Making African Sections More Unique

We all know about the standard animals most zoos contain in their African sections, but I'm super curious about what people think are under-represented African animals in zoos across the world, and which animals should be more represented than they are.
For example, I think the Giant Eland and most other lesser-known antelope-esque ungulates are under-represented in zoos.
I want to know your opinions though!

 

Many Ethiopian mountain mammals are pretty much non-existent in US/European zoos as far as I'm aware. Only Geladas, and they're very limited. Would love to see Simien Jackal, Mountain Nyala, Walia Ibex etc, and even an Alpine Africa-themed exhibit.

 

I've floated a few ideas on ZooChat about what a unique African section would look like - I'd wager that a Sahel ecosystem and a Miombo/mopani woodland ecosystem would be pretty unique. The former has sort of been done at Paris Zoological Park and the Barcelona Zoo, and to my knowledge, the latter has only been done at Cleveland's African Elephant Crossing. (Well, one of the yards - the Mopani Range). The best thing about both of these ecosystems is that they host a lot of iconic African wildlife - giraffes, elephants, baboons, lions, wildebeest, wild dogs, cheetahs, oryx, etc., and said wildlife would provide a perfect vessel for highlighting these unique and underrepresented ecosystems.

 

A lot of us want more ungulates to be represented in these habitats but it's just not possible to sustain every single species out there so the AZA has chosen to keep a select few and keep their populations healthy (rather than keeping as many as they can, with very unsustainable populations). Many zoos also don't have the interest in housing a ton of ungulate species unfortunately which has partially resulted in the lower amount of species represented these days. There are a lot of issues surrounding the giant eland in North America which is why both San Diego and Miami have phased out the species within the last year or so. And there are lots of regulations and things surrounding the importing of most hoofstock species into the US at least so that's a dead end. Basically, we're just going to have to be happy with what we have but we still have a good amount of representation of species and these species will have much more healthy populations than a majority of the species that are being phased out or have already been. There's also been some interest in building off-site ungulate breeding facilities around the zoo community (in the US) so I think there is still some hope.

 

Ethiopia doesn't allow exporting.

 

The biggest problem with African areas in zoos (which really contributes to their homogenous feel) is the fact that they always include the same few ABC species and not much else. Bookfield's Habitat Africa takes the excellent approach of including many of those while also not ignoring the smaller and less-known species. Here's the species list, for reference:

African Painted Dog
Generic Giraffe
Grass Carp
Gerenuk
Lowland Nyala
Gray Crowned Crane
Kirk's Dik-Dik
Klipspringer
Violet-backed Starling
Taveta Golden Weaver
Emerald Starling
Common Bulbul
Red-cheeked Turaco
Speckled Mousebird
Blue-bellied Roller
Violaceous Turaco
Eastern Paradise Whydah
Common Dwarf Mongoose
Pancake Tortoise
White-throated Monitor
Giant Plated Lizard
African Spurred Tortoise
Leopard Tortoise
Okapi
Yellow-backed Duiker
African Dwarf Crocodile
Red-billed Hornbill
Congo Peafowl
Home's Hinge-backed Tortoise
White-bellied Pangolin
Madagascar Tree Boa
Red-flanked Duiker
Red River Hog

 

I think the best way to make African sections more unique is cutting down on the Megafauna. Yes, Africa has Giraffes and Lions and Cheetahs and Elephants/Rhinos/Hippos, but does a zoo really need all of them? Why not give the little guys a chance in the spotlight? (not now, meerkats...)

Part of why Cincinnati's Africa exhibit felt so "meh" in retrospect (aside from the non-name) was that it was all megafauna/ABC's. There was no aviary for smaller African birds, no herptiles, no small mammals aside from the suricate syndicate, nothing. It was just "Lions, Giraffes, Hippos, Meerkats, My Sharona!"

Meanwhile, San Diego's Africa Rocks exhibit is my personal favorite zoo exhibit (for now, at least), and part of why I love it so much is that it's not just another "African Savannah". It doesn't necessarily display species that are rare in zoos, but the many of the species there are rare in dedicated African sections. Many zoos display African Penguins, for example, but they're usually their own thing and aren't connected to a greater African area.

