San Diego Zoo Animal Sounds in San Diego Zoo

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Mattia Cellotto

New Member
Hello, I am planning a trip to San Diego zoo to record some animal sounds for a project. I am already in the process of clearing this with the zoo and may be given some time before opening hours to record animals.

I am wondering if we have anyone here who visits the zoo regularly and could suggest animals that will likely vocalize (my visit is planned for May). Ideally I should be able to get fairly close to them and they should not be behind glass.
I am definitely planning to stop by the aviaries, however I'd love to try and record larger animals as well but I am unsure if my chances would be better spent on mandrills vs hyppos, baboons etc.
Before anyone suggests it, I already have plenty of kookaburra in my library! :D

Thanks! Mattia.
 
Although it's a few years ago since I have visited SD Zoo for the last time, here my suggestions:

90-100% chance of vocalization:
Flamingos
Ducks
Macaws

High chance:
Gibbons
Elephants
multiple Songbirds

Lower chance (sometimes depending daytime):
Big cats (mostly before feeding)
Swine/Pig species
Monkeys incl. Baboons (in the morning/cooler days with more activity)
Hippos (when there is any activity)
Donkeys/Zebras

Small chance:
Gorilla Silverback drumming (when there are conflicts in the group and the male must intervent or it happens anything he don't like)
Rattle Snakes rattling (when they feel disturbed by visitors or "roommates")

I don't know if there are (still) free ranging peacocks. But there would be also a good chance, when you start your visit as early in the day as possible.
 
Wow that's a great start for answers, thanks a lot! And yes, totally agree on this list based on my experience, as I already had the chance to record peacocks, gibbons, macaws and some of the animals you mentioned, but not all, so that's great :) thanks again! Please keep them coming!
 
If the zoo gives you this access, perhaps visiting the Hamadryas baboons would be a good place to start. They’re very chatty and perhaps the largest troop of primates at the zoo. I’ve also had the privilege of hearing the koalas vocalize once during all my visits, early in the morning as they’re active when the keepers put out the new eucalyptus leaves so perhaps try with them too. But for sure you want to record bird sounds and SD has a few different aviaries, I don’t think the Owens aviary has been reopened yet. Flamingos are good source for sounds and are the first animals to greet you :) the hummingbird habitat is one of the smaller aviaries but it’s so lively in there with all the birds chatting away. The golden collared manakin does perhaps my noise, the best way to describe it is a loud snapping sound almost like the higher pitched crack from a bullwhip haha
 
One cool thing is that even if you're not super near lions, you'll be able to hear them vocalize from further away. In my experience, lions usually roar multiple times rather than just one isolated roar. So you can start recording that sound if you hear it rather than standing by the lion habitat waiting for them to roar.

(That said, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the SD Zoo currently only has lionesses and their roars are often less powerful than males'. That said, when I was at the Bronx Zoo, I could hear the two lions roaring all the way from the Bug Carousel.)
 
TheGytrash said:
One cool thing is that even if you're not super near lions, you'll be able to hear them vocalize from further away. In my experience, lions usually roar multiple times rather than just one isolated roar. So you can start recording that sound if you hear it rather than standing by the lion habitat waiting for them to roar.

(That said, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the SD Zoo currently only has lionesses and their roars are often less powerful than males'. That said, when I was at the Bronx Zoo, I could hear the two lions roaring all the way from the Bug Carousel.)
Click to expand...
Both the zoo and Safari park have both sexes of lions. At the zoo, siblings Ernest and Ms Ellen are together and definitely vocal. At the Safari Park, the male Bo is currently separated from the 3 sibling lionesses whom are descendants of Izu, one of the original lions at Lion Camp.
 
What was your experience?

I have only heard the elephants when they were new here.

The Tigers like to be vocal in the mornings.

The Lemurs are the absