Snowleopard's 2023 Road Trip: California, Arizona & Oregon
- Thread starter snowleopard
- Start date
Is the only way to see the sea lions at the aquarium from the rotating theater experience, or do they have views of them from other parts of the aquarium also?
Now that's look like a fun aquarium! It certainly helps that its a newer establish with some unique ideas around.
The only way to see the California Sea Lions is to sit in the rotating theater and each visitor has 5 minutes (if the sea lions are even underwater!) to view them. There's no other way to see the animals, but the theater experience is free and I suppose that someone could go back again, but then they'd be forced to do the whole 20-minute "ride" through the 4 ecosystems a second time. At least it's better than when I spent a minute or so viewing African Elephants at Disney's Animal Kingdom in 2008, or perhaps 30 seconds seeing an Indian Rhino at the Bronx Zoo in the same year. Any kind of visitor transportation area at a zoo has its limitations.
It would be interesting to know the history of pinnipeds in the dry, arid desert of Arizona. My 'Images of America' history book on Phoenix Zoo doesn't appear to ever mention any pinnipeds in all the numerous photos, so perhaps that zoo has never had any. Wildlife World Zoo and OdySea Aquarium have both added California Sea Lions in the last decade, but there's only 3 animals at each park and the exhibits aren't very large.
I'll echo the sentiment that this place looks really fun and I'll be sure to visit next time I find myself in Phoenix - but this claim is untrue - a Russian Sturgeon touch tank can also be found at the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth.
Didn't ASDM talk of potentially adding them at one point?
That would be news to me
It's a really fun aquarium, I've been a few times and will return this December. There are times when the "ride" is broken or otherwise off and you are allowed to walk through the area, that happened on one of our trips there.
IIRC you can see the shark tank from another angle without being on the "ride". I'm actually surprised the "ride" has lasted, I went shortly after they opened and I commented at the time that I would be surprised if they kept it going. They do a special Grinch Christmas theme ride at the holidays.
IIRC you can see the shark tank from another angle without being on the "ride". I'm actually surprised the "ride" has lasted, I went shortly after they opened and I commented at the time that I would be surprised if they kept it going. They do a special Grinch Christmas theme ride at the holidays.
Thank you for sharing one more of your great adventures @snowleopard ! I often browse trough your Travelogues as I source of inspiration and when I search information. They are outstanding Zoopedia and I believe you should index all the Zoo visits at the beginning or at the end of the threads, because there are some hidden gems out there! Respect!
It seems that this aquarium has done a very good job in labelling the species that can be seen in each tank. I see large TV screens where every species is listed that, it seems anyway, can be seen in the particular aquarium (fe Colorado river exhibit). Often you see 1 small screen where the species list rotates, and very often with the wrong composition.
In the underwater tunnel, too, I see species signs everywhere.
Nothing is more frustrating not knowing exactly what species are in a particular tank (especially as most visitors are less familiar with fish and reptile species anyway).
In the underwater tunnel, too, I see species signs everywhere.
Nothing is more frustrating not knowing exactly what species are in a particular tank (especially as most visitors are less familiar with fish and reptile species anyway).
DAY 10: Thursday, July 13th
Zoo/Aquarium #14: The Living Desert Zoo/Gardens (Palm Desert, California)
This was my 2nd visit to Living Desert Zoo (2011, 2023)
This zoo is not to be confused with Living Desert Zoo in Carlsbad, New Mexico (which I have visited before!). That particular zoo is found under the letter "L" in the alphabetical ZooChat gallery, while The Living Desert Zoo/Gardens discussed in this review is located in Palm Desert, California, and is found under the letter "T" in the ZooChat photo gallery.
Living Desert Zoo opened in 1970 and is one of the very best zoos in California and I’ve visited more than 60 zoos/aquariums in the state. For the 3rd consecutive day, temperatures soared to 46 Celsius/115 Fahrenheit by the afternoon, and one thing that tainted my visit was the incessant flies that were everywhere. They were particularly awful in the African loop, as every single time I stopped to take a bunch of photos I had little flies all over my face. I didn’t linger as long as I would have liked, because when I was moving or in an area with a breeze then the flies would leave me alone. But as soon as I stopped anywhere with stale air, it was like central Australia, and I was rapidly going insane with the flies.
As an aside, I feel compelled to mention that the zoo has spent a considerable fortune in recent years, which has made this great zoo even better for visitors, but apparently has caused dissension amidst the zookeeping staff. In February, the 30 keepers voted 28 to 2 to unionize, and now there needs to be a new contract signed with the zoo to retain all of the employees or else there will be a full-scale mutiny. The zookeepers, some of them with 15+ years experience, earn on average $17.94 per hour and quite often spend months working in 46 Celsius/115 Fahrenheit conditions. There are plenty of fast-food restaurants and big chain stores (Target and Walmart being prime examples) where zookeepers could go to work and be indoors, completing less physically demanding chores, within an air-conditioned space, for more money! Some keepers have become disgruntled because the President/CEO made $518,000 in 2022, and the zoo has opened a new, $10 million Entrance Plaza (2018), the $3 million Australian Adventures (2020), the $17 million Rhino Savanna (2022), and has a $60 million Lion exhibit and Special Event Center in the pipeline. It's all part of the Pride of the Desert campaign to raise $90 million for the zoo. What about those zookeepers working in extreme temperatures? Can they get a couple of extra bucks per hour?
From a zoo nerd perspective, this is a terrific facility and one that receives more than 500,000 visitors per year in a city (Palm Desert) of approximately 55,000 people. Palm Springs is nearby, and this whole area is a major tourist attraction in the wintertime when temperatures are a little more bearable. For my two days in Arizona and now this day out in the California desert, for the most part I didn’t mind the scorching rays of the sun. It enabled me to stroll around zoos with far less people on the paths, an added benefit to the off-season.
On my previous visit, the zoo had two main areas and I slightly preferred North America over Africa. This time around, a dozen years later, ‘African Safari’ is clearly the best part of the zoo, with ‘Wild Americas’ and the new ‘Australian Adventures’ also being quite good as well. Here is a zoo without much to complain about, if one can stomach the summertime flies and crazy temperatures for a mid-July visit.
The zoo’s new, $10 million Entrance Plaza deserves a mention as it’s a brilliant opening area with a large plaza and the usual series of guest services. The design allows the buildings to blend in with the background in terms of a beige colour scheme.
African Safari begins with the $17 million Rhino Savanna, which is a spectacular experience. Two enclosures for Banded Mongooses are excellent, leading visitors into a large cave-like tunnel for to see what appears to be two enclosures full of tunnels and tubes for Naked Mole Rats in the Life Underground zone. There’s an Animal Care & Nutrition Center, as well as two expansive, surprisingly lush habitats for the zoo’s two Black Rhinos. Waterbuck, Springbok, Pink-backed Pelicans, Great White Pelicans and Cattle Egrets share the same space. There are icons for some kind of vulture and a Klipspringer on the zoo’s paper map, but I didn’t see signs for either species. Rhino Savanna is a spectacular first exhibit complex and a really fantastic way to start off the day.