In the Zoo Tycoon 2 African Adventure, there is a mission where you have to make a zoo that highlights the diversity of African wildlife. It says, "Since the intention is to spotlight Africa's natural diversity, the board doesn't want you to rely too heavily on traditional Savannah species like zebras and lions." I wish more zoos followed this philosophy. They don't have to completely eschew ABC African animals (Africa Rocks feels like something only San Diego could get away with), but something like Fort Wayne's African Journey is a nice middle ground.

Also, I've coined the term "Walkaroo Kangabout" to describe particularly uninspired Australia exhibits, but what to call uninspired African exhibits?

 

Ok just curious, do you know the whole list of species that San Diego's African Rocks contains? I'd like to learn about it and what kind of things they did differently from other African sections.

 

I don’t know every species, but here are the main ones and what areas they are in:

Cape Fynbos

• African Penguin
• Leopard Shark (a stand-in for a different shark species)

West African Forest

• Dwarf Crocodile
• Various turtles

Madagascar

• Ring-tailed Lemur
• Red Ruffed Lemur
• Red Collared Lemur
• Blue-eyed Black Lemur
• Coquerel’s Sifaka
• Fossa
• Honey Badger (clearly not native, but glad he’s here)

Acacia Woodlands

• Vervet Monkey
• Amur Leopard (a stand-in for African Leopards)
• A lot of birds

Ethiopian Highlands

• Nubian Ibex
• Gelada
• Hamadryas Baboon

Kopje

• Bateleur Eagle
• Serval
• Dwarf Mongoose
• Rock Hyrax
• Klipspringer
• Meerkat

As you can see, no traditional savannah species, and nothing bigger than a leopard (ibex? Idk who’s the biggest in this area). There were plans for Zebras and Warthogs at some point, but they were cut.

 

Exhibitry can also be a big part of making exhibits feel unique. One thing recently I've been pondering is why more of the new elephant complexes don't include a mixed species element. Dallas Zoo and a few others have made this work, so I don't know why more don't try to replicate it. An idea I had was to have a giraffe habitat and elephant habitat separated by a bridge, of a height such that the giraffes and elephants cannot cross but smaller animals can, such as the omnipresent zebras and Ostriches, and possibly some antelope species like impala and/or springbok. Then add habitats for some Carnivores (not only lions or cheetahs- there are also plenty of smaller Carnivores like bat-eared fox, serval, Caracas, etc.), perhaps an aviary, a primate habitat, and you have a unique African complex, even if the species list isn't the most exciting.

 

I just wish zoos actually had African Leopards instead of amur leopards in their african exhibits. If I'm not mistaken, the Columbus zoo is the only major zoo in the U.S. with African leopards.

 

Don't think there are any pure Africans over here - Columbus' are hybrids as well iirc.

 

Wait what are those issues about giant elands? Do they have terrible breeding records?

 

I suggest reading this thread for more information: Giant Eland Left in North America

 

You're correct, there's no known pure africans left.

 

There's a lot to be said about the mixed potential of the micro-fauna for exhibits, especially with an aim towards making exhibits feel more immersive. When I went to study in Africa in college, I saw all of the big African mammals - most of them from the back of a landrover, occasionally on foot - and I couldn't shake the feeling that I was in a zoo. A huge, incredibly beautiful zoo, but a zoo nonetheless. It just all felt so unreal. But when I'd be pitching camp that night and a superb starling would land a branch right next to me, or I'd scare up a rock agama, those were the moments that I thought, "This is real - I'm actually in Africa."

The large African mammals not represented in US zoos at this time are unlikely to be making appearances here any time soon, as others have noted. A few of the species that we do have are likely to become less common, with some disappearing altogether. If we get past the idea that every zoo needs every species and place just as much focus on smaller, more intimate experiences with small mammals, birds, and herps, I think we could see some exhibits that are not only enjoyable and more unique, but would provide a more realistic view of what life on safari is like.

