I have a wildlife zoo-Chapter 622 - 621: Design of the Native Soil Exhibition Area

The wildlife rescue center of the zoo occasionally accommodates animals that are severely injured and unable to be released back into the wild in the local exhibition area.

However, the rescue center has not yet encountered a situation where an animal could not be released!

Either the injuries were too severe and the animal died outright, or the rest are actively being treated and recovered.

Fang Ye recently saw a news report about a zoo that rescued a snow leopard that was apparently in good health and, after a while, planned to put it on display in the park directly.

They even shamelessly claimed, "Our zoo simulates the wild habitat of the snow leopard, specially installing air conditioning for the snow leopard, replicating the rocky and snowy mountain characteristics of its natural habitat, creating a living atmosphere, greatly improving the welfare of the snow leopard."

The snow leopard was living well in the wild, with vast snowy mountains as its territory. It's as if they thought the leopard would be eager for air conditioning? And were the stickers of snowy mountains behind the exhibit supposed to simulate a "snowy mountain environment"?

Fortunately, netizens actively reported the case, and after an investigation by the Forestry Bureau, the zoo could only release the snow leopard back into the wild two days later.

Such behavior is truly contemptible.

A real zoo: combines entertainment, breeding, rescue, scientific research, and conservation education in one, allowing visitors to relax and be entertained while enhancing awareness of environmental and animal conservation, and striving for a better world.

A false zoo: does business under the slogan of protecting animals by luring rare wildlife back to captivity.

I digress.

The local exhibition area should be grounded in reality, and exhibiting too precious of animals is not suitable.

For example, bringing in a tiger. Although tigers had a wide range of distribution in the past and did leave traces in Linhai long ago, their long disappearance makes them unsuitable as representatives of the local fauna, as it may not resonate with visitors.

Wang Yan and others organized the wildlife cameras set up in nearby villages when investigating wild boars, and we roughly figured out which animals were active in the vicinity.

We can select from these animals.

Fang Ye had already been pondering this and quickly decided on the wild boar, red fox, common raccoon dog, porcupine, and otter to start with, considering an expansion later on.

Starting with a small farm, we built up the local exhibition area, and the vacant land behind it can be put to good use.

The local exhibition area should include a pond. The one beside the experimental field is a bit small, so we'll switch to a bigger pond fringed with a large area of reeds—not only to create a more authentic atmosphere but also to attract more native bird species.

Beyond the pond and reeds, planting some native trees such as hackberry and crops like peanuts, corn, and sweet potatoes would not only enrich the landscape but also provide food that wild boars and porcupines favor!

With these crops in place, we can more effectively help visitors understand why these local animals live here, and how the large-scale reclamation of farmland and wasteland has fragmented and reduced their habitats, impacting their lives.

The local exhibition area, not only showcases the local fauna, but it should also inform visitors of their past and present conditions, how people have coexisted with them, why such changes have occurred. Only then, can it truly reflect the theme of locality, otherwise, there's no difference from other animal exhibition areas.

With a clear direction in mind, we started designing the otter exhibit first.

We initially considered housing otters with gibbons, but the gibbon exhibition area is adjacent to the ring-tailed lemur exhibition area, and a segment of the moat surrounding the island is shared, which could allow the otters to escape from if not careful.

Therefore, it's better to place them in the local exhibition area. Otters are also very charming animals and deserve special emphasis in our display!

An environment suitable for otters must include clean water!

So, the exhibit will be water-centered, featuring ponds and streams with pebbles on the bottom.

Aside from streams, the diverse substrates on the ground are also important: dry sandy areas, humus zones, wood shavings, fallen leaves, rocks, and tree branches, as well as some large logs. The rocks enrich the environment and provide shelter for the otters, while the hollow logs can be used for napping.

The intricate network of branches gives otters places to hide, lie down to rest on, scratch their itches, and play with the pieces of wood.

There is a small island in the middle of the pond, connected by large logs and small branches.

Otters can swim to shore from the water, or walk over on the logs.

The underwater behavior of otters is also very interesting!

Therefore, the exhibit is designed like the hippopotamus exhibit, allowing visitors to observe through glass walls as they dart and swim flexibly between the logs underwater.

A shallow water area and a deeper water section let otters freely choose their preference.

Only when the environment is rich enough can animals exhibit a wider range of behaviors.

Visitors can also observe the different postures of otters' activities above and below water, in both deep and shallow areas.

As for the wild boar exhibit, wild boars like to live under the forest, using the trees and shrubs to shield them from the wind and rain. Besides the shrubs, they enjoy rolling in mud pools, getting completely muddy, which also serves as a natural barrier against ultraviolet rays and insect bites.

Though they like to roll in mud pools and get dirty, contrary to what most people think, they are actually very clean animals!

Black Whirlwind and its companions stayed in the zoo's rescue center for a period, and they always defecated in a fixed corner of their enclosure.

Thus, in addition to various trees and mud pools for rolling and playing, the wild boar exhibit also needs streams for bathing and washing food.

Wild boars usually forage using their noses to dig in the ground, so the substrate of the activity area needs to be made of loose soil.

When visitors stop in front of the exhibit, they need a sunshade to protect them from the sun's rays.

The sunshade could be similar to the environment of a small farmhouse courtyard where loofahs are grown, with gaps left between the top wooden boards. It resembles a trellis that plants can climb up through.

Once fully covered at the top, it not only brings an abundance of greenery but also provides a traditional rural ambiance that enhances the visitors' immersive experience.

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It doesn't have to be loofahs; eggplants and morning glory vines are also suitable.

Fang Ye spent half the day designing!

He was somewhat unsatisfied with some aspects, feeling that the exhibit environment wasn't very natural.

But there was no rush; he could adjust the details gradually.

It's a bit like a chef cooking dishes. Whether it's braised pork or twice-cooked pork that use many seasonings and require long cooking times, they can be very delicious.

But the true test of a chef's skills is in making simple vegetarian dishes like stir-fried shredded potatoes.

Cutting the potatoes into fine shreds and controlling the heat and timing of the cooking require solid cooking skills to do well.

When the yin-yang tai chi diagram of the giant panda exhibit is set up, everyone can appreciate its sophistication and high-end appeal, all praising it in unison.

For rustic-themed exhibits like a rural area, the design requires a sense of measure, subtle and unobtrusive, so that visitors feel as though they're walking through the countryside with friends and unexpectedly encountering animals that live there.