Inside Zoos - Entrances

First impressions are everything!   Lets face it, lots of people want the ability to engage with you and influence you. Most businesses spend lots of money in the art of influence, experimenting on smells, colors, space, layout and advertising,  when all they need to do is focus on being a good citizen of the world  with ethics, oh yeah, and a welcoming entry statement.
 

Taronga Zoo historical entrance

Zoos are all about getting you to engage with their message, and yes they also employ lots of tactics to do this.  What they are trying to sell is an idea, conservation! And they want you to engage with that idea in many different ways. Anyway I digress, that's another post. Before you engage you must enter and first impressions are everything. 

Let's look at some of my favorite zoos and wild life park entrances that I've experienced over the last 12months and why I think they work. 

Central Park Zoo  is a small city zoo in the metropolis of New York City. The front entrance plaza is an extension of Central Park. Before you even enter the zoo you have access to the zoo's art gallery, zoo shop and some impressive public art including the Delacorte Music Clock that is located near the Children's Zoo. The clock plays one of a  selection of 44 children songs every half hour from 8am until 5pm daily.The other thing I love about this zoo entrance is that you can see the sea lions playing on the rocks in their enclosure from the plaza: Making Central Park zoo entrance plaza a great place to sit for a quiet bite to eat during your lunch break.
 

Delacorte Music Clock

Carumbin Wild Life Park  is an Australian wildlife park located in a leafy part of the Gold Coast. One of the most famous attractions at the park is the  lorikeet feeding that actually takes place in the large entrance courtyard before you pay to enter the park. You can watch on for free and have the opportunity to feed lorikeet's as they perch themselves all over you. Two feeding times are scheduled daily at 8am and 4pm  There is also a relaxing coffee shop and gift store located in the entry court.

 

Entrance off the road

Sydney Wildlife Zoo is located at the busy Darling Harbour in Central Sydney. If you only had a short time in Sydney and desperately want to get a picture of a Koala, you could pop down to the Sydney Wildlife Zoo's front entrance. They have an excellent koala enclosure right at the front entrance. perfect for that quick photo opportunity. 
 

Photo opportunity at Sydney Wildlife Zoo entrance

Wild Florida Zoo and Air-Boat Rides. is located in the Northern Everglades in Central Florida. To access the park you need to drive up a long unsealed dirt track. When it comes to first impressions the road fits in perfectly with the park motto " The Middle Of Nowhere Has Been Discovered" Unfortunately the park has just announced that they will be sealing the road in March. Oh well ! That's progress for you. 
 

Front entrance building at Wild Florida

 

Minimal entrance statement that fits motto

Bronx Zoo in New York City is one of the largest urban zoos in the world, and they have the entrance fitting for such a  position. The zoo does have four entrances, but if you enter the Fordham Road entrance via the large wrought iron gates you will enter one of  the more impressive zoo entry experiences. There isn't one thing that makes this entrance so great, its a multitude of things like the beautiful old style buildings, sea lion pool and gardens that when  combined visually build up the anticipation of a great day at the zoo.

Bronx Zoo

Bronx Zoo

So the next time you visit your favorite zoo, pause and soak in the effort made at the entrance to both make your day and make an impression.

© March 2014-Stuatthezoo.blogspot.com.au

In Focus - Gorilla

Status: Endangered

Geographic Region: Central, Western Africa

Meaning of name: Greek meaning –Tribe of hairy women

Habitat: Tropical and subtropical forest

Threats: War, Poaching

Left in Wild: 104,260 

Disney's Animal Kingdom - Walt Disney World

The gorilla is the largest primate on earth. The DNA of gorillas is 99% similar to humans and they are the third closest relative to humans after the chimpanzee and bonobo.

There are two species of gorillas, the eastern and western. The eastern gorilla is the largest species with the male growing to 1.8 meters tall and weighing over 200 kilograms. They have two sub species called the lowland and mountain gorilla.  The western gorilla also has a couple of sub species being the western lowland gorilla and the cross river gorilla.

Western lowland gorilla at Melbourne Zoo

Gorillas live in groups called troops. Generally a troop is made up of one adult male called a silverback and several females. This differs between species and sub species. For example juvenile male mountain gorillas sometimes stay with their troops into adulthood, being subordinate to the dominant male until he dies, only then can he mate with other females. In a single male troop, when the male dies the females will sometimes disperse into other troops- especially if the females have young as they can then inherit the protection of another troop's silverback. If young aren’t involved females sometimes wait until a silverback inherits their troop – in short it can be complicated!

Gorillas rarely drink water, their diet can include, leaves, roots and fruit (dependent on species) and generally this diet provides a gorilla’s daily water intake.

 Werribee Open Range Zoo 

A gorilla in the wild lives between 35 to 40 years. The oldest known living gorilla lived to the age of 55 at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in the USA.

The population of the gorilla varies between species and sub species. There are over 100,000 western lowland gorillas living in the wild.  However the eastern lowland gorilla is thought to only have approximately 4000 individuals left in the wild. The mountain gorillas are by far the most endangered of the species with only approximately 600 left in the wild.

