Nice

At least they're safer than the wild maybe only keep babies

Yeah, I have a pet snake and while he's living in a much smaller habitat than in the wild. I've utilized the space in a way that allows me to lose him in the terrarium, and of course I supplement his need for exercise with a snake proofed room so I can let him explore the room supervised, with his terrarium door open. So, while I can't offer him a massive terrarium (yet), he has enrichment, since he is a captive bred snake from a long line of captive bred corn snakes I couldn't release him into the wild even if I wanted to. Little goober would have his ass kicked by a mouse xD

"Animals are BORING!" This is literally the plot of "Fierce Creatures".

I saw a common marmoset and pied tamarin enclosure in zooave

This isn't new at all... They did this back in the 80s and 90s in Zoos. It didn't take over them and it's probably not going to now. They are interesting exhibits though.

I honestly forgot zoos are a business

it's really cool that we figured out how different animals occupy their home range. I think that for endangered species, keeping some safe in a zoo and being able to study them is worth it, especially when you consider how expensive it might cost to keep them from going extinct in the wild. if an endangered animal goes extinct in the wild, we would be very gad to still have some in a zoo. animals don't pass down much knowledge, so it's not like there's anything "lost" in captivity. we could study their behaviour in captivity and use that knowledge to reintroduce them at a later date. however, animals that aren't in any particular danger of extinction, I don't think there is much benefit to keeping them depressed in a zoo

You mentioned the rotting log being its own little system. What about insects and the like that would naturally go to town on something like that, which are native to the *zoo's* location, and harmless to *locally* occuring species, but could be harmful for animals that are *not native* to the area and may decide to poke about or eat them. Even those animals that aren't insectivores necessarily might enjoy the occasional bug, or might see some crawling about and decide to poke at it. Certain species of monkeys for instance, or birds, etc? Their native biome might have insects that are edible for them but most people dont go to zoos to see what they can find in their backyard for free. Or how butterflies and ladybugs are toxic to chameleons and many other reptiles, but where i live we get swarms of them every year like prettier, friendlier mosquitos. Sure, one or two wont hurt but when you have a month that is straight up dedicated to "caterpillar season" how do zoos keep them from being a problem. Pretty hard to bug proof after all. And i know my chameleon is certainly dumb enough to gorge or things he shouldn't just because he saw it move. He wouldn't care to make the distinction between feeder hornworm...and toxic catapiller. (Mind, hes also a food whore and a social whore, which I'm told is not normal for chameleons. And who is selectively highly intelligent. He can do tricks on command, a rather large variety of them too...and has figured out how to open his own enclosure and bypass the locks... but he's also dumb enough to grab his own foot then panic because something's got his foot... or flirt with beardies. I dont know why he has a kink for beardies. And its definitely flirting not aggression/dominance, he only goes for the females but ignores the more interesting morphs like red beardies)

As a big prehiatoric fauna enjoyer I find this pretty weird, if I want to see dinosaurs in, I go for the bird exhibit. If I want to see non avian dinosaur, i go to a museum Even in my local small zoo, which I've been visiting since I was a kid, a couple of animatronics have appeared for some time, at least they don't take up too much space

I'm all for mixed-species exhibits in which the species involved would naturally occur in the wild. I'm not in favor of mixed species mammal exhibits where they come from separate continents or in which their wild range does not overlap, all for the sake of novelty. While, for birds, having a mixed flight of gorgeous birds from across the world is spectacular and eye-catching, I feel the chances of it going terribly wrong increase because said species aren't used to interacting with another species half a world away. This is common in both private collections and major zoos and safari parks, especially in the older institutions. I feel there's a lot of benefits with mixed-species exhibits, especially since zoos are leaning more towards natural displays but naturally you have to account for the individual personality of the species (and within a species) in question, space, sex ratio, things of that nature, along with space to accommodate multiple species, even if it's on a rotation. I've both heard and read, for example, any of the zebra species can make things difficult when displaying a mixed, African savannah exhibit. Fresno Chaffee doesn't have zebras in their collection at the time of posting; San Francisco Zoo had to transfer out their greater kudus because they didn't get along with their zebras, and Grévy's zebras are especially aggressive and need close monitoring when in mixed-species exhibits. Sacramento Zoo currently has three Grévy's zebras mares with two female common ostriches. Hybridization between related species is another problem I've seen. San Francisco Zoo had kept both [American] white ibises with scarlet ibises and have had hybrid offspring (this also occurs in the wild). Ever since genome sequencing revealed giraffes are now four distinct species, many zoos have Rothschild's and reticulated hybrids, both of which are two distinct species. I say go for it but please make it natural and make sense that they'd interact. Zoos are also meant to be educational.

