My score of 2.5 is just for the fake fruit bats as per the description next to 'What is it'. I wouldn't worry about the scores too much as they are just people's opinion rather than absolute fact . I'm not suggesting they use real decaying plant matter, although a pile of dry reeds or grass could suffice as it would take a very long time to break down unless it got wet. I don't think a fake alligator nest would be too difficult to create and it could demonstrate nicely the camouflage of the baby alligators emerging from the nest when they are most vulnerable to predation. I think the one without a head is actually supposed to look like it has its head in the sand.
Do you think it might be a real one? I think it's not unreasonable to assume that skulls or animal parts in exhibits would be props rather than the real deal. If they had a real hippopotamus skull in storage somewhere (which they perhaps could, as at least until some time ago they did have collections of stuffed animals and animal body parts), would it not be much more reasonable to store and preserve it appropriately rather than using it as a prop in an exhibit?
Bronx has a real partial African Bush Elephant skeleton just laying around in front of the Thomson's Gazelle yard. The animal was poached in Tanzania I believe and was originally inside Baboon Reserve when the exhibit first opened. Unfortunately the elements have taken their toll and every year more and more of the skeleton returns to the Earth. I think, if preserved properly, it would have made for a good conservation display. ~Thylo
Although, you could make a pretty good case that giving zoo regulars the chance to watch it decay over the years is an act of education in itself. The climate is quite different from Tanzania but that doesn't make it any less interesting.
Surprised you chose these over the proboscis monkey... https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/proboscis-monkey-model.277767/full
Yes I think that it's real. Just judging from the appareance. But if you have real facts about this skull telling if it's fake or true, rather than assumption that is fake only because it's outdoors, then I would love to learn. Unreasonable? Indeed, it's not. Obligated? Neither! By the way there are other examples of real skeletons exhibited outside under the rain and weather in zoos. I remember a real whale skeleton at Barcelona zoo, and another whale skeleton that I assumed as real (by the crakes on the bones) but without confirmation, at Faunia (underwater in the penguin exhibit). Plus there are a bowhead whale skeleton out in weather at Toronto zoo, too (I assume it's a real one, but I don't know). At least the Barcelona one is authentic. An hippo skull is something zillion times more easy to get from a zoo (especially if it's a zoo that holds hippos) than a whale skeleton, and also more easy to preserve in good condition.
I have no information on the skull, and it doesn't really have a prominent place in the exhibit either, you have to look for it to really notice it (and in fact I only recently did notice it) - I zoomed in quite a bit for the shot I posted. The exhibit is not outdoors though, it's an indoor exhibit in the reptile house. This is the exhibit the hippo skull is in, currently housing caiman, turtles and iguanas, formerly home to Nile crocodiles (the skull is under the branches on the left side in the first image): Reptile house - Caiman enclosure | ZooChat Caiman - Iguana enclosure | ZooChat I guess there is no way to really know or tell whether the skull (or any other set of bones for that matter) is real or fake - I'm not even sure it would make any sense to ask the zoo - but I would think that fake ones are probably much more common than the real ones. Personally I think I've mostly or only seen real bones and skulls in museum-like displays or educational displays. And as we've seen in this topic, it's not necessarily a bad thing for zoos to invest in good fakes to set a scene.
I'd agree if it wasn't off to the side and not really signed much It wasn't until years after I joined this site that I even discovered it existed after reading about it online. I do agree it's a unique thing to be able to watch, though. I'm just bummed to see it slowly disappearing because I think it's one of the best little known elements of the zoo. ~Thylo
I have seen a few real skulls and bones used in exhibits, the National Zoo in DC has an oryx skull in one of the small mammal house displays for example. The hippo looks real to me, the weathering and detail it has would be extremely difficult to replicate even if casted from a real specimen. Casts tend to be smoother and details like the cranial sutures and nasal conchae are often lost in the casting process. They might also have a shiny or plastic look to them that real bone doesn't. Sorry for the tangent osteology is something I've been involved with for a while.
This is an "extended version" of what I meant when I said that I thought it's real, just by its appareance
What is it: Fake rocks Where is it: Colchester zoo, UK Which enclosure: Sun bears What year: 2013 Score: 2.5 out of 5 new sun bear enclosure | ZooChat
What is it: Fake baobab (Madagascan species) Where is it: Chester zoo, UK Which enclosure: Madagascan zone What year: 2019 Score: 2.5 out of 5 Artificial Tree - Madagascar Exhibit - 26/03/2019 | ZooChat
What is it: Fake crocodile Where is it: Mondo Verde, Netherlands Which enclosure: N/A What year: 2018 Score: 4 out of 5 Fake crocodiles amongst Sansevierias (Aug 28th, 2018) | ZooChat
What is it: Fake alligator Where is it: De Zonnegloed Sanctuary, Belgium Which enclosure: ? What year: 2018 Score: 4.5 out of 5 Danger, fake crocodiles! | ZooChat
What is it: Fake snow leopard Where is it: Zoologischer Garten Magdeburg, Germany Which enclosure: ? What year: 2018 Score: 3 out of 5 Snow Leopard statue | ZooChat
What is it: Fake rock (entire exhibit) Where is it: Singapore zoo, Singapore Which enclosure: Hamadryas Baboon Exhibit, Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia What year: 2009 Score: 4.5 out of 5 Hamadryas Baboon Exhibit, Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia - Singapore Zoo | ZooChat Additional comments: At the time it was apparently home to 80+ individuals.
What is it: Fake naked mole rat nest Where is it: Emmen zoo, Netherlands Which enclosure: ? What year: 2018 Score: 4 out of 5 Nacked mole-rat-models | ZooChat Additional comments: Looks like something out of a horror film, so it's pretty realistic.
Really it pretends to be a baobab? The foliage is more like bamboo! Come on guys, baobabs have palmate composite leaves!
