Signage in zoos on individual animals

Thank you for posting this @gentle lemur ! Much appreciated!

That is a very detailed sign indeed and I think it really did (prior to Djala being rewilded) give the visitors a background to the lifestory of this silverback gorilla and his temperament etc.

I wish more zoos would have this kind of signage about the animals on display and particularly about individuals of species which are not considered traditionally charismatic.

 

Thank you for that suggestion @Neil chace ! Much appreciated !

I definitely want to look into Buttonwood Park zoo after what you've said here as I really like the idea of Callitrichids being a main attraction and in fact this is very pertinent to the work I'm doing right now.

Totally agree with regards to the GLT and how their spectacularly coloured fur looses that impressiveness under artificial light.

 

Doesn't suprise me at all as I am a big fan of everything Chelonian myself

In terms of just how threatened turtles and tortoises are as a group it is absolutely essential that people feel connected with them and their plight if many of these species are to be saved.

When I was a zoo visitor I would feel most "connected" to the smaller less "charismatic" species , when I worked within zoos I would also feel the same yet far more "connected" and now that I work for an NGO with these species it is even more so.

 

More individual animal signs that I've found.

A great sign for "Fisher" the grizzly bear at Folson city zoo, USA:

Sumatran tiger ID sign at Melbourne zoo, Australia:

Koala ID sign at San Diego zoo, USA:


Interesting sign that gives some info on the individual crocodiles at Crocodylus park, Australia:

Some information on this sign about the life history of these Douc langur at Philadelphia zoo, USA:

Giraffe ID board at Hamilton zoo, New Zealand :

Signage that includes information on individual gorillas kept at North Carolina zoo, USA:

Scottish wildcat information sign with details about the individual cats at Cote brook shire horse center, UK:


Photo credits to @snowleopard, @Jabiru96 , @jusko88 , @geomorph , @MagpieGoose, @Zoofan15 , @MountainBongo and @LaughingDove.

 

I don't have pictures but I can get some when I work next but at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, in the Loft and Big Backyard areas, the signage for the animals generally mention an individual behavior trait or quirk about the individual animal or some of their favorite things. For instance, our Ball Python sign mentions that she likes to yawn when she is held and feeling content. I do observe people mentioning these tidbits when they do read the signs. The intent is to drive a personal connection with the animals and it's a driving force for the mission statements of the zoo.

I do see this type of signage at other zoos especially with sanctuaries, elephants, primates, and cetaceans. The latter three probably because people tend to connect well with those animals as individuals and they want to know how to ID their favorite.

 

That would be excellent @Echobeast , much appreciated !

I think it is great that Cheyenne Mountain zoo do showcase the individual traits of the animals and that formenting that personal connection with the animals amongst the visitors is part of their mission statement.

A question, do you work at this zoo ?

 

Yes I am a keeper for the ambassador animals.

 

That is awesome, hope you don't mind but I'll PM you

 

That's fine.

 

Paignton has signs for the gorillas and orangs in the ape house giving individual details. I must have snapped them at some point but didn't spot them in a quick look in the Gallery. The orang one in particular is quite dated now and doesn't include the male who arrived in 2017.
On Orangutan Awareness Day in 2018, they produced an excellent temporary sign about the different characters:
Bornean Orangutan sign, August 2018 - ZooChat
Last year, they put up this sign outside the ape house which is not so informative and possibly wasn't proof read:
Ape house signage 2020 - ZooChat

(Apologies for not being techno savvy and thus unable to see how to copy the actual photos to this thread)

 

Thank you for your comment @Gigit ! Much appreciated!

Don't worry about the copy thing, here are the pictures that you mentioned:





Of these two signs I think the information and presentation of the orangutang signage in the first picture is far better.

The gorilla signage is a very poor presentation in my opinion and really quite disappointing.

 

A couple more signs regarding birds:

This is an example of a very moving life story of an individual Ethiopian eagle owl "Cugat" that was kept at Muncaster World Owl Trust in the UK until her death:



Here is a sign at Hartley's Crocodile Adventure about a purple swamp hen named "Chips" who sounds like quite a character :




Photo credits to @Malayan Tapir and @DaLilFishie.

 

I really like the sign about cugat, but I saw her at rodbaston animal zone in 2018, so she surely didn’t die in muncaster

 

Ah I see, thanks for that, I'll have to check that out.

*I think she was kept at Rodbaston animal zone but no name signs or anything in the gallery from what I could find.

 

Rodbaston took in a very large part of the owl collection of the World Owl Trust after they left the Muncaster site - including Cugat - they were (are?) only a temporary presence until the WOT has new grounds to move them to.

 

Thank you for that @Maguari !

I see, well I think Cugat has now passed away hasn't she ?

 

Yes, sadly so. I only saw her once (at Rodbaston) - she wasn't my first dillonii, but she was the first one I saw the full body of..!

(See: Spot the Ethiopian Cape Eagle Owl Challenge - Bale Mountains NP, 16/10/14 - ZooChat )

 

Shame that she passed but she had a good life in both sanctuaries all things considered.

 

By the way, found the owl.

Took me a while but it is in the middle / centre of the photograph and only the top half of its head is showing with its eyes glaring out.

Great shot !

 

Interesting ID sign for African painted dogs at Dudley zoo, UK:

White rhino ID signage at ZSL Whipsnade :

Okapi ID signage at Marwell:



Photo credit to @MagpieGoose, @Jordan-Jaguar97, @Orycteropus.