Well, considering you are only 15, you are well on the way I would say. Most 15 year-olds (including me at that age) really don't know what they want to do and don't think seriously about it. I can tell by the amount of research you are doing that you really can succeed in this. Not only can an individual become a member of the ZAA, but you can also buy an individual membership to the AZA. It's known as an associate member, costs $70/year, and the application form can be printed from their website Association of Zoos and Aquariums. I LOVE the idea of horse-drawn wagons. Much more peaceful and environmentally friendly than a truck.
kbaker116, I love your ideas and I'm hoping you'll achieve them I have seriously thought about starting my own zoo. Nowhere near ready, however. I have had 12 years of experience working with animals at the SPCA, my own and am now a dog bather at two dog grooming salons. Eventually when I get enough money I plan on going to college for Animal Care courses at Sheridan. If I do eventually meet my goal of running my own zoo, it will mostly consist of winter hardy species. I plan on being a private holder of some exotics sometime down the road; I'm thinking of something along the lines of frogs and exotic rodents (I've been owning rats on and off since I was eight). MAYBE some exotic birds, like Toucans (eventually, I'll start with something more lower maintenance first) and Aracaras. Back on the subject of my own zoo, I do have an awesome coyote exhibit planned. Once I get it down on paper, I'll scan it and show it to you. Also a reallly nice bobcat exhibit; I find many bobcat exhibits are on the smallish side so I thought, if I could plan one, this could do the species justice. I'd also like to have a wild turkey exhibit that looks like it is part of the bobcat exhibit, but with hidden barriers. The tricky thing though, finding a way where the turkeys won't see the bobcats and get stressed. I've also let my city know that I think a zoo/aquarium would be a wonderful addition If well run I am open minded about having a city-run zoo/aquarium in Hamilton.
@Arizona Docent: About the membership, what comes with it? I was interested in getting a subscription to the AZA magazine but doesn't it cost around $250? I will probably go with ZAA unless @Meaghan Edwards: Good luck with your zoo, I am interested to see your ideas for your coyote exhibit. Just recently I finished so of my designs for my antelope barn. I am working on drawing it in CAD right now. I still have to figure things out as far as under floor radiant heat or heat pads. I am also wondering how I should keep them in there indoor quarters. I can either make two different stalls or a stall for each antelope. How do most zoos keep there hoof stock as far as indoor quarters go?
Just thought I'd post my species list that I'd hope to have in the zoo. Most of which I am putting are mammals, and birds. I also plan on adding a reptile and aquarium. I may edit it later, but I mostly prefer mammals. It is divided in the middle, because that is the mostly the animals I plan on getting later. The first list is going to be the first animals I get. Enjoy! Reticulated Giraffe Grevy Zebra Addax African Eland Aoudad Elk Bison Llama Scimatar Horned Oryx Nilgai Black Buck Fallow Deer Mouflon Dromedary Camel Yak Highland Cattle Water Buffalo Greater Rhea Ostrich Brahma Muntjac Deer African Lion Bengal Tiger American Black Bear African Leopard Red Kangaroo Capybara Patagonian Mara White Handed Gibbon Ring Tailed Lemur Common Marmoset Spider Monkey Ruffed Lemur White Faced Capuchin Binturong Fennec Fox African Crested Porcupine Sacred Ibis African Spoon Bill Hamerkop Yellow Billed Stork Hadda Ibis Whistling Duck Sarus Crane African Crowned Crane Scarlet Macaw Mute Swan Black Swan Eygptian Goose Spectacled Owl Blue and Gold Macaw Yellow Napped Amazon Cockatiel Indian Peafowl Imperial Pigeon Bleeding Heart Pigeon Greater Currassow Toco Toucan Moulcan Cockatoo Ross's Turaco Kookubara Chilean Flamingo Jersey Cows African Pgmy Goats Pott Bellied Pig Rhode Island Reds Jacob Sheep Percheron Rabbits Potiu