This image shows only about 60% of the first rhino yard:
Here's 50% of the second yard. See the rhino?
Naked Mole Rat tunnels stretch down the length of one wall:
Almost as stunning is the spacious, sloped habitat with Giraffe, Greater Kudu, Ostrich, Grey Crowned Cranes and Guineafowl. The large trees and immersive ‘borrowed scenery’ makes for an amazing setting. There are then smaller, satellite exhibits for African Crested Porcupines and Warthogs before visitors arrive at Village WaTuTu. Here is the zoo’s only major restaurant, which is a huge flaw if you are all the way on the opposite side of the park in Wild Americas and want a bite to eat. In this African village can be found Amur Leopards, Striped Hyenas, Dromedaries, Addax, African Spurred Tortoises, a second African Crested Porcupine exhibit, a weaver aviary and a Petting Kraal for goats. This whole area is older and not as thrilling as the rhinos and giraffes, but it still holds up well.
Giraffe/Greater Kudu/Ostrich/Guineafowl exhibit:
Amur Leopard exhibit:
Continuing down the African Safari loop, visitors can see a range of animals. One of the nation’s very best Cheetah exhibits is here, full of big tufts of grass and vegetation and I was delighted to see two of the cats. There are Grevy’s Zebras, Marabou Storks, an exhibit for 3 species (Bat-eared Fox, Cape Rock Hyrax, Leopard Tortoise), an exhibit for 5 species (Dama Gazelle, Slender-horned Gazelle, Yellow-billed Stork, Eurasian Black Vulture, African Spurred Tortoise), along with other exhibits for Speke’s Gazelles, Kori Bustards, African Wild Dogs, Meerkats, a rotational habitat with one species on display (out of Sand Cat, Black-footed Cat and Fennec Fox), Arabian Oryx and Southern Ground Hornbills. There were two mid-sized aviaries with no birds due to the threat of avian influenza, as well as some vultures off-show as well. Including the missing birds, on a normal day the entire African Safari half of the zoo has approximately 50 species and the whole thing is of an exemplary quality.
Cheetah exhibit:
Dama Gazelle/Slender-horned Gazelle/Yellow-billed Stork/Eurasian Black Vulture/African Spurred Tortoise exhibit:
The middle section of the zoo has a few odds n’ ends, including a small Carousel, the Gecko Gulch Play Area, the air-conditioned 3,600 sq. ft. Hoover Discovery Center (which sadly no longer has an exhibit for Long-legged Ants), the Desert Plant Conservation Center and a massive, half-acre Model Train Set that has to be seen to be believed. It needs a little love and attention in places, and I’m not even a model train kind of guy, but it’s easily the largest I’ve ever come across and apparently in its prime it was an incredible sight to see the trains move around on their tracks. There is more than 3,300 feet of track, with 8 different loops, and the zoo's website states that it takes up three-quarters of an acre. This thing is huge!
Here's a tiny portion of the model train set:
Wild Americas has an enormous mountain where I saw at least 10 Desert Bighorn Sheep on the incredibly steep cliffside. It’s just behind Phoenix Zoo in terms of magnificence. One mild disappointment is that the Jaguar exhibit, which opened in 2011, has less theming these days. The two signs above the simulated mine shaft entrance door, which is inside the enclosure, have both been removed. A bit of extra fencing has been erected near the pool (outside the enclosure) and therefore the exhibit looks more like an average-sized Jaguar exhibit when before the ‘mine shaft’ idea was a neat gimmick. There’s a paddock for Peninsular Pronghorn and a series of aviaries for species such as Greater Roadrunner, Great Horned Owl, Western Screech Owl, American Kestrel, Von Der Decken’s Hornbill and Kookaburra. Those last two certainly don’t fit the ‘Wild Americas’ theme!
Desert Bighorn Sheep mountain:
@Coelacanth18
Jaguar exhibit:
White-nosed Coatis have an old-fashioned, adequate enclosure before visitors reach the Eagle Canyon loop. This is a trail that is mainly covered and at the central point is a small walk-through aviary that was sadly closed during my visit due to the threat of avian flu. Along Eagle Canyon can be seen, in this order, species such as Mexican Wolf, Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, Chacoan Peccary, American Badger, Ringtail, Nine-banded Armadillo, Kit Fox, North American Porcupine, Bobcat, Caracal, Cougar and Channel Island Fox, along with probably a half-dozen birds in that closed aviary. The small herp building was a disappointment as all 12 terrariums held animals back in 2011 but this time around there were only 5 species present: Mexican Boa Constrictor, Common Chuckwalla, Desert Tortoise, Sonoran Desert Toad and Desert Tarantula. The remaining 7 exhibits either had signs that said “this animal is temporarily off habitat” or were simply boarded up.
Kit Fox exhibit:
North American Porcupine:
Cougar exhibit (the left viewing area is thin wire):
Farther along the trail is a nice exhibit for Coyotes, as well as the impressive Wild Prairies walk-through aviary. There are 5 species inside (Prairie Dog, Burrowing Owl, Barn Owl, Turkey Vulture, Roadrunner) and I enjoyed strolling through and spotting all of them.
Not to be missed is an off-shoot loop that leads down to the Wildlife Hospital & Conservation Center, which is an architecturally stylish building that allows visitors to wander the hallways and see the plaza courtyard with many wild hummingbirds, the various animal treatment rooms, plus the surgery and rehabilitation rooms, all through big windows. I saw some juvenile Desert Tortoises inside, plus outdoors are a series of glassed-in exhibits and I saw a Three-banded Armadillo, an Argentine Black-and-White Tegu and a Rhinoceros Iguana. Another almost hidden path (thank goodness for having a paper zoo map in my hand!) led to an enclosure for Desert Tortoises that is San Diego-style in terms of its design. There’s also a couple more closed aviaries in this general area.
Wildlife Hospital & Conservation Center:
The last part of Wild Americas is the North American Reptile House. This small building, with its carpeted floors and old-fashioned presentation style, had 29 exhibits back in 2011 but now contains only 14 exhibits and these 11 species: Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, Red Diamond Rattlesnake, Southern Pacific Rattlesnake, Panamint Rattlesnake, Speckled Rattlesnake, Rosy Boa, Bull Snake, Gila Monster, Common Chuckwalla, Long-nosed Leopard Lizard and Great Basin Collared Lizard. It’s admirable that the zoo has basically cut back its exhibits in half, and has a few enclosures with the same species, but the whole building seems outdated. To top it off, Living Desert seems to have caught the “Cheyenne Mountain Zoo” disease by showcasing herps with colourful vases, plates, pots and other junk. This zoo should really contemplate building a modern Reptile House that would offer some visitor respite from the outrageous temperatures and also be able to showcase the diversity of the desert. As things stand, it is very much a mammal-heavy collection. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as many excellent Scandinavian zoos that I visited last summer also were mammal heavy. All in all, Wild Americas usually contains circa 60 species in this half of the zoo.
