I have a wildlife zoo

Chapter 35: 35 Comprehensive Reconstruction

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The tiger exhibit was under construction, and the design for the red panda exhibit was complete, while the alpaca and peafowl were settled in a cost-effective manner.

As for the macaques and red foxes…

Fang Ye thought that Monkey Mountain, where the macaques lived, was still acceptable.

When the zoo was first established, Monkey Mountain was designed to accommodate hundreds of macaques over a large area of one thousand square meters.

Now that only about a dozen remained after the transfer, there was plenty of space to spare.

Possibly due to Wu Cheng'en's "Journey to the West", everyone assumed that monkeys should live in a place like Flowers and Fruit Mountain or Water Curtain Cave, and in the days before the concept of animal welfare was understood, zoos building monkey exhibits generally included a mountain.

The natural habitat of macaques indeed lies among the steep rocky mountains, beside streams and valleys, and along the forests or sparse woods on riverbanks. Constructing Monkey Mountain inadvertently aligned with animal welfare, fulfilling their needs for climbing and social hierarchy expression.

However, in Fang Ye's view, there were still many shortcomings with the current Monkey Mountain. It was a pit-style enclosure, which easily triggered the visitors' desire to feed from above. Additionally, the entertainment facilities were not very enriching.

The advantage of the large space was that the macaques typically played around the middle of Monkey Mountain, keeping a distance from the edges, which lessened the impact of feeding. Coupled with the zoo's typically low visitor numbers, no significant begging behavior had developed.

The purpose of displaying wild animals in captive environments is conservation education, to exhibit their natural behaviors in the wild, not to do nothing, stand at the edge of the exhibit, and eagerly wait for human feeding.

In fact, what zoo animals eat every day is scientifically balanced. If you're not allowed to feed, don't feed. But there are always visitors who insist on feeding, leading to many animals suffering from poor health and bad habits.

Fang Ye thought that taking over such a declining zoo might actually be a good thing. With fewer animals, their living space was relatively spacious. With fewer visitors, animal keepers could supervise more effectively, reducing the influence of feeding and the pressure from being watched.

So currently, although some of the zoo's animals were not very lively, at least no severe stereotypical or begging behaviors had emerged.

I digress.

In summary, there was no strong and immediate need for a complete rebuild of Monkey Mountain.

For now, it would be possible to add a few simple enrichment facilities, such as swings, hanging ropes, and perches.

Water pools were also good entertainment for macaques, but since they involved plumbing, it was a hassle. It would be better to wait until reconstruction.

Then there was the red fox, which left Fang Ye somewhat troubled.

A small enclosure was too restrictive for activity, but building a large one like those for tigers and wolves seemed a bit wasteful.

Those animals were kept separate to protect visitors from harm. A fox, even if desperate, couldn't kill with a bite; at most, a vaccine would be needed.

However, it wouldn't work to allocate an outdoor area for them like alpacas or peafowl. Foxes are cunning creatures and wouldn't stay obediently within one area for visitors to observe; they might run off anywhere.

After pondering for a long time, he sighed, "Eh, just have to build a small enclosure for now!"

Since he planned to use it as a transitional exhibit, he didn't put much effort into the design.

100 square meters, separated from the viewing area by a piano wire fence. The floor was primarily covered with yellow sand, with some skinny, unclimbable trees planted against the background wall to create a greener and more natural look. A few thick logs were placed as environmental enrichment in the center, along with a couple of large rocks and some shrubs, to provide hiding spots.

And that was that.

It cost 4000 green leaf coins.

Although very simple and rough, it was still many times better than their previous living conditions.

In the future, it would be possible to construct a larger exhibit and mix the red fox with other animals, such as deer.

Although red foxes are carnivorous, their diet mainly consists of small prey like mice, frogs, and small birds, and they also eat some fruit. They cannot harm an animal the size of a deer, let alone have the ridiculous idea of killing a deer to try some meat.

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Deer are herbivores that don't compete for resources and are gentle, not prone to fighting; they also wouldn't normally attack foxes without a reason, making mixed housing a viable option.

Although it sounds simple, mixed housing is actually a very complex and difficult task, but if done correctly, the benefits are significant.

First, it greatly improves the utilization of space; second, it creates more interesting exhibits for visitors; third, reasonable mixed housing of different animals increases environmental stimuli, which is beneficial for their physical and mental health.

Anyway, once the conditions are ripe, I will definitely give it a try.

Spent 20,000 green leaf coins, with 27,000 left!

"Maybe start building part of the wolf exhibit."

Fang Ye stroked his chin and calculated, "Don't build the perimeter wall and visitor area yet, just focus on the animal living area. The consumption of natural materials is relatively small, so starting early saves time."

Wolves and tigers are both carnivores with similar themes, so the wolf exhibit is located next to the tiger exhibit.

In the future, when the leopard and lion exhibits are built, a "Predator Gallery" can be formed.

After delineating the area, he looked at it on the sand table; it was an uneven mountain terrain that the zoo had not made much use of. They had only built a pavilion on the mountain, using it as a resting area for visitors.

However, for Fang Ye, following the mountain terrain allowed for some creative construction.

Start with a clear, rushing stream that flows from the high rocks down to the lowlands and finally converges into a calm and open pond.

Lay out chunky rocks to make the slopes more sharply defined. As the water flows over them, it feels like it's stepping down in stages, creating the impression of miniature waterfalls.

The turbulent stream and waterfalls increase the wolves' excitement, encouraging them to be more active. When hunting in packs, wolves often drive their prey to cliffs or riverbanks to increase their chances of a successful hunt.

Moreover, the watery areas are teeming with life and lush vegetation, making them great places for play.

Place some deadwood on the stream banks and the surrounding open ground; add clumps of wild grass in the crevices of the rocks and plant some water plants like reeds around the edges of the pond for a more natural look.

Build a stone cave upstream of the stream to provide the wolf pack with a place for warmth, shelter from the rain, and rest.

Place the cave near a viewing spot, slightly tilted at the entrance, balancing the blocking of the line of sight and the display for visitors.

Wolves are highly adaptable, distributed in various ecological environments—forests, deserts, mountains, cold grasslands, coniferous forests...

Therefore, the habitat can be made a bit more complex.

For the forest, just use the trees already in this area, plant some more flowers and shrubs, and scatter fallen leaves on the ground.

For the mountains, arrange a pile of large, flat stones cascading down from the stream's staircase-like layout.

Create a dry sandy soil area to represent the desert.

Utilizing the terrain's varied elevations and the separation provided by the stream, each area is distinct in its layers yet harmoniously integrated.

This way, space utilization is maximized, the content is richer, and the wolf pack can display a wider range of natural behaviors across different settings!

Swimming in the stream, rolling in fallen leaves, surveying from atop rocks, digging and kicking up sand in the sandy area...

Everywhere is exciting.