Donkey Zebu Alpaca Nubian Goat Mintaure Pony African Spurred Tortoise Barbado Sheep African Geese Rouen Ducks Pekin Ducks Fainting Goats Cheviot Sheep American Alligator Green Iguana Rhino Iguana Hermann's Tortoise Aldabara Tortoise Burmese Pythons Nile Crocodile Serval Hartman Mountain Zebra Prewelski's Wild Horse Blesbok Greater Kudu Guar Kulan Wildebeest Besia Oryx Brazilian Tapir Bongo Lowland Anoa Bearded Pig Warthog Red River Hog Nyala Sitatunga Sable Roan Black Duiker White Rhino Thompson Gazelle Arabian Oryx Giant Eland Red Lechwe Pgmy Hippo Dama Gazelle Somali Ass Guenther's Dik Dik Greater Spot Nosed Guenon Mandrill Lesser Spot Nosed Guenon Debrazza Monkey Black and White Colobus Sykes Guenon Blue Monkey Wolf's Guenon Siamang Crested Gibbon White Faced Saki Lion Tailed Macaque Diana Monkey Asian Elephant African Elephant Bornean Orangutan Black Rhino Malayn Tapir Mountain Tapir Indian Rhino Chimpanzee Sumatran Orangutan Western Lowland Gorilla Sumatran Tiger Amur Leopard Sun Bear Congo Buffalo Clouded Leopard Cossawary Pink Backed Pelican Okapi Cheetah Spotted Hyeana Jaguar Saddle Billed Stork African Wild Dog Maned Wolf
Thank you, kbaker116 That is also an excellent species list you have. Here's my bird and mammal list (tentatively): Eastern Coyote Red Fox Grey Fox Wild Turkey Moose White-tailed Deer Grey Wolf Black Bear Bobcat Elk Bald Eagle Golden Eagle Whooping Crane Mexican Wolf Javalina (in a hidden barrier exhibit next to the Mexican Wolves) Jaguar (in the same vicinity as the Javelina/Mexican Wolf) Coati Ringtail Cat Cougar Pronghorn Antelope Prairie Dog Swift Fox Burrowing Owl Wood Bison African Lion African Wild Dog Spotted Hyena African Leopard Cheetah Caracal Serval Silver-backed Jackal Cobobus Bonobo Mixed herd containing Greater Kudu, Impala, African Crowned Cranes, Ground Hornbill Weaverbird aviary, also containing Duiker Bat-eared Fox Fennec Fox Gemsbok Meerkat Mountain Zebra Baringo Giraffe Malayan Tiger Malaysian Sun Bear Visayan Warty Pig Clouded Leopard Markhor Snow Leopard Dhole Red Panda Amur Leopard Amur Tiger Dingo Swamp Wallaby Mixed exhibit of Western Grey Kangaroo and Emu Red-tailed Black Cockatoo Australian Magpie New Guinea Singing Dog Victorian Crowned Pigeon
Nice ideas, making exhibits where predators and prey can see each other is a good idea. Will your birds be in an aviary, or spread out through the zoo? Will your zoo be separated in areas, or will it be sort of all together? I plan on having my African area being the center of my safari. With side areas for Asian, American species. I hope to incorporate natural fowl within those exhibits. Cranes, Guinea fowl, ostriches, and storks in Africa. Sarus Cranes, Peafowl, Native Ducks and Geese in Asia. For America wild turkeys, quail, native waterfowl, egrets, and Sandhill cranes. Side habitats for tapirs, rhinos, and other rare ungulates not suited for large compatibility exhibits. A large forest ungulate barn would be part of the zoo area for Bongo, Duikers, Wild Swine, and Lowland Anoa. Rows of tall naturalistic habitats for Guenons, Lion Tailed Macaques, Mangabeys, Drills, and Mandrills. I plan on having trees and vegetation inside the enclosures so they can be more natural. Combining primate species with each other would also be a goal of mine. Towards the front of the zoo I would have a large Aviary for misc. birds. Another large barn for a petting zoo, and exotics like camels, and kangaroos you would be able to pet also. Large spacious habitats for my carnivores would be at the back of the zoo. Like Meghan's idea I would have a few looking out at the safari animals to look as if there wasn't any barriers separating them. Other ideas include a picnic area around a large lake with monkey islands for Ring Tailed Lemurs, Gibbons, Capuchins, and Spider Monkeys. Last an indoor tropical house at the front of the zoo that would have the gift shop, staff offices, and of course small habitats for tropical species like, Common Marmosets, Iguanas, Large Freshwater Fish, Binturongs, and other misc. animals. Just thought I'd give more detail in what my zoo would be like.
