Wow! Intriguing! I always believed that the strict State and Federal laws in Australia prohibited "non-zoos" (for want of a better term) from posessing exotic mammals such as these. Is this the thin end of the wedge? I wonder what sort of permit the hospital needed?
I love this bit: Followed by: A coral reef aquarium with no live animals, then?? More 'fish (and inverts) aren't proper animals' elitism! Boo! Interesting idea though.
The hospital is yet to open and the aquarium yet to be stocked, Maguari. Ara - the meerkats are still part of the Zoo's collection. The hospital is about a 300 metre walk from the zoo across a park. Zoo staff will continue to care for the meerkats and presumably the other smaller live exhibits. I'm guessing the massive marine tank will probably be similarly cared for by Melbourne Aquarium staff. I also don't believe it will be a 'reef tank' - not at the size mentioned. Just chalk that one up to limited comprehension of aquarium terminology by journalists.
Well I remember a large fishpond at the Heath Hospital in Cardiff in 1979, it was half in and half out of the outpatient area and the fish were definitely alive. That said, I'll swap our waiting-room fish tank for some meerkats any day.
This seems very innovative. I have seen fish tanks in medical settings and I know that some hospitals, senior care centers, etc. have regular visits from dogs, but this is the first time that I've ever heard of a "zoo animal" exhibit in a hospital. Maybe this is a potential new role that more zoos will be encouraged to expand into if this experiment works out.
There has been some criticism, unsurprisingly, that the hospital is spending too much money on animal exhibits. The project is costing $A1billion, and only increasing the number of beds over the existing children's hospital by about 50 or so. As eagerly as I am anticipating going to see the aquarium in particular, I can understand the argument that it doesn't need to be quite so big.
Has anybody visited the meerkats at the hospital and/or know how the experiment of having a zoo animal exhibit there is working out?
According to the hospital's website it looks like the meerkats are still there: Education Institute : Meerkat Enclosure
As I understand it its a permanent thing, with the meerkats belonging to Melbourne Zoo, and looked after by zoo staff.
nope, because I have been doing nothing today -- my rest day -- I spent my time working on updates of CGSwans' Exotic Mammals in Australian Zoos.
Article on how the five meerkats got vaccinations and a general health checkup: Prevention better than cure | Zoos Victoria