) sure that it is better that bears are only kept in the zoo and / or the Tierpark.

 

I suppose its a bit like Madrid in the sense of the bear being the heraldic symbol of the city and the old zoo there in "El Parque Del Buen Retiro" with its old bear enclosure becoming an art installation.

 

When looking at the structure, I don't think it's possible to adapt it to once again keep bears without infringing completely on the original structure and the surrounding landscape. Especially for brown bears, I don't see any way for them to create an appropriate habitat whilst still keeping the old structure. So in the end, I think no longer housing bears in there is by far the best option.

If it were in a zoo, a smaller species like red panda, bintorung, coatis or even rescued raccoons might be alternative candidates. But that kinda negates the whole bear-city story here.

 

Yes, true, plus it is a heritage structure too so there would be laws surrounding its modification or destruction to make a new enclosure.

Again, true, it would have to be a brown bear to symbolically represent Berlin or it just wouldn't work.

 

Even if it were a black bear (wether it's Asian or American as those are cold-tolerant) it would still be difficult to reimagine due to the large moat that is without doubt as you mention some sort of heritage structure. The open structure also makes it almost impossible to give much privacy to something as large as a bear, a too often neglected welfare-aspect for bears in my opinion (and with many other species, as those who know me a bit are probably getting tired of hearing by now).

 

I've never actually heard you discuss the issue of moats or open structures about bears or indeed any other species on the forum.

 

I actually meant about giving animals an option of privacy, which does relate of-course to the open structure (open view from 3 sides, barely space for vegetation or other concealing structures). The moats though is something I've almost never discussed here indeed, if even at all. It' also a widespread problem, wether it's dangerous moats or space-wasting moats, but that is an issue much more commonly acknowledged.

 

Alright, I found these historic photos online.

Here's one of the old Reptile House I found on Lincoln Park Zoo's Facebook page:


And here's the interior today, from two different sides of the building (not sure which one is the same side as above)

 

Such a shame about that old fountain though ! It was really quite ornate so it is sad to see that it went.

 

I'm surprised that this hasn't been mentioned yet, but I'd like to mention the Bronx Zoo's Madagascar exhibit. It used to be a big cat house. Now it has tasteful immersive displays for lemurs as well as exhibits for Nile crocodiles and smaller animals like reptiles and tenrecs. The exterior of the building stayed more or less the same, but the inside got a total redo.

 

Well I am personally very impressed with the Madagascar Bronx zoo exhibit and particularly with how well planted and naturalistic it looks.

However, this thread is not really about conversion of old enclosures into new ones but rather their conversion into other facilities whether as education displays / centers , picnic areas, restaurants , art installations , museums etc.

 

Sorry about that. Hopefully, I can find something to contribute.

 

No, don't worry about it