Fresno Chaffee Zoo Fresno Chaffee Zoo News - 2020

snowleopard

snowleopard

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Premium Member
CEO Scott Barton, who has been in charge of the zoo for the past 11 years, has announced that he will retire in the fall. There has been unprecedented growth during his tenure and those will be big shoes to fill. On a personal note, I met Scott Barton in the summer of 2017, when @Arizona Docent and I spent a day together split between Fresno Chaffee Zoo and Project Survival's Cat Haven. The Fresno director got Fred and I into the zoo for free and he took us behind the scenes at the Reptile House, Sea Lion Cove, the Elephant Barn and the Antelope House. It was terrific to see all of those behind the scenes zones (taken for granted in European zoos but almost unheard of in North America to have animal holding areas open to the public) and Scott also sat with us at lunch overlooking the gorgeous African Savanna.

Here is a news article about his upcoming retirement:

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article240944456.html
 
Just out of curiosity , could anyone who knows this zoo well tell me whether there are any Neotropical primates and particularly any of the Callitrichidae species kept at Fresno Chaffee zoo ?

Their website doesn't reveal any but then again the photos of the zoo in the zoochat gallery reveal they keep a lot of species that are not featured on their webpage.
 
Apparently Fresno Zoo had a board meeting last week, at which they showed a preview video for Kingdoms of Asia. According to their Twitter account it'll likely be made available to the general public in the next week or so!

While I'm thrilled that their Malayan tigers are getting the space and complexity they deserve in their habitat, I'm honestly more excited for any glimpses we get of the sloth bear exhibit and any other new enclosures. Good bear exhibits feel hard to come by sometimes, and the 60's grotto that held their sloth bears previously really needed to go.

Plus false gharials, flying foxes, and I think even fishing cats have been mentioned off-and-on as possible residents over the past few years, and confirmation on any of them would cool.
 
John Marchwick said:
This article here saids that a giraffe named Siku transferred to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo From the Phoenix Zoo. I don’t know if this was ever announced but i never heard about it so here it is. Siku is a 3 year old Masai Giraffe

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.abc15.com/entertainment/events/zuri-a-17-year-old-reticulated-giraffe-at-the-phoenix-zoo-has-died-due-to-ongoing-health-issues?_amp=true
Click to expand...

Given the zoo's recent acquisition of Fenny, a young bull Masai giraffe (~3 years old I believe) earlier this year, and then Siku this summer, it looks like Fresno might be beginning to focus on Masai instead of generic giraffes. Their current generic/"reticulated" group consists of their remaining elderly female (26) and two bulls (10 and 3), while the Masai mixed with them are an older female (12) and the two previously mentioned new animals.

Xenarthra said:
Apparently Fresno Zoo had a board meeting last week, at which they showed a preview video for Kingdoms of Asia. According to their Twitter account it'll likely be made available to the general public in the next week or so!
Click to expand...

Still no news related to this :eek: I've been keeping on top of Fresno Zoo social media, and ever since the above tease there hasn't been any mention of Kingdoms of Asia. Here's hoping for more in the future!

Extra updates for those those interested in visiting
  • The zoo has extended its "Evenings on the Savanna" hours, in which zoo entry lasts until 7 PM, and closing is at 8 PM, on Fridays and Saturdays.
  • Stingray Bay, Twiga Terrace's giraffe feeding, and the Zoorassic Park dinosaur display are all open, though indoor exhibits such as the rainforest aviary and reptile house are not.
  • New "Early Bird" tours are being offered. For the cost of $30 per person (in addition to zoo admission), you receive a private tour of the zoo pre-opening between 8 and 9 AM. The route + exhibits/topics are variable, so it seems that it's not comprehensive, more of roll of the dice in terms of what you get to see.
 
Last edited:
Xenarthra said:
Given the zoo's recent acquisition of Fenny, a young bull Masai giraffe (~3 years old I believe) earlier this year, and then Siku this summer, it looks like Fresno might be beginning to focus on Masai instead of generic giraffes. Their current generic/"reticulated" group consists of their remaining elderly female (26) and two bulls (10 and 3), while the Masai mixed with them are an older female (12) and the two previously mentioned new animals.
Click to expand...
I do hope their generic giraffe have been neutered in order not to cross breed with pure-bred Masai's.
 
Xenarthra said:
Yep, I chatted with a keeper a year or two ago and she indicated that was the case with the breeding-age bull. I figure that the younger generic bull with be sent elsewhere or be neutered depending on the SSP's needs.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be surprised if the SSP transfers a handful of generic individuals to non-AZA facilities, as they have done with other species in the past.
 
EsserWarrior said:
I wouldn't be surprised if the SSP transfers a handful of generic individuals to non-AZA facilities, as they have done with other species in the past.
Click to expand...
The last thing one would want is for accredited facilities in a program to load off their conservation interest "worthless" generic giraffe to be offloaded on the private zoo sector. It will and would be equivalent to perpetuating the hybridisation / crossbreeding mistakes of the past ..., only for these to haunt and return to the fold at a later date. The best solution would be .... (have a guess!), second best option neutered / sterilized.
 
EsserWarrior said:
I wouldn't be surprised if the SSP transfers a handful of generic individuals to non-AZA facilities, as they have done with other species in the past.
Click to expand...

however the zoo got a young male reticulated giraffe named Tsavo a couple years ago from Dallas Zoo. So maybe they could be still breeding them...?
 
Can we first talk about how the video saids Asian Small Clawed Otters will be coexisting with the Sloth Bears?! Normally I’m not really excited as much when zoos build new Asian Themed exhibits cause there done So often now days but I’m actually really excited about this one!!
 
John Marchwick said:
Can we first talk about how the video saids Asian Small Clawed Otters will be coexisting with the Sloth Bears?! Normally I’m not really excited as much when zoos build new Asian Themed exhibits cause there done So often now days but I’m actually really excited about this one!!
Click to expand...

To be completely honest I am uncomfortable with the idea, especially given the design of the exhibit. If the exhibit had a nice wide water moat with a separate area for the otters, that would be different. It just feels like an unnecessary risk. If I am remembering correctly South Lakes used to mix small clawed otter and spectecled bear, and that did not work out too well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top