You guys saw some pictures of the Savanneproject with the Girafs in the topic about the Antwerp Zoo here, but since that is closed, i will open a new topic about it. At this moment there are 3 kinds of animals present at the Savanne, the Zebra's only slighty visible, but there is a wall between the Savanne and their exhebit. Now there live Helmeted Guineafowls, Impala's and Girafs. Later on there will ostrichs and cape elands with them on one place... But the biggest chance is that it isn"t a sandy desert, but a nice field of grass, just like in the Zoo of Emmen (Netherlands)
I like that place, they have artifical hippos in a water pond and an articfical dead gnu in the water edge of the exhibit, i've seen pictures of it, Wow. The whole exhibit it sourrounded by hyena laughter and lions roar like Disney World. And by the way, which zoos needs living animals ? Plastic animals are cheaper and they never became ill or dying...
It is artifical, and that is in the lowlands in many zoo's nowadays. The Monkeypath in Apenheul has many plastic animals, Blijdorp has in the Oceanium and in the Crocriver some plastic animals, Olmen has a giant plastic Hippo, and go on... It is the way to go for animalzoo's nowadays, because the attractionparks are getting animals also. In Belgium one attraction park, Bellewaerde, even also opend a Savanne for Girafs, so there was certain some competition Here some of the fake, but educational animals of Planckendael
I can only shake my head....The "dead"gnu is absolutly tasteless. So who needs living animals at a zoo ? I hope, Plankendael will build a new lion enclosure, called"The lions of Tsvao",and keeps two male brother lions in it. Every day they make a show feeding, and the lions get a fake human, fiiled with fresh flesh, so this exhibit tells the true story of the two maneaters of Tsvao. The stable is designd like the cave, fiield with hundreds of fake bones...And hey, they should let drive a train through the exhibit...Of course the exhbit will get an own giftshop, with the Hollywood movie "The Ghost and the Darkness"and cute plush lions with bloody mouth...Maybe Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer will come to the great Opening ? This is a new kind of excitement zoo...
I wonder how many visitors will report to the nearest keeper that there is a dead antelope in the water?
None, because it is a gnu But you see many people that are scared of the fakebeast, and realy think it is a real dead Gnu. But a few meters further there is a board with all the explication they need to understand what is it
And what is is the sense of the dead gnu, what wants Plankendael tell to the visitors ? That animals can die ?
Hmm, you really don"t like the plastic animals hé? Stay away from the Crocriver in Blijdorp, the Hippomemorial in Olmen, the monkeyforest of Apenheul and many other zoo's then... But it is ok that there is some criticism about it, every mind thinks on a other level and on an other way But what saids Planckendael about it? (the animal lays in a small river, that was been crossed by a herd of Gnu (according to the dirt and footprints) That the animal didn"t survive the long travel to a safer place. A Crocodile captured the animal. On this way the visitors will notice the force of Crocodiles, because a Gnu seems big and strong against that ugly animal in the water...
the fake animals in Rotterdam Zoo are there for the blind people, so the can feel how the animal looks like. In Planckendael is it for the education, so the people now know what kind of animals are living with the Giraf.
Like always, my girl knows it a little bit better then me... That's why i love her PS: Ontopic... I counted 4 Impala's today, and 11 Helmeted Guineafowls, next to the 5 Girafs (2 pregnant)
I just love it! Some time ago I wondered if Discovery, always first to jump to cheap sensation masqueraded as science, will film a tiger hunting men in India. Team with telephoto lenses and infrared cameras will patiently follow villagers going to jungle to collect firewood, day after day, hoping to film the hunt. But your idea is better!
Thanks for the flowers, I know,I'm a ironical man... Yes, I don't like plastic animals in a zoo, with the exception, what blackstar told. The most woriest thing with palctic animals I've saw was the Africa svannah at Toledo Zoo, they had plactic crocs at a river, a damaged jeep with zebra stripes, a "dead"plastcic zebra with plastic vultures, a dead zebraduiker in a tree(of course, zebraduikers are typical svannah animals ) and platic ostrich eggs and more. They have an own guide at the exhibit, so the visitors can find all the plastic stuff. Not to forget, there were some living animals also in the exhibit, but just a few....
Ow, i will be making it worser on this way, but i have to be honest with you guys. There are also fake Ostrisch Eggs, and Elephant droppings near the Savanne as education. For the rest it is pretty ok. You have some nice signs that indicates that you are an a Savanne with Elephants, Hyena's, etc... and soms boxes were the transported the animal with...
Ouwehands Zoo managed to put plastic poison dart frogs in their poison dart frog exhibit, and very few people actually noticed. Someone in the dutch forums called them "made-in-china-frogs" was funny watching the public going "look look, over there"!
There is a satirical story by Mrozek named "Elephant". Smalltown zoo gets money to buy star of the collection - an elephant. But in the city council somebody clever proposes that it is cheaper to buy a rubber inflatable elephant model. During the opening ceremony, the elephant flies off and chaos breaks off.
