The two Giant Panda enclosures were taken over by Red Pandas, but the zoo already had an exhibit for Red when the Giants were around - so I would assume they return to the status quo, going from three Red Panda enclosures back to one.
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The two Giant Panda enclosures were taken over by Red Pandas, but the zoo already had an exhibit for Red when the Giants were around - so I would assume they return to the status quo, going from three Red Panda enclosures back to one.
Also they moved one of their red pandas to the ambassadors exhibits down by the Basecamp so that’s another area they can still exhibit them
There are a few species I'm wondering if are still displayed... I haven't seen anything about the Madagascar partridges, gray peacock-pheasants, yellow-crowned bishops, African black ducks, and exclamatory paradise-whydahs in a little while. Are they visible anywhere throughout the park right now?
There is one Madagascar partridge left on display in the Ituri Forest Aviary.
The grey peacock-pheasant pair is off-exhibit for renovations to the Sun Bear Forest Aviary.
There is a sizeable flock of yellow-crowned bishops in the Acacia Woodlands Aviary, which is also home to the last exclamatory paradise-whydah.
The Zoo no longer houses African black ducks.
I visited the Zoo today, and I have several updates to share, some of which I have already posted in the gallery.
The construction in Panda Canyon can be observed from the Canopy Bridge, and it appears as though both former giant panda exhibits and the takin exhibit have been leveled for the project.
The mandrill/Schmidt's red-tailed guenon exhibit in Monkey Trails and Forest Tales is currently being renovated.
The former herp/bird exhibit in Tiger River between the Malayan tapirs and Malayan tigers is currently under construction. It appears as though it is either being gutted or completely removed. The Indian rock python and Asian giant toads have been moved to the former Philippine sailfin lizard exhibit in the Reptile House, and the birds have all been moved to the former hyrax cage next to the meerkats. The Malayan tapirs are currently off-exhibit for this construction.
The former coconut crab exhibit in Tiger River has been blocked off for at least the last year, but today it was uncovered and appears to have been completely renovated and replanted. It is still currently empty, but it looks ready for whatever its new inhabitants will be.
There is finally water in the common hippopotamus exhibit in Ituri Forest! Hopefully this means that the hippos and okapi will be moving back soon.
It appears that the crowned eagle pair has started the construction of a nest.
The Zoo continues to renovate more of the terrariums in the Reptile House. One of the most recent renovations is now home to casque-headed iguanas and green-and-black poison dart frogs. This exhibit features electronic signage (
), which is new for the Zoo.
Not news related, but I was actually able to see both the sun bear and the maned wolf today! I have only ever seen both animals twice in all of my many visits to the Zoo in the last year. The sun bear was very active and moving about both sides of he exhibit, which was really special to see. The maned wolf was just sleeping, though
The construction in Panda Canyon can be observed from the Canopy Bridge, and it appears as though both former giant panda exhibits and the takin exhibit have been leveled for the project.
The mandrill/Schmidt's red-tailed guenon exhibit in Monkey Trails and Forest Tales is currently being renovated.
The former herp/bird exhibit in Tiger River between the Malayan tapirs and Malayan tigers is currently under construction. It appears as though it is either being gutted or completely removed. The Indian rock python and Asian giant toads have been moved to the former Philippine sailfin lizard exhibit in the Reptile House, and the birds have all been moved to the former hyrax cage next to the meerkats. The Malayan tapirs are currently off-exhibit for this construction.
The former coconut crab exhibit in Tiger River has been blocked off for at least the last year, but today it was uncovered and appears to have been completely renovated and replanted. It is still currently empty, but it looks ready for whatever its new inhabitants will be.
There is finally water in the common hippopotamus exhibit in Ituri Forest! Hopefully this means that the hippos and okapi will be moving back soon.
It appears that the crowned eagle pair has started the construction of a nest.
The Zoo continues to renovate more of the terrariums in the Reptile House. One of the most recent renovations is now home to casque-headed iguanas and green-and-black poison dart frogs. This exhibit features electronic signage (
), which is new for the Zoo.Not news related, but I was actually able to see both the sun bear and the maned wolf today! I have only ever seen both animals twice in all of my many visits to the Zoo in the last year. The sun bear was very active and moving about both sides of he exhibit, which was really special to see. The maned wolf was just sleeping, though
I visited the Zoo today, and I have several updates to share, some of which I have already posted in the gallery.
The construction in Panda Canyon can be observed from the Canopy Bridge, and it appears as though both former giant panda exhibits and the takin exhibit have been leveled for the project.
The mandrill/Schmidt's red-tailed guenon exhibit in Monkey Trails and Forest Tales is currently being renovated.
The former herp/bird exhibit in Tiger River between the Malayan tapirs and Malayan tigers is currently under construction. It appears as though it is either being gutted or completely removed. The Indian rock python and Asian giant toads have been moved to the former Philippine sailfin lizard exhibit in the Reptile House, and the birds have all been moved to the former hyrax cage next to the meerkats. The Malayan tapirs are currently off-exhibit for this construction.
The former coconut crab exhibit in Tiger River has been blocked off for at least the last year, but today it was uncovered and appears to have been completely renovated and replanted. It is still currently empty, but it looks ready for whatever its new inhabitants will be.
There is finally water in the common hippopotamus exhibit in Ituri Forest! Hopefully this means that the hippos and okapi will be moving back soon.
It appears that the crowned eagle pair has started the construction of a nest.
