Housing of Wild Animals
The housing of wild animals is one of the important criteria to be observed in case of wild animals in order to have a successful breeding potential and to have a comfortable living conditions under captive conditions maintained in zoos, zoological parks, zoological gardens etc.
Any wild animal reared under captive condition needs to be provided the housing arrangement that can ensure a quality of life and longevity to enable the zoo population reared in captive status.
The fundamental concept is that the wild animals need to get adequate space for the free type of movements that are generally carried out in the wild conditions to the possible extent.
Components of Housing Arrangements in Wild Animals
Each wild animal enclosure needs to be provided with appropriate shelter, perches, withdrawal regions, drinking water facilities, pools or water holes of suitable areas, and other facilities that may facilitate the concerned wild animal species.
Such facilities finally should help the targeted wild animal species to display they wide range of their natural behavioral patterns and the housing facilities should also provide adequate protection from the predators to a great extent.
Construction of the moat gains more significance in the housing arrangements.
Common Barriers
Common six types of barriers that are generally used in case of captive wild animal places are given below:
- Glass panels
- Plastic panels
- Wire-mesh fencing or chain link fences
- Wet and dry moats of adequate dimension
- High tensile vertical wires
- Electrically charged wires
- Concrete barriers in selected sides
Stand-off Barriers
The enclosure barriers are the must and more cautions need to be exercised in order to design these types of barriers especially for the hazardous type of wild animal species like tiger, panther, lion, jaguar etc.
Spread-out Railing Beyond the Barrier
If there is a direct contact between the wild animal species and the visitor, then there are chances for the visitors to get injured by the highly capable animals like lions, tiger etc.
Hence, there is an immediate requirement to construct the stand-off barrier like the construction of Spaced-Out railing beyond the barriers which help top revent any accidental contact with the concerned wild animal species.
Security of Fences
More care has to be paid in the construction of the fences that has security related features.
If not, the visitors as well as the wild animal species may get injured. Particular attention is to be given to protect the children also during the visit to the captive wild animal places.
The barriers should not injure the children or anybody.
Natural Appearance
The housing arrangements need to merge with the natural surroundings and this avoids the distraction when visitors see the enclosure. Hence, the objectives of visiting of zoos may be achieved.
For many wild animal species, housing arrangements should include naturally simulating infrastructures and for example, trees may be placed / grown inside the arboreal species like nilgiri langur.
The visible structural elements of the barriers that are in direct line of the vision of visitors and exhibit species should be painted suitably , so as to render those structural elements to appear like those of local soil.
Financial Consideration
Financial Consideration is equally true that consideration needs to be given to the cost factor while the housing designs or facilities are made for the welfare of wild animals kept as exhibits for the public.
Timely constructions with facilities that are scientifically required for up keeping the health of the concerned wild animal species are to be made and further, space has to be given to make expenditures related to the annual repairs for the concerned structures used by the visitors, wild animal and zoo personnel.
Size of the cubicle for the different species has to be meticulously worked out according to the actual size of the concerned wild animal species.
Inside-Overhangs as housing Facility
Overhangs are required particularly in case of animals that are capable of jumping to a great height. This helps to give protection to both visitors and wild animal species.
Following wild animal species need the inside-overhangs in general:
- Cheetah
- Zebra
- Wild ass
- Spotted deer
- Hog deer
- Sambar deer
- Mouse deer
- Musk deer
- Brow antlered deer
- Four horned antelope
- Impala
- Chinkara
- Nilgiri tahr
Floor of Mammalian Enclosures
- In case of elephants, the floor arrangements should not be made only by concrete.
- Natural substrate has to be provided to avoid the foot rot. Similarly, for cervids and antelopes, natural floor is a must.
- Avoid the presence of any pointed materials during the construction of the housing arrangements.
- Drainage facilities need to be provided while designing the floor arrangements inside the mammalian or other enclosures.
- Flooring arrangement needs to be made in order to facilitate an easy cleaning of the premises. Crevices need to be taken care of during the routine management.
Floor of Aviaries
Care has to be taken to protect the aviary species from the predators that use the floor or sides, often. Hence, the aviary enclosure or housing arrangement needs to be intelletually established, considering many features required by avifauna of multiple species, in general.
Rodent control is an important measure for the wild birds that are kept in the confined state.
Floors of aviaries should have cement concrete floors in order to prevent the entry of rodents and have to be topped by the layer of about 15 cms earth.
Floor of Reptilian Houses
The reptilian houses should have land as well as the water-designs that should allow the sufficient space for both bathing and basking.
The substrate for the reptile cages should be of pea-sized gravel or sand material depending upon the species of the reptiles.
Doors
The doors of any wild animal species should be constructed considering the following factors in mind:
- Safety (Secured locking systems must be provided in order to prevent the theft or vandalism and to prevent the unauthorized opening of the cages in which the wild animals have been kept in confined status).
- Durability
- Easy handling nature
- Gilletin type of vertical doors are to be avoided and horizontally, sliding doors may be used with proper lock-positions.
Breeding Design
The housing arrangement should have facilities to facilitate the breeding related activities whenever required for the concerned wild animal species. For example:
We may be required to lower the water in hippo pools to thirty to forty cms when birth of the hippo calf is expected.
Hence, the housing arrangements have to be made with all such facilities that can enhance the breeding potential of the wild animal species.
Escape route is a must for the male felids during mating with female animal.
Housing for Different Sexes
Many times, if both sexes are kept in same place, fight may occur and in the process, animal may often gets injured and this will create unwanted problems in the health related management of various wild animal species.
Hence, separate housing arrangements have to be constructed for the proper housing of different sexes.
Species like tigers, lions etc need separate housing arrangements.
Even giraffes may fight with each other many times when the same housing facility is used by both sexes of this exotic-wild animal species.
Anatomy and Housing arrangements
The entry door of the enclosure has to be constructed in a careful manner in order to avoid the injuries to the wild animal.
The opening has to be an adequate one, so that the concerned wild animal species can make entry freely into the enclosure.
The entry door of the wild animal species like Giraffe has to be built so high enough to accommodate the long neck of this animal.
Elephant should enter into the enclosure freely without any struggles and the housing arrangement has to be done in such a manner that entry related difficulties have to be avoided in general.
Nature of the Species and Housing
The nature of the concerned wild animal species has to be given more significance when ever a proper housing arrangement is made.
Chimpanzees generally are reluctant to approach the water resources except for the drinking purposes. Hence, wet moats are generally preferred ones whenever housing arrangements are made for them.
Giraffe do not swim and hence will not have inclination to cross the water moat. Further, the Giraffe are generally reluctant to step over the barriers and also have been very rarely observed to step over the shallow ditch. Similarly, Giraffe can extend the neck to a great extent during the attempting of trying to receive food material if any given by visitor. Hence, during the construction of housing facilities for species like this, all considerations have to be given to such nature of this species.
Wet moats with resting platforms appear to be the must in case of housing arrangements for felids like tigers.
Time-budget Activity and Housing
Consideration needs to be given to the time budget activity of the wild animal species kept as exhibit in the zoo.
Nocturnal wild animal species like wolves may prefer to retire during the day time. Hence, the dens may be provided for these species in their housing arrangements.
Similarly, separate arrangements have to be made while building housing facilities for the nocturnal wild animal species like owl, palm-civet etc.
Ventilation and Environmental Factors
Ventilation arrangements have to be made as fool-proof ones and this helps to avoid the occurrence of respiratory infections like pneumonia to the new born wild animal species as in case with bear cubs etc.
Arrangements have to be made for the provision of rooms or places, so that the concerned wild animal species that is kept in confined status may get opportunity to escape from the extremes of climate etc. This is one of the important feature especially for the new born wild animals or young ones or sick animals.
Arrangements for heating or cooling in the indoor enclosure may be made to avoid the problems in health of the wild animal species due to the extreme environmental temperature-variations.
Holding Yards and Biological Needs
For wild animal species like Spotted deer, Sambar deer etc., small holding yards are often used to keep the released cervids (from quarantine places) for some days. This facility in captive wild animal places often helps to keep the wild animals acclimatized with the environment.
Snakes need mud-pots for laying of eggs. Similarly, arboreal non-human species like common langurs need hanging types of wooden rods for climbing activities.
Wallowing tankor water source to move freely is to be provided for Elephant, Rhino, Sambar deer etc.
Among the felids, emphasis maybe given to provide water filled tank for submerging or sitting in summer periods for tigers.
Lighting Facilities and Housing
There should be proper lighting facilities in all wild animal enclosures and this helps to inspect the wild animal even in the night hours also.
However, the nocturnal and diurnal activity pattern of the wild animal has to be taken care of while lighting facilities are used in the enclosures.
Reptiles like diamond pythons, lizards etc. may require Ultra Violet-B type that has non-visible wavelength and the UV-bulb may be fixed in such a manner that the concerned reptile may get maximum light and it appears better to have the bulb at about 12 inches away from the basking spot.
Feeding Place and Housing
The place for feeding should be constructed in such a manner that the cleaning of the premises becomes an easy one and the crevices in the feeding trough needs to be attended properly during the maintenance of the feeding trough or place. This helps to avoid the deposition of feed particles in the structures and thereby the chances for contamination of food particles get minimized.
Multiple feeding places are the better ones especially for the animals that are exhibited in herds like Spotted deer, Manipuri deer, black bucks etc.
Watering and Foot Bath Arrangements for Wild Animals
- The watering facility should be thought of whenever a housing facility is constructed for the concerned wild animal species.
- The capacity of wild animal species with regard to the watering habits needs to be paid more emphasis.
- For example, an elephant may require about two hundred and twenty litres of water in a day.
- Hence, the watering trough should be of adequate size and should have an easy access for the wild animal species to have water whenever it desires.
- These need to be constructed out side the enclosure and by placing appropriate agents, it becomes possible to preventor minimize the entry of microbes through the visiting personnel.
- Place of foot bath should be inspected frequently to avoid the slippery nature of the floor.
Size of Housing of Wild Animals
Place of foot bath should be inspected frequently to avoid the slippery nature of the floor.
