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Animal Combinations; Mixed exhibits questions
Topic Started: Nov 23 2014, 09:51 PM (123,703 Views)
Panthera-Onca
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Hi!

Fireplume
Jan 27 2018, 02:48 PM
... and completely ruin all chance of a breeding program? While it's not impossible I don't find it particularly morally acceptable.
What if they're neutered? :D
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Fireplume
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Snok Snok Snerson

I mean I guess but then they're just for show I suppose lol
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Furka
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Worth considering the fact the different cat species may attack and kill each other ingame, so I am not sure if it's a combination that will work in the long run.
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Orca Freak
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Killer Whales rule the World

Panthera Onca
Jan 27 2018, 02:37 PM
What about this combo? I always wanted to make a big cat pride that involves mixed species, including my favorite animal the jaguar :)
Posted Image
That would go completely against the cats nature ;)

All cats, domestic or wild, small or big, are solitary creatures.
Which means they live on their own. The only 'groups' you'll find are mothers with cubs;
and very sometimes two brothers that stayed together after they left their mothers care

There are only 2 exceptions to this rule:
- The lion, which lives in a pride
- And cats that are 'forced' to live together under human care, domestic or wild

Can you make that combo work in your zoo?
Sure, but only because you want it to work, not because the cats choose it nor would they like it

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magpiealamode
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No good hero is a one-trick phony.

More and more, zoos are under scrutiny and criticism for being "unnatural" and I think there is some weight and validity to this concern. Zoos are able to create lots of scenarios that work, but don't occur in the wild. But what is a zoo if not a place to create healthy populations of animals which will hopefully be used to conserve the species? Without the cause of conservation, zoos lose their main justification. Putting together animals in unnatural situations, especially fertile individuals, is counterproductive to this cause. This is why I believe the most important question zoos should be asking is not "Can we?" but "Should we?" Hopefully this will do something to clarify the purpose of the topic.
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stargatedalek
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I'm not slow! That's just my moe!

Fireplume
Jan 27 2018, 02:51 PM
I mean I guess but then they're just for show I suppose lol
And what's wrong with that? The greater purpose of captivity is education, not breeding or even genetic preservation. And, dare I even say it in this company, entertainment in and of itself is not an ignoble goal for an institution, it's important that people enjoy their stays at zoos because otherwise they wouldn't be conducive to either learning or fostering a positive attitude towards nature.

While animal health should always be a high priority, caveats need to be made to ensure that a zoo is still functional. No one would want to visit a zoo if the expectation was to look into a 200 square meter aviary that housed ten chickadees that no one was ever able to see.

Imagine if Jurassic Park ended at the Dilophosaurus exhibit. That sounds completely ridiculous but really imagine it. If dinosaurs, dinosaurs can be boring just imagine how tedious a real life zoo could easily become if they put the functionality second to making it naturalistic.

Anton
Jan 27 2018, 01:16 PM
Somebody saying "your combo wouldn't work" with an explanation about why it wouldn't work ≠ "being rude."
You're missing my point. It would work, and it does work, even if it's not the best possible situation for the animals. Just because you don't like it, or even that there are better options, doesn't mean it doesn't work.
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Anton
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King of Cotingas

stargatedalek
Jan 27 2018, 03:31 PM
Anton
Jan 27 2018, 01:16 PM
Somebody saying "your combo wouldn't work" with an explanation about why it wouldn't work ≠ "being rude."
You're missing my point. It would work, and it does work, even if it's not the best possible situation for the animals. Just because you don't like it, or even that there are better options, doesn't mean it doesn't work.
With all due respect, that comment had nothing to do with our discussion and wasn't directed towards you.

What do you understand as something that "works?" if I might ask? Where do you draw the line?
If an animal is taken away from its mother, stressed, and likely to have permanent damage, does the combination 'work?' Does it only stop 'working' when the animals in the combination die? In that case, what's the use for this topic at all, I'm sure everyone understands predation...

Also, in my first post about the matter I clearly stated that it would be possible and profitable for a zoo to do this. I think you're the one missing my point. ;)
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magpiealamode
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No good hero is a one-trick phony.

Again, "Can we?" vs "Should we?"

Whether you like it or not, it's a very ethically loaded question and zoos who ignore animal welfare in order to make money are... not on the right side of the issue.
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stargatedalek
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I'm not slow! That's just my moe!

magpiealamode
Jan 27 2018, 03:49 PM
Again, "Can we?" vs "Should we?"

Whether you like it or not, it's a very ethically loaded question and zoos who ignore animal welfare in order to make money are... not on the right side of the issue.
Not every zoo is an accredited institution with millions of dollars to spend on fancy breeding programs, some have to make do with what they have. These big name zoos aren't the ones taking in animals from owners who can't care for them, or from other zoos that have to close down, it's smaller zoos that take in or adopt most of their animals that have to do things like mix big cat species because they wouldn't have the space otherwise.
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Anton
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King of Cotingas

stargatedalek
Jan 27 2018, 03:54 PM
magpiealamode
Jan 27 2018, 03:49 PM
Again, "Can we?" vs "Should we?"

Whether you like it or not, it's a very ethically loaded question and zoos who ignore animal welfare in order to make money are... not on the right side of the issue.
Not every zoo is an accredited institution with millions of dollars to spend on fancy breeding programs, some have to make do with what they have. These big name zoos aren't the ones taking in animals from owners who can't care for them, or from other zoos that have to close down, it's smaller zoos that take in or adopt most of their animals that have to do things like mix big cat species because they wouldn't have the space otherwise.
I definitely agree with the things said here (by both of you). The combining of different cats is something that is regularly done, and while I might not like it it is definitely possible (even the liger/lion combination mentioned on the previous page). However, in this case I do not feel an ethical debate is all that out-of-place in a topic like this, and I feel it is definitely important for the people asking the questions to know as much information about their possible combinations, focusing on technicality but definitely not excluding morality.
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Sheather
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Thank you for the set, Azrael!

When I reply here I am suggesting real-life scenarios, I don't play with animals in game very often so the coding of them may or may not match real life compatibility.

Servals are often hand-raised as ambassador animals and allowed some minimal supervised handling by guests, usually they live off-exhibit and are leash-trained and brought out for short outings in the children's zoo area. There is nothing wrong with this, because servals are not endangered, they aren't really dangerous, and for unknown reasons small cats also imprint less than pantherines and will usually still reproduce fine, even if tamed and hand-raised.

Handling of baby cats by the public is not a good practice because they have sensitive immune systems and if hand-raised they miss out on socialization that is required for them to successfully reproduce.

Wild cats are solitary mainly due to food constraints, except for African lions which live in very prey dense areas one cat usually needs a large territory for itself to find enough to eat (Asiatic lions are social too, but their groups don't approach the sizes of Serengeti lions due to less available prey.) In captivity, where food is limitless, many naturally solitary animals like tigers, leopards, and bears do enjoy a companion, especially if they are raised together. The way I think of it is that all of these animals are semi-social - they're very social as babies, and they retain the ability to be so as adults, it's just that the wild rarely allows it - though as we are studying tigers and leopards as well as bears in the wild we are now finding that individuals associate together more often than we ever thought before; some tiger and leopard pairs regularly meet up and rub against each other where their territories meet outside the estrus season and some father leopards have been observed amicably sharing their kills with their cubs (and their mothers.)

Moose and giraffe is a really weird mix, and one I can't see ever being done, but it's probably not impossible, at least with cow moose. Though the two prefer different habitats, different climates, and are about as unnatural a mix as can be done.

I feel dogs or hyenas and elephants might be a possible mix, making sure the elephants can't access everywhere the predators can and have separate indoor housing. It's never been attempted.
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Panthera-Onca
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Hi!

Can I keep hippos with rhinos?
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Sheather
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Thank you for the set, Azrael!

The Parco Natura Viva in Italy successfully houses white rhinoceros and hippopotamus together. Black rhinoceros is considered too aggressive for any mixed cohabitation.
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Furka
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Worth mentioning that Natura Viva does that combo within the Vehicle Safari section of the zoo, so they use a lot more room than the average zoo exhibit. Another facility in Israel (I think) also does that combo, still in a drivethrough.

Also black rhinos are combinable with other animals aswell (still wouldn't keep them with hippos).
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TheToastinator
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A piece of toast and a terminator.

I'm planning a large tank containing species from the seas and oceans of Europe during the Jurassic period. I already plan on housing some small plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs. Are there any other species I could put in it that would be compatible with the plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs?
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