San Francisco Zoo San Francisco Zoo News 2024

[NAIB Volunteer]

The Mayor of SF has requested that the Zoo potentially host a pair of pandas. No timeline, no budget, no indication how long they'd stay - all preliminary.

"Panda diplomacy" could bring beloved animal back to the San Francisco Zoo - CBS San Francisco

The City Council has historically been hostile towards the Zoo through it's many budget requests and as a result the Zoo has, in my opinion, fallen behind in its upkeep.

 

[Cat-Man]

I love Panda's and have been critical when others have been scornful about a zoo getting them when the resources could have been spent somewhere else, but I cannot think of a major zoo where any investment can be better spent elsewhere than San Francisco.

 

[JVM]

I believe I read once that China floated the idea of bringing pandas to Oakland and at the last moment pulled out because San Diego had them at the time and they did not seem to want two California zoos holding them, and they have already been very obviously courting bringing pandas back to San Diego, which has an exhibit easily ready for them... so even if San Francisco did not already have a great deal of problems, this seems unlikely.

My best hope is the director is campaigning for pandas in the hopes of getting more resources towards the species already there.

 

[Great Argus]

and as a result the Zoo has, in my opinion, fallen behind in its upkeep.

I feel the same way, it feels old and a bit dated. Not to mention the zoo takes forever to actually get a project done, looking at you Madagascar. As it currently stands, it's not a zoo that I think could take on pandas and do well.

 

[Cat-Man]

I believe I read once that China floated the idea of bringing pandas to Oakland and at the last moment pulled out because San Diego had them at the time and they did not seem to want two California zoos holding them, and they have already been very obviously courting bringing pandas back to San Diego, which has an exhibit easily ready for them... so even if San Francisco did not already have a great deal of problems, this seems unlikely.

My best hope is the director is campaigning for pandas in the hopes of getting more resources towards the species already there.

Pulled out at the last minute is one way at looking at it.. stringing them along is another! They did the same to Los Angeles with the Golden Monkeys.

 

[Chimpangeek]

The Mayor of SF has requested that the Zoo potentially host a pair of pandas. No timeline, no budget, no indication how long they'd stay - all preliminary.

"Panda diplomacy" could bring beloved animal back to the San Francisco Zoo - CBS San Francisco

The City Council has historically been hostile towards the Zoo through it's many budget requests and as a result the Zoo has, in my opinion, fallen behind in its upkeep.

The mayor is completely delusional. In one article she said the zoo designed the Asian conservation zone with a specific area made for Pandas. The Asian conservation zone has no formal publicized plan as far as I can tell. Also, (off topic) a year ago she proposed turning a downtown mall into a soccer stadium (San Francisco already recently had a pro soccer team and they only lasted a year).

San Francisco Zoo is in no shape to host such an expensive and high maintenance species. The first thing to consider is where would they live?
The Zoo has several exhibits that are probably suitable for Pandas, but all are currently being used by another species. They could go in Wolf canyon, Grizzly Gulch, the black bear grotto or possibly the newly renovated big cat yard intended for Jaguars.
Creating a new exhibit for Pandas isn't going to happen. The Zoo is already still years into the Madagascar project (a exhibit that has already been scaled back in its size and complexity judging by the latest renderings), The future Andean Condor exhibit (in place of the seas lion pool) has made no progress and the Orangutans are still stuck on the tiny triple grottos with only occasional access to the Chimpanzee outdoor yard.
If the zoo had the space and could get some outside help with the cost of hosting pandas, it wouldn't be a terrible idea to have them on a temporary basis to help bring in revenue for the Zoos the projects. But the logistics of housing them and paying for it is beyond the zoos current capacity.

 

[Great Argus]

In one article she said the zoo designed the Asian conservation zone with a specific area made for Pandas. The Asian conservation zone has no formal publicized plan as far as I can tell.

None of what couple iterations of the Asian zone I've seen have included pandas far as I can recall. That project has been on the docket for years as it is.

But the logistics of housing them and paying for it is beyond the zoos current capacity.

I 100% agree - they're struggling enough with Madagascar. As further note, I pulled an old map I have dated May 2010, and species icons aside, it's virtually identical to their current one. There are literally no major differences between the two maps despite being over a decade apart.

Old map printed May 2010


April 2022 version of the map (yes, no updates in nearly 2 years)

 

[Cat-Man]

Isn’t Madagascar one of the newer parts of the zoo anyway? Why is it being prioritised for redevelopment?

 

[Chimpangeek]

Isn’t Madagascar one of the newer parts of the zoo anyway? Why is it being prioritised for redevelopment?

The Lemur Forest exhibit isn't being redeveloped. The Madagascar Center is basically an expansion of the Lemur Forest. The intention of the project is to showcase other wildlife native to Madagascar (Fossas, Mongoose, amphibians, reptiles, birds etc).
The Madagascar Center is being built in place of the main exhibit space of the Primate Discovery Center (which the zoo had been eager to tear down for quite some time).
Adding more Madagascar species in place of it does make a little sense for the sake of bio-geographical grouping because of the proximity to the Lemur Forest exhibit.
But now the zoo has almost no Monkey species since the zoo re-homed the Howler Monkeys, Squirrel Monkeys, Colobus Monkeys as well as the Siamang that used to live in the part of the Primate Discovery Center that was demolished. The Zoo still has the Francois Langurs that used to call the center home, but they've been given a serious downgrade; several small ugly cages.

The vast majority of the money the zoo uses for new projects comes from wealthy Private donors, who dictate to the zoo what projects they want to see. Unfortunately the donors don't prioritize making upgraded exhibits for the animals the zoo already has.

 

[Great Argus]

The Madagascar Center is being built in place of the main exhibit space of the Primate Discovery Center (which the zoo had been eager to tear down for quite some time).

From the couple of photos I've seen, it seems they're just refurbishing the existing structure rather than tearing anything down. Given the amount of concrete involved, I can hardly say I'm surprised.
They brought in Fossa by at least early 2021, and I still don’t think even those have made it on exhibit...

 

[DavidBrown]

The City Council has historically been hostile towards the Zoo through it's many budget requests and as a result the Zoo has, in my opinion, fallen behind in its upkeep.

This has been going on for the last 30 years. San Francisco Zoo has botched several master plans, and as a result failed to build modern elephant, hippo, great ape, polar bear, etc. exhibits. Unconscionably, they have their chimps and orangs holed up in 1940s era exhibits.

 

[Chimpangeek]

Because Pandas are a pipe dream, it does make me wonder what new species would be popular for bringing in more guests. Over a decade ago, the Zoo put out a survey for the general public asking which species they would like to see at the zoo in the future. The list was long, but I remember seeing Wolverines, Komodo dragons, Red Pandas and Wolves among that list. The zoo now has all four of them in its collection. It may be time for the zoo to ask the public again.

 

[Chimpangeek]

From the couple of photos I've seen, it seems they're just refurbishing the existing structure rather than tearing anything down. Given the amount of concrete involved, I can hardly say I'm surprised.
They brought in Fossa by at least early 2021, and I still don’t think even those have made it on exhibit...

The 5 main 2-story exhibits closest to the Lemur forest were taken down about 5 years ago. The Fossa Exhibit was built partially on ground level outside the nocturnal gallery and partially on top of the primate structures walkway in an area that used to house Golden Monkeys. The Fossa's been on exhibit for a few months now

 

[Great Argus]

New Because Pandas are a pipe dream, it does make me wonder what new species would be popular for bringing in more guests.

Not many options left open as it is in terms of well-known megafauna, they have a representative of pretty much everything but elephants and pinnipeds currently. A new exhibit for tigers or seals maybe? Crocodilian perhaps? Elephant can't happen due to that space requirement thing the city put through some years back, and I doubt it could get repealed easily. A new survey might produce some interesting results.

 

[Chimpangeek]

Not many options left open as it is in terms of well-known megafauna, they have a representative of pretty much everything but elephants and pinnipeds currently. A new exhibit for tigers or seals maybe? Crocodilian perhaps? Elephant can't happen due to that space requirement thing the city put through some years back, and I doubt it could get repealed easily. A new survey might produce some interesting results.

Crocodilians would be a great addition as the Zoo has none on display. There's a long-unused pond in the Children's Zoo that could probably be renovated for them.
As part of the "Asian conservation zone" they should certainly include other Asiatic reptiles. I'm sure Cobras would be popular.

Cheetahs or Hyenas are another species the Zoo could realistically house (in place of the Bongo, along with the unused neighboring yard).

 

[Cat-Man]

The Lemur Forest exhibit isn't being redeveloped. The Madagascar Center is basically an expansion of the Lemur Forest. The intention of the project is to showcase other wildlife native to Madagascar (Fossas, Mongoose, amphibians, reptiles, birds etc).
The Madagascar Center is being built in place of the main exhibit space of the Primate Discovery Center (which the zoo had been eager to tear down for quite some time).
Adding more Madagascar species in place of it does make a little sense for the sake of bio-geographical grouping because of the proximity to the Lemur Forest exhibit.
But now the zoo has almost no Monkey species since the zoo re-homed the Howler Monkeys, Squirrel Monkeys, Colobus Monkeys as well as the Siamang that used to live in the part of the Primate Discovery Center that was demolished. The Zoo still has the Francois Langurs that used to call the center home, but they've been given a serious downgrade; several small ugly cages.

The vast majority of the money the zoo uses for new projects comes from wealthy Private donors, who dictate to the zoo what projects they want to see. Unfortunately the donors don't prioritize making upgraded exhibits for the animals the zoo already has.

Thanks for explaining that to me, it makes sense! Apologies for asking a silly question.

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

The Lemur Forest exhibit isn't being redeveloped. The Madagascar Center is basically an expansion of the Lemur Forest. The intention of the project is to showcase other wildlife native to Madagascar (Fossas, Mongoose, amphibians, reptiles, birds etc).
The Madagascar Center is being built in place of the main exhibit space of the Primate Discovery Center (which the zoo had been eager to tear down for quite some time).
Adding more Madagascar species in place of it does make a little sense for the sake of bio-geographical grouping because of the proximity to the Lemur Forest exhibit.
But now the zoo has almost no Monkey species since the zoo re-homed the Howler Monkeys, Squirrel Monkeys, Colobus Monkeys as well as the Siamang that used to live in the part of the Primate Discovery Center that was demolished. The Zoo still has the Francois Langurs that used to call the center home, but they've been given a serious downgrade; several small ugly cages.

The vast majority of the money the zoo uses for new projects comes from wealthy Private donors, who dictate to the zoo what projects they want to see. Unfortunately the donors don't prioritize making upgraded exhibits for the animals the zoo already has.

Is it not time to get the zoo society and SF Zoo management away from Council. It seems that Municipality is totally inept to deal with developing the zoo, even with a less enthousiastic Municipality more than partially to blame. In what part is the zoo director and management implications in this?

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

The Mayor of SF has requested that the Zoo potentially host a pair of pandas. No timeline, no budget, no indication how long they'd stay - all preliminary.

"Panda diplomacy" could bring beloved animal back to the San Francisco Zoo - CBS San Francisco

The City Council has historically been hostile towards the Zoo through it's many budget requests and as a result the Zoo has, in my opinion, fallen behind in its upkeep.

Would it not make sense to disassociate from City Council. I believe that there is a whole cohorte of legislature that really has absolutely no clue about what a good conservation education zoo facility entails and that politically correct posturing is counterproductive to conserving wildlife both ex situ in zoo nor in situ in the wilds. I suppose the general track record of the SF City Council is pretty poor regarding biodiversity conservation inside or outside the city environs!?

 

[NAIB Volunteer]

Would it not make sense to disassociate from City Council. I believe that there is a whole cohorte of legislature that really has absolutely no clue about what a good conservation education zoo facility entails and that politically correct posturing is counterproductive to conserving wildlife both ex situ in zoo nor in situ in the wilds. I suppose the general track record of the SF City Council is pretty poor regarding biodiversity conservation inside or outside the city environs!?

The City does not run the Zoo directly, but do have seats on its board of directors. There is a joint partnership between the Society that runs the Zoo and the Council. Because the Zoo sits on City property, construction, both big and small, goes through the Council for approvals before the typical local government approvals.

 

[Zoofan15]

Video on the possibility of receiving Giant pandas: