Cost and Logistics of a New & Improved Zoo
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| Source: Zoo Renovation |
I have many great ideas on how to better zoos in every way. I would like to look into the costs and actual work going into to carry out these ideas.
In my past blog posts I have covered
- A more ‘natural’ zoo exhibit is showing to not only make the animals happier, but also benefit humans in terms of discovering and research, leading us to new insight into social behavior of animals “in the wild.”
- Zoo’s aren’t doing enough to inform visitors of the risks and ways to avoid bad situations. Zoos are indirectly informing people of precautions. They are not necessarily at fault for incidents that occur but they should pro-actively do more to prevent them.
- Zoos provide us with an appreciation and wonder for animals that you can’t obtain without seeing them. With regards to the knowledge zoos provide, I think there is lots of room for improvement.
What you can get those from points in conclusion is that zoos should stay open because of the unique and valuable appreciation humans gain for animals as they visit, but they should work harder to make the animals more comfortable by making more natural zoo exhibits. Another suggestion for zoos would be to educate people better before allowing them to enter the park to avoid unsafe incidents. Many of the incidents are not the animals faults that’s why we need to educate people on these issues.
Examples of issues where animals were not at fault
- On May 21, officials at Chile’s National Zoo were forced to shoot and kill two lions, after a suicidal 20-year-old man jumped into the enclosure.
- Several days earlier, a walrus drowned a visitor and zookeeper at China’s Yeshanko Wildlife Zoo, after the visitor entered the walrus’s enclosure and began taking selfies with it.
These are the freak accidents that give animals in captivity the bad reputation. These easily prevented issues bring me to the conclusion that people are the problem. It is people lifting their children up to get a closer look, or jumping into an exhibit to get a photo. These are the incidents that have brought up the threat of closing zoos.
Logistics of how to solve the problem of prevention
- Zoos need to educate their visitors on the possible danger
How are they going to do this & how much money will it cost
- Have employees stand by each exhibit to patrol behavior
- Cost- None, we will use existing employees and just relocate them for example by low-risk exhibits such as the birds we will move a nearby food cart so he can overview that exhibit
- Display signs that are more visually appealing that are direct such as “Don’t tease the animals.”
- Cost- Each sign would need to be hard durable material similar to one of a stop sign. The cost to create a stop sign is $50, therefore the signs at the zoo might be around $60. You will need probably 45 signs therefore cost totaling around $2,700 for signs that will last for upwards of 12 years.
- That way if there is ever a discrepancy the employee standing by can refer to the sign for support
- Cost- Free
- There will be a brief and informational video around 2-3 minutes long that visitors are required to watch before being able to connect to wi-fi at the zoo
- Cost- The zoo will probably want a professional videography company to produce this it to ensure that its captivating and entertaining. The expected cost of this would be around $1,000.
- That video will also be sent to you email or text whichever you prefer when purchasing the tickets
- Cost- Free
Logistics of how to solve the problem of unhappy animals
- Zoos need to spend the money necessary to make the exhibits more ‘natural’
How are they going to do this & how much money will it cost
- Some exhibits simply need more realistic landscape
- Climate Control
- I do not have any a specific number but I would imagine it would be costly but would ultimately benefit certain animals the most, for example making the rainforest exhibit hot and steamy and keeping the penguins cool and crisp.
- Expand specific exhibits where the animal may need more space to feel happy
- Cost- At the Caldwell Zoo, for example it it is costing them $6.7 million to begin a complete renovation of the African Overlook section of the zoo. Therefore it cost anywhere from $6.7 M or less in another zoo.
- Although some zoos are built in natural areas by just putting fences up around existing forest areas for little money
- Add things that will stimulate the animals to be active
- Cost- Adding props such as rocks, or other things that will encourage the animal to be active may cost around $700 each.
- Exhibits need to be well maintained
- Cost- Cleaning services may be necessary once a month or so if you live in a difficult climate but this will cover things such as excess algae on a polar bear’s pool or paint chipping on the walls of the bird exhibit.
Logistics of how to solve the problem of zoos not having an educational purpose or benefit
- Zoos need to find better more intriguing ways to engage the minds of all visitors
How are they going to do this & how much money will it cost
- A educational zoo app with rewards that you can earn at the park
- This app could include scavenger hunts looking for facts or simply a video to watch about the importance of conservation to receive awards such as one dollar off the Dip’n’Dots stand or a free stuffed animals of your choice.
- Using a website that allowed me to enter the criteria our app would obtain it predicted our app launch price to be $40,800
- Instead of teaching the importance of conservation we should shift the teaching towards what people can do to conserve
- Signs in the bathroom that display tips that you can remember in order to conserve for example in the bathroom, make sure to turn the water off while brushing your teeth
