dnt matter, from what i have seen on tele and in pics, it is very luch, as it was established some time ago, the elephants are actually in a rainforest, and the new ornag exhibit seems to be good as well.
wild asia-post elephants well, more than 2 months after the elephants arrived their exhibit is holding up nicely. i noticed some of the palms are no longer protected by any hot wires at all, and i was scrutinising them closely. i guess the vegetation had so long to establish itself before the eles arrived that many of the trees would have developed quite strong root systems. the lower paddock has been divided in to two by a chain link fence-a shade sail now spans the lower paddock and the elephants are obviously enjoying the mud wallows. as for the elevated viewing structure, unfortunately, but totally understandably, the zoo will not be opening this to the general public. the structure has been reserved for use in things like media announcements and private guest functions. the rationalisation is pretty simple. the elephants are worth millions of dollars a piece. it would be a tragedy if one of them died from some rubbish dropped into the exhibit from above. when you consider that not everyone who goes to the zoo actually respects animals you can see the zoos risk assesment. the elephants are proving a massive hit with the public. the zoo was packed the other day, thousands and thousands of people. i didnt see the dhole pup, she was hiding with mum and dad. other than that, the zoo is looking amazing, every where i looked the other day there were keepers scattering food and enrichment items, which meant the animals were really active. on a southern oceans note, the precinct is progressing well. the theatre looks to be nearing completion, more mock rock is up. some of the pools are filld with water, and in the central seal pools crate training has begun for the leopard seal and fur seals. happily too,a male firodland penguin has washed up on a central coast beach and is being kept by taronga. taronga now has 1 male and two females, a nice little colony to go in the new, 80 metre long exhibit.
wow, taronga sounds great, i have just scored some contacts in the elephant dept. and maybe hopefully, wishfully hehe i will get a behind scences tour, or even a meet and great, now that would be kool. so did ya get mnay pics glyn, would be nice to see the elephants in a lush exhibit. is there still grass, or has it turned to dirt? are they very active, always moving or are they becomming bored ? what enrichment do the eles get, presumably boomer balls etc. sounds great this new southern oceans, any signage saying an opening? so the penguin exhibit, i presume, it will hold all of tarongas penguins, what now 3 species, the faires, firodland, and i thought another? so what else was looking good around taronga, sounds like it's shaping up nicely
the exhibit looks great the elephant exhibit is holding up really well. the grass in the top paddock is going quite as well as the lower paddock, because the elephants spend most their time up there, but over all it hasnt been ruined. im pretty sure the zoo would have formulated a substrate, like they zoo in football ovals, for minimum compaction, maximum drainage and moisture, etc. the elephants were 100% active, in fact theyre real crowd pleasers. the cynics who said they are here for purely commercial purposes are right, the crowd loves them and they put on a great show, but the zoo friends were there with touch artefacts and every time i turned aorund people were dropping donations into the conservation foundation boxes. in the lower paddock one big fig has died-NOT ONE OF THE BIG ONES IN THE DEER EXHIBIT DONT WORRY-but im sure the elephants will hae fun pulling it apart, and there is another fig in the rock wall dividing the exhibits that in the future should form a canopy covering much of the lower paddock. enrichment included stacks of palm branches, swathes of grass, hay nets and there was obviously food hidden too because the elephants were clearly seeking it out. i loved the sense of cohesion the elephants have, when some herd members moved to the lower paddock, everyone went together. i thought to myself that whilst the exhibit, to some people, seems a small place for 5 animals, that from the animals point of view its obviously more enriching to have a herd of 5 rather than just two or three herd mates. getting back to a point pat had made earlier too, about what would happen if the elephants turned aggrssive, the zoo had to prepare contingency plans before the import was approved, so obviously they have covered all bases. it goes without saying of course that i would rather see all 5 animals live here forever. on a happy note too, its wonderful to see how much the animals enjoy the 4 metre deep waterhole. its still brown as, but in the future, between the grass regrowing, the filtration system and the reed and papyrus beds becoming better established, the water may return to a shade clearer. perhaps in the winter, when the elephants wont be in the water quite so much. as for the rest of the zoo everything looked great, as per usual. the garden at the gorillas has been replanted with some new plants, to enhance the 'lushness', though i would dearly love to see them get rid of those ugly terracotta pots. all the aviaries looked great, the signage fantastic. the waterhole is looking good, but for the name. sun bears, indian rhino and tapir arent from africa after all, but its still a nice area of the zoo with plenty to see and do. i cant wait, no matter what they decide to do, for them to start work on the tropical savannah. in my mind, the african waterhole and future highlands exhibit area just arent up to standard as the rest of the zoo. all the exhibits are full, peccary, dhole, fennec foxes, giraffes, meerkat, red panda etc, but they just dont match the standard of wild asia, in the same way as melbournes big cat enclosures dont come up to the same standard as trail of the elephants or gorillas. backyard to bush has had a bit of a revamp. in my ind its a great area, and it was just packed to the rafters with kids and zoo friends the other days, patting reptiles, and sheep, and going on bushwalks, but it needs some more roos and emus in the bushwalk area. the barn would also be a great venue for a feral animals exhibit-maybe some red-eared terrapin, mosquito fish, cane toads and water hyacinth. some green tree ants or little sedge frogs in a crate of plastic banannas could also be a good way of demontrating how native animals can become 'unnative' when they reach new places.
