My Dream Zoo (2nd version)

Reptile House
the Reptile House are is home to most of the zoos exotic reptiles & amphibians. It is split into seven sections: Swamps, Rainforests, Temperate Forests, Deserts, Savanna, Islands & Outdoor.
Swamps
the Swamps section is based on the swamps & other freshwater habitats of the world, namely the Everglades, Mekong River & Amazon River. Each enclosure in the Swamps section are fully or semi-aquatic. In the Everglades part there are two enclosures, the first & larger exhibit is for American Alligator, Red-Eared Slider & Diamondback Terrapin, the species in here have an outdoor section which they swim out to (they can also be viewed from the outdoor section). The other one which is almost fully aquatic has snapping-turtles (Alligator & Common) & Alligator Gar. The Mekong River part has four exhbits, the largest has an water & land side & is for turtles (Golden Coin- & Spiny) & Philippine Sailfin-Lizard. After this are three amphibian tanks which have Oriental Fire-Bellied Toad, Japanese Fire-Belly Newt & Vietnamese Mossy-Frog. In the Amazon River part are three enclosures, the first two are rather large paludariums for a mix of Twist-Necked Turtle & Green Basilisk & the other has a mix of Mata-Mata & Northern Caiman-Lizard, the last & largest exhibit is for Green Anaconda.
Rainforests
the Rainforests section is based on the rainforests & other tropical forests of the world, namely the Amazon Rainforest, Indonesia & Congo Rainforest. The Amazon Rainforest part has three enclosures, a rather skinny tall tank filled with bromeliads has a mix of poison dart-frogs (Dyeing & Blue) & Eyelash Viper, there's a large exhibit for Boa Constrictor & Rainbow Boa & a tank similar to the first but wider has Emerald Tree-Boa. In the Indonesia part there are seven enclosures, there's a tank for Tokay Gecko & Indonesian Blue-Tongue Skink, a large, long & tall exhibit houses a mix of pythons (Burmese, Reticulated & Blood), a long exhibit themed after a bamboo forest with tall bamboo shoots has King Cobra, a smaller, dark, forest floor tank for Long-Nosed Horned-Frog, another forest floor enclosure this one bigger & filled with vines has a mix of snakes (Asian Vine- & Blue Malaysian Coral-), last in this part are two identical skinny tall tanks for White-Lipped Pit-Viper & Wagler's Pit-Viper. There is only one exhibit representing the Congo Rainforest, it is a large forest floor enclosure with climbing opportinuties & it houses a mix of vipers (Gaboon & Rhinoceros) & Eastern Green-Mamba.
Temperate Forests
the Temperate Forests section is based on the temperate forests & similar habitats of the Northern Hemisphere (mostly), these include New Zealand, North America & Europe. The New Zealand part has two exhibits, the larger one is home to Tuatara & the smaller one for Northland Green-Gecko. In the North America part there are five enclosures, the largest based on a pine forest has a mix of Eastern Box-Turtle & Corn Snake, a tank based on the chaparral is for California Kingsnake, two similar drier exhibits have Cantil & Banded Rock-Rattlesnake & last is a forest floor tank for Western Hognose-Snake. The Europe part has two enclosures, a forest floor exhibit houses European Glass-Lizard & then there's a semi-aquatic tank for Fire Salamander.
Deserts
the Deserts section is based on the deserts & other dry habitats of the world, particularly the Middle East & Sonoran Desert. The main enclosure in the Middle East part has a mix of Hermann's Tortoise & Veiled Chameleon & then there are two similar tanks for Kenyan Sand-Boa & Leopard Gecko. The Sonoran Desert part has a rather large, rocky exhibit with Gila monster, Western Diamondback-Rattlesnake & Mexican Beaded-Lizard, a smaller tank houses Pueblan Milk-Snake & last is another rocky enclosure this one smaller for Desert Tortoise & Eastern Collared-Lizard.
Savannas
the Savannas section is based on the savanna & similar habitats of Africa. There's an exhibit, which has a mix of Ball Python & Leopard Tortoise, next are two similar enclosures for Mozambique Spitting-Cobra & Black Mamba, there's two rocky enclosures, the smaller one has Pancake Tortoise & Armadillo Girdled-Lizard & a larger one with trees for Rainbow Agama & Jackson's Chameleon, last is a swampy tank with African Bullfrog.
Islands
the Islands section is based on the islands of the Pacific & Indian Oceans, especially New Guinea, the Pacific Islands & Madagascar. The New Guinea part has two exhibits, a small swampy tank for Red-Eyed Crocodile-Skink & a larger one with climbing opportunities which has a mix of D'Albertis Python & Beauty Rat-Snake. In the Pacific Islands part there are three enclosures, a long one with climbing opportunities which has Indian Star-Tortoise & Fijian Crested-Iguana, a tall exhibit with a bit of width is for New Caledonian Giant-Gecko & Solomon Islands Skink & last is a forest floor enclosure which has Solomons Small-Eyed Snake. The Madagascar part has two exhibits, both are similar arboreal tanks with one species each for Madgascan Giant Day-Gecko & Panther Chameleon.
Outdoor
the Outdoor section is for all the larger reptiles which need large or outdoor enclosures. First is the largest & is flat & open with shelters it is home to Galapagos Giant-Tortoise, then is an exhibit with climbing opportunities & hiding spots for Argentine Black-and-White Tegu, a dusty open enclosure with fallen logs, rocky ledges & overhangs has Komodo Dragon & last is another dusty exhibit with rocky ledges, overhangs & rocky piles for Rhinoceros Iguana.