I'm pretty sure the $70 associate membership includes a subscription to Connect Magazine (large portions of which are now available for free online).
For kabar116: Thanks for telling me about the book and ZAA newsletter. Exotics on the Range sounds interesting. Do you think I should buy it? Or get it from the library book exchange. You could try and get it from a library book exchange first and depending on whether you find it useful for your zoo ideas, you should buy if it is necessary. However, when I bought my copy, it cost me $49.50 so you might want to save a little bit before considering purchasing it. I will tell you though that this book has detailed information about each species listed, their background in Texas, and how to manage them on a ranch-like setting. The horse drawn carts I can't take credit for. A few non accredited safari parks, typically Amish run have Percheron, or Belgian drawn wagons. You would think they horses would have a problem with it but they don't actually. From a young age the foals are brought alongside the mares, through the park. This helps them get acclimated to animals and halter train them at a young age. This is good because they still get the comfort of their mom being there. Thank you for your explanation. It is still is a cool idea though. I was I had came up with this idea for my zoo plans. Just thought I'd add that I'm planning on volunteering at a Vet Clinic. They have Emu, Black Swan, Arctic Foxes, Muntjac Deer, Red Kangaroos, Parma Wallabies, Eurasian Eagle Owl, Turkey Vulture, Kookubara, Aldabara Tortoise, Two Toed Sloths, and Alligators. Once I turn 16 I will be able to volunteer there. I think this will be a great experince. I will gain quite a bit of knowledge by working with these animals and vets. I hope they accept you. This will be a really great opportunity for you if you get it. For kbaker116 @ Meaghan Edwards: Thank you both for sharing your zoo ideas with us. I feel more pressured to get my own plans in order. Hopefully soon, I get to work on a summary of my zoo and I will have posted here as well.
My Zoo Summary The wait is OVER! Here is a summary of my zoo, HEARTLAND SAFARI. WILD MISSOURI: This area will be one of the first exhibit set to open at my park. Guests will be able to view native white-tailed deer and the extripated bison and elk in large paddocks while sitting or standing in shaded overlooks. Carnivores too will be observed up close and personal as glass panels and make-shift dens will provide an unobstructed view of such predators as black bears, bobcats, cougars, coyotes, and gray wolves. The cougar exhibit will also have a walkway that goes over the main path giving the patrons a thrilling experiance. There will also be free-ranging turkeys, a fencerow exhibit for a covey of bobwhite quails, and multiple wildlife gardens and ponds. LAS PAMPAS (the pampas): Immediately follow "Wild Missouri", this area will feature wildlife from the grasslands of South America. Guests will be able to walk amongst Patagonian cavies or maras and see guanacos and rheas in a nearby seperate enclosure. Mixed-species enclsoures will be featured, with such examples as a paddock featuring giant anteaters, capybaras, and tapirs, and a bird exhibit featuring Chilean flamingoes, waterfowl, giant wood rails, and possibly screamers. Indiviual species exhibits will also be featured here as well. They will house coati, collard peccary, jagaur and possbily other species. DANDARAGA (good country): From kangaroos to budgies, they all can be seen at "Dandaraga. Visitors can feed budgies, cockatiels, and finches, hear the kookaburras and see more birds at "Bimbimble" (many birds). Soon they will encounter emus, waterfowl, and Bennet's wallaby living together in "Canberra" (meeting place). Finally kangaroos and wallabies abound in "Laane-Corre" (home of the kangaroo). The highlights here include a walk-through red kangaroo exhibit, multiple species of macropods, and dingoes. SAFARI CENTRAL: The heart of the zoo, this area features various species of domestic and wild animals. There will be a contact yard featuring rare and endangered breeds of livestock, "Companion Animals" (featuring pets), "The Land of Lilliput" (miniature breeds of livestock), and various wildlife exhibits featuring animals that live alongside people like fallow deer and red fox. Plants will also be a feature here. There will be a pizza garden (plants used for pizza toppings) and an orchard in "The Land of Lilliput" with dwarf fruit trees. This area will also serve as a roundabout for guests travel to and from "Wild Missouri", "Las Pampas", "Dandaraga" and "Expedition Eurasia". SMALL ANIMAL BUILDING: As the name hints, this exhibit will focus on the smallest inhabitants at the