Crystelia City Zoo

As I have promised I have officially started my fictional zoo project referred to as Crystelia City Zoo, it is a tropical animal based zoo located on the fictional island of Crystelia, a tropical island close to Hawaii. The zoo itself is in the largest city on the island Crystal City. The zoo is also the only zoo on the island and was founded in 1999 and got AZA accreditation a year later. This zoo is well known on their island and worldwide for it’s tropical climate allowing species to be successfully kept and breed that are known for not doing well in captivity such as zebra duiker and proboscis monkey. I will luckily be your tour guide to this incredible facility and hopefully in due time be able to see all the wonders it has in store for us, the very first post will be posted right under this for those interested.

 

Welcome to Crystelia City Zoo with yours truly Para, today we will touring the entrance and front plaza of Crystelia City Zoo, (Which I will refer to now on as CCZ).

The front entrance after you park in either the lot or garage will send you to the front gate under a large arch here is where if you do not already have a pass you get your admission tickets to go into the zoo.

Once you go enter the zoo look around to see the beautiful flower beds around you as CCZ is also a botanical garden and has a plethora of plants scattered around the zoo. After gazing at the plants your eyes will immediately be sent to the zoos large giraffe fountain in the middle of what is referred as the front plaza. The giraffe statue itself is in a large fountain and is referred to as the floral giraffe by the zoos staff. Around the fountain is also a ring of various tropical ferns and bushes to brighten up the plaza’s otherwise brown bland floor, these plants are scattered around in planters around the area as well. To the right of you is a large building which is your typical run of the mill gift shop full of what you would expect in a zoo gift shop along with CCZ mercy items such as mugs, tees, and blankets visitors can by. The style of the building is made in a way to feel like you are in a sort of tropical island community event with many vendors outside of the building showing off various items from the shop. For those who are not into that kind of thing on the left on the floral giraffe is a small building where you can get help, ask questions, and obtain the zoo map. This building is not only for that though as the back of it is also the indoor quarters and housing for the only animals in the front plaza. Next door to the information center is a small forested habitat for the zoos 1.3 spider tortoises which have as mentioned during the night go into their indoor quarters right next door, the habitat is labeled A on the drawing below. The zoo got these as a recent addition as the area was originally made for the zoo’s young Aldabra tortoises that eventually outgrew the area and after the closing of the zoo’s reptile house had the zoo’s spider tortoises move in here after a renovation to the habitat. With that the tour of the front plaza is officially done, any feedback would be greatly appreciated and hopefully we can meet again for our journey through sand’s time.

 

Welcome back to Crystelia City Zoo tours with your tour guide Para, today we will going through Sands Of Time (or as I incorrectly called it last time Sand’s Time) This is the second newest area to be added to CCZ and is dedicated to both animals that have existed and have remained almost unchanged for millions of years in a building I will show in a later post. The other theme is to introduce fully desert animals outdoors to CCZ since the almost constant rainfall and tropical environment has made the last attempts quite lackluster and unsuccessful. One other thing to note is this replaced the old Africa complex and due to this most of the outdoor animals (the area I will show off today) are from the old Africa exhibit. With background knowledge out of the way we will dive right into the scorching desert.

Once you enter the arch to the area and a few steps in the desert outpost is set right next to you, a food court/seating area to watch the zoo’s giraffes. The giraffes have since left the area but their habitat is still their with some changes, this is fun fact the largest exhibit in Sands Of Time. The exhibit (labeled A) is also due to this is oversized for its current inhabitants which are scimitar horned oryxes more specifically a group of (1.5) with one birth also occurring here, which was sent to mainland North America. The area is a large meadow with a watering hole in it along with a rock wall in the back. It is also important to note that there is a viewing deck here originally meant for giraffe feeding.

Across from them is a smaller paddock for red kangaroos (2.3) and red-necked wallabies (1.2). The habitat is labeled E on the map and the area also has a indoor viewing area of which we will take a closer look in at a future date. The macropod area is a sandy and grassy yard (separated into a sand and grass side respectively). The macropods also have and indoor area not viewable for the guest for privacy. The yard also like the last has a small watering hole.

Moving on is across a view small gardens, is a kopje based exhibit labeled B on the map. This area connects to the former giraffe house (now the kopje house) for CCZ’s quite large mob of meerkats (0.0.16). The area has a few different viewing options as you can look through the rocks in the first viewing at ground level and the second area has the viewing from on the kopje as you go up a small hill. The enclosure also has artificial termite mounds and many artificial tunnels leading into their indoor area in the kopje house.

