Saint Louis Zoo Saint Louis Zoo News 2020

Still had gaur as of last year out there. They also have a cheetah breeding compound and are currently building a breeding complex for Amur tiger.
The Amur tiger breeding complex is also complete and they currently house tigers and cheetahs for felines at the Omaha Zoo facility in Ashland, NE.
 
Couldn't care for the name, but nonetheless still very excited.
The name does sound very road side zoo-ey, not reflecting that Stlzoo is anything but.

They can always change it later. When San Diego Zoo's wildlife park opened in 1972, it was called the San Diego Wild Animal Park. They changed it to San Diego Zoo Safari Park in 2010, which a) sounds better and b) firmly establishes the linkage between the two facilities. STL took note of that, I'm sure -- a handful of planners and staff from the zoo have been making frequent trips to both the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park since 2018.
 
They can always change it later. When San Diego Zoo's wildlife park opened in 1972, it was called the San Diego Wild Animal Park. They changed it to San Diego Zoo Safari Park in 2010, which a) sounds better and b) firmly establishes the linkage between the two facilities. STL took note of that, I'm sure -- a handful of planners and staff from the zoo have been making frequent trips to both the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park since 2018.

It’s probably for the better that San Diego Wild Animal Park changed its name; as of this year, the acronym “WAP” stands for something else (NSFW).
 
It’s probably for the better that San Diego Wild Animal Park changed its name; as of this year, the acronym “WAP” stands for something else (NSFW).

This is true. ;)

Out of curiosity, I looked up all known safari parks within the United States, and there are... so many. Most are unaccredited, roadside facilities with questionable animal care and a severe lack of oversight. It is quite staggering just how many people will pimp out exotic animals to make a buck. :mad: I found nine parks that were AZA-affiliated, with proper, navigable websites, and decent reviews. Additionally, there were two in Canada and one in Mexico. The U.S. ones are as follows:

-African Safari Wildlife Park (Port Clinton, OH)
-Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (Glen Rose, TX)
-Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park & Wildlife Safari (Ashland, NE)
-Lion Country Safari (Loxahatchee, FL)
-Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (Eatonville, WA)
-San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Escondido, CA)
-Safari West (Sonoma, CA)
-Wildlife Safari (Winston, OR)
-The Wilds (Cumberland, OH)

Note that this list does not include conservation centers, most of which are not open to the public (the largest of which is the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute) and which do not offer a "safari" experience in terms of amenities like camping, kayaking, and the like.

Four of the above safari parks are either directly controlled by, or have a formal affiliation with, an AZA-accredited zoo. Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo manages the Simmons Conservation Park, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium manages Northwest Trek, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has a formal affiliation with, but does own or manage, The Wilds, and of course San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park are jointly owned/operated.
 
This is true. ;)

Out of curiosity, I looked up all known safari parks within the United States, and there are... so many. Most are unaccredited, roadside facilities with questionable animal care and a severe lack of oversight. It is quite staggering just how many people will pimp out exotic animals to make a buck. :mad: I found nine parks that were AZA-affiliated, with proper, navigable websites, and decent reviews. Additionally, there were two in Canada and one in Mexico. The U.S. ones are as follows:

-African Safari Wildlife Park (Port Clinton, OH)
-Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (Glen Rose, TX)
-Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park & Wildlife Safari (Ashland, NE)
-Lion Country Safari (Loxahatchee, FL)
-Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (Eatonville, WA)
-San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Escondido, CA)
-Safari West (Sonoma, CA)
-Wildlife Safari (Winston, OR)
-The Wilds (Cumberland, OH)

Note that this list does not include conservation centers, most of which are not open to the public (the largest of which is the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute) and which do not offer a "safari" experience in terms of amenities like camping, kayaking, and the like.

Four of the above safari parks are either directly controlled by, or have a formal affiliation with, an AZA-accredited zoo. Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo manages the Simmons Conservation Park, Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium manages Northwest Trek, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has a formal affiliation with, but does own or manage, The Wilds, and of course San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park are jointly owned/operated.
While I am sure many of those roadside safari facilities aren't that great, just because a zoo has no affiliation with the AZA does not automatically mean it is bad.
 
While I am sure many of those roadside safari facilities aren't that great, just because a zoo has no affiliation with the AZA does not automatically mean it is bad.

You’re absolutely right. But I wasn’t going to sift through data on hundreds of parks, most of which have no website, to determine which were worth seeing :p
 
Back
Top