When housing zoo animals it is essential to mimic their natural environment as much as possible. This can be done by creating an immersive exhibit that looks and feels as natural as possible, with loads of foliage, rocks, climbing frames and water sources; or controlling and changing the environmental factors such as the temperature, humidity and lighting.
But one aspect of housing animals that is commonly forgotten is an animal’s social requirements. By not recreating the proper social grouping some animals can exhibit behaviours that can damage both their physical and mental health.