Just something simple and easy. Have you ever gone past a stretch of land that was once either a 'brown site' (UK term) formerly occupied by industrial,commercial or even residential purposes and since demolished and left to wasteland,or a such a site waiting in limbo for development. ..or just a wide open space,like a field,a barren playing field in a park,or disused arable land,overgrown scrub... ...and thought that site would better be put to use as a zoo,however big or small,and just imagined what could fit in there and how to lay it out or connect with transport access etc...? This is not including botanic gardens or beautifully landscaped parkland,or nature reserves already in existence. This is basically your fantasy zoo. I'm not setting it up as a game with rules.U make all the rules and tell me what what you do with an empty/disused site near you and what you'd put in it?
I choose the site of the demolished Myrtle Square Mall in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It is 48 acres 20 minutes from the airport and basically a stone's throw from the beach. I intend to propose a family-oriented oasis in the form of a reputable zoo that tastfully displays a diverse array of species Welcome Plaza This open plaza, paved with permeable pavement, welcomes visitors to this family-oriented zoo. A gift shop, restaurant, and information center serve guest needs here. In the middle of it all is an impressive fountain featuring the likenesses of black bear, bison, wolf, bald eagle, and humpback whale There are exhibits for some native South Carolina wildlife: nine-banded armadillo, bobcat, gopher tortoises, and bald eagle. Just down the righthand path from the plaza a dedicated exhibit for black bears. Just off the lefthand path from the plaza is a dedicated exhibit for adult American alligators. Giraffe House This serves as the zoo's Africa section. The marquee attractions are a herd of Masai giraffes and a pair of okapis. The okapis are mixed with red river hogs and marabou storks. The giraffes are mixed with southern ground hornbills, plains zebras, and impala. There are also dedicated exhibits for lions and spotted hyenas. Each species has a lush exhibit with plenty of foraging and privacy opportunities. For a fee, visitors can feed giraffes and have close-up encounters with okapi. There is a guest restaurant with a large outdoor plaza overlooking the giraffe exhibit. The yards are adjacent to a large building that serves as both their nighthouse and indoor viewing for them and for smaller animals from the African savannahs and forests. Dedicated exhibits inside exhibit for meerkats, naked mole rats, African rock python, dwarf crocodile, gaboon viper, leopard tortoise, black mamba, puff adder, Diana monkeys, aardvarks, and white-throated bee eaters. The giraffe section of the barn has free-flying sacred ibis, red-bellied parrots, Fischer's lovebirds, and Egyptian vultures. The okapi section has free-flying gray parrots, helmeted guineafowl, and rose-ringed parakeets. Reptile House This reptile house has several sections made in the interest of portraying a meaningful display of the diverse species and ways of living of the world's reptiles and amphibians. Some invertebrates also call this building home. Grand Canyon Home to animals native to the Grand Canyon National Park in the United States. It is home to bark scorpions, tarantula hawk wasps, Arizona blond tarantulas, Northern leopard frogs, woodhouse toads, red-spotted toads, canyon tree frogs, gopher snake, collared lizards, common chuckwallas, desert tortoises, prairie rattlesnake, banded rock rattlesnake, twin-spotted rattlesnake, and gila monsters. Critical Condition Home to some of the most endangered herptile species. Chinese alligators, Panamanian golden frogs Burmese star tortoises, Roti Island snake-necked turtles, Aruba Island rattlesnakes, Santa Catalina Island rattlesnakes, Grand Cayman iguanas, wild-type axolotls, goliath frogs, Wyoming toads, and spotted turtles. Alien Invasion Dedicated to herptiles and fish who have become invasive species somewhere on Earth. Nile monitor, Burmese python, cane toad, Cuban tree frog, Yemeni chameleon, domestic goldfish, snakehead trout, Asian carp, zebra mussel, and red lionfish. Backyard Wildlife Herptiles native to South Carolina. Baby American alligators, gopher tortoise, copperhead, timber rattlesnake, eastern diamondback rattlesnake, eastern box turtle, eastern garter snake, corn