Reservations not zoos

So I'm going to be that person, and post before I watch the video, but be assured I'm going to watch the whole thing. I'm going to be opinion that things like Yellowstone are how you should do zoos, otherwise the animals just end up looking depressed man.

What's the point of going to a zoo without animals? You may as well stay home and watch a nature documentary. Zoos might be flawed but one of their most important functions is to give the public direct contact with the natural world and get them invested in conservation. A zoo full of animatronics sounds like the most depressing, disconnected thing I can imagine, just one more way to separate humanity from nature.

They’ve had these in the Detroit Zoo for YEARS, even during the early 2000s

It is troubling that I came across your channel by chance besides actively searching for this kind of content, the alforithm is not algorithmin. Might I recommend that you play Planet Zoo and apply all these principles that you know of in game and showcase the sessions on your channel. The game while a game, does have some realistic concepts and is extrememy versatile in what it allowa you to do with exhibits, in regards to buildings, landscaping, barriers, shelters, animal enrichment , heating and cooling systems. I think that would make for very engaging content, carrying the educative points you aim to convey to a much broader audience!

Just look at Dinosaur Alive at YWP. Massively educational experiences talking about evolution and modern links, lots of terraining, and most importantly a big magnet for younnger visitors which earns the Zoo more money to focus on animals.

No one should replace real animals with robots, zoos are for helping endangered species!

I don't think animatronics will ever replace live zoo animals. Anyone who thinks so, must have a pretty low opinion of zoo visitors. However, it would be interesting to see a display of animatronics featuring recently extinct like the Quagga and Tasmanian Tiger with descriptions of where/how they lived and why they went extinct (overhunting, habitat loss, introduced species, etc.). I think this would help illustrate the importance of protecting living species facing similar threats.

In my opinion dinosaur animatronics do not belong in zoos as much as I love dinosaurs there's a time and place for everything and the half-ass animatronic dinosaurs that well... forget accurate they don't even look organic or even real, they look out of place in our own world. If you're going to add animatronic dinosaurs into a zoo invest as much money as possible to make the animatronics look just as organic and just as active as the Jurassic Park animatronics. Otherwise there's literally no point of adding them accuracy be damned. And another thing shut up their constant roaring because it's clear to Me, the guests, the workers and the animals that no one likes that annoying generic dinosaur sound being played every 15 seconds or so.

I actually just applied at my local zoo I don’t have any degrees in animal science or animal biology But I do have experience with maintenance and construction. I have welding certifications. So I applied for a maintenance position Anyways, long story short I have my third interview coming up soon I’m so looking forward to this opportunity and I hope I get the job It would truly be a dream 😎

Bruh Dino zoos take over old zoos ain’t attracting no more until Dinos fall out bc everyone has seen them after a few generations

I hope so. Animals aught to be in their natural habitats

Imagine the Elephant odyssey at san diego zoo but instead of having statues of the extinct relatives of the animals, they were animatronics instead

I love how at the end, all the letters form to become “Suricata”, the genus meerkats belong to.

Well, this idea is actually a great idea - for zoos without live exotic animals. I am all for animatronic zoos. Animatronic zoos are an excellent idea in place of live animals because most, if not all, exotic animals hate seeing people. If you’re trying to conserve animals and keep them wild, they can’t have any interaction with the guests because they will get used to seeing people and they should be afraid of them. That’s how the Dodo and other birds died out. And most exotic animals don’t like seeing guests all day constantly goggling and mooning at them all day long. Primates especially don’t. If I were an animal in that exhibit I would be extremely stressed too seeing people staring at me. Animatronics are not alive, so they are fine with people staring at them. I thought this video would actually cover my concerns, but it was mostly about dinosaur animatronics, which is okay, in a non-live zoo. And they need to actually make the dinosaurs actually accurate if they plan on it being educational rather than being carbon copies of the not very accurate Jurassic Park series. From what you showed in the pictures. Most theropods had feathers, and not one of the theropod dinosaurs shown had feathers. And they were roaming the park and that’s probably why people were scared of them. If you want it to look good and have people not be scared they have to be enclosed. Make the enclosures look like a real prehistoric exhibit. Create extinct plants and trees, use glass to separate the people from the animatronics. I would also add bird animatronics as well, since birds and dinosaurs cohabited. And other extinct animals existing in the same time period and location, don’t just scatter a t-rex and velociraptor in the same area. They would never meet. And same goes for animatronic zoos replacing live animals. This is a really great idea, especially for primates and other extremely sensitive animals. And great for large animals like elephants, orcas, and dolphins. In fact, taxidermy is a great idea as well, as long as it’s done ethically and professionally for looking purposes. And Hansa creates animal animatronics, too. Plus with animal animatronics you can get up close without biting and eating or stress, or put them behind glass if people are gonna be scared of them. But this video did not answer my concerns. For example, I would’ve liked a detailed explanation if it was possible on how the ANIMAL animatronics would replace the live animals, I was not interested in the dinosaur animatronics. History is great, but to get people to care about our environment, you need replicas of actual living endangered animals and plants. There is so much to talk about, this comment does not cover everything I would like to hear, neither does a short video like this. It’s a very interesting and nuanced topic of conversation and I think it needs to be brought up more, speaking for animal and plant conservation and welfare is important.

