Vondell's Zoos

[(Designer)Vondell]

Hey all! You folks know I like designing, but as much as I do, nothing beats really sitting down and building a zoo. Now that my tortoise is done, I figured I'd do just that.

 

My goal for this first park is to display only Sauropsids -- that is, only birds and reptiles. Birds, as you may know, are nested within the group of animals we generally think of as reptiles. Mordern birds are heavily derived theropod dinosaurs. Dinosaurs, along with crocodiles and their relatives, are Archosaurs. And archosaurs share the group Sauropsida with lizards, snakes, and turtles. Their common ancestral lineage diverged from the family line of amniotes that led to mammals a little over 300 million years ago.

 

Anyway, all that interesting info aside, I thought it would be an interesting challenge for myself to populate a zoo with just reptiles and birds, and it'd give me an excuse to make a pretty exhibit for my tortoise. :)

 

I haven't quite decided whether or not I want to throw extinct sauropsids into the picture as well, since that seems like sort of a cop-out, as all extinct dinosaurs and prehistoric marine reptiles fall within the group. We'll see! This is definitely a WIP.

 

 

As guests enter the park, they're treated to a small garden seating area with fountains. To their left, they pass the Greater Flamingo enclosure. I went for a dense, healthy savannah wetlands approach. The gift shop and a small vending machine area are to the right of the entrance, the only thing on that side I've developed at all so far.

 

 

Further northwest, sharing an exhibit walkway structure with the Flamingo enclosure, guests can find the Ostriches. A well-planted seating area overlooks both exhibits from the southwest.

 

 

Moving back northeast from the entrance gardens and Flamingo exhibit, guests can see a healthy herd of Aldabra Giant Tortoises and their well-planted exhibit. This exhibit has dedicated viewing areas on three sides. To the northwest, well, that seems like the employees' business, so we'll avoid trespassing and move forward.

 

 

Northeast of the Tortoise exhibit, we find the Komodo Dragons, the Saltwater Crocodiles, the Reptile House, and a small eating area that has proven itself very popular with guests. Raised observation platforms overlook both exhibits, and guests are also treated to an underground viewing area that puts them below the water level of the Crocodiles' pool, allowing them to watch the Crocodiles navigating the dense vegetation under the marshy water.

 

 

Here's another view of that same area. You can see the wet, muddy quality of the land portion of the Crocodile exhibit from this angle. (And there's that accursed eating area. I really ought to do something about that.)

 

 

Southeast of the Crocodile pool, guests can look up and admire the park's pair of Green Sea Turtles swimming overhead safely through a patented steel mesh reinforced acrylic tank structure.

 

 

If guests make it this far, they're treated to a classy but inexpensive Restaurant with both indoor and outdoor dining areas. Guests can ride a carousel in this area as well, or if they'd like, they can check out some more free-ranging Sauropsids in the duck pond. :)

 

--

 

And that's the extent of the park so far!

 

As you can see from the full pic in the attachment, my builds are often very ... condensed. I like to pack a lot of detail in wherever I can.

 

Essential CC shoutouts go to:

 

Zootan's Decorative Fences (What would my life be like without the CastIron fences?)

Brandi, Genki & Jane's Beach Paths (Some of the nicest-looking paths out there period.)

RDingFT's Cave Shelters (These are so nice-looking I want to use them in exhibits that don't even need shelters...)

Catfish's Functional Aviary Cage (An absolutely essential piece of CC, I feel like I find new uses for it with every zoo I work on.)

Genki's Wooden Paths (Great for patios and observation-type areas!)

casey's Glass Tank Walls from ZA (Essential for attractive-looking tanks, IMO.)

 

And I've gotta say, my decorative Switchgrass has proven itself very versatile in this zoo! Coming soon to a downloads section near you. :)

 

Lemme know what you think, guys. It's been a very long time since I've posted my own zoos! What are your favorite user-made animals that fit the category of reptiles & birds?

[Fern]

The pngs are not showing for me,

Zoo screens are best done as jpgs as they are a smaller file size.

[(Designer)Vondell]

Oh, whoops! I usually avoid jpegs because they compress messily a lot, but I'll give it a shot.

 

EDIT: how's this look?

 

I wonder how many other images I've posted haven't shown up for people. Did it display as broken images or nothing at all?

[(Trustee)ZooGrammy]

I snatched a copy of 4 of your screens. Love your exhibits and use of user-made items. Also wonderful of you to list the user-made things. I would love your switch grass; it's nice and wispy. Hope to see it soon here.

 

Genki made numerous birds that are wonderful. You will find them in our downloads.

[(Admin)Savannahjan]

Wonderful exhibits, many great ideas there. The croc exhibit using a tank with underwater viewing is such a great concept. Those mesh tank walls are a total surprise to me, you've given us a lot to love, here. Can't wait to see how this develops.

[Rinding FT]

I can see all the pics, and a nice zoo~ :)

[Fern]

I can see them now. Nicely laid out. I like the double fence layout on the tortoise screen.

[Firehawke]

Wow! This zoo is looking great...love your choice of dls! Keep up the great work!

[Guest sardine50]

Great zoo, Love the attention to detail!

[bonobo]

What a fantastic idea! I always love including the bird houses and few bird species in with any dinosaur zoos. Brilliant Idea for a zoo theme. Do those hedges at the start there spell zoo? You've got a real flair for those guest areas! Your exhibits look lovely and natural too. I like how you've themed your paths, fences, and observation areas, it all looks very good together, and looks like something you'd actually see in a real zoo. And of course your own objects and animals are fabulous! Can't wait to use that grass liberally in exhibits.