North American Reptile House (very small):
That leaves Australian Adventures, which opened in 2018 and is a highly enjoyable area. There’s an Emu exhibit outside and then visitors enter an area that is entirely netted as if it’s a huge walk-through aviary. The red dust and interpretative graphics create an immersive experience, with Budgerigars and Bennett’s Wallabies free ranging in the area. Off to the side are a couple of aviaries for Kookaburras and Tawny Frogmouths, and there’s Blue-tongue Skinks and Olive Pythons in tall terrariums. Short-beaked Echidnas and Brush-tailed Bettongs are a nice surprise, again in their own exhibits, and a long, narrow habitat for Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies has textured mock-rock cliffs and the ubiquitous red sandstone Aussie appearance. There’s only 10 species in total, but this Australian area is nicely done and a popular addition to the zoo.
Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies:
Living Desert Zoo has approximately 50 species in African Safari, 60 species in Wild Americas and 10 species in Australian Adventures for a grand total of 120 species at the park. Of special note is that this zoo lists more than 20 different gardens on its map, with names such as Eastern African Gardens, Ocotillo Garden and Chihuahuan Garden. The grounds here are magnificent, with lizards and cottontail rabbits amongst the cacti and well-maintained vegetation. There is clearly an emphasis on conservation, as at all modern zoos, with Living Desert supporting a total of 33 conservation projects around the world. It’s a great zoo, one where someone can easily spend 4 or 5 hours, and perhaps even more if one goes during a cooler month with less flies foraging on human skin.
I then drove 100 miles/160 km to a city called Big Bear Lake. It was a two-hour drive and I was on my way to see a zoo that opened in November 2020.
Zoo/Aquarium #14: The Living Desert Zoo/Gardens (Palm Desert, California)
This was my 2nd visit to Living Desert Zoo (2011, 2023)
This zoo is not to be confused with Living Desert Zoo in Carlsbad, New Mexico (which I have visited before!). That particular zoo is found under the letter "L" in the alphabetical ZooChat gallery, while The Living Desert Zoo/Gardens discussed in this review is located in Palm Desert, California, and is found under the letter "T" in the ZooChat photo gallery.
Living Desert Zoo opened in 1970 and is one of the very best zoos in California and I’ve visited more than 60 zoos/aquariums in the state. For the 3rd consecutive day, temperatures soared to 46 Celsius/115 Fahrenheit by the afternoon, and one thing that tainted my visit was the incessant flies that were everywhere. They were particularly awful in the African loop, as every single time I stopped to take a bunch of photos I had little flies all over my face. I didn’t linger as long as I would have liked, because when I was moving or in an area with a breeze then the flies would leave me alone. But as soon as I stopped anywhere with stale air, it was like central Australia, and I was rapidly going insane with the flies.
As an aside, I feel compelled to mention that the zoo has spent a considerable fortune in recent years, which has made this great zoo even better for visitors, but apparently has caused dissension amidst the zookeeping staff. In February, the 30 keepers voted 28 to 2 to unionize, and now there needs to be a new contract signed with the zoo to retain all of the employees or else there will be a full-scale mutiny. The zookeepers, some of them with 15+ years experience, earn on average $17.94 per hour and quite often spend months working in 46 Celsius/115 Fahrenheit conditions. There are plenty of fast-food restaurants and big chain stores (Target and Walmart being prime examples) where zookeepers could go to work and be indoors, completing less physically demanding chores, within an air-conditioned space, for more money! Some keepers have become disgruntled because the President/CEO made $518,000 in 2022, and the zoo has opened a new, $10 million Entrance Plaza (2018), the $3 million Australian Adventures (2020), the $17 million Rhino Savanna (2022), and has a $60 million Lion exhibit and Special Event Center in the pipeline. It's all part of the Pride of the Desert campaign to raise $90 million for the zoo. What about those zookeepers working in extreme temperatures? Can they get a couple of extra bucks per hour?
From a zoo nerd perspective, this is a terrific facility and one that receives more than 500,000 visitors per year in a city (Palm Desert) of approximately 55,000 people. Palm Springs is nearby, and this whole area is a major tourist attraction in the wintertime when temperatures are a little more bearable. For my two days in Arizona and now this day out in the California desert, for the most part I didn’t mind the scorching rays of the sun. It enabled me to stroll around zoos with far less people on the paths, an added benefit to the off-season.
On my previous visit, the zoo had two main areas and I slightly preferred North America over Africa. This time around, a dozen years later, ‘African Safari’ is clearly the best part of the zoo, with ‘Wild Americas’ and the new ‘Australian Adventures’ also being quite good as well. Here is a zoo without much to complain about, if one can stomach the summertime flies and crazy temperatures for a mid-July visit.
The zoo’s new, $10 million Entrance Plaza deserves a mention as it’s a brilliant opening area with a large plaza and the usual series of guest services. The design allows the buildings to blend in with the background in terms of a beige colour scheme.
African Safari begins with the $17 million Rhino Savanna, which is a spectacular experience. Two enclosures for Banded Mongooses are excellent, leading visitors into a large cave-like tunnel for to see what appears to be two enclosures full of tunnels and tubes for Naked Mole Rats in the Life Underground zone. There’s an Animal Care & Nutrition Center, as well as two expansive, surprisingly lush habitats for the zoo’s two Black Rhinos. Waterbuck, Springbok, Pink-backed Pelicans, Great White Pelicans and Cattle Egrets share the same space. There are icons for some kind of vulture and a Klipspringer on the zoo’s paper map, but I didn’t see signs for either species. Rhino Savanna is a spectacular first exhibit complex and a really fantastic way to start off the day.
This image shows only about 60% of the first rhino yard:
Here's 50% of the second yard. See the rhino?
Naked Mole Rat tunnels stretch down the length of one wall:
Almost as stunning is the spacious, sloped habitat with Giraffe, Greater Kudu, Ostrich, Grey Crowned Cranes and Guineafowl. The large trees and immersive ‘borrowed scenery’ makes for an amazing setting. There are then smaller, satellite exhibits for African Crested Porcupines and Warthogs before visitors arrive at Village WaTuTu. Here is the zoo’s only major restaurant, which is a huge flaw if you are all the way on the opposite side of the park in Wild Americas and want a bite to eat. In this African village can be found Amur Leopards, Striped Hyenas, Dromedaries, Addax, African Spurred Tortoises, a second African Crested Porcupine exhibit, a weaver aviary and a Petting Kraal for goats. This whole area is older and not as thrilling as the rhinos and giraffes, but it still holds up well.
