From the look of the raked sand and the lack of foot-prints, the Germans (and their children) respect a 3" high stand-off barrier. The English (and the Czechs), certainly don't/wouldn't - so could this work outside Germany?
I actually saw two different children touching animals without parents making more than token efforts to stop them. It's a fantastic exhibit but I don't know why there isn't a permanent staff presence.
Just touching? - an hour north of London, in a (relatively) prosperous part of the the UK, this would be trampled and trashed. To keep the open feel, replacing the 3" high kerb with a 3' glass barrier would be the only way, which even museums have to do - but even then, 3' is not always enough...
It's a thought that did cross our minds! We only saw one (very) small child go 'off-piste' over three visits to the house across two days, which was while we were in the building on the Zoohistorica guided tour. The child didn't really attempt to touch anything - just wandered off across the sand up to the large windows at the back of the house. The zoo director was remarkably unconcerned, saying that it didn't cause any real problems and was a conscious risk they took in order to keep the enclosure fully-open, and the child returned swiftly to its parent without incident. The plans apparently did include a thigh-high glass barrier at one point but it was removed as it was felt it compromised the concept too much - close contact with animals that people might instinctively feel less empathy towards was a major part of the reason for building the house (it's also used for teaching about soil in their zoo education programmes, as well as more generally for educating about deserts). It's apparently particularly popular with annual pass holders because the lizards and beetles are now perfectly approachable and touch-able.
If there were staff there they wouldn't have stopped them touching the lizards - that's one of the management's favourite things about the exhibit..!
I do think even a toddler-sized barrier would compromise the exhibit somewhat; the real beauty of it is that you can squat down and get your face right over the beetles for close-up viewing. In fact, I wonder if a sunken path might be a direction other zoos take when they (inevitably I hope) copy this exhibit. Apart from stopping little wanderers it would also bring things closer to those in wheelchairs or who are otherwise less able to get down to floor level. I'm not really sure how I feel about that, it's hard to imagine there aren't occasional casualties among the beetles. Still, Nuremberg clearly know what they are doing.
I'm sure the same is true of butterfly houses the world over, though! As I say, it's a calculated risk by the zoo as the bigger picture of increasing empathy for the beetles and lizards is one of their key aims with this house. The director is (admirably) very much a 'big picture' man and very keen to tackle big issues and also to get political where needed!
That's a very good point. Touchpools in aquariums would be another example (but then again I don't like those either). He sounds like a very interesting man, and I'm sorry to have missed the chance to hear him speak.
He was certainly a very interesting speaker - despite only covering a tiny area of the zoo in real terms it was one of the most interesting Zoohistorica tours there has been, I think.
This was done in the long walk-through aviary which was attached to the Louise Hall at Wassenaar Zoo. The aviary floor level was raised, achieving exactly what you suggest. I dont remember the height, and do seem to remember that another barrier was above this; but a floor height difference would certainly both reduce the just-walking-in 'problem', and bring the viewing level up too - even if it would reduce the open panorama effect shown here. Food for thought...
Some news from Nuremberg: - Two nutcrackers are once again in the Bearded vulture aviary and Red-billed hornbill are back in the Dwarf mongoose enclosure - Both Bat-eared fox (next and in with the Gorilla) and Libyan striped weasels are waiting for the last construction work to finish to come before the scenes. - Also arrived behind the scenes are Babirusa. - The whole central area where e.g. Takin, Prince Alfred deer, Wapiti & Wisent live will be remodelled into an Asian zone within the next years. Species mentioned now (more could be included in the plan) are Takin, Anoa, Babirusa, Goitered gazelle, Snow leopard & Malayan tapir. Except the Anoa and Babirusa all species were already kept at the Tiergarten.
A lovely visit to Nürnberg today which is as of now probably my third favourite zoo (although my list of zoos visited is very limited). The atmosphere and forest setting are great and the species are housed very adequately with some enclosures (lynx, yellow-throated marten, desert house, manatee house) being true gems. I feel like the only thing Nürnberg lacks is a true big-hitter like a well-sized bird house or vivarium. It does go against their current philosophy (with the manatee and desert house being much more like ecodisplays) but it would certainly boost their mammal-oriented species roster and would especially break the monotony of dozens of (although lovely) ungulate enclosures in a row. They also need to renovate the Tapir House and maybe the Ape House, especially the Barbary macaque exhibit, as those are subpar to the rest of the zoo. Some impressions and notes from my visit: - Unfortunately, due to the rain, I only ended up seeing 9 of the 40-so reptile species they supposedly hold with notable misses being all the ones in the Mediterraneum (for obvious reasons) and more surprisingly in the Desert house (only two species spotted, low activity in general). - Saharan striped weasels signed but not seen, they only have access to an outdoor exhibit which makes it hard to see them in broad daylight. The newly arrived bat-eared foxes are signed as well near the Ape House although I didn't see them either. - Blue-backed manakin neither signed nor seen, I asked keepers who didn't seem to know what they were. All other species of birds in the Manatee-House were spotted easily and there were plenty of very showy Croaking ground-doves. - Their sole Yellow-backed duiker is either off-show or gone. It is still signed on the map but in its enclosure are the newly arrived Sulawesi babirusas (signed as well). There is a nearby exhibit that is under renovation so it could be for it but I doubt it - The Northern yellow-throated martens were very showy as well, which backs up the claims of many people on here. Definitely a treat to see. The bearded vulture/spotted nutcracker/bobak marmot (hibernating)/red-billed chough aviary is also another little gem that represents Nürnberg's style pretty well. - The Desert House is smaller than I thought and although aesthetically very pleasing, there was unfortunately very low activity (only the three bird species kept and a few harduns were seen.). Not that many beetles were spotted either. Definitely seems like a better place to visit in spring. - New species for the zoo: Crowned lemur (kept with Alpine rock partridge and Red-rumped agouti) and Helmeted guineafowl (kept in the Giraffe House)
The Yellow-backed duiker is usually in the enclosure between the new babirusa exhibit and the highland cattle. You can not see it very good and you have to be lucky to spot the duiker. The striped weasels are still only showing around evening or when they get food. I will try my luck in a couple of days as well.
Definitely a reason for me to return when the days are a little longer - I missed the species at Plzen by only a year or so. Hopefully by then, it will be somewhat clearer when the best times to see them are
Seemed empty on my visit without any sign (probably missed) so I thought that was an extension of the highland cattle one! Great to know it's still there. That's definitely what I thought for the weasels but unfortunately the latest I could check them out was at 3 p.m so still too early (had to take the train back to Münich afterwards) EDIT: Forgot to say that the Common rock thrush that was taken on and off-show continuously was seen in the cat house.
Glad you enjoyed your visit. A couple of notes: The barbary macaques are their temporarily, they are normally mixed with the Gorilla. In the masterplan they are said to move to the area of the Barbary sheep. There are rumours the Tapir house will close soon. There are also plans for a huge migratory birds aviary in the lower part of the zoo, that should increase the number of birds (a large group of Bee eaters is already behind the scenes).
Seem to all be great moves. I was wondering if I had missed the 27 some bee-eaters they are said to keep or if they were off-show but keeping them in a huge aviary sounds like exactly the development that could put Nürnberg on another level!