Stu’s Zoo Pick for the Gorilla  

The Bronx Zoo, has a an excellent exhibit alongside their expansive gorilla enclosure called the Congo Gorilla Forest housing over 20 western lowland gorillas. As you walk through the exhibit you will learn about the species and what is being done to protect it.

Lunch time at Taronga Zoo

Taronga Zoo offers great talks and an opportunity to watch the western lowland gorillas interact at feeding time at 11.30 am daily. It really does give you a great insight into the troop’s social complexities.  

Melbourne Zoo has a great enclosure housing western lowland gorillas. You can do a behind the scenes tour for $120 that last for 45 minutes.

Learning about the gorillas at Werribee Open Range Zoo

Werribee Open Range Zoo has a 6,000 square metre enclosure with multiple viewing opportunities to see the western lowland gorilla. 

Disney's Animal Kingdom

Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World has a spectacular enclosure within the Pangani Forest Trail. Excellent opportunists to view multiple families of western lowland gorillas.


To find out more about the western lowland gorilla follow the link bellow to a terrific site, documenting  two new arrivals at North Carolina Zoo,

Baby Gorillas Bomassa and Apollo Grow Up

 © October 2013-Stuatthezoo.blogspot.com.au

In Focus – Tiger

Status: Endangered 

Geographic Region: Asia

Meaning of Name: Subspecies demographic identification: Bengal, Malayan, Sumatran etc 

Habitat:  Siberian forests, swamps to tropical forested areas

Threats: Habitat destruction, Poaching

Left in Wild: Approximately 4000

One of the male Sumatran Tigers at Australia Zoo

The tiger is the largest cat species in the world. In fact the only two land carnivores larger than the tiger are the polar bear and brown bear.  There are six subspecies of tiger that exist today, down from nine. They are the Bengal, Malayan, Sumatran, Siberian, Indochinese and South China tiger. There are great fears that the South China Tiger is extinct in the wild with only 59 left in captivity.

Although the tiger is revered in most of the countries that they are found in, all subspecies of tiger are in danger of extinction in differing variations. This is mainly due to the large hunting grounds an individual tiger will occupy and subsequent conflict with humans. Farming, fencing, towns and roads have all played a part in the fragmentation of the tiger’s territory. Today tigers are only found in small pockets across Asia with their habitat reducing dramatically. 

 

Sumatran Tiger at Australia Zoo

Tigers are territorial, solitary animals but have been known to befriend other tigers to the point where they will share their kills with companions. There are no set rules as to why tigers befriend other tigers making it notoriously difficult to pair them up in zoos. Tigers are one of the rare animals that live just as long in zoos as they do in the wild with the average life expectancy of a tiger approximately 20 years.

Tigers love water and are very good swimmers, they will spend a good portion of a hot day relaxing in a shallow pool to keep cool. They will also follow their prey into rivers and lakes to make a kill. The Jaguar is the only other cat that enjoys water in the same way. Tigers have become nocturnal hunters due to their close proximity to humans however scientific observations in non-populated areas have noted the tiger’s still hunt in the day in those areas. 

Stu’s Zoo Pick for the Tiger 

You would be hard pressed to go to one of the big zoos today without seeing a tiger. Tigers are one of the big ticket animals that zoos tend to make sure they have.  Australian zoos like the Perth Zoo and Taronga Zoo participate in Sumatran tiger breeding programs and have good enclosures to view tigers. The following zoos have excellent enclosures that not only give you an opportunity to see these big cats but also information and displays on conservation. 

Bronx Zoo

Tiger Mountain at the Bronx Zoo has two species of tiger, the Siberian Tiger and Malayan Tiger both are housed in great enclosures mimicking the tiger’s natural habitats. Complete with deep water pools, rocks and grassed lopes the design of the enclosures focuses on animal enrichment as the top priority. The surrounding area at Tiger Mountain is set up in a way that encourages you to explore, whilst learning about the tiger and its battle to survive in the wild. This is also a great exhibit to learn about all of the animal enrichment programs that the zoo has implemented to keep the tigers from getting bored including methods like a treat spinner and a deer hide that hangs overhead.

One of the great educational displays at Tiger Mountain - Bronx Zoo

Tiger relaxing in the great enclosure at the Bronx Zoo

Australia Zoo

Tiger Temple is one of the new exhibits at Australia Zoo. It has three excellent viewing areas where you can see the Sumatran tigers at rest, play or having a swim. The enclosure is very well themed with great educational messages throughout. There are daily keeper talks scheduled and are worth visiting.  

Entrance into Tiger Temple - Australia Zoo

Australia Zoo,  Part of the Australian-wide zoo effort to save the Sumatran Tiger

Dream World

Tiger Island is a great exhibit with both Bengal and Sumatra tigers on display. The tiger demonstration held twice daily is a great way to learn more about these big cats. 

Part of the tiger demonstration at Tiger Island - Dreamworld

© June 2013-Stuatthezoo.blogspot.com.au