2.1a-Areas Allocated to Visitors and Circulation

Monitoring animal movements and shaping them accordingly are the main element in a healthy design. Visitor areas should be located later in accordance with these requirements and the most appropriate layout should be provided for both sides. However, research shows that in most modern zoos today, zoo owners are reluctant to give up the usual building designs, even if animal movements’ shows that those designs needs to change. The reasons why zoo owners avoid these changes are that they do not want to risk losing visitor interest, mainly because of economic reasons. Designs that attract enough attention and generate income are unfortunately started to be used by the zoo owners, regardless of their effects on animals. This ‘free-range’ system, which started by walking freely inside bird cages in the 1920s, quickly became popular and was used in almost all zoos, not only for birds but also for many animals. (Olney, 1975) When this method was researched, it is noted that there were many studies on its usefulness and popularity on visitors, while no studies were found about its impact on animal welfare. This fact about free-range system should not be normalized since it may disturb animals. It is also plausible that this system became so popular without further elaboration (Melfi, 2005).

Mistakes made in areas designed without adequate research, sometimes lead to unobtrusive results. These mistakes, which will cost the lives of animals and people, take place for small reasons that can be easily avoided with necessary research. It helps to explain the importance of the design by examining a few recent events that could easily be prevented by minor design changes.

Image 24:Werribee (2016)

Free Range System The area of a 17-year-old healthy gorilla in Cincinnati Zoo was surrounded by 3 meters walls and 1-meter wood fences. On December 28, 2016, a 4-year-old crawled under the barriers, fell from a 4.5-meter wall, and reached the gorilla. The gorilla grabbed the child by the leg and whirled, although he did not act in an aggressive manner. To get the child from the wild and overpowered gorilla, the gorilla was shot and killed by the zoo staff. Many animal lovers reacted greatly to the killing of an innocent animal due to the negligence of the child’s family and lack of design. After this incident, the fences were redesigned, but the wrong design already took the life of an innocent. It is a huge negligence that even a small child of 4 years old can easily reach such a wild and powerful animal. (BURROWS, 2016)

1 m 1.2 m

4.5 m

Image 26: CINCINNATI (WKRC) (2016)

The fences got replaced after the incident

Image 25: Eda Yildiz (2020)

How the boy got to the animal

Architects need to take the users into consideration primarily to ensure that the space designed does not directly or indirectly harm the user. In order to avoid such tragic events, it is necessary to get help from animal movement experts and zoologists. I would like to give further information on the relationship between animal behavior and area design by making an overview of the factors that need to be considered for animal welfare and safety. I’ll focus below on a few of the species that we encounter the most in zoos.

Image 27: GARY STANLEY (2012)

The Gorilla playing with his toys in Cincinnati Zoo (same gorilla from the incident)

WELLBEING

Gorillas are powerful, social and intelligent animals. Being the largest member of the monkey family, this species usually lives with their families, so the width of the areas is important. According to the weather conditions and the time of day, it should be the decision of the animal to stay inside or go outside, so there is a continuous connection between the open and closed areas. In possible conflicts or health problems, animals should be kept separated from each other, apart from that it is not a problem to live together. It is important to keep the intelligence of these animals, which have a complex brain structure, active. This situation prevents boredom and aggression. Balance games, puzzle toys, even musical instruments. The diet of these herbivorous animals consists of the trees in the field and the food brought by their caregivers. In order to protect the psychological health of the animal, feeding is done with various toys and activity methods. Storing food, placing inside toys, tying with ropes ...

Indoor Spaces

Closed areas are used to separate animals in a possible case (arrival of a new member, pregnancy status, fight, transporting one of the animals, quarantine, medical care) and these areas are connected to each other and the common area by more than one door. These chambers have taken the place of the squeeze cage used in the past so that the animals can go without stress and separate the animals and undergo the necessary treatment or procedure. These areas are the areas that animals need for their individual life. Outdoor Spaces Gorillas, which are social animals, require a common socialization and recreation area. Unless they are provided with these facilities, gorillas may fall into severe depression as they are complex animals. Maintaining peace among animals in this social area is an important factor. This area is the area where the animals spend their days, do their daily activities, socialize, and be presented to visitors. In the common area, there must be climbing facilities, playgrounds consisting of large pieces (a box, a rope, a swing ). Gorillas are more developed than other animals so they need more complex play facilities, hammocks, climbing nets, slides, etc. The use of plastics on these materials should be avoided to refrain them from suffocating. (Abelló, 2017)

SAFETY

Every door used should have more complex lock structures than the ones used in other animals, otherwise the gorillas are capable of opening easily. The walls surrounding these areas should avoid climbing, and should not have areas above which gorillas can grasp with their hands or feet. The delimitation of these areas is crucial for both animal and visitor safety, as gorillas can open doors, climb high, and easily break down barriers. (Abelló, 2017) In the case of the Cincinnati Zoo, the design error was primarily due to the barrier method, ignoring the rule-breaking and curiosity factors of the visitors, and not providing sufficient security. Another mistake was in the moat method. The fact that the animal can easily approach the visitor in the event of a possible fall is due to a fatal design error. Moat methods preferred in gorilla cages to ensure safety are designed to prevent the animal from easily approaching the wall that separates the visitors’ area.

BOUNDARIES

A.Moats Ditches keep animals away from barriers, while barriers are to keep people away from ditches. ‘U shaped dry moat’ (figure29a ) is not preferred in choosing a moat because there is a danger of falling animals and injuries. Instead, the ‘V-shaped dry moat’ (figure 29b) has the same features like the U-shaped moat on the visitor side (4 metre high), while the gorilla is inclined so that animals can easily enter and exit the shallow area. Using water in ditches, ‘wet moat’ (figure 29c) is not preferred because gorillas cannot swim, creating the danger of drowning. If it is used, the ditch does not deepen in a large area, so the animals can play in the water, it has been observed that they do not go to areas that are deep. Wet Moats are 6 meters wide and 2 meters high at the visitor side. In addition, there is a 1 meter marshy area in front of the ditch on the animal side, so the gorillas cannot run quickly towards the ditch and cannot reach the deep part. (Abelló, 2017)

A B C

Figure 29: Demonstration of ZAWA Standart Rules (by me)

Moat security standard measures for gorillas