Giraffe/Greater Kudu/Ostrich/Guineafowl exhibit:
Amur Leopard exhibit:
Continuing down the African Safari loop, visitors can see a range of animals. One of the nation’s very best Cheetah exhibits is here, full of big tufts of grass and vegetation and I was delighted to see two of the cats. There are Grevy’s Zebras, Marabou Storks, an exhibit for 3 species (Bat-eared Fox, Cape Rock Hyrax, Leopard Tortoise), an exhibit for 5 species (Dama Gazelle, Slender-horned Gazelle, Yellow-billed Stork, Eurasian Black Vulture, African Spurred Tortoise), along with other exhibits for Speke’s Gazelles, Kori Bustards, African Wild Dogs, Meerkats, a rotational habitat with one species on display (out of Sand Cat, Black-footed Cat and Fennec Fox), Arabian Oryx and Southern Ground Hornbills. There were two mid-sized aviaries with no birds due to the threat of avian influenza, as well as some vultures off-show as well. Including the missing birds, on a normal day the entire African Safari half of the zoo has approximately 50 species and the whole thing is of an exemplary quality.
Cheetah exhibit:
Dama Gazelle/Slender-horned Gazelle/Yellow-billed Stork/Eurasian Black Vulture/African Spurred Tortoise exhibit:
The middle section of the zoo has a few odds n’ ends, including a small Carousel, the Gecko Gulch Play Area, the air-conditioned 3,600 sq. ft. Hoover Discovery Center (which sadly no longer has an exhibit for Long-legged Ants), the Desert Plant Conservation Center and a massive, half-acre Model Train Set that has to be seen to be believed. It needs a little love and attention in places, and I’m not even a model train kind of guy, but it’s easily the largest I’ve ever come across and apparently in its prime it was an incredible sight to see the trains move around on their tracks. There is more than 3,300 feet of track, with 8 different loops, and the zoo's website states that it takes up three-quarters of an acre. This thing is huge!
Here's a tiny portion of the model train set:
Wild Americas has an enormous mountain where I saw at least 10 Desert Bighorn Sheep on the incredibly steep cliffside. It’s just behind Phoenix Zoo in terms of magnificence. One mild disappointment is that the Jaguar exhibit, which opened in 2011, has less theming these days. The two signs above the simulated mine shaft entrance door, which is inside the enclosure, have both been removed. A bit of extra fencing has been erected near the pool (outside the enclosure) and therefore the exhibit looks more like an average-sized Jaguar exhibit when before the ‘mine shaft’ idea was a neat gimmick. There’s a paddock for Peninsular Pronghorn and a series of aviaries for species such as Greater Roadrunner, Great Horned Owl, Western Screech Owl, American Kestrel, Von Der Decken’s Hornbill and Kookaburra. Those last two certainly don’t fit the ‘Wild Americas’ theme!
Desert Bighorn Sheep mountain:
@Coelacanth18
Jaguar exhibit:
White-nosed Coatis have an old-fashioned, adequate enclosure before visitors reach the Eagle Canyon loop. This is a trail that is mainly covered and at the central point is a small walk-through aviary that was sadly closed during my visit due to the threat of avian flu. Along Eagle Canyon can be seen, in this order, species such as Mexican Wolf, Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, Chacoan Peccary, American Badger, Ringtail, Nine-banded Armadillo, Kit Fox, North American Porcupine, Bobcat, Caracal, Cougar and Channel Island Fox, along with probably a half-dozen birds in that closed aviary. The small herp building was a disappointment as all 12 terrariums held animals back in 2011 but this time around there were only 5 species present: Mexican Boa Constrictor, Common Chuckwalla, Desert Tortoise, Sonoran Desert Toad and Desert Tarantula. The remaining 7 exhibits either had signs that said “this animal is temporarily off habitat” or were simply boarded up.
Kit Fox exhibit:
North American Porcupine:
Cougar exhibit (the left viewing area is thin wire):
Farther along the trail is a nice exhibit for Coyotes, as well as the impressive Wild Prairies walk-through aviary. There are 5 species inside (Prairie Dog, Burrowing Owl, Barn Owl, Turkey Vulture, Roadrunner) and I enjoyed strolling through and spotting all of them.
Not to be missed is an off-shoot loop that leads down to the Wildlife Hospital & Conservation Center, which is an architecturally stylish building that allows visitors to wander the hallways and see the plaza courtyard with many wild hummingbirds, the various animal treatment rooms, plus the surgery and rehabilitation rooms, all through big windows. I saw some juvenile Desert Tortoises inside, plus outdoors are a series of glassed-in exhibits and I saw a Three-banded Armadillo, an Argentine Black-and-White Tegu and a Rhinoceros Iguana. Another almost hidden path (thank goodness for having a paper zoo map in my hand!) led to an enclosure for Desert Tortoises that is San Diego-style in terms of its design. There’s also a couple more closed aviaries in this general area.
Wildlife Hospital & Conservation Center:
The last part of Wild Americas is the North American Reptile House. This small building, with its carpeted floors and old-fashioned presentation style, had 29 exhibits back in 2011 but now contains only 14 exhibits and these 11 species: Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, Red Diamond Rattlesnake, Southern Pacific Rattlesnake, Panamint Rattlesnake, Speckled Rattlesnake, Rosy Boa, Bull Snake, Gila Monster, Common Chuckwalla, Long-nosed Leopard Lizard and Great Basin Collared Lizard. It’s admirable that the zoo has basically cut back its exhibits in half, and has a few enclosures with the same species, but the whole building seems outdated. To top it off, Living Desert seems to have caught the “Cheyenne Mountain Zoo” disease by showcasing herps with colourful vases, plates, pots and other junk. This zoo should really contemplate building a modern Reptile House that would offer some visitor respite from the outrageous temperatures and also be able to showcase the diversity of the desert. As things stand, it is very much a mammal-heavy collection. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as many excellent Scandinavian zoos that I visited last summer also were mammal heavy. All in all, Wild Americas usually contains circa 60 species in this half of the zoo.
North American Reptile House (very small):
That leaves Australian Adventures, which opened in 2018 and is a highly enjoyable area. There’s an Emu exhibit outside and then visitors enter an area that is entirely netted as if it’s a huge walk-through aviary. The red dust and interpretative graphics create an immersive experience, with Budgerigars and Bennett’s Wallabies free ranging in the area. Off to the side are a couple of aviaries for Kookaburras and Tawny Frogmouths, and there’s Blue-tongue Skinks and Olive Pythons in tall terrariums. Short-beaked Echidnas and Brush-tailed Bettongs are a nice surprise, again in their own exhibits, and a long, narrow habitat for Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies has textured mock-rock cliffs and the ubiquitous red sandstone Aussie appearance. There’s only 10 species in total, but this Australian area is nicely done and a popular addition to the zoo.
Yellow-footed Rock Wallabies:
Living Desert Zoo has approximately 50 species in African Safari, 60 species in Wild Americas and 10 species in Australian Adventures for a grand total of 120 species at the park. Of special note is that this zoo lists more than 20 different gardens on its map, with names such as Eastern African Gardens, Ocotillo Garden and Chihuahuan Garden. The grounds here are magnificent, with lizards and cottontail rabbits amongst the cacti and well-maintained vegetation. There is clearly an emphasis on conservation, as at all modern zoos, with Living Desert supporting a total of 33 conservation projects around the world. It’s a great zoo, one where someone can easily spend 4 or 5 hours, and perhaps even more if one goes during a cooler month with less flies foraging on human skin.
