Honolulu Zoo, part two: the tax deductable pictures

[urbpan]

When I visit a zoo I take pictures of details that interest me as someone who works in the field. Every zoo does things a little differently, and there's always something to learn.


This is the white-handed gibbon exhibit. It's an island with a big climbing structure made of pipe painted to look like bamboo, firehose, and a real tree. The feature most interesting to me is the children's step, painted yellow to make it visible. At Drumlin one of the common complaints is that the children can't see over the barrier fences.



One of the frustrations of being an animal keeper is that the animals are there to be enjoyed, but many people's idea of enjoying the animals is to scream at them or throw stuff at them (to get them to move, or to feed them or whatever). Our job is to keep the animal healthy, and yet the very fact of them being on exhibit puts them through stress that damages their health. There were a bunch of these rhyming signs, which had good messages (but terrible poetry). I wonder if the rhyming helps visitors remember the message.

My running gag at Drumlin was that the signage should include the word "pie hole."


Again the theme is "respect." Everybody can understand respect. I like that they saved the crap people had thrown into the gharial exhibit. "Look what you idiots have done!" is the message.


I really like this sign. I love that they threaten legal action, and I like the fact that the zoo includes both simple rhyming signs with pictures on them as well as dense wordy informative signs. In my opinion, if you invoke the law (especially in the passive tense as on this sign) it gives the message that it's not the zoo that's being a hard ass, you're breaking the law, bub. At a meeting at Drumlin, a similar message ("It's against federal regulations for the animals to be fed by the public") was shot down as too unfriendly. NOTE TO SELF: suggest that a weed trimmer be used around the sheep and goat fences to eliminate the tempting grass that people pull and feed to the animals.


WHAT'S IN HERE? WHAT'S IN HERE? I DON'T SEE THE ANIMAL!
This sign is a courtesy, and to keep the crowds moving. I think this sign's light-hearted, irreverent tone is fun.
The Honolulu Zoo exhibits are actually really well designed in terms of how visible the animals are.

Comments

[gemfyre.livejournal.com]

Are there any open plains zoos in the U.S.?

[meryddian.livejournal.com]

Well... to whatever extent it can be called a "zoo"... Busch Gardens, Tampa, FL, has a "safari" setting for their animals.

[gemfyre.livejournal.com]

I can think of at least 3 in Australia. Huge tracts of land where various (compatible) animals are house together in large paddocks.

Most zoos might have one or two deer, Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo has a herd of at least 20.