 

I think that when developing an African section, a zoo could concentrate on a particular (national) park, as is often done with Asian sections, such as Kaziranga Forest Trail at Dublin Zoo, inspired by the Kaziranga National Park in India.
If zoos concentrate on only one section rather than whole Africa, fewer large species remain and consequently more small species. There are numerous national parks in Africa on which zoos can base their sections, not only on the world-famous parks such as Kruger National Park or Virunga National Park, but also on others such as Serengeti National Park, where "the great migration" takes place, something that can interest visitors. Virunga National Park, as mentioned earlier, also has many different small animal species (although this focuses on the rainforest).
I could go on and on, but I have mainly focused on the larger national parks to give everyone an idea of what I mean, but there are countless other national parks that could be used in a zoo section.

 

For what it's worth, I think this might be something that European zoos tend to do better than American zoos - at least in terms of variety. Most European zoos with an African area will have some sort of smaller mammal exhibit and often tortoises or other herps alongside. Typically these species will tend to be along the lines of a non-meerkat mongoose species, Bat-eared or Fennec foxes, Naked mole-rats, any of the African spiny rat species, as well as Leopard/Spider/Sulcata tortoises. It really doesn't take much space and I find that while there are perhaps fewer crowds around these types of smaller exhibits, the people watching tend to stay longer as the species feel perhaps more tangible than a giraffe, elephant or lion. A lot of these species are quite active as well, which does make them a good choice for such exhibits.

As for pure variety, I'm afraid the best example is again going to be Plzen, at least of those I've come across. Plzen has two large houses entirely dedicated to small African fauna - the Madagascar House and the African Night House. The species lists are something along the lines of this, although this might be a bit outdated:

African Night House: Slender mongoose, Bat-eared fox, Dwarf mongoose, Banded mongoose, Common cusimanse, Gambian epauletted bat, Shaw's jird, Gaboon viper, Nile rat, Typical striped grass mouse, Four-toed jerboa, Tibesti spiny mouse, Xeric striped grass mouse, Mesic striped grass mouse, Greater Egyptian jerboa, Lesser Egyptian jerboa, Emin's giant pouched rat, Springhare, Garnett's bushbaby, Four-toed hedgehog, Cape fox, Straw-colored fruit bat, Northern lesser bushbaby, African brush tailed porcupine, Tristram's jird, Acacia rat, Matthey's mouse, Black-backed jackal, Yellow mongoose, Hausa genet.

Madagascar House: Grey mouse lemur, Malagasy jumping rat, Ring-tailed lemur, Madagascar tree boa, Hissing cockroach, Red ruffed lemur, Collared lemur, Dumeril's tree boa, Rodriguez flying fox, Red bellied lemur, Black lemur, Tailless tenrec, BAW ruffed lemur, Western fat-tailed lemur, Red tailed silverside, Kotsovato, Black diamond cichlid, Pachypanchax sakaramyi, Lac Aloatra bamboo lemur, White-headed lemur, Narrow-striped mongoose, Ring tailed mongoose, Red fronted lemur, Radiated tortoise, Common brown lemur, Oustalet's chameleon, Karsten's zonosaur, Cuvier's swift, Spider tortoise, Grandidier's swift, Broad-tailed girdled lizard, Greater day gecko, Madagascar velvet gecko.

So yeah, in terms of species variety and volume, Plzen has a brilliant series of African buildings. Prague also has a lovely African building if I remember correctly, as do Basel and Nurnberg.

 

Do you have some examples of what species are most likely to become less common or to disappear?

 

okay, weird choice to name an exhibit after one of the most unique and threatened ecosystems in Africa though, and then house 2 species in it that aren't found in that habitat...

A greenhouse full of a diversity of gorgeous Proteas, succulents and more from the Cape Floristic Region though, with scattered exhibits for herps and maybe a few choice small free-flying birds and possibly a very small felid, an aviary nearby for blue cranes and cape vultures, and then enclosures for mountain zebra, bontebok, leopard and brown hyena... okay i'm slipping further into the realms of fantasy here, but I'd love to see fynbos or renosterveld introduced properly to a wider audience through a zoo exhibit, not just tacked onto the name of a fairly unrelated penguin exhibit.