Start your own zoo

If you were to open your own zoo what would it be like?

Would you prefer a small-, medium- or large-sized zoo?

Your animal collection - would it be confined to high conservation status animals or to a wider diversity of animals? What size collection would you have? Would you prefer a mixed, general collection; a mixed general collection with a specialist interest; a specialist collection? If you chose a specialist collection, what would you specialise in?

Would your zoo completely focus on the animal collection or would you add others things (I suppose you've got to look at revenue). I'm not suggesting having an amusement park as well but just some other things, e.g. narrow gauge or road train, a few children's amusement rides and/or play area, or anything else you choose to have.

 

Medium-Large
Mixed general with a specialist interest: rare subspecies
Trains, a few amusement rides, playgrounds, ziplines climbing walls etc

 

Climbing walls? Interesting proposition. I think it would be novel. Why that particular choice of additional provision?

 

so people can have enjoy an adventure while looking at animals

 

I'd have a small-medium place, and live on site.....I'm not very grand, so don't have particularly huge unreachable dreams.

Types of animals: Small things really...binturongs, fossas, sloths, tamandua, tree kangaroos, aardvarks, stuff like that. As well as a fair few paddocks for larger stock (camels, wart hogs, various ratites). A small but varied reptile collection, and of course the best nocturnal house in the business! If I had to have a large carnivore, it'd have to be hyenas or some kind of bear (not really carnivorous, but you know what I mean).

Extra stuff: I have plenty of history working in various scare attractions, so I'd definitely run big night time events around halloween.....REALLY frightening!

Also thought I'd design the zoo a bit differently to your usual walking round looking at enclosures kind of thing. I'd want to make it fun for kids to really explore in a kind of twisted strange maze kind of way....think Alice in Wonderland with animals. It'd certainly hold kids' attention for longer, and might help them to learn more about the animals, rather than just rushing from paddock to paddock.

 

What species would you have in your nocturnal house?

I'd definitely have bears. They are in the Carnivora!

Now, that I'm not sure about. I don't grasp how it'd work. I hated Alice in Wonderland as a kid. I think it'd have freaked me out.

 

Nocturnal species: loads...incl. Plenty of bats, aye-aye, civets, kinks, loris, potto and definitely giant armadillo!

As you may have noticed, I like different stuff to the norm, so it wouldn't be the bigger bears at all. More like sun bears, or possibly sloth.

And working with kids as I do, I find they really respond to a twisted dark kind of imagination. If you can make things a challenge to find (i.e. crossing a stream on noise making stepping stones or travelling through a maze), or they have to complete some sort of test to see something (answering a riddle or question to gain access), then it makes things a lot more exciting than simply "oh look, there's a lion. (next paddock) Oh look, there's a monkey. (next paddock) and now a giraffe.....YAWN", which I see kids in zoos getting rather bored of. Throw in a few Dr. Seuss trees and a little Tim Burton styling, and you have a top notch unique park. Make the farm section like a proper country western style farm, and the rainforest with real Steve Backshall-esque rainforest explorers on hand, all in costume and in character! Then on halloween night.....the characters become darker, more scary and horrific.

Come on, you know that would be proper exciting!

 

It was the Alice in Wonderland thing that turned me off. Never liked it. Can't explain it but I've always found it somehow creepy.

My eight love zoos so I don't think changing things would be necessary.

I work with adolescents so may be I need to come up with ideas of how to make zoos interesting to them.

 

It's that kind of thinking that makes this world such an utterly boring place!!! "No, we don't need to change anything thank you...carry on as we are".....double YAWN!!! I'm not sure, but I think your inner child may have died....something you might want to address

Your kids are excited about zoos because you are, and you probably take the time to make the experience come alive for them. By and large, the general public don't, and you need to give them a reason to keep on going back time and again. By "Alice in Wonderland", I meant immersing the guests into a world that's alien to them to make them feel more involved than just taking a gentle leisurely stroll around a bog-standard zoo. So if it's a bug house, make the guests feel like they're bugs themselves by having giant props/set around the place.....that sort of thing! Secret passageways can lead to areas that the less observant may not see, and helter skelter slides can take you underneath an enclosure to get different perspectives. I'm just writing things as they pop into my head here, but you get the idea.

 

When you said kinks, are you referring to kinkajous?

 

Absolutely.


(That and the gimp that would be caged in the corner!)

 

Unnecessary sarcasm but I love it!

 

Medium sized.

Don't know exactly what I would have, but would focus on North American species. So it would be kind of a specialist zoo, with some general stuff. There would definitely be dolphins. Captive born and rescued ones. We would focus on hard luck animals in general. Rehabilitation and giving animals forever homes would be a big part of what we did. I would patrons help with the feeding (cutting up food, cleaning up, some of the actual feeding) as an extra if the dolphins were well behaved enough. And I have made it my life's mission to improve the reputation of the Spotted Hyena so there would be a pack of those. And a petting zoo. Some goats and Llamas. And one or two big snakes, ones that their owners didn't want anymore. I like parrots but hate cockatoos so maybe some macaws. There would also be a botanical garden on site, with rare plants. A greenhouse or two. Maybe the plants and animals could be integrated. That would get the plant people in. I would have a function room where plant clubs could have meetings and they would be our first priority. Not weddings (my plant club just lost its meeting space to weddings and parties, I am steamed). It would be a non profit zoo so there would be a plant show and sale once a year as part of a benefit. Also, the zoo and gardens would be handicapped accessible to the greatest extent possible.

 

You've raised some interesting points. There's several things you mention that I'd have issues with, too. If I ran a zoo that's exactly what I'd want to do. I don't want to run children's birthday parties, weddings, namimg ceremonies, and the whole host of other things zoo now do as a venue for hire. The other issue that has to be considered is money. Staff deserve a decent wage. Animals have to be fed. That's just two of many items of expenditure. In this economic climate zoos must be suffering a loss of visitors. Going to the zoo is a non-essential, leisure item in the family budget. So, I can only guess other zoos do it because it brings in much needed revenue. So, I'd be torn between choosing not to do something I didn't want to do and having to raise money.

I can understand you being annoyed that you've lost a venue to weddings, etc. As you want to run a not for profit zoo I think you'd need to consider as many possible revenue streams.

I cannot decide whether I'd just have a zoological garden or a botanical and zoological one. I can admire beautiful plants, gardens, etc. as much as the next person but horticulture holds no interest for me. I don't mind the scientific side (I did enough botany at university) but actually gardening I have no interest. So I'd need a team of horticulturalists on staff if I decided to have a botanical garden as well.

Dolphins are something I wouldn't have. Not even captive bred ones. They're the only animal I've seen in captivity that really bothered me. I saw a dolphin show at Sea World on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. I walked out. May be if they'd not got them to perform I'd have felt different. I think it must be that as I won't watch them make elephants perform stupid tricks at Blackpool Zoo.

It made me think that what you would have is more of a rescue centre than a zoo. I know a collection of animals held in captivity is a zoo whatever other fancy name people want to give them such as biopark, etc. But, it seems to me more of a rescue centre based on what you say would be your focus. I think that's great. It's far better animals are homed where trained and qualified people can provide them with the best care in suitable enviroments that being kept by people who don't want the animal and don't know how to look after it.

I think I'd be focused primarily on animals of threatened species but not entirely. There are some species visitors expect to see in zoos. I'd have some of those to bring the visitors (and the revenue) in. I'd also perhaps have some species that were suitable for education roles even if they weren't endangered. I'd definitely keep animals that were captive born and bred.

When your zoos up and running let me know; I'd like to visit it.

 

A lot of the botanical gardens I have been to are pretty much run by volunteers. There are three or four people on staff usually and some city employees if it is in a public park (for example Elizabeth Park Rose Garden gets a lot of its work done eg, pruning, planting, etc. by the CT Rose Society, they also do a lot of consulting to make sure the place communicates with the American Rose Society, etc.). Maybe (and this is only a fantasy zoo/garden) I could get the plant societies to help me with the garden upkeep. For example the day lily bed could be maintained by the day lily society (and when they need dividing the divisions could be sold, especially if they are a rare type). Ditto the rose bed (I could stock the rose bed just with stuff from my yard, we have that many rare varieties from trading with people we know). Also the cactus bed (I have a cactus that is so primitive it still has leaves, it needs a greenhouse or windowsill during the winter) but there are other species that don't, not all cacti are tropical). This goes for pretty much any plant society you could think of. I would also be really sneaky and put it next to a college or university to get the students over as visitors/volunteers/interns/part time employees. And also bug the professors for advice.

I do know of a couple of zoos where it is mostly or all rescue animals. For example the Ecotarium in Worcester MA has animals like turkey vultures and red shouldered hawks with (your suggestion here, usually they had to have a wing amputated) that keeps them from being released. Dinosaur State Park in CT (okay not really a zoo but really worth the trip bring some plaster of paris to make a cast of a footprint) has at least one ball python who was rescued. I think Clearwater in FL is nearly all rescues too (think Winter the Dolphin amputee).

As for animals visitors expect...hmm. Maybe one or two big cat species (a mountain lion? A jaguar?). Smaller snakes like a ball python? Otters maybe? River Otters are the most entertaining animals anywhere if you ask me (think the male tobogganing down a snow bank even though he could swim, I have seen this). Some lemurs? Meerkats are also interesting. A deer park like they have at Southwick? It would depend on what was available. I could put in some salamanders and frogs (if I set things up right maybe they could show up on their own, ditto some wild turkeys). A Bald Eagle would be welcome. Preferably a mated pair.

 

I would prefer a medium to large zoo that is a combination of drive through (or monorail/train) and one that is as immersive as possible. For example, hoofstock such as savanna species or Great Plains species would be viewed from one's own vehicle, the zoo's vehicle, a monorail, or a train. Other species would be viewed in walk-through aviaries, glass tunnels going through exhibits to allow up close looks, and immersive habitats like desert or rain forest buildings. I also really like the idea of nocturnal exhibits. I also think an area in a zoo designed to look like the native habitat in the area is a great idea, with birdfeeders and native flowers to attract birds and butterflies and maybe an area that can attract things like wild turkeys and a bit pond to attract native waterfowl. As far as exhibit design, I'm a fan of geographic arrangements although some taxonomic arrangements can look nice.

 

id like a zoo like that too

 

I'd do a medium to large sized zoo specializing in marine animals. It would also function as something of a retirement and rehabilitation center for cetaceans. There are some places that treat them poorly (like some hotels with "swim with dolphin!" programs, places that promise to cure autism with dolphins or whatever, not to mention less-than-stellar marine parks and aquariums around the world) and I think there would be more incentive for people to do something about that if the dolphins had a place to go. So a coastal facility, with a sea pen for them. (though depending on where the zoo is, only certain ones could be kept since you can't really control the water temperature in a sea pen) Have an underwater tunnel that goes into the penned area so guests not only see the animals, but their environment as well. As far as I'm aware, there's nothing like that in the US so it would be a sure draw to the place. There would also be a dock so guests could see the animals from the surface. There wouldn't be any performance shows, but there would be feeding demonstrations with live fish, as well as keeper talks where at least one of the animals would be brought up to the viewing area so guests can get a close look, and the keepers can demonstrate how they interact with them.

Lots of emphasis on immersion, throughout the whole park. A big, indoor kelp forest exhibit, where the forest is in a large tank with a tunnel going through it, so guests feel like they're inside it. Another tunnel exhibit would be the always popular shark tunnel, but there would also be a couple of tunnel slides there cause that would be neat.

I'd really want to show the diversity of underwater environments. A lot of people don't really think that ocean environments go beyond "coral reefs" and "blank open sea". Have an exhibit on mangrove forests, cause those are totally underrated. And some kind of dark exhibit where people can see bioluminescent sea creatures in all their glory. I'd want the main restaurant/eating area of the zoo to be surrounded by a massive aquarium. Trick is deciding what to put in such a big one, though. Some kind of seal or sea lion, maybe? A main attraction like that would need some kind of "big" animal, but I'd want multiple species, so I'd like something that wouldn't eat everything else in the exhibit. Maybe manatees?

Some exhibits on "man-made" ocean environments, like the ones that develop around shipwrecks and abandoned oil rigs. And like, a walk-through aviary with coastal birds. I'd also want some big otter exhibits. A sea otter one with a rocky shoreline and an underwater viewing area full of rocks and plants. And a freshwater otter exhibit (Asian small-clawed, giant, or river; I can't decide!) with trees and small waterfalls and all kinds of nooks and crannies for them to explore. I also want an indoor exhibit that's creepy and dark, like undersea caves or something.

Some kind of auditorium-type of building. The hallway leading into it has small aquariums with various fish species. The auditorium would regularly host plays, shows, movie showings, and talks from different scientists and the like.

 

I like this zoo. It sounds like a neat one.