I'd honestly rather the dinosaurs be real too

Nice video. I know some of this because of the animasl shows and kids tv i watched.

The zoo near my childhood home had moats as the front fence in most of their carnivore exhibits and it was cool as hell

As someone hoping to be a zookeeper after i finish my education i fucking hope not-

In Finland, Korkeasaari, Ähtäri and Ranua zoos support the reservation of international wild animals, but the income they generate funds the protection and health care of local wild animals. For example, you never know if an injured squirrel, fox, rabbit, swallow, magpie or swan needs a veterinarian. The situtation is kinky and we are stuck with it, especially when Zoos operate with minimal income so they don't drive customers away with ticket prices and because wild animals have no owner to pay the vet bills for the animals themselves.

I mean- yk kids love them

It’ll be fine

I do generally find most "dinosaur parks" at zoos to be more about feeding into pop culture stereotypes than actually teaching the public true facts about these animals. Hell, one zoo in the UK has the Indominus rex on display, which'll likely misguide people into thinking it was a real species! However, I do think animatronic exctinct animals could work very well to represent recently extinct animals in geographically-themed areas. For example, a Siberian-themed area with reindeer, wolverines and eiders could feature an animatronic mammoth, or an Australian zone could have a Megalania replica (even better if its next to a monitor lizard enclosure). Heck, a Tasmanian devil exhibit with a thylacine animatronic would be a wonderful inclusion. If not, you could have them in taxonomically-themed exhibits, like a Gigantopithecus in a big ape complex or a Smilodon in a feline house. However, they MUST be educationally-oriented, so people don't go home thinking tigers evolved from Smilodons or something XDD

Highly doubt it. Properly run, approved zoos seek to bring awareness and maintain populations of wildlife, including some very endangered ones. The animatronics are most likely only going to be used to educate people about those which are already extinct. And that's ultimately the issue with animatronics; if you just replace the real flesh& blood animal, then whose going to help maintain populations, where do the captive animals go, and more importantly, wouldn't this only make people become less attached to the real, irreplaceable animals themselves now that they CAN be outright replaced?

Me when you said dinosaur no longer exists: SHUT!!! BIRDS ARE DINOSAURS, THEY EVOLVED FROM DROMEASAURS

My only problem with dinosaue robots in zoos like what other people said is they're all the same style. They're not scientifically accurate representations of the animals they're pop culture Jurassic park knock offs. And to top it off the carnivores are made to look scary trying to eat visitors in some instances instead of showing realistic behaviour such as idk one trying to drink? Scratching itself against a tree. Even sleeping how many times can you say you've seen a robot dinosaur sleeping? It jusr makes the dinosaurs look like monsters instead of real animals.

HUR HUR HURHUR HUR, HUR HURHUR HURHURRRRRR

This is not a trend in my area of the world. They are very separate "attractions"

I hope they bring a dinosaur exhibit to my local zoo (Please don’t ask as I prefer internet privacy) But I’d definitely go see it. Also they’re just so interesting

Zoos should do something to compare living birds with dinosaur animatronics wherever possible… I don’t see that anywhere. For example, featuring smaller animatronic pterosaurs (like _Rhamphorynchus_ or something) with toucans nearby (family Ramphastidae), as they likely had/have similar habits. Or _Psittacosaurus_ shown near extant Psittaciformes (parrots). Mosasaurs with Varanidae (monitors). Theropod carnivores have numerous extant bird options to choose from. _Struthiomimus_ with ostriches (genus _Struthio_ …) there are endless options.