I then drove 100 miles/160 km to a city called Big Bear Lake. It was a two-hour drive and I was on my way to see a zoo that opened in November 2020.
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DAY 10: Thursday, July 13th
Zoo/Aquarium #15: Big Bear Alpine Zoo (Big Bear Lake, California)
This was my 1st visit to Big Bear Alpine Zoo (2023). Zoo #551 all-time
Way back in 1959, a fire ripped through the San Bernardino National Forest, damaging a widespread area and harming dozens of animals. Shortly afterwards, Moonridge Animal Park opened on 2.5 acres/1 hectare as a rescue facility for native wildlife. Decades went by with the facility acting as a sort of ‘sanctuary’ for indigenous creatures, and eventually there was a big push to upgrade the establishment. Plans were finally approved in 2014, construction began in 2016, and less than a mile from its original location, the brand-new Big Bear Alpine Zoo opened in November 2020. It advertises itself as an ‘alpine zoo’ because it’s at 7,140 ft/2,176 m in elevation.
As much as it was exciting for me to visit a new zoo, I should stress that this place is very small. The entire property is 10.4 acres/4.2 hectares and many news articles have discussed the brand-new 10-acre zoo, but in reality the actual public zoo section is only 5.6 acres/2.2 hectares and I’ve seen elephant exhibits that are larger than that. The entire zoo was built for $18 million, and therefore all the enclosures look alike and are simplistic in design. It took me one hour to see everything, including taking loads of photos, and buying a shirt in the gift shop.
I saw 27 species at Big Bear Alpine Zoo: Grizzly Bear, American Black Bear, Cougar, Snow Leopard, Bobcat, Grey Wolf, Coyote, Red Fox, Gray Fox, Kit Fox, Mule Deer, Fallow Deer, Raccoon, Ringtail, Striped Skunk, Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Kestrel, Great Horned Owl, Snowy Owl, Turkey Vulture, Raven, Crow, Steller’s Jay, American White Pelican and Sandhill Crane. That's 15 mammals and 12 birds.
The zoo has interesting, different signs:
There are some positives, in that the zoo has a great logo, tastefully designed entrance building, terrific animal signs and everything is shiny and new. To offer up a permanent home for native species is admirable, but the flaw is that many of the enclosures are basic, functional exhibits that are not in the least innovative. The largest habitat is for the zoo’s Grizzly Bears, but it’s surrounded by a double wall of chain-link fence to make it difficult to see much other than via the one viewing window section. Those bears aren't going anywhere.
There are two Black Bear exhibits but they are tight on space for the zoo's 4 or 5 bears:
Most enclosures appear to have a few telephone poles as supports, then mesh or chain-link fencing covering everything. There is an ultra-tiny Reptile House (that was closed) and an equally tiny Nocturnal House. That latter building contained a single Ringtail, and I can imagine that the zoo would sometimes rescue some squirrels, but there were no signs. I should make mention of the Snow Leopard sisters, who I used to see frequently at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. Due to a genetic defect, both the Snow Leopards had to have their right eyes surgically removed and thus they are not valuable to the SSP program. Therefore, Big Bear Alpine Zoo has provided a home to an Asian species, which does seem extremely odd but at least the cats have a forever home.
Red-tailed Hawk aviary:
Red Fox exhibit:
Snowy Owl aviary (quite small):
Bobcat exhibit:
Snow Leopard exhibit:
I then began the task of driving 458 miles/737 km to Oakland. I would drive for about 5 hours and far into the evening, and then drive for two more hours the next morning as I headed north to the Bay Area of California.
Zoo/Aquarium #15: Big Bear Alpine Zoo (Big Bear Lake, California)
This was my 1st visit to Big Bear Alpine Zoo (2023). Zoo #551 all-time
Way back in 1959, a fire ripped through the San Bernardino National Forest, damaging a widespread area and harming dozens of animals. Shortly afterwards, Moonridge Animal Park opened on 2.5 acres/1 hectare as a rescue facility for native wildlife. Decades went by with the facility acting as a sort of ‘sanctuary’ for indigenous creatures, and eventually there was a big push to upgrade the establishment. Plans were finally approved in 2014, construction began in 2016, and less than a mile from its original location, the brand-new Big Bear Alpine Zoo opened in November 2020. It advertises itself as an ‘alpine zoo’ because it’s at 7,140 ft/2,176 m in elevation.
As much as it was exciting for me to visit a new zoo, I should stress that this place is very small. The entire property is 10.4 acres/4.2 hectares and many news articles have discussed the brand-new 10-acre zoo, but in reality the actual public zoo section is only 5.6 acres/2.2 hectares and I’ve seen elephant exhibits that are larger than that. The entire zoo was built for $18 million, and therefore all the enclosures look alike and are simplistic in design. It took me one hour to see everything, including taking loads of photos, and buying a shirt in the gift shop.
I saw 27 species at Big Bear Alpine Zoo: Grizzly Bear, American Black Bear, Cougar, Snow Leopard, Bobcat, Grey Wolf, Coyote, Red Fox, Gray Fox, Kit Fox, Mule Deer, Fallow Deer, Raccoon, Ringtail, Striped Skunk, Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Kestrel, Great Horned Owl, Snowy Owl, Turkey Vulture, Raven, Crow, Steller’s Jay, American White Pelican and Sandhill Crane. That's 15 mammals and 12 birds.
The zoo has interesting, different signs:
There are some positives, in that the zoo has a great logo, tastefully designed entrance building, terrific animal signs and everything is shiny and new. To offer up a permanent home for native species is admirable, but the flaw is that many of the enclosures are basic, functional exhibits that are not in the least innovative. The largest habitat is for the zoo’s Grizzly Bears, but it’s surrounded by a double wall of chain-link fence to make it difficult to see much other than via the one viewing window section. Those bears aren't going anywhere.
There are two Black Bear exhibits but they are tight on space for the zoo's 4 or 5 bears:
Most enclosures appear to have a few telephone poles as supports, then mesh or chain-link fencing covering everything. There is an ultra-tiny Reptile House (that was closed) and an equally tiny Nocturnal House. That latter building contained a single Ringtail, and I can imagine that the zoo would sometimes rescue some squirrels, but there were no signs. I should make mention of the Snow Leopard sisters, who I used to see frequently at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. Due to a genetic defect, both the Snow Leopards had to have their right eyes surgically removed and thus they are not valuable to the SSP program. Therefore, Big Bear Alpine Zoo has provided a home to an Asian species, which does seem extremely odd but at least the cats have a forever home.
Red-tailed Hawk aviary:
Red Fox exhibit:
Snowy Owl aviary (quite small):
Bobcat exhibit:
Snow Leopard exhibit:
I then began the task of driving 458 miles/737 km to Oakland. I would drive for about 5 hours and far into the evening, and then drive for two more hours the next morning as I headed north to the Bay Area of California.