snake, rat snake, green anole, northern cricket frogs, eastern spadefoot toads, Fowler's toad, eastern glass lizard, common snapping turtle, and tiger salamanders. Amazing adaptations Surinam toads (birthing through back), alligator snapping turtle (fishing lure in mouth), tomato frog (poison), blue-tongued skink, poison dart frogs (bright colors repelling predators), gharials (long snout for catching fish), and frilled lizard (loose neck skin that splays out when frightened) Island Hopping Dedicated to the unique fauna endemic to certain island habitats. Guam An aviary for Guam rails and Guam kingfishers. There is also a terrarium for brown tree snakes- the snake species responsible for the birds' endangerment- embedded in a faux rock formation. Malaysia Malayan tapirs, agile gibbons, Malayan tigers, binturong, striated herons, and Indian muntjac Australia A walkthrough exhibit (meshed over to keep birds inside) with Bennet's wallabies, short-beaked echidnas, budgerigars, and cockatiels. Inside are also dedicated exhibits for emus and dromedary camels through which guests cannot walk. At the end of it is an indoor section with dedicated exhibits for koala, tiger snake, funnel-web spider, fierce snake, bearded dragon, freshwater crocodiles, southern hairy-nosed wombats, and lace monitor. Exit through gift shop.
It is not just fantasy; it has been done. The Wilds in Ohio is in land reclaimed from a former strip mining operation. San Antonio Zoo in Texas is set in a former rock quarry. At least a couple zoos in Europe (their names escape me) are also in former rock quarries.
Had not realised there was a discussion thread along the similar lines.but at least here,we can all envision and plot our fantasy zoos in such currently forlorn or empty sites
There's an empty plot of land in my home town near the convenience store where I used to work. It used to be the site of a factory, but has been sitting empty for about 20 years at this point, all that's left are piles of rubble and bricks, and while the original perimeter fence is still standing it's had holes cut in it so people actually can get in there, and it's popular with dog walkers. I keep hearing that houses are going to be built there soon, but I'll believe it when I see it. For making the place into a fantasy zoo, if you stay within the original perimeter fence the site would definitely not be big enough for any large animals like giraffes, elephants or rhinoceros, so we'll keep things relatively small-scale. I'd have the usual restaurant and gift shop at the front entrance, as well as a playground and maybe another place to eat like an ice cream shop further in. For animals I'd go with all of the usual suspects you get in most UK zoos: ring-tailed lemurs, Asian short-clawed otters, meerkats, peacocks, a few small monkeys such as tamarins or squirrel monkeys, and a selection of parrots and birds of prey for flight shows. When it comes to larger stuff, again, I don't think this zoo would have the space for anything bigger than a camel, so a couple of Bactrian camels would most likely be the largest thing I'd have. I'd also have a few other medium-sized herbivores, I'm thinking tapirs, capybaras and rheas for a South America section, emus and wallabies for an Australia section, and zebras, wildebeest and some kind of antelope like nyala for an Africa section. I feel as if I should have at least a couple of big "star attraction" animals in there, so I'll include two big cats: tigers and either jaguars or some type of leopard, and one smaller carnivore, I was thinking a fossa because you don't see them very often in UK zoos, but something like a lynx would also work fine. Finally I'd have an aquarium with some coral reef tanks and rock pool exhibits with starfish and anemones, and a tropical house with a good selection of lizards, snakes, frogs and insects.
In France the zoo of Doué la Fontaine is a former rock quarry. And the Cabarceno Zoo in Spain is a former mining zone.
Theres a large stretch of rough,arable land formerly known as Rectory Farm,not far from Heathrow Airport,London. Going to waste,whilst the local councils dither whether to to turn it into a new parkland 'Rectory Park'. Would like to see that as a small zoological park/mixed urban farm. The drawbacks will be the air traffic and the rough council estate nearby,but,as with any fictional thoughts,one can will the latter away/gentrify it,and re-direct the formers flightpaths
