What Is The Best Material To Use In An Enclosure For A Large Animal?

[ArrowRaptor]

I'm writing a story with large (15 meters long) animals and I need help with explaining the enclosure it's 25m by 13m by 6m but I can't figure out what materials can withstand a large animal crashing into it without breaking.

[fiction-factory]

It's going to die very quickly I think as it has very little room to move and unless it is very supple it can't even turn round in such a narrow space.
Iron bars seem pretty good in zoos but strong plastic or wood would be fine and not too expensive

[Hypognosis]

If you can work out the rough volume of the creature, in cubic metres and remember that a cubic metre of water weighs a metric tonne (flesh and bone not hugely different in density), you could infer the forces (impulse) of a collision between 'n' tons of creature and the enclosure fencing. It cannot get much of a run up in a space as small, relative to body size, as you specified.

If you're writing a novel, then maybe I'm overthinking and you only need to play to reader credulity. Nerds will nit-pick but that's what they're for.

[ArrowRaptor]

Ok, I got messed up and measured wrong, it's not 13m wide it's 25m wide. Oops XD

[cassa333]

Even so why so small? Is it a moving it around crate?

And at 6mt high it must be a low lying animal!

If it is a dinosaur or space animal then you could make the enclosure out of anything you like. Including future super strong paper but just look up the strongest metal we have at the moment. Is it tungsten or something??

[wildwood]

That welded heavy gauge mesh will withstand a great force. Unlike iron bars, it will 'give' a little with an sudden force and is cheaper than most other materials. I do hope this is only a moving crate or similar, or your readers will turn off before they've read the story.

[Hypognosis]

@wildwood

Good point. Springy fences guve way but don't adopt any permanent bend or fatigue fracturing. Elephants are about 10 tons and can knock a tree down so you'd think fence posts would be vulnerable but I've seen nature reserves, on film, where a glorified chickenwire fence (about 1.5 times elephant height) is enough to at least make them give up trying, if not stop a determined, angry, one.

I thought about electrified fencing and, seeing how flimsy it looks, have always wondered if cattle feel it through their thick hide or if it is meant for stinging wet noses?

In fiction, Jurassic Park used electric fences but lizard skin is bone dry, possibly insulating and dino skin, you'd imagine would have scales too thick to conduct the shock. Only when the scales are stretched widely apart does the skin get exposed.

Artistic licence means the author can simply say it works and the reader accepts it. Generally. ;-)