was going through some of the old posts the other day and found one that talked about how alot of the major zoos in australasia are beginning t look the same. personally i think this reflects sound collection planning principles, but it does raise a point. so with a focus on wild ecosystems, what would you like to see focussed on? african rainforest, asian rainforests, south american rainforests and african savannahs seem to be a major theme among australia zoos particularly. with a bit of imagintion and not neccessarily the importation of new species, i would like to see a renewed focus on oceanic island eco systems. the asian highlands (proposeed at taronga) also has potential, as would an aid north african environment or south american pampas. what ecosystems would you guys nominate? and what species would you 'fill them up' with?
well geez glyn. being the geek i am i am all too happy to answer this one. after years of scrolling through isis i catalogued every species held in australasia and found that they could almost (minus some north american stock) fall into the following habitats ASIA southeast asian rainforest himalayan temperate forest indan/nepalese terai (floodplain) AFRICA central/western rainforest southern/eastern savannah northern semi-arid desert madagascar and indian ocean island rainforest SOUTH AMERICA amazon rainforest pantanal wetlands patagonian/andean savannah of course these can be subdivided further and many animals cross over from one habitat to another. the ones that interest me most would be a pantanal exhibit with caiman, anaconda maned wolves, macaws and a special mixed exhibit of capybara, rhea and giant anteaters. of course not all these species are still found in our region though. another idea of mine is much the same as yours an indoor glass house that re-creates a pacific atoll. it could be made to represent a natural splice of reef, beach with coconut palms and rainforest. visitors could start underwater looking at fish and slowly ascend past a beach with giant coconut crabs, and into a forest with birds, butterflies, fijian iguanas and fruit bats. the island ecosystem can be a metaphore for our "island" planet etc.. melbourne zoo has a zone (currently near the bears and snow leopards) that is apparently earmarked for a temperate precinct. with nearly all the zoo's temerate animals being asian, hopefully (much like tarongas "highlands" it will feature bears, red pandas, snow leopards and maybe even tahr from taronga!
bio habitat As much as it wont attract too many Aussies , an Australian Waterhole will be quite populatr in NZ , especially if there is a walk through section . Animals included in this bio habitat would include ; kangaroo ( greys , reds or both ) wallabies , tree kangaroos , echidna , wombat , emu ..... bird exhibits could include kookaburra , numerous parrots , black swans , pelicans.... if the zoo was big enough ( Orana Park in Christchurch would be ideal ) it could have a semi arid section with ostrich and camel and maybe another cattle .... Just a note from reading this thread and another thread ..... most animals that are taken from NZ are not easily able to be brought back to NZ , so if the Australian Zoos decide to have a NZ exhibit , the animals in the exhibit may not be allowed to come back into NZ ( NZ Agriculture / Fisheries prohibitions are a LOT tougher than AQIS )
I would like to see a West African rainforest at Taronga. They already have Gorillas, Bongos,Pygmy hippos and De Brazzi's monkeys. If they got some other spieces like mandrills and diukers and maybe some red river hogs, they would have a good mix of animals to start of with.
rainforest @ taronga beginning in the near future as part of their long range redevelopment taronga will be building a new african tropical savannah biome. it will be situated on the site of the existing waterhole development but the precinct will be enlarged to include part of the roadway running up the hill from the gorillas past the giraffes to the chimps, linking these important enclosures together. the chimpanee and gorilla exhbits will be retained becuase of the significant captial spent on creating them. what is now the giraffe terraces will be enlarged to form a rolling grass plain, incorporating the historic giraffe house. this exhbit will mix giraffe, zebra and oryx. the trail will wind its way west from the chimps through and past rainforest habitats frequented by lemurs, colobus, duiker and bongo before opening out again onto the giraffe plain. the next exhibit sequence to be encountered will be a kopje display of reptiles, small mammals and birds. the experience will end with lions, pygmy hippo and mandrill enclosures on what is the roadway above the gorillas. guenon i presume will remain where they are, although the original design of the gorilla exhibit intended them to be mixed together. throughout the enclosure, interpretive material will link together the different habitats. i would like to see the whole area dedicated entirely to a rainforest exhibit, designed similarly to that of the bronx wildlife conservation centre in new york. giraffe, zebra and lions would be relocated to wpz, leaving more room for the animals.
I went to the Bronx zoo in Sept. 2000. If taronga modelled it's African Rainforest off that it would be great. Congo in the Bronx is incredible. If only Taronga had the money and resources of New York City like the WCS has. Taronga is long overdue for something new to replace the African waterhole. Maybe when they finish the new Australian Shoreline exihibits they will have a look at that part off the zoo. Bronx and Melbourne house thier De Brazzi's guenons with their Gorillas. I'd like to see that at Taronga.