Through the next gardens you are able to see your very first glimpse at a large statue replica of an hourglass along with sand along the bottom to show that (time in the present) has run out. Of course our journey through modern times is not over yet as the map shows, once you get through a forest of artificial African desert trees (as real ones could not grow in this environment) you arrive looking through another large kopje rock wall looking into a rocky exhibit labeled as F. This area however has a net on top of the rocks basically being an aviary and in here you will find the escape artists of the area (hence why the net was added) klipspringer (1.1) another species that has breed and has been here along with the meerkats since the areas African days and had their most recent birth of a klipspringer calf last May.

Going through more forest and you will find a split path one which will lead to the hourglass portal and the sculpture mentioned earlier. Along this path is also three aviaries lined in a row housing American desert birds. The most left one has many burrows in the aviary for burrowing owls (2.1) along with mourning doves (2.3) in the branches of a small artificial tree, and is labeled 1 on the map. Aviary 2 the smallest is for gambel’s quail (0.0.1) which also most notably has a large artificial saguaro cactus in their as well. The last and the largest labeled 3 is for The beep beep of the greater roadrunners (1.1) in a longer cage along with smaller artificial saguaros than in with the quail.

The most notable animal though for this area has to on the other path in which a few steps in goes up into a ramp and here you can look down on cheetahs more specifically an elderly couple that has been here since the zoo’s opening and have bred a few times in the past although that was quite a while ago and there is a rumor of the cheetahs area being replaced with an improved one when they pass away, but for now this exhibit is by far considered the worst in Sands Of Time. The cheetah area actually used to be two enclosures as seen marked as C on the map the bridge is over the middle and once had a fence going through it, Although the other enclosure always had difficulty finding a permanent resident and was empty for a few years until the Africa’s removal happened. Of the animals displayed over in that area included animals such as ostrich, jackal, and even AWD at on point. The area also originally was a dead end and during Sands Of Time’s renovation this was changed for our last exhibit of today.

The aforementioned area is referred to as The Desert Atrium. This atrium we will explore later and also have to point out that it was very inspired by Omaha’s Desert Dome. But the area we are looking at right now is a small yard on the side for chacoan peccaries (2.2) labeled as D. a very new animal to the zoo just arriving this year to replace their old collared peccaries. This yard is one of the most beautiful parts of this tour as the pit they are located in is surrounded by luscious plant life that was at one point also in the exhibit before the peccaries got to it. There is a small waterfall in the back flowing into a small stream and the only outdoor live trees in this area.

Overall this is a beautiful journey through the world’s deserts and If you thought this was special than I can not wait to show you the Desert Atrium in the next tour but for now I will wait for you guys to leave your criticism, applause, and support, until next time on the next tour of Crystelia Island City Zoo.

 

Almost constant rainfall but we're going into the scorching desert? Also if past attempts to exhibit desert animals outside haven't worked, then why keep trying? I know it's technically fantasy, but any decent real zoo isn't going to keep trying...

Most klipspringer exhibits are un-netted due to escape-proof design or are indoors in colder climates. It's entirely possible to have the situation where netting was necessary, but I'm not aware of any zoos actually doing this.

2.1 is not a good ratio, male Burrowing Owls are territorial and will fight.

How do you have an unsexed individual of a highly sexually dimorphic species? Also why only one when they're pair/flock birds?

You do know they don't make this sound right?

Burrowing Owl, Gambel's Quail, and Greater Roadrunner can and often are kept together. There's nothing wrong with keeping them separately, but just a note. (The Mourning Doves would also be fine.)

Zoos don't keep male and female cheetahs in the same exhibit, they will not breed if this is done and is not part of recommended species husbandry. Additionally, opposite sex cats beyond breeding age are not kept together. Also if it is to be assumed your timeframe is equal to normal time, if the cheetahs were there in 1999 when the zoo opened, they're not going to still be alive in 2022. The average lifespan of a captive cheetah is 8 to 12 years, up to 18-20 years. 22-23 years isn't going to happen... It's very rare they pass 15-18 years of age.

 

Well starting with the easiest of these to answer the two habitats for the cheetah will be recreated so that their is an area for both the male and female. The Cheetah’s I will also make a bit younger to fix the aging problem.