I think it could work if they got some accurate models(Saw some half feathered dromeosaurs and egg stealing oviraptors) Would also work better if they split up the animatronics into sections Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous, and possibly different places on the globe. it's gonna be hard for people to digest the fact that different dinosaurs lived at different times and different places when the zoo displays a spinosaurus and allosaurus at the same spot.

if it were up to me I'd use the dinosaurs to remind people how long some types of animals have been around like like paddle fish and lung fish lived with giant arthropods and sturgeons showed up during the Jurassic with Allosaurus, lemurs show up during the cretaceous, also all of the modern animals we see today were around during the last ice age so a few period accurate fossil replica's would also work to this end.

I wish zoos would use animatronics like these in a more educational context. For example, incorporating dinosaur robotics into a bird/reptile themed area to convey the evolutionary relationships between these animals, or an exhibit comparing the past mass extinctions to the current extinction crisis. I could see animatronic animals being successful in very limited circumstances- specifically in themed sections to represent species which can't ethically and/or legally be acquired or displayed. For example, Houston Zoo has a Galapagos themed exhibit, but given Ecuador's strict import/export laws it is missing several species integral to the Galapagos ecosystem such as marine iguanas and blue-footed boobies. Using statues and/or animatronics of these species could be a successful way to make the theme more cohesive.

Its not just zoos. But a lot of people who keep a variety of reptiles also have very complex setups and enrichment to consider. People are constantly suprised when i take my chameleon out that he can do tricks or interacts with his environment beyond moving about for food or thermoregulation. Theyre also suprised at how social he is since most people see grumpy petstore chameleons that arent socialized properly. Most people dont see reptiles as being very intelligent or capable of learned behaviour simply because they are reptiles. Ive used everything from plant racks for climbing enrichment, living walls, a reptile elevated pathway throughout my house, puzzle toys, ASL for gesture training (since its already a fully fuctional language) and more. My enclosures are mini biomes with their own weather, scupted terrain, deliberatly chosen plants for climbing, hidden misters lights dripping systems and heat bulbs. Ive got streams and waterfalls and underground water caves in some of my more aquaticly enclined reptiles. Some are made as acurate to their natural conditions as possible and others are more whimsical while still maintaining necessary parameters.

I think as long as they don't take center focus, just stay as cool pop up timed exhibits. My son got excited to go to a specific zoo seeing they had dinosaurs, so we went and while he would be excited seeing them he still loved seeing the animals if not more. We went back when the exhibit had left because he already fell in love with the animals there. If they stay as fun tools to get engagement and people in the door, I'm fine with animatronics

It'd be so cool if there were animal animatronics were super advanced and lifelike, so much so that you couldn't tell the difference.

In my zoo+dino museum, kids are much more interested in the real animals and scared or bored by the dinosaurs.

The local zoos have them once a year as a traveling exhibit, and I think that is probably where it should stay as its the best way to enjoy them without outlasting its welcome. You look at them for a bit and its fine, but after a short while the program becomes repetitive and start you noticing the cogs and the wheels. After that, there is unless you are a die hard dino or animatronic fan, no reason to come back to see it again. It will never amaze me, make me laugh, cry or surprise me like a real animal would. Even after years of visiting zoos weekly. There is also nothing to learn by just observing the animals and comparing notes with wildlife experts. No benefit in studying animal behavoir and see It unfold in real life. It will be just the same stuff with a little sign with often the same out of date information. Besides. Since it will be only a few companies producing those, variation between Zoos will be reduced to Tiger V2 vs Tiger V3. And what is stopping those companies from selling these to the public themselves. It will be a sad day when animals leave the zoos and I think our emotional connection with them will suffer for it. Zoos made lots of process in the past few decades. I think they are already on the right track so dont need some mayor departure like this. It will just distract them from self improvement.

For a long time Houston has dedicated a large portion of their zoo to animatronics. We’ve had Pleistocene animals, dragons, giant insects, mythical creatures, animals built from Lego, and of course dinosaurs. A part of me understands that this is not only extremely popular but also extremely profitable with minimal spending required. But another part of me also wishes that space could’ve been used better, that yard is right next to the zoo’s Pantanal exhibit which due to space issues had to cut and entirely phase out species like black caiman, maned wolf, and squirrel monkey who could’ve easily fit in that area. On the other hand though, I do believe modern animals as animatronics could help Houston a lot. Currently they have a running theme of using statues to represent species either not on display (coati, peccary, tamandua) or who they couldn’t feasibly obtain (frigate bird, marine iguana, blue footed booby). Most of these statues go completely unnoticed by guests so having them move and even produce noise would definitely catch people’s attention a lot more.