Share common ground. Lemurs, turtles, birds and waterfowl gather at the same Madagascar watering holes. Elephants, antelope and giraffes eat leaves from the same acacia trees in the Kalahari. In a zoo setting, it’s only natural for animals to share their environment with other species. If the habitat is strategically designed, species co-existence can be wild and wonderful.
Multi-species habitats provide a stimulating, interactive experience for the animals and an engaging vision of community for visitors. Animals that live together in the wild are the best candidates for peaceful cohabitation in a zoo setting, but habitats of any size must be flexible enough to separate conflicting personalities.
Zoo visitors are drawn to mixed-species environments because movement and interaction among the animals is likely to occur. It can be a netted enclosure like an aviary, in which visitors on a winding path spy small deer in the brush, primates and birds in the trees; or a many-acre environment where hoofstock and pachyderms have room to run. The simulated setting provides a compelling story of the natural world.