The Wading Pool

 The variety of species that zoos and aquariums are likely to exhibit in the near future is probably not going to increase dramatically.  If anything, it will probably decrease, as animals which are not in sustainable populations or cannot be sourced legally and ethically from the wild (such as rescue/rehab cases) fizzle out.  As such, I think one of the big challenges in the future of zoos is going to be coming up with ways to exhibit animals already present in their facilities in new and exciting ways.

There have been many innovations over the years, including nocturnal lighting, underwater viewing, rotating exhibits, and the development of the safari park.  Another concept is the possibility of allowing visitors to share space with an increasing variety of animals.  Such was the idea recently unveiled in some concept art from the Denver Zoo, proposing a new exhibit.

When I first saw this picture, I thought that the young lady in the pool had her legs crossed and was, for some reason, drawn sitting on top of the water's surface.  Then I looked closer, and realized that those aren't her legs.  She's wading in the water with a capybara.  That... is a possibility for an exhibit that I hadn't thought of before.  Mostly because capybaras, Lord Love 'Em, can be kinda gross, and tend to view their bathing areas as being the same as their pooping areas.  It looks like both of the people in the water are wearing waders of some sort, so maybe those will be standard issue to keep visitors clean?  Or maybe this space is envisioned as being separate from the main capybara habitat, with the idea that the capys will only have access to this space for programs, and hopefully get the poop out of their system elsewhere?

It's innovative, I'll give them that, and while I'm not 100% sold on the idea, I like the outside-of-the-box thinking.  Capybara are traditionally viewed as a filler species in zoos, an accompaniment to "cooler" South America species, like jaguars and monkeys.  Which is weird, in a way, because people love capybaras - there's a capybara cafe experience in Florida, for heaven's sake.  Sometimes it seems that only zoo folks treat them as boring.  And so, it's pretty cool to see a plan for an exhibit that takes this "filler" species and makes it the star.