Bioparks Revisited

The Way Forward For Wildlife Conservation

Bernard Harrison
Principal Partner – Creativity & Design
Bernard Harrison & Friends

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Outline
• What is a biopark
• Paradigm shifts & new paradigms
• Why paradigms…shift!
• Develop zoos which our public will
visit
• We need to think more laterally

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 What is a biopark?

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 46th Conference in Singapore 1991
Topic was on bioparks
• Mike Robinson
• Pushp Kumar
• Willie Laubascagne
• Karen Sauseman
• Laura Mumaw
• Murrey Newman
• Sherry Sheng
• Bernard Harrison
Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Aren’t biopark logical?
• Display & interpret ecosystems
• Use & integrate techniques from
– Zoos & aquariums
– Botanic gardens & arboretums
– Natural history & anthropology
museums
– Art galleries

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Museums & Art Galleries are…
….inner city institutions, confined in constrained buildings

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Aquariums were traditionally….
...constrained water front sites because of access to seawater

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Botanic Gardens & Arboretums have...
strong research bias & large taxonomic collections of plants

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Zoos have always suffered from….
....skeletal permanence - their history often written in stone!

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Biological Parks in India…..
..are huge parks for large and often indigenous animal exhibits

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 14 years later – still no bioparks?
• Smithsonian, San Diego’s Balbao Park,
Albuquerque Biological Park, Artis
Amsterdam & Antwerp Zoos
• Contain zoos, aquariums museums,
planetariums & botanical gardens in
the park
• Lack integration of display and
interpretation techniques

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Why the world has no bioparks?
We bioexhibit institutions are victims
of our past. That leaves us, just like
evolving animals, with structures that
are subject to gradual small changes
and not to revolutionary recasting

Mike Robinson

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Paradigm Shifts & New Paradigms

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 An accepted paradigm
Zoos have smelly toilets

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 An accepted paradigm
Zoo’s have lousy food

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Old Paradigm
Circuses are Passé

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 New Paradigm
Cirque du Soleil

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 New Paradigm
Cirque du Soleil

• Got rid of animals

• Married theatre with
acrobatics
• Shifted up-market
• Charged 3 times the
price

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Paradigm shifts in the zoo world

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Paradigm Shift 1
Moated Revolution

• Carl Hagenbeck
• Animal dealer
• Hamburg 1907

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Paradigm Shift 2
Marine Parks

• Sea World, San

Diego opened in
1964
• Business men
• Milt Shedd,
George Malay
and Dave
Demonte
Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Paradigm Shift 3
Lion Safari Parks

• Jimmy
Chipperfield
• Circus owner
• Longleat 1966

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Commercial parks took away market
share from zoos
• Knew what public
want
• Zoos reinvent
themselves
– more scientific
– disassociation
with circuses
– chimpanzee’s tea
party
Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Paradigm Shift 4
Night Safari

Displaying nocturnal animal at night

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Paradigm Shift 5
Disney’s Animal Kingdom

World’s most
exciting and
expensive
naturalistically
replicated
animal park

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Why paradigms………shift!

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Why paradigms……..shift
• A biologically driven concept for a new
zoo, such as a biopark, will almost
certainly come from outside the zoo
industry
• Has to be self sustaining -
commercially viable

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Why don’t zoo directors shift
paradigms?
• Paradigm shifts come mainly from
outsiders to the industry/on a
personal journey
• Circumstances often dictate
innovation
• Forced to take a risk/ grasp an
opportunity

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Why don’t zoo directors shift
paradigm?
• Most zoo directors are scientists &
salaried
• The businessmen who are CEO’s are
beholden to curators
• Zoo directors come up with the
smaller innovations but never the real
quantum leaps
• You have to start from scratch
Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Why paradigms……..shift
Hagenbeck had:
• Personal wealth
• Reinforced
concrete
• Expertise in
animal
husbandry
• Was on a
personal journey
Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Sea World had
• Commercial money
• location –tropical,
USA tourism belt
• New water
treatment
techniques
• acrylic

Milt Shedd
Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Chipperfield had
• Access to private cars
• Chain-link fences
• Plenty of lions

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Night Safari had
• Right timing -
tourism
infrastructure
development push
• Singapore is first
developed, tropical
country
• Regular sunset
times, pleasant &
long nights

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Animal Kingdom had
• World’s largest
commercial
entertainment
company
• Strategic
opportunity to
bundle it with
their other
themes parks

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 The way forward for wildlife
conservation is to develop zoos which
our public will visit

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Why are zoos boring for adults?

• They are not!

• We just make them child centric
• We only capture 10% of the world’s
population!
• Market research - primary reason for
visit is a family day out with the kids
• A self fulfilling philosophy

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Why are zoos boring for adults?
• We develop zoos with children as the
lowest common denominator
• We don’t focus on adults
• Sophisticated experiences, better
information, experiential F&B and
retail

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Do we have a problem?…..

Personally - I’d say we do!

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 We need to think more laterally….

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 have clever ideas……..

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
we need to be more innovative….

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 be a little irreverent…

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 stop our obsession with charismatic
mega-vertebrates

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
Besides aquariums, botanical gardens,
museums & art galleries ….

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 we need to introduce display and
interpretation techniques from more
industries like…..

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 …theme park interactive rides

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 ……virtual reality aquariums

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 ….from the film industry

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 ……use animatronics

•Computers
•Hydraulics
•Batteries

Industrial Light & Magic Ltd

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
….and computer generated imigery

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 ….draw from the theatre

Sovereign Hill Skansen

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 ……son & lumiere

Giza
Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 real ….son & lumiere

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 ….different exhibition techniques

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
…use technology from other industries

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 …..look at nature more often

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 ….and walk our animals around a bit

Penguin Parade in Zurich

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 …use safaris as a bench mark

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 …hot air balloon safaris in Kenya

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 ….camel safaris in Australia

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 you never know what you’ll see on an
Australian safari!

Most male marsupials:

• Have a bifurcated penis.
• Its purpose is a mystery
• Only kangaroos have a single tip

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation
 Thank you

Bernard Harrison & Friends WAZA Conference 2005 New York The way forward for wildlife conservation