DAY 11: Friday, July 14th
Zoo/Aquarium #16: Oakland Zoo (Oakland, California)
This was my 2nd visit to Oakland Zoo (2011, 2023)
Oakland Zoo has an interesting history. It was founded in 1922 in downtown Oakland before moving to Sequoia Park a few years later, then Joaquin Miller Park and eventually Durant Park in 1936, and that area was renamed Knowland Park in 1948. It has remained at its 3rd (and current) location ever since, which is more than can be said for the three major sports teams that have all left Oakland in the past few years. The Oakland Athletics MLB baseball team, the Oakland Golden State Warriors NBA basketball team, and the Oakland Raiders NFL football team are all gone, leaving the zoo as the oldest major institution in the city. Problems with agreeing new stadium deals, but also the high crime rate, created a situation where professional teams have up and departed. The city of Oakland consistently ranks as one of the worst American cities in terms of crime and the homicide rate is not to be envied.
The important thing for me to recognize here is that the zoo is a terrific, family-friendly establishment that is one of the very best zoos in California. Strolling around in the brilliant sunshine, enjoying the many impressive exhibits, one would never know that Oakland has a dodgy reputation. It’s a zoo with a lot of great things in it, and my day was made even more memorable because I met up with two Zoo Directors. I’ve corresponded with Jason Jacobs (Director of the Sacramento Zoo) on many occasions over the years and he was gracious enough to take me behind the scenes and even into the African Elephant House at Reid Park Zoo in Arizona in 2015. It was a thrill to meet up with him again. At the same time, it was wonderful to meet the Oakland Zoo Director, Nik Dehejia, and he has been working at Oakland Zoo for 18 years and the last two years as the Director/CEO of the zoo. Both Nik and Jason bring a lot of experience to the table, and it was a joy to bounce ideas and thoughts off one another.
California Trail is, in many ways, the future of zoos. The project was in development for two decades and eventually opened in 2018. Located on a steep hillside area, only accessible by a free, exciting, 4-minute gondola ride, this massive, 56-acre/22-hectare complex more than doubled the zoo's size to its now 110 acres/40 hectares. Much of the space is set aside as an ecological preserve. The whole thing cost $70 million and there are only 8 species to be seen by visitors. A 13-acre/5.2 hectare paddock for a herd of American Bison is viewed mainly via the gondola ride, but also at the San Francisco Bay Overlook. There’s an enormous aviary for Bald Eagles, a half-acre spectacular California Condor Aviary, several acres for Grey Wolves (which I didn’t see), a 3-acre/1.2 hectare Grizzly Bear habitat, American Black Bears, Cougars and Jaguars all in huge, steep, world-class exhibits. A California Wilds Playground with 5 themed play areas is there for little kids, there is a California Conservation 'Habitarium' (no captive animals are inside, and it was frustratingly closed during my visit), and the Visitor Center Plaza has The Landing Café restaurant with stunning, breathtaking views of the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area. Of course, I’d like to see some smaller creatures included in the future, like perhaps a small Reptile House, but I found the whole California Trail area to be worth every penny of its expensive price tag.
Gondola ride with stunning scenery:
California Condor aviary:
Jaguar exhibit:
3-acre Grizzly Bear exhibit:
The building known as the California Conservation Habitarium offers up another view of the 3-acre Grizzly Bear complex:
Black Bear exhibit:
San Francisco Bay Overlook:
Another superb part of Oakland Zoo is the Wayne & Gladys Valley Children’s Zoo, which opened in 2005 and still remains a vital and hugely popular area. Here can be found what is surely the best bat exhibit in any North American zoo. The 50-foot high, extremely wide Malayan Flying Fox/Island Flying Fox complex is in broad daylight and nothing less than outstanding. A couple of keepers were inside and feeding the bats and it was neat to watch. This part of the zoo also includes a small Reptile House (6 spacious exhibits all brimming with animals), a number of invertebrate displays inside the House of Bugs (approximately 20 species), aesthetically appealing aquatic exhibits for American Alligators and North American River Otters, a steep hillside for Ring-tailed and Crowned Lemurs, Aldabra Tortoises, a yard for rabbits, as well as a domestic farmyard zone. The whole thing is 3 acres/1.2 hectares of a high-quality zoo experience.
Visitors can walk beneath the covered area and get very close to huge bats in this enormous, world-class habitat. It must be one of the largest zoo exhibits in the world for bats:
Bat exhibit:
American Alligator exhibit:
River Otter exhibit:
Most of the African Savanna area opened in stages between 1989 (elephants) and 2000 (warthogs) and the exhibits are all still good, but the layout is awkward. There’s a dead-end to see the Dromedary paddock, then another off-shoot to see the sloped, impressive Lion habitat, with yet another dead-end that culminates in the 6-acre African Elephant enclosure. The zoo is sending their last female elephant away to the Tennessee Sanctuary very soon, and then an important decision will have to be made with the single male elephant left at the zoo. There’s a pair of spacious African aviaries (circa 15 species combined), Red-tailed Monkeys, Spotted Hyenas, Warthogs, Grant’s Zebras, Meerkats and a Hamadryas Baboon exhibit that was famously designed to hold Giant Pandas that never arrived. There’s a small area with Giant Plated and Sudan Plated Lizards, as well as some Pancake Tortoises and a Ball Python. The first exhibit in the African zone is a sloped yard for Reticulated Giraffes, which back in 2011 also held species such as Common Eland, Dama Gazelle, some cranes, vultures and geese, but these days it appears to be only giraffes and the zoo is actively exploring options to modernize the habitat. The Giraffe Barn is fairly new (2012), but the outdoor area might be expanded in the future. The African Savanna is still an enjoyable area, but it has been surpassed by many others of its kind in the past dozen years.
The zoo's Sky Ride goes past the steep, hilly Lion exhibit:
The zoo's 6-acre/2.4 hectare African Elephant exhibit will soon have a solitary male as its occupant:
@Coelacanth18
Hamadryas Baboon exhibit (designed for Giant Pandas):
Red-tailed Monkey exhibit:
That leaves the Tropical Forest area as the 4th and final major animal zone at the zoo. The Sun Bear exhibit is extraordinarily large, and fantastic for some of the last of their kind in an American zoo. The Tiger complex is now divided into two, and visitors peer downwards into what feels like lush grottoes, and it doesn’t really work. There’s a trio of aviaries, for the likes of Great Curassow, Guira Cuckoos and some parakeets, a larger aviary with macaws and Red-rumped Agouti, netted cages for Squirrel Monkeys and Cotton-top Tamarins, and a couple of lushly planted islands for Siamangs and White-handed Gibbons. Those two islands are superb, with a combination of impressive brachiating options and some gorgeous scenery. They offset the Chimpanzee exhibit, which is my least favourite animal enclosure in the zoo. It’s a big, Howletts-style cage for a half-dozen chimps, with viewing not easy and the space isn’t especially large. If I ran the zoo, the Chimpanzees would be my first project.