Quite a few changes will be made to help with the first point. Most notably the outdoor area for the peccaries will be completely removed, along with the scimitar horned oryx being replaced by greater kudu. The bird aviaries will also be moved indoors and will be seen later again on the tour. This should hopefully fix the desert problem as these are the only fully desert animals in the outdoor section.

The idea with the klipspringer was that they did actually escape at one point and that the net was from a renovation hence why I added the net, although maybe I could just have added higher walls instead.

The burrowing owl part was entirely my fault for forgetting the males are territorial, so it will be changed to (1.1) and the owls will have their aviary merged with the quails. The quail number will also be changed to (2.3). The roadrunner comment was just a joke and I am aware they do not make that sound.

Hopefully Great Argus this should fix your issues thus far.

 

My point in the comments about the desert animals was largely based around your own statement that desert animals were not doing well historically in the zoo, maybe that wasn't clear. While most desert animals are generally quite hardy, high humidity and constantly wet ground are often the biggest problems for them, particularly with hoofstock. It can be done though - peccaries, Grevy's zebra, and Hamadryas baboons in Singapore for example - it just depends on the species' tolerance.
I should perhaps note that I'm being rather critical due to the fact you state the zoo has AZA accreditation, and thus would be required to uphold the high standards. I'm not trying to be mean, rather I'm looking at what you've provided through the high standards lens that you defined.

That's fair, and like I said there's nothing inherently wrong with the net situation, I'm just not aware of a zoo with that setup at present.

 

Personally never though you were being critical as you bring up good points and I also want the zoo to at the very least be mostly realistic. I also realize that the area probably needs to do major renovations and as the fact the outdoor area did not really fit the themes of the area I has hence scraped it and have made the zoo focus on more tropical animals. So due to this I will make the true Sands Of Time area which will be entirely indoors. The only part of the area which will stay so far will be the hourglass statue. The animals in here that can withstand this environment will be moved to other parts of the zoo. This also leaves space up now to enlarge the indoor complex as I have decided to expand it. With that said this was also by far my least favorite section I came up with as this area was mostly just filler for the indoor area. So soon the hopefully more realistic indoor building will have all its parts unraveled in the following few weeks.

 

So a few updates about the Sands Of Time, I incorrectly stated that there would be no outdoor exhibits which at the time was true, but after the new redesign a few outdoor areas for already existing animals in the area were added. The Tour will also be put into three sections, The Entry Room, The Aquarium, And The Herptarium. The area hence the name is made for animals that have either existed a long time on the planet (often dubbed living fossils) and relatives of extinct animals shown in comparison to their past counterparts. This area would still be the second newest area of the zoo. The first area The Entry Room, which is unfortunately void of any animals the area takes place right off from the left path from the front plaza and here you can immediately see a large outdoor habitat for an animal that I will wait to show you on the Herptarium tour. There is also another outdoor area for an animal located near the right entrance of the complex. Before we actually go into the building there is a few things to note as you can see an area labeled 1 on the map is the you could say predecessor of the restaurant in the old desert I scrapped as here you can look over an African savannah once again in an area for giraffes and zebra which I will go into more depth in during the Stripes And Spots Ungulate Canyon tour. One other thing to note is that the hourglass statue has been relocated to a small garden in front of the building. Now the focus here will be on the Sands Of Time itself, on the outside you can see that the building is made to look like an hourglass an that their are sections on the roof that are made to look like an hourglass with sand falling in it and this is no mistake as these spots are actually the roof of the area being glass which I will show in the next few tours. As stated two entrances are in the building both from the left and right and from either side you get the same view a small room with an entirely glass roof. On the ground there are two murals on the right shows (of the view on the drawing) shows an ocean shoreline and will lead you to the Aquarium side, (2) the other shows a rainforest and will lead to the Herptarium (3). Now for the elephant in the room literally, in the center is a pedestal with the skeleton of a wooly mammoth of top of it being the main centerpiece of the complex. With that the Entry Room is done as stated this area features no animals of its own and is more or less a warm up for the next two tours of which the first (The Herptarium) will most likely be posted this weekend so stay tuned and of course as usual feedback and criticism would be greatly appreciated.

 

Today we will explore the highly anticipated Herptarium Planned for CCZ’s 2013 master plan and finished construction in 2015, it is the second newest area of the zoo (Along with the sister exhibit will we cover next time) behind the brand new Elephant’s Graveyard. The Herptarium side of the complex is a large indoor rainforest area with many terrariums for reptiles, amphibians, insects, and a few other animals. With the introduction out of the way let’s head into the Herptarium.