zoo. Featuring durial and nocturnial wildlife, this exhibit will explore how they adapt to their environment. Examples include predator-prey relationships (marble polecats and steppe lemmings), solitary lifestyles (raccoons, possums, skunks, etc), and animal communities (Mongolian gerbils). Mixed species exhibits will also play a significant role here as well. Examples include a native amphibian exhibit and native fish aquarium. EXPEDITION EURASIA: Perhaps the most ambitious of my current exhibit ideas, this area will feature wildlife from throughout central Asia and imploy more immersion-type exhibits. Starting right at the entrance, guests will immediately see Amur tigers, followed by Dybowski's sika deer, Eurasian lynx, wild boar, and several species of birds in a recreated East Asian temperate forest. Up next is the Asian steppe exhibit where brown bears, Bactrain camels, yaks, and hopefully goitered gazelles, Przewalski's wild horse, and kulans will roam multiple paddocks with shaded overlooks for guests to view their antics. Finally, this area ends with wildlife from the Asian mountains, featuring snow leopards, urials, and possibly gorals. I have thought of the possibility of ading a bamboo forest section with red panda, pheasants, and maybe some rarities. Sorry for delay. I hope all of you enjoy my summary.
Excellent, fantastic, all top-notch. Just let us know when opening day is . (I realize it's at least a few years away, but I think many of us would gladly travel out there for your grand opening). You may have this covered already, but just in case you haven't thought of it, as soon as you are really ready to start building you need to contact a lawyer about setting up as a non-profit organization so you can accept donations.
Great ideas!!! Few questions:Will guests be able to walk through the cavy exhibit? Do you have a species list? Great names for the exhibits, I like the fact you have a large area for North American wildlife. I also like the fact that most animals would be able to be out year round. I also enjoy the areas of animals you chose. Eurasia, Small Animals, and Las Pampas are all areas of a zoo you don't see a lot of and it would be nice to see it more. Thanks for posting KCZooman! Just thought I'd ask, have you ever been to the Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure? My dad knows the founder Charlie Walker and hopefully within the next year or two we might be able to go out there and get a behind the scenes tour of the zoo. I would be interested to hear what your thoughts were about it. Hopefully we would also be visiting the Kansas City Zoo if we went to Salina.
From Arizona Docent: Excellent, fantastic, all top-notch. Just let us know when opening day is . (I realize it's at least a few years away, but I think many of us would gladly travel out there for your grand opening). You may have this covered already, but just in case you haven't thought of it, as soon as you are really ready to start building you need to contact a lawyer about setting up as a non-profit organization so you can accept donations. Thank you for your kind words. Actually, I haven't thought of setting up a non-profit organization to accept donations. Would you mind telling me the benefits of being non-profit as oppossed to being for-profit? From kbaker116: Great ideas!!! Few questions:Will guests be able to walk through the cavy exhibit? Do you have a species list? Great names for the exhibits, I like the fact you have a large area for North American wildlife. I also like the fact that most animals would be able to be out year round. I also enjoy the areas of animals you chose. Eurasia, Small Animals, and Las Pampas are all areas of a zoo you don't see a lot of and it would be nice to see it more. Thanks for posting KCZooman! Just thought I'd ask, have you ever been to the Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure? My dad knows the founder Charlie Walker and hopefully within the next year or two we might be able to go out there and get a behind the scenes tour of the zoo. I would be interested to hear what your thoughts were about it. Hopefully we would also be visiting the Kansas City Zoo if we went to Salina. Yes you would be able to walk amongst the cavies much same way as you would with the many kangaroo/wallaby walkabout exhibits. No I haven't started on a list of animals for my zoo, I haven't worked on it in a long while. Glad you like my exhibit names and concepts. I've wanted a zoo that featured both megafauna and "minifauna" together in a zoogeographic theme facility that was a bit more specialized than the accepted norm. Though I thought of many different ideas for my zoo, this concept by far is the closest to what I want for my zoo and for being the most likely