Sun Bear exhibit:
White-handed Gibbon island:
The only eyesore at the zoo is the Chimpanzee exhibit:
Oakland Zoo also has Wild Australia, which consists of Emus and Wallaroos and is only accessible via the kiddie train, thus it has eluded my grasp during both my visits. There’s also a beautiful Lesser Flamingo aviary right inside the entrance, recently netted in the European style. A small amusement park area has many rides for young children, and it would be easy to imagine a family spending a full day at the zoo. I spent 3 hours here, but if I had my wife and 4 kids along then I can picture us spending a full day at this establishment.
Lesser Flamingo aviary (directly inside the zoo's entrance):
In summary, the new California Trail complex and the Children’s Zoo are both hugely impressive, amazing sections at Oakland Zoo. The African Savanna and Tropical Rainforest areas are mostly quite good as well, but with a few issues with a couple of exhibits (Chimpanzees and Tigers) and the layout of the visitor paths. Oakland Zoo has come a long way from its dark days of the mid-1980s when the Humane Society named it as one of the worst zoos in the nation. Continual progress and the doubling of size with the California Trail complex now ensures that Oakland Zoo receives approximately a million visitors per year.
Earlier on this road trip thread, I provided explicit details about the ‘Measure Z’ tax that has benefited Fresno Chaffee Zoo and will continue to support that zoo with $15 million annually up until the next vote in 2040. Oakland Zoo has something similar, called ‘Measure Y’ and the last vote was in November 2022. Oakland taxpayers aren’t as enthusiastic as Fresno’s, but the plan still passed with a 63% YES vote to a 37% NO vote. There are some exceptions for seniors and low-income households, but basically this means that an annual tax of $68 will be placed on each home and that equals to $12 million annually for the zoo. The zoo's entire budget is circa $24 million, so the ‘Measure Y’ funding is 50% of the zoo’s operating revenue. Consider that fact: half of the zoo's finances are paid for by the local community! The zoo has generously enacted a new rule where each local resident will receive 25% off all admission fees, while of course anyone from outside the city will pay the full price of a ticket. Both Fresno Chaffee Zoo and Oakland Zoo have benefited enormously from their Measure Z + Y tax votes, with each zoo now up to a million annual visitors and even a decade ago they were nowhere near that amount. If neighbourhood residents are paying for new zoo exhibits, then they'll show up to see what's going on with their money! Many more zoos around the world should push for similar policies to be enacted as it's a win-win situation. Fresno and Oakland have been transformed into top-notch zoos.
After finishing up at Oakland Zoo, I had the unenviable task of driving 769 miles/1,237 km north to Eatonville in the state of Washington. I drove approximately 9 hours after my zoo visit and then another 3 hours on Saturday morning, before arriving at the 17th and final zoo of my trip: Northwest Trek Wildlife Park.
Zoo/Aquarium #16: Oakland Zoo (Oakland, California)
This was my 2nd visit to Oakland Zoo (2011, 2023)
Oakland Zoo has an interesting history. It was founded in 1922 in downtown Oakland before moving to Sequoia Park a few years later, then Joaquin Miller Park and eventually Durant Park in 1936, and that area was renamed Knowland Park in 1948. It has remained at its 3rd (and current) location ever since, which is more than can be said for the three major sports teams that have all left Oakland in the past few years. The Oakland Athletics MLB baseball team, the Oakland Golden State Warriors NBA basketball team, and the Oakland Raiders NFL football team are all gone, leaving the zoo as the oldest major institution in the city. Problems with agreeing new stadium deals, but also the high crime rate, created a situation where professional teams have up and departed. The city of Oakland consistently ranks as one of the worst American cities in terms of crime and the homicide rate is not to be envied.
The important thing for me to recognize here is that the zoo is a terrific, family-friendly establishment that is one of the very best zoos in California. Strolling around in the brilliant sunshine, enjoying the many impressive exhibits, one would never know that Oakland has a dodgy reputation. It’s a zoo with a lot of great things in it, and my day was made even more memorable because I met up with two Zoo Directors. I’ve corresponded with Jason Jacobs (Director of the Sacramento Zoo) on many occasions over the years and he was gracious enough to take me behind the scenes and even into the African Elephant House at Reid Park Zoo in Arizona in 2015. It was a thrill to meet up with him again. At the same time, it was wonderful to meet the Oakland Zoo Director, Nik Dehejia, and he has been working at Oakland Zoo for 18 years and the last two years as the Director/CEO of the zoo. Both Nik and Jason bring a lot of experience to the table, and it was a joy to bounce ideas and thoughts off one another.
California Trail is, in many ways, the future of zoos. The project was in development for two decades and eventually opened in 2018. Located on a steep hillside area, only accessible by a free, exciting, 4-minute gondola ride, this massive, 56-acre/22-hectare complex more than doubled the zoo's size to its now 110 acres/40 hectares. Much of the space is set aside as an ecological preserve. The whole thing cost $70 million and there are only 8 species to be seen by visitors. A 13-acre/5.2 hectare paddock for a herd of American Bison is viewed mainly via the gondola ride, but also at the San Francisco Bay Overlook. There’s an enormous aviary for Bald Eagles, a half-acre spectacular California Condor Aviary, several acres for Grey Wolves (which I didn’t see), a 3-acre/1.2 hectare Grizzly Bear habitat, American Black Bears, Cougars and Jaguars all in huge, steep, world-class exhibits. A California Wilds Playground with 5 themed play areas is there for little kids, there is a California Conservation 'Habitarium' (no captive animals are inside, and it was frustratingly closed during my visit), and the Visitor Center Plaza has The Landing Café restaurant with stunning, breathtaking views of the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area. Of course, I’d like to see some smaller creatures included in the future, like perhaps a small Reptile House, but I found the whole California Trail area to be worth every penny of its expensive price tag.
Gondola ride with stunning scenery:
California Condor aviary:
Jaguar exhibit:
3-acre Grizzly Bear exhibit:
The building known as the California Conservation Habitarium offers up another view of the 3-acre Grizzly Bear complex:
Black Bear exhibit:
San Francisco Bay Overlook:
Another superb part of Oakland Zoo is the Wayne & Gladys Valley Children’s Zoo, which opened in 2005 and still remains a vital and hugely popular area. Here can be found what is surely the best bat exhibit in any North American zoo. The 50-foot high, extremely wide Malayan Flying Fox/Island Flying Fox complex is in broad daylight and nothing less than outstanding. A couple of keepers were inside and feeding the bats and it was neat to watch. This part of the zoo also includes a small Reptile House (6 spacious exhibits all brimming with animals), a number of invertebrate displays inside the House of Bugs (approximately 20 species), aesthetically appealing aquatic exhibits for American Alligators and North American River Otters, a steep hillside for Ring-tailed and Crowned Lemurs, Aldabra Tortoises, a yard for rabbits, as well as a domestic farmyard zone. The whole thing is 3 acres/1.2 hectares of a high-quality zoo experience.