Starting from the left there is a large row of small terrariums (B-I) containing from right to left (Starting at I) are an arboreal tropical space for Green Tree Python, a small desert a terrarium with many flat rocks for Pancake Tortoise, another similar tank as the python’s although this time with more leaf litter on the bottom for a Solomon Island Skink and Solomon Island Leaf Frogs, another leafy tank for this time a Argentine Horned Frog, next up houses some Madagascar Hissing Cockroach under a large piece of wood, after this is a desert habitat for a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, after this is a home for some Peruvian Firesticks, and the final terrarium in the row is full of water and sticks for some Tentacled Snakes.

Above all this is a large aviary for a breeding population of Magpie Geese (A), this large tropical wetland area is home to a group of A (1.1) pair of these birds that have breed a few times since their arrival in 2014 to the zoo. The aviary they are is full of lush plants and due to the angle of it is easy to overlook these beautiful Australian birds.

The next area is once again an aviary and a huge aviary section for (1.2) Sandhill Cranes with a breeding pair and their current chick in a large wetland aviary that you can circle almost entirely around along with many beautiful plants inside (J). The plant life here also is outside of the cage in this building and there are many small gardens littered around. These birds also live with a snowy egret. These birds have been around for a while and are thought to have been around as long as possibly ten million years.

Along the side of the right view of the cranes is a small pocket in a large rock wall in the other side. This small pocket contains a Black And Rufous Elephant Shrew in a tropical terrarium where it can be quite hard to see this beautiful little relative of the famous elephant, and is one of CCZ’s newest residents. This animal is also once again an animal that has been on this planet for a long time and have been around since the Paleogene.

Next to this tank is a path that leads out of Florida and to a small garden with benches along the sides to stare at a large pond (L) containing Indian Roofed Turtles, Red Crowned Roof Turtles, and Malaysian Giant Turtles the last of which are part of a breeding program and are often offstage. This Asian turtle pond has also had contained various other turtles in the past, such as Yellow-Spotted Amazon River Turtle and was the former home to their Pig-Nosed Turtles.

Next on your path (M) is a large area full with underwater and land viewing and and this swampy home is for the American Alligators this zoo obtained a group of (5.3) live in here and are full of more tropical wetland plants of Florida (just like the cranes) and are the animal I mentioned last time to have the outdoor space. These animals have the largest home in the Herptarium and have breed quite a lot. They are also the oldest animals in the entirety of the zoo being here since the opening of the zoo in the now defunct reptile house.

Next up on a path that will lead you back to the cranes you can take a detour to the Snapper Cave. This cave is a small cave with three small tanks and a larger one on the back wall, this cave is also the only place in the Herptarium to have a lack of plants on the outside of the cages, and instead makes you feel like you are in a rocky underground cave full of water. In here the first tank is a round aquarium for Mexican Cave Tetra (Z), a small cave fish that is famous for being blind and having a lack of eyes. Two tanks are butting up with the tank in the back the left (X) is for an axolotl, a famous pet amphibian, although this one is in its wild morph instead of the famous albinos. The tank is filled with plants and hiding spaces for this famous salamander. The other tank (Y) is home to some fire-bellied newts, another salamander species, this time a little more active than their neighbors. The back tank (W) is where the cave gets its name and contains a large Alligator Snapping Turtle that will be quite hard to miss and is of course another animal coming from the old Reptile House.

Finally we leave the Florida section to head back into the rainforest which this time leads us to three more small terrariums. The middle is unique as on top of the whole terrarium is a life sized mural of an arthroplura, a giant millipede from the Carboniferous Period. Below them is unsurprisingly the largest living millipede, the Giant African Millipede, these critters live in a long lush terrarium (O). Next to them are two more terrariums for (M) Hercules Beetles, and (P) Giant Jumping Sticks.

Moving forward on the right is another aviary although this time a lot less lush than the previous for the predatory Red-Legged Seriema, these birds (a pair of 1.1) are located in a grassland aviary with a small pond in the back, these are also viewable from the path around the cranes. The reason they are here is because they are relatives of the terror birds, a group of birds that once stalked the South American grasslands during the Paleocene and Pleistocene periods and were the apex predators of their environment. The zoo has tried to breed this birds in the past with unfortunately no success yet.

The final section of the terrarium (Q-U) is for larger reptiles and amphibians which are in order (From U) A large fully filled with water terrarium for a large Japanese Giant Salamander, a large arboreal terrarium for some Green Iguanas, a large sandy terrarium for a Perentie, a large swampy terrarium for a Burmese Python, and the final terrarium is for Pig-Nosed Turtles in a similar tank to the salamander’s. These Turtles have also bred once while in the care of the zoo as well.

With that the Herptarium is finally completed. Any thoughts on the section would be greatly appreciated and with that as usual feel free to state your comments and criticism. Next time we will enter the Aquarium portion of the building and with that this is Para and I hope you enjoyed your tour of the Herptarium.

 

It's definitely very unusual in terms of herptarium, but an interesting concept overall.

I'm not sure how this works being above the terrariums as a wetland area... breeding population usually means more than 1.1 individuals as well. Also two relatively large waterfowl will not appreciate a lushly planted exhibit, it will hinder the bird's movement.

If you're breeding them, 5.3 gators is likely to cause territory and mating privilege fights. They're in a large exhibit apparently, but breeding them complicates things.

Better suited for an anaconda than a Burmese.

 

Compared to last time this is a relief as I feel most of these changes are purely aesthetic I need to do, the Python terrarium is an easy fix as all I have to do is change the interior of the terrarium. The Magpie Geese population will be changed to 2.2 to have two breeding pairs and the plants can easily be turned down a bit for the bird aviaries. The big one I am having trouble to fix is the wetland problem. My idea is to swap the seriema and geese so that the water will not be a problem (obviously changing both aviaries as well.) The gator population historically has not bred since the old reptile house (where there were only three gators) and the group is non-breeding at the moment.

 

At this time I have decided that along with the usual posts I have been doing (the ones where I show the overview from overhead and that show the species list) that I will start a sort of art type series where I will draw sections of the zoo as they would look in reality starting with the Herptarium. This project will happen on it’s own and will try to show how every exhibit in the zoo will look from a visitor standpoint. This series will also most likely be happening for a longer time that the main series and allows me to make adjustments based on your comments for the zoo. With that I want to also talk about a schedule for the tours. The main tours will continue to happen as last time on the weekend (most likely Saturdays), while the art series will happen on Wednesdays. With all this information in mind see you soon for the first Art Post of the first half on the Herptarium.

 

Correction on my end, I way overestimated my art skills and so when I said half that more or less now means 2 or 3 terrariums I will have done and as promise will post on Wednesday, sorry for the mix up

 

You're doing a nice job on this Para, it's great to see a kid putting in the time and effort

 

Today we will be exploring the other half of the Sands Of Time with the aquarium. The area opened in 2013 along with the Herptarium and this area, along with the Herptarium was a replacement for the old Primate House, which closed in 2011 for its replacement in Vanishing Habitats Rainforest which we will explore on a later date. This area is dedicated to various marine and freshwater fish, mollusks, and arthropods, lots of which are commonly dubbed living fossils, the area is vastly different to the Herptarium, with the idea you are in more of a museum type setting. The walls of the area are filled with many murals of creatures, from tetras to even the famous megalodon. With the background out of the way let us begin the tour.

The entrance allows you to go either the salt or freshwater first but to save the best for last we will take the left path. The area starts with a large tank in the middle of the road splitting the area into two paths this tank is filled with a large rock wall on the back with a roaring waterfall which leads into a large Everglades tank for a bowfin, Florida gar, and brown bullheads (Labeled I). The previously mentioned wall slowly falls into another tank on the other side, this large space continues the ancient American fish theme with lake sturgeon, (J) which normally would have stations for visitors to touch them. The same rock wall is mirrored on the other side with the waterfall this time heading into a large group of (Tank K) American Paddlefish which the end of would head us into the marine part of the aquarium. This area would also feature a mural diagram comparing the American Paddlefish to it’s extinct Chinese counterpart. Despite this the freshwater area is not over just yet as depending on the path you take you will see different freshwater fish.

The Right path starts off with row of tanks referred to as Southeast Asia, The Palace Of Gourami’s which features three small tanks for in order (A To C) Contain Kuhli Loach and Licorice Gourami, Spotfin Betta, and finally Pearl Danio and Pearl Gourami.

Up a bit from the Gourami is another small tank for a blue crayfish (Tank D) in an area showing various illustrations of freshwater life of the Everglades, along with the dangers facing this unique environment.