of my ideas to come to fruition. And yes, I've been to Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure. Though most of the animals are confined in wire-mesh enclsoures, none of them are barren. The animals appear to be contempt, and they have means to keep themselves occupied. The zoo is also one of the most beautiful from landscapper's perspective and the grounds were very clean too. On a side not, this zoo is the only one I know off with a pop-up glass viweing of bobcats (one of the inspirations behind Heartland Safari's predator dens in "Wild Missouri". Thats' neat that your dad knows Charlie Walker. From what I've read about him, he seems to be a very interesting character. Hopefully, you'll get to speak with him and perhaps he might give you some helpful advice for your zoo as well. From Cat-Man:african or asian area? If you are talking about Expedition: Eurasia, it will only feature wildlife from Central Asia. However, I've thought of adding an African Veldt section to my zoo, but I wanted to do further research before deciding what animals, attractions, etc would be appropiate for this area. Thank you all for your comments. Hope this helps to answer all your questions.
The main benefit of being non-profit is exactly what I stated: you can accept donations. If you are for profit, which very few zoos are, you are not allowed to accept donations and all of your money must come through selling things (admission tickets, gift shop merchandise, special tours, food, etc). Since you can still do all of this PLUS accept donations as a non-profit, that seems to be the way to go.
From Arizona Docent: The main benefit of being non-profit is exactly what I stated: you can accept donations. If you are for profit, which very few zoos are, you are not allowed to accept donations and all of your money must come through selling things (admission tickets, gift shop merchandise, special tours, food, etc). Since you can still do all of this PLUS accept donations as a non-profit, that seems to be the way to go. Thank you for explaining the benefits of being non-profit. Couple questions though: If you are non-profit, can make a profit off selling surplus animals? How will you be able to make a living for yourself and staff? Are you eligible for bond improvements and grants?
Non-profits don't make profits or losses - they make 'surpluses' or 'deficits'. You're not the 'owner' of a non-profit, and the surplus is not yours - it belongs to the non-profit entity. You would, presumably, as administrator of the zoo be paid a salary. But the zoo is not 'yours' in a legal sense.
From CGSwans: Non-profits don't make profits or losses - they make 'surpluses' or 'deficits'. You're not the 'owner' of a non-profit, and the surplus is not yours - it belongs to the non-profit entity. You would, presumably, as administrator of the zoo be paid a salary. But the zoo is not 'yours' in a legal sense. Thanks for the explaination. This may be a dumb question, but how does a non-profit entity make enough of a surplus to pay its' employees salary/
As ZYBen alluded to - you're confusing running costs and surplus. Just like a for-profit company, a non-profit has revenues (money coming in from operations - such as ticket sales, merchandising, food and drink sales and donations) and expenses (wages, depreciation on buildings and equipment, animal food, goods sold etc). What's different is how any excess of revenue over expenses is distributed. In a for-profit company, profits are either retained within the company for future investment, or distributed as dividends to shareholders. In a non-profit organisation, the surplus is almost always kept within the organisation - the only exception would be where it is donated out. Basically, if someone wants to start a wildlife attraction, don't make it non-profit if you want to be able to sell up and make a windfall gain down the track. The benefits of non-profit status are that you are able to accept donations and usually you are exempt from paying certain taxes. So you are able ot both attract revenue streams that you aren't otherwise able to attract, and your costs are lower because you're paying less tax. The 'downside' is that the zoo doesn't really belong to you. You are not allowed to treat any surplus that the zoo makes as your personal wealth. You *can* pay yourself a salary and often even bonuses. But be careful - depending on the laws in your country or state (and I won't pretend to know or particularly care what they are) you *may* be subject to restrictions on this as well.
i am gonna do it, in about 15 years, get the inheritance, sell 2 houses, get a third of the money from another house, save up during the 15 years, buy the land, build my own log cabin and start workin