Visitors can walk beneath the covered area and get very close to huge bats in this enormous, world-class habitat. It must be one of the largest zoo exhibits in the world for bats:
Bat exhibit:
American Alligator exhibit:
River Otter exhibit:
Most of the African Savanna area opened in stages between 1989 (elephants) and 2000 (warthogs) and the exhibits are all still good, but the layout is awkward. There’s a dead-end to see the Dromedary paddock, then another off-shoot to see the sloped, impressive Lion habitat, with yet another dead-end that culminates in the 6-acre African Elephant enclosure. The zoo is sending their last female elephant away to the Tennessee Sanctuary very soon, and then an important decision will have to be made with the single male elephant left at the zoo. There’s a pair of spacious African aviaries (circa 15 species combined), Red-tailed Monkeys, Spotted Hyenas, Warthogs, Grant’s Zebras, Meerkats and a Hamadryas Baboon exhibit that was famously designed to hold Giant Pandas that never arrived. There’s a small area with Giant Plated and Sudan Plated Lizards, as well as some Pancake Tortoises and a Ball Python. The first exhibit in the African zone is a sloped yard for Reticulated Giraffes, which back in 2011 also held species such as Common Eland, Dama Gazelle, some cranes, vultures and geese, but these days it appears to be only giraffes and the zoo is actively exploring options to modernize the habitat. The Giraffe Barn is fairly new (2012), but the outdoor area might be expanded in the future. The African Savanna is still an enjoyable area, but it has been surpassed by many others of its kind in the past dozen years.
The zoo's Sky Ride goes past the steep, hilly Lion exhibit:
The zoo's 6-acre/2.4 hectare African Elephant exhibit will soon have a solitary male as its occupant:
@Coelacanth18
Hamadryas Baboon exhibit (designed for Giant Pandas):
Red-tailed Monkey exhibit:
That leaves the Tropical Forest area as the 4th and final major animal zone at the zoo. The Sun Bear exhibit is extraordinarily large, and fantastic for some of the last of their kind in an American zoo. The Tiger complex is now divided into two, and visitors peer downwards into what feels like lush grottoes, and it doesn’t really work. There’s a trio of aviaries, for the likes of Great Curassow, Guira Cuckoos and some parakeets, a larger aviary with macaws and Red-rumped Agouti, netted cages for Squirrel Monkeys and Cotton-top Tamarins, and a couple of lushly planted islands for Siamangs and White-handed Gibbons. Those two islands are superb, with a combination of impressive brachiating options and some gorgeous scenery. They offset the Chimpanzee exhibit, which is my least favourite animal enclosure in the zoo. It’s a big, Howletts-style cage for a half-dozen chimps, with viewing not easy and the space isn’t especially large. If I ran the zoo, the Chimpanzees would be my first project.
Sun Bear exhibit:
White-handed Gibbon island:
The only eyesore at the zoo is the Chimpanzee exhibit:
Oakland Zoo also has Wild Australia, which consists of Emus and Wallaroos and is only accessible via the kiddie train, thus it has eluded my grasp during both my visits. There’s also a beautiful Lesser Flamingo aviary right inside the entrance, recently netted in the European style. A small amusement park area has many rides for young children, and it would be easy to imagine a family spending a full day at the zoo. I spent 3 hours here, but if I had my wife and 4 kids along then I can picture us spending a full day at this establishment.
Lesser Flamingo aviary (directly inside the zoo's entrance):
In summary, the new California Trail complex and the Children’s Zoo are both hugely impressive, amazing sections at Oakland Zoo. The African Savanna and Tropical Rainforest areas are mostly quite good as well, but with a few issues with a couple of exhibits (Chimpanzees and Tigers) and the layout of the visitor paths. Oakland Zoo has come a long way from its dark days of the mid-1980s when the Humane Society named it as one of the worst zoos in the nation. Continual progress and the doubling of size with the California Trail complex now ensures that Oakland Zoo receives approximately a million visitors per year.
Earlier on this road trip thread, I provided explicit details about the ‘Measure Z’ tax that has benefited Fresno Chaffee Zoo and will continue to support that zoo with $15 million annually up until the next vote in 2040. Oakland Zoo has something similar, called ‘Measure Y’ and the last vote was in November 2022. Oakland taxpayers aren’t as enthusiastic as Fresno’s, but the plan still passed with a 63% YES vote to a 37% NO vote. There are some exceptions for seniors and low-income households, but basically this means that an annual tax of $68 will be placed on each home and that equals to $12 million annually for the zoo. The zoo's entire budget is circa $24 million, so the ‘Measure Y’ funding is 50% of the zoo’s operating revenue. Consider that fact: half of the zoo's finances are paid for by the local community! The zoo has generously enacted a new rule where each local resident will receive 25% off all admission fees, while of course anyone from outside the city will pay the full price of a ticket. Both Fresno Chaffee Zoo and Oakland Zoo have benefited enormously from their Measure Z + Y tax votes, with each zoo now up to a million annual visitors and even a decade ago they were nowhere near that amount. If neighbourhood residents are paying for new zoo exhibits, then they'll show up to see what's going on with their money! Many more zoos around the world should push for similar policies to be enacted as it's a win-win situation. Fresno and Oakland have been transformed into top-notch zoos.
After finishing up at Oakland Zoo, I had the unenviable task of driving 769 miles/1,237 km north to Eatonville in the state of Washington. I drove approximately 9 hours after my zoo visit and then another 3 hours on Saturday morning, before arriving at the 17th and final zoo of my trip: Northwest Trek Wildlife Park.
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Slight correction, the Oakland Athletics are still around, though not for much longer as they are trying to be bought out by Las Vegas. The whole situation is really, really needlessly complicated.
I can't help but find the opening paragraph about Oakland amusing - I'm hoping to visit northern California next year to meet with some friends and relatives, and when I mentioned the Oakland Zoo, I was immediately warned Oakland might be too dangerous.
This reminds me of Habitat Africa here in Chicago, which also began life as a mixed exhibit but eventually became almost strictly giraffes. Wonder if there's any correlation.
Oh no, it's contagious!
Or, which would be a rare concept for an American zoo outside of SDZ and to a lesser degree ASDM, take advantage of the wonderful arid climate and keep your native reptiles outdoors in naturalistic enclosures (just ask @TeaLovingDave about Alpenzoo Innsbruck if you don't believe me how awesome this can look...). Every Northern and Western European reptile keeper would LOVE to have that option.
You wrote this in your Scandinavia thread too, but how is this the future of zoos, it would mean you beloved San Diego and Zoo Berlin would have space for 15 species if zoos were to follow the supersize option. That is ignoring that so many Scandinavian zoos (and this Oakland extension) ignore everything that isn't megafauna or a big bird....
Question: how would snake containment work outdoors? I could absolutely see some outdoor Turtle and Lizard exhibits being impressive, but I'm not sure how outdoor snake exhibits would work? You're the expert, however, so hopefully you can show me some great examples of how it can be done.