Next up is a tank showing the famous life forms of the Amazon River (E). With murals around it showing a beautiful rainforest environment, and a map of the Earth showing the various species of arowana. Showing off the South American Silver and Black, the African, the Asian, and the Australian Saratoga. The tank itself not surprisingly makes its main focus of the beautiful silver arowanas, but also contains Ripsaw Catfish, Butterfly Peacock Bass, Banded Leporinus, and Black Pacu.

The next area follows the Saratoga mural into Oceania Of which first up contains Barred Galaxias, (F) a small mountain fish that almost went extinct due to invasive trout. The next tank shows off beautiful Rainbowfish, (G) more specifically red and boseman's. The final larger tank shows of the unique Australian lungfish in a beautiful large tank where you will hopefully get a close up look this at this prehistoric fish if you can see them in their log leaning right up against the glass.

The Left Path contains less fish as it mostly contains murals and information of fish, but towards the end of the walk does contain some African fish, starting with a larger tank (L) for another lungfish species, this time the west African, along with some elephantnose and African knifefish. The next four tanks are reserved for Bichir (M To P) which in order are Nile, Ornate, Barred, And Saddled. The back wall also here also shows a large mural of a hippopotamus.

Finally the Marine section begins. The area starts with you heading into the abyss to see rarely seen creatures of the deep, showing murals of many deep sea creatures, such as oarfish, Anglers, Giant Squid, and coelacanth. The first tank settled into a corner contains the chambered nautilus, a unique cephalopod and a member of the only remaining family of the Nautilodia, a group of animals that has been around since the Cambrian. Staying in the deep on the left side you can find another cephalopod, this time the famous Giant Pacific Octopus. The theme of inverts stay a across from a sunken ship we will look at soon, there is a tank for the moon jellyfish, jellyfish are also some of the oldest multicellular life on the planet, existing even before the aforementioned Nautilodia. Finally we get back to a fish the next tank is another larger tank for some spotted ratfish, a member of the chimera family, meaning the odd fish is a deep sea relative of sharks an rays, the bottom of this tank also contains some unique crustaceans with Giant Isopods and Japanese Spider Crabs. The Final Tank in the gallery is another touch tank, (Tank X) but this time instead of sturgeons you are touching various species of animals found in tidal pools such as leather and ocre stars, California Sea Cucumber, and the ancient Atlantic Horseshoe Crab, an animal that despise its name is not a crab at all.

Of Course This is not the end as I saved the best for last. (Tank R) The entirety of the marine section is facing a huge tank compared to the rest, Shark Reef is a Giant shark tank that contains four shark species, blacktip, sandtiger, tasseled wobbegong, and zebra. The sharks are also accompanied by a green sea turtle, tarpons, and bluefin trevally.
The main attraction for his tank of course is the Giant shipwreck which allows you to go into a giant glass bubble to see into the tank from a 360 degree view of the sharks. The ship is also named the S.S Clark After the Ichthyologist Eugenie Clark, who was well known for her study on sharks.

With that the Sands Of Time is officially complete, the next tour will be on Giraffe Canyon. Which will release next Wednesday, and of course most importantly, feel free to leave your comments, criticism, and suggestions below. With that I will leave you until the next art post.

 

Completely forgot to mention the Shark tank also contains a Queensland Grouper as well.

 

After a long series of thinking, I have decided to cancel the art series for several reasons, first due to the fact if keep going at the same rate of photos a week as now this project will take quite possibly two years which would be a ridiculously long time. Another reason I gave up on this project is because of motivation and time as I sometimes have quite a busy schedule due to school as such, so completing these for two years could be quiet tiring and I already have been losing motivation. I have been considering this for a while and some comments from fellow Zoochatters have also made me realize my art skills are a bit lackluster and that I just do not have the skills to do my ideas justice. For those who are a fan of my tour type drawings, I have good news for those will be continued and will have the next post as planned on Saturday. For those who are a fan of my art, I deeply apologize for giving false hope. Thank you for all the support on these projects and will see you for the tour of Ungulate Valley on Saturday.

 

The Ungulate Valley is here and today will focus on the first of three segments of the valley. The starting area is the only one to take you into the valley itself, showing off African Savannah ungulates in large grassland areas while being surrounded by the large sloping sides of the valley. This area is referred to as Giraffe Canyon and contains more than just your standard savannah, containing some rare and beautiful creatures of the African Savannah.

After you enter the arch into the valley, you will soon see the small Kirk’s Dik-Dik. A small antelope named after the sounds the females make when threatened. The zoo has a breeding pair and their small habitat is mostly plain say for a few bushes, as they are found in more arid parts of the Savannah. Despite this they are one of the few arid outdoor animals that have done decently well in CCZ, but if they feel uncomfortable they can always go indoors to escape the moisture.
(Outdoor Area D) (Indoor 4)

Across from them is a long pathway, at the end is a few small planters before you see a large yard referred to as the Savannah. Four Species make their home here in this large field, Greater Kudu, Impala, Blue Wildebeest, and the only non-ungulate in Giraffe Canyon, The common Ostrich. They can also been seen from a window in their indoor holding. This habitat is mostly a large field with a few trees, and a large oasis in the middle. Many of hoof stock have also lived here in the past such as Thomson’s Gazelle, Lechwe, and the zebras we will see later, which were removed due to fighting with some of the other hoofstock. The current groupings for the animals in here are, (1.5) Impala, (1.1) Ostrich, (0.2) Wildebeest, and (1.2) Greater Kudu.
(Outdoor F) (Indoor 6)

This path though leads to a dead end so after going back to the dik-dik you can either head to the African Jungle, or keep going to see the Reticulated Giraffe. These tall animals live in a large Savannah with the Hartman’s Mountain Zebra from before. The zoo is home to a herd of (2,3) which live in this beautiful habitat full of live trees and more interestingly height adjustable feeding and water troughs suspended from the ground. The habitat connects to the Giraffe House where you can see CCZ’s giraffes indoors. The entire outdoor exhibit can also be seen from above behind a restaurant across from the Sands Of Time.
(Outdoor E) (Indoor 5)

Following on to the last area on this path is a smaller yard for the area’s rarest animal, the Addra Gazelle. This critically endangered antelope has luckily been bred a few times in the zoo, with two calves being born in this complex, and another in the past. The Gazelles also were recently joined by a female gerenuk, which as of now have been getting along with the gazelle herd just fine. The zoo is currently taking care of a (1.3) herd and another herd of (1.2) and the two groups swap exhibits as the other herd is kept indoors while the others are outdoors. The Gerenuk is also only outdoors with the larger group.
(Outdoors G) (Indoor 7)

The very last exhibit here is on the other path from the giraffe and is on the slope of the sides of the valley. This large sandy habitat is another more arid weather animal with the Southern White Rhinoceroses the zoo is home to two rhinos, a elderly breeding pair that has been here since the opening of the zoo and has also given birth once here and a few times before their arrival at CCZ. The exhibit merges into the next area, the African Jungle which we will explore next time.
(Outdoor H) (Indoor 8)

Next time we will explore the next area of Ungulate Valley and of course as usual feel free to say your criticisms and comments in the thread and with that, The tour of Giraffe Valley is over.

 

Unfortunately I am a day late but here is the African Forest: Unicorn Trek. This area was created more recently as phase 1 of the 2013 Master Plan and went through many changes from the part of the African Savanna exhibit it replaced compared to the last area, as all of Ungulate Valley was a replacement for their old African Savannah area. This area is dedicated to the discovery of the okapi and how they were eventually brought to Europe.

Before the actual new area though I do want to emphasize that a second pen for the Addra Gazelle has been added so that both herds can be outside at the same time
(Labeled I)

The Start of this trek starts you at where we left off at the Addra Gazelle yard, heading up the hill and looking at the beautiful view of the area we just left you head into the forest. Here a few steps in and the first habitat is in view. A large forested habitat for CCZ’s Bongo’s a group of (1.2) along with a Yellow-Backed Duiker (0.1). These animals live in a large yard with many places for the shy duiker to hide, and a large shade structure. The zoo is part of the bongo’s species survival plan and has breed a few times in the past.
(Outdoor J, Indoor 9)
The next area brings you into a large colorful marketplace, based on the real Poto Poto Market in the Congo (Building 12 And 13). On the side of the left market is a small aviary home to a Lady Ross’s Turaco, Gold-Breasted Starlings, and most notably a pair of Congo Peafowl. While not an Ungulate this animal fits the theme of this trek since it like the okapi was not discovered until fairly recently. More specifically the Congo peafowl was discovered in 1963 by James Paul Chaplin and is also the national bird of the Democratic Republic Of The Congo, the only country the okapi is found in the wild.
(Habitat L)

More hints of the existence of the legendary unicorn appear in the market showing off an artificial skull and casts of the hoofprints of the legendary animal that was dubbed the “African Unicorn”.

