Walking through a dense, grassy maze gives the visitor a sense of a path made by lions, then opens up into a water hole with tracks, meerkats, finally revealing the lions on the edge in a rolling savanna dotted with trees, a battered old truck and a distant river. Visitors can view the lions from a ranger truck. This is a novel opportunity for close encounters with the lions, creating an exciting sense of "safe danger".
The truck itself is partially in the lions' area with the hood being sectioned off from the rest of the vehicle by a glass viewing panel. Feedings regularly occur on the hood which has the additional benefit of having heating coils running through it ... both of which encourage lions to lounge up close to visitors.
This location forms the nucleus of an interpretation and demonstration area with lions as the focus - discovering how lions live, and the connections between people and lions in the wild and at the Zoo. The use of a truck as a viewing platform provides a realistic way to view lions in the landscape. Mesh netting provides an opportunity for keepers to demonstrate behavioural training techniques which facilitate the lions' care, as well as to get visitors safely up close to witness the size, hear their breath, and appreciate the special physical features that make lions such magnificent creatures.
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7 comments:
I'm sorry, forgive-- but how does watching a cat eat off the hood of a lorry enhance the educational experience? Nice looking exhibit from a design point of view, but if realism and education are the goals frankly couldn't the same be accomplished for millions less by fencing in a grassy field, hanging binoculars from the chain link and tossing a goat overt the rails every afternoon? The whole glass in ranger's vehicle doesn't say zoo or animal encounter it says theme restaurant.
Ben,
That's exactly what I thought. It is sure taking liberty's with the word "education." I would expect a laminated kinko's sign hung on a rolling cage in the circus that said, "lives in Africa and eat's meat and chicken" would be the same "education."
Wade
I'm sorry, forgive-- but how does watching a cat eat off the hood of a lorry enhance the educational experience? Nice looking exhibit from a design point of view, but if realism and education are the goals frankly couldn't the same be accomplished for millions less by fencing in a grassy field, hanging binoculars from the chain link and tossing a goat overt the rails every afternoon? The whole glass in ranger's vehicle doesn't say zoo or animal encounter it says theme restaurant.
Actually the cat in the rolling cage at the circus with the xeroxed laminated sign is a bit more honest, because you still get the smell. This display is sanitized to the point where it's more like a Jurassic Park ride at Disney than a zoo experience. The thing of it is, I understand what they were trying to accomplish, and I don't question the designer's motives. But in the end what you get is something dumbed down, very expensive to build, and very unnatural. I feel sorry for theguy with the spong and bucket of dilute Roccal D who has to keep some of that construction clean. Form follows function.
I'm sorry, forgive-- but how does watching a cat eat off the hood of a lorry enhance the educational experience? Nice looking exhibit from a design point of view, but if realism and education are the goals frankly couldn't the same be accomplished for millions less by fencing in a grassy field, hanging binoculars from the chain link and tossing a goat overt the rails every afternoon? The whole glass in ranger's vehicle doesn't say zoo or animal encounter it says theme restaurant.
Ben - you got the hiccups mate?
What are they trying to accomplish? More dollars for the consultants of course!
And somebody will surely win an award at some mutual backslapping talkfest.
And then the rest of us will be expected to follow suit with similar designs to "enrich" our wretched animal's sterile lives.
Talk to them about how enriched a circus animal's life CAN be and you will be derided for your lack of university education and written off as red-necked trailer trash.
Where are Tombo and Tonyi?
Mary Ann
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