thankyou so much glyn, i can see why the zoos do ahve elephants as commercial attractions, and it seems that maybe the zoo friends with artifacts etc, may be having an overwellming education value as well now everyone be sure to watch zoocrew final today at 3.30 for an hour long special final on melbournes asian elephants, also look out for me in it, they were filming all day when i was there so maybe you will catch a glimse of me, i will be in a black akubra anyway it should be a good episode. sorry glyn, did you get any pictures?
photos yes, upload, no hey Zoo_Boy, i got stacks of photos but i dont have the cables to upload. zoo crew was great, mek kepahs introduction to the 3 new girlds almost brought a tear to my eye, which is saying alot. perth zoos rainforest area, which ive said before, is not immersion. its kind of arranged in the way tarongas gorilla exhibit sits along a main boulevard and you just take small paths off to see the animals. the elephant exhibit is good, but in the new area needs more vegetation and themed viewing structures on our side of the fence to enhance the experience. on the other hand, the bull paddock is reached by a forest boardwalk and is quite effective. again, the orang exhibits are great, but until the exhibit is completed with boardwalks and more vegetation along the pathways, its not immersion. yhe important thing to note with the orangs is that their exhibit is a progressive upgrade of a very old enclosure, and im sure will be very good in the future. the tiger exhibit is of the same standard as melbournes big cat pens. the white-cheeked gibbons have a huge exhibit, but again, it sits really close to the roadway. in the future, the service road whic links the orangs, elephants, gibbons and tigers may be re-orientated, to allow the zoo to better immerse zoo visitors. up the hill, the otter exhibit is a too small version of mebourne, and will be replaced. in the same area are silvery gibbons, fishing cats, red panda, sun bear and sulawesi macaques. all fantastic enclosures. ill try to do a layout below fishing cat macaque sun bear gibbon otter panda gibbon tigers road road road road road road road road road elephants elephants elephants orang
Had a look at the ZOOCREW tv show Zoo_Boy could not see you anywhere, Interesting tv show and a good view of the Elephant house and exhibit, looks first class a job very well done.
thats kool glyn, thnx for the info yea and 2 right i was nearly crying to seeing the grils comming out of the crates beautiful sight to see they will never have chains agin. nah i wasnt in it, must have scrapped it after seeing my face in da crowd. but all the same a great show, carnt wait to c a new series. and glyn thnx for the perth walkthrough, can u desribe the bull facilities/paddock/walkway any more?
From Perth themselves: "The Asian Rainforest zone at Perth Zoo is being upgraded with the construction of a new sun bear exhibit and a major redevelopment of the Elephants of Asia exhibit. A 4 m high ruined temple column acts as the new entrance statement for the Asian zone. This structure has sculpted depictions of elephants, tigers and gibbons. Our new purpose-built sun bear exhibit has a life-sized model of a sun bear atop a ruined temple structure which also acts as a donation point. Interpretive signage relates the natural history of the smallest bear species in the world. Visitors will also be given the opportunity to watch keepers training the bears. Glass viewing bays give an unobstructed vista into the lushly planted exhibit. Further down the hill and opposite the elephant exhibit is Bukit Station, a new interpretive hub which focuses on the conservation of South-East Asian rainforests. A special film has been developed which gives visitors an insight into the lives of Sumatran orang-utans, Sumatran tigers and Asian elephants and conservation projects in the wild for these species. Visitors can also watch a Channel 7 Today Tonight story on the release of Perth Zoo Sumatran orang-utan, ‘Temara’, into Bukit Tigapuluh National Park in Sumatra, Indonesia. A soundscape is also in development for this area. Construction work for Stage Two of the elephant exhibit redevelopment will begin in January 2007."
perth zoo's new elephant enclosure i got an email form the zoo before christmas detailing the construction of the elephant exhibit. i posted some of these details on the western australia thread, if anyone is interested. once the new elephant, otter areas and a new tiger exhibit are built, the task of completing the asian precinct at the zoo would be easy. perth zoo, particularly this area, is filled with lush trees and bamboo stands. incorporating these with new viewing strucutres and an overhaul of the signage would be enough to tie the exhibits together in an immersion style, almost all of which are already of a very high standard.
so can u descibe what is involved with the elephants, is it a rotation, what sort of pools, male facilities, is it being renovated, or being re-built, including barns etc thanx so much glyn great information.
for all that info go to the west australia thread, where i posted all that info before. its a good exhibit, in terms of immersion and interp it lies somewhere between taronga and melbourne, but in front of western plains, which could do alot more to enhance the ammount of info given to the public.