After following replica footprints of the animal on the path you are lead to the unicorn itself but across from them is an even rarer treat for a zoo. The small paddock across from the Okapi’s home is for the zoo’s Zebra Duikers, a young pair that has bred for the first time just last year and arrived here in 2019. They are often considered the shining jewel of the zoo’s collection and zoo fanatics often come solely to see this rare antelope.
(Outdoor M, Indoor 11)

The final enclosure is what puts the unicorn in the unicorn trek. A large grassy, lush habitat full of various trees and bushes is home to the Okapi. This rare and shy Ungulate was discovered in 1901 and before then was often though as nothing but a myth, hence why it was dubbed the “African Unicorn”. CCZ owns a pair that rotates who’s on exhibit and the pair has had two calves while here in Crystelia. This exhibit rounds back to the White Rhinos and then you can continue your journey to the Asian Plateau.
(Outdoor K, Indoor 10)

With that I have given the tour of The African Forest: Unicorn Trek. Feel free to leave your comments, criticisms, and advice and I will see you (hopefully) next Saturday to show off the final section of Ungulate Valley.

 

The Final Area Of Ungulate Valley Is The Asian Plateau. This Area Was The Final Area Of Phase 1 Of The 2013 Master Plan African Savannah Replacement. This Area Is Dedicated To Animals From Asian Savannas And Forests. Many Areas Are Also A Great Vantage Point To Look At Stellar Views Of Giraffe Canyon.

Going Past The Rhinos Your First Stop Is Right After Looking Over The Rhino Holding And Where The Path Winds Off From Looking At The Canyon. Taking A Detour From The Main Path Is A Large Viewing Deck Where Visitors Can Look Out To Find A Herd Of Przewalski’s Horses, The Zoo Owns A Herd Of (1.4) Of This Endangered Relative To Domestic Horses. The Zoo Obtained This Herd Back In 2021 After The Death Of The Former Resident Indian Rhino That Lived Here.
(Outdoor N) (Indoor 14)

Heading Back On The Main Path Is Where Visitors Get Transported To The Tropical Forest To See Some Of Asia’s Rainforest Wildlife. Meanwhile On The Other Side Of The Path You Once Again Get A Breathtaking View Of Giraffe Canyon, This Time A Gorgeous Overview Of The African Savannah. On The Other Side You Can Find The Reeve’s Muntjac, A Small Deer Species. CCZ’s Resident Male Lives In A Small Lush Yard With Numerous Hiding Places For This Shy Animal.
(Outdoor R) (Indoor 15)

After Awing At The View Guests Get Lead Deeper In The Forest For Another Small Shy Fanged Ungulate, The Greater-Malayan Chevrotain. This Small Animal Is Also Called A Mouse Deer But Despite That The Animal Is Not A Deer But Actually In Its Own Family Called The Tragulidae. The Zoo Is Home To A Breeding Pair Of These Small Ungulates And The Zoo Has Bred This Species But Has Not Had Any Luck With Keeping Their Young Alive For Long.
(Outdoor P) (Indoor 16)

Leaving The Forest Grants You One Of Many Views Of The Asian Savannah Before You Leave Ungulate Valley. The Exit Spits You Out At A Small Plaza With A Fountain In The Middle Of It. The Plaza Also Lets You Get More Views Into The Aforementioned Savannah. The Savannah Itself Contains A Large Pond And A Large Shade Structure For Its Residents. Five Species Make Their Home Here On The Savannah, Gaur, Blackbuck, Nilgai, Barasingha, And Sambar Deer.
The Zoo At The Moment Contains (1.2) Gaur, (0.7) Nilgai, (1.5) Blackbuck, (1.7) Barasingha, And (0.6) Sambar Deer. Each Of The Animals All Also Have Their Own Separate Yards Backstage As Well.
(Outdoor Q) (Indoor 17) (Backstage T-W)

With That The Entirety Of Ungulate Valley Is Finished And Next Time We Will Head Off To The Other Side Of The Small Plaza To Make Our Way Towards The Cat House And The Elephant’s Graveyard. With That Feel Free To Leave Your Comments, Criticism And Suggestions Below And We Will Meet Again Next Saturday For The Cat House And Surrounding Areas.