The Zoo continues to renovate more of the terrariums in the Reptile House. One of the most recent renovations is now home to casque-headed iguanas and green-and-black poison dart frogs. This exhibit features electronic signage (
Not news related, but I was actually able to see both the sun bear and the maned wolf today! I have only ever seen both animals twice in all of my many visits to the Zoo in the last year. The sun bear was very active and moving about both sides of the exhibit, which was really special to see. The maned wolf was just sleeping, though
Assuming I can, I *might* be able to see the new panda exhibit when it opens! It's actually really cool that you could theoretically see the pandas from Bashor Bridge in addition to the main way of viewing them. I am curious, though, if the zoo is redoing the takin exhibit or going all in on pandas, although apparently, since the zoo's doubling the size of the old panda exhibits...
With the tapir exhibit, I did think it was a tad snug when I last visited (2017, a *long* while ago). Do you reckon the tapir exhibit is being expanded into the bird/python exhibits, or will they stay as bird/python exhibits?
Excited to see what goes into the old coconut crab enclosure! (Honestly could be a pretty sizeable exhibit for the python and Asian giant toads if what I said earlier is indeed going to happen).
*so* friggin hyped that the hippo exhibit redux is finally complete! While the old pachyderm exhibit in Urban Jungle offered a ton more land space, the pool in Ituri Forest truly is a spectacle.
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On a side note, as the last two posts on this thread mentioned the structure, it's remarkable that one of the very best new "exhibits" at San Diego Zoo has sort of gone under the radar as there are no animals involved. The Bashor Bridge, named after Army veteran Jim Bashor and his wife Dianne, opened in 2017 and makes certain sections of the zoo far more accessible. The 450-foot long bridge acts like a shortcut across the central canyon of the zoo and saves people some lengthy roundtrip walks if they wish to cut across to a different area. There's also some beautiful views of the zoo from the impressive height of the $14 million bridge. I know that I made good use of it last summer!
That's interesting.
During my last visit, I was able see over the fencing and it looks like new signage had been placed by the hippo habitat. I could only see a small section where I was tall enough to see and saw a few new signs! I can’t wait to see the hippos back there againI visited the Zoo today, and I have several updates to share, some of which I have already posted in the gallery.
The construction in Panda Canyon can be observed from the Canopy Bridge, and it appears as though both former giant panda exhibits and the takin exhibit have been leveled for the project.
The mandrill/Schmidt's red-tailed guenon exhibit in Monkey Trails and Forest Tales is currently being renovated.
The former herp/bird exhibit in Tiger River between the Malayan tapirs and Malayan tigers is currently under construction. It appears as though it is either being gutted or completely removed. The Indian rock python and Asian giant toads have been moved to the former Philippine sailfin lizard exhibit in the Reptile House, and the birds have all been moved to the former hyrax cage next to the meerkats. The Malayan tapirs are currently off-exhibit for this construction.
The former coconut crab exhibit in Tiger River has been blocked off for at least the last year, but today it was uncovered and appears to have been completely renovated and replanted. It is still currently empty, but it looks ready for whatever its new inhabitants will be.
There is finally water in the common hippopotamus exhibit in Ituri Forest! Hopefully this means that the hippos and okapi will be moving back soon.
It appears that the crowned eagle pair has started the construction of a nest.
The Zoo continues to renovate more of the terrariums in the Reptile House. One of the most recent renovations is now home to casque-headed iguanas and green-and-black poison dart frogs. This exhibit features electronic signage (
Not news related, but I was actually able to see both the sun bear and the maned wolf today! I have only ever seen both animals twice in all of my many visits to the Zoo in the last year. The sun bear was very active and moving about both sides of he exhibit, which was really special to see. The maned wolf was just sleeping, though
Nile Hippo Expert
Well-Known Member
Hippos returning to their home in Ituri Forest could also signal the return of Indian Rhinoceros to the zoo sometime this year.
I mean... knowing San Diego, anything can happen.
I’ve always thought the tapir exhibit was too small. It’s also very sandy. There’s lots of foliage round the exhibit but not enough in it.
Where are the rhinos being kept whilst the hippos are being held there?
Nile Hippo Expert
Well-Known Member
The zoo doesn't actually own any rhinos. The zoo transferred their last rhino to the Safari Park in Spring 2022 for breeding purposes, and he just became a father for the first time a few weeks ago.
Thanks for the info - I’m assuming the Safari park (or SDZG) “own” (in the sense that any zoo owns an animal under breeding programmes) the rhinos at the safari park?
Regardless the rhino enclosure at the zoo is substandard. The entire urban jungle needs an update ASAP.
The San Diego Zoo and the Safari Park are the same organization. Animals regularly move between the facilities.
The rhino facility that you are critiquing at the zoo is the old elephant exhibit. It is basically a holding facility now. The whole zone there needs to be redeveloped. As you note, the old elephant space is outdated, as is every other exhibit in that zone.
Thanks for the info - makes sense.
I would go as far as saying the giraffe exhibit is one of the worse I’ve seen. That whole area, the bear grottos and even sun bear forest could do with a facelift.
From what I have heard from locals, the bridge was one of the best places to see the pandas from during the pandemonium, if you will, that ensued leading up to their departure. I imagine this will likely be the case again when they make their grand return.
It will be interesting to see what becomes of the takin exhibit in Panda Canyon. I at least hope that if their space is taken over by the pandas, they make their return in the future, especially given that the original 1.2 imports are on permanent quarantine. There is a lot of prime hillside real estate for them in that portion of the zoo...
As it looks like the building is being completely dismantled, I am hoping that the space is used to expand the Malayan tapir exhibit. They could really use the additional space.
I actually think the former coconut crab exhibit would likely be too small for the python and toads. The exhibit they are in now in the Reptile House (the old Philippine sailfin lizard exhibit) is much bigger, and it would be nice if they are able to stay there.
Side question, are there many other holders of coconut crabs?
San Diego is still a holder of this species -- their individual was just moved to a very impressive new exhibit in their new invertebrate house in Wildlife Explorers Basecamp. Honolulu, Toledo, and Tulsa should all also be holders, as well.
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