 

For most of the species I've chosen which would needed to be imported (even if the wouldn't be able to be), are species which do not have something similar in Australia.
like the suggestion of Nubian Ibex there are already Barbary Sheep in Australia & the same for Bactrian camel there are already Dromedary Camel.

 

I also forgot to add an exhibit in Herds
Swiss Alps
the Swiss Alps section is based on the Alps of Switzerland & is home to: Chamois & deer (Red & Fallow).

 

I'm very confused about your situation regarding imports, sometimes it seems you're trying to avoid them and other points you seem to be doing a lot of them. Any clarification on this?

 

I'm trying to avoid imports where there's a species which is already similar in Australia such as:
Dromedary Camel instead of Bactrian Camel
or
Barbary Sheep instead of Nubian Ibex
but the species I chose which would need to be imported (even if they wouldn't be allowed to be), are species which don't have really have anything similar to them in already Australia, like:
Okapi
&
Greater Flamingo

 

The rules for fantasy threads indicate you should be as realistic as possible, which means factoring in import laws.

 

There aren't actually any stipulations on realism as far as I remember, but there certainly are stipulations on simply listing species. I don't believe that the thread in the current format follows the regulations as set out by Sim in this respect, as the focus here is on lists rather than description. While the creator has taken a step in the right direction by creating maps for their other thread, both remain problematic on the description side of things. As an aside, as others have noted on both threads, the mixes proposed often show a lack of research given the distinct possibility of the constituent animals ripping each other to shreds.

 

I reread the posts again and see where I came to that conclusion, based on these two quotes from Sim:

"To be clear: we encourage the discussion about theoretical zoo and exhibit design - but don't make a game out of it. It should aim to be educational rather than pure fantasy."
"The key word here is "design" - we expect some thought and detail."

I interpreted thought and detail, in particular, to include aspects of being realistic and not just fantasy

Agreed on the species lists 100%. Anyone can throw together a list of species.

 

Don't want to hijack this thread more than I've already done but as this is mildly pertinent to the above thread I might as well note it here - the lack of any sort of stipulation on realism was, if I remember correctly, to encourage people to come up with interesting ways of not only housing these 'unrealistic' animals but also sourcing them in the first place. It wasn't meant as free rein to make completely inconceivable zoos but rather to suggest scenarios in which such a species might make it into captivity and hence be housed/cared for etc.

So as an example, if I say I will have a Basking shark in my zoo, the aim is to find a conceivable way in which such an animal would be transported and cared for within the realm of possibility, rather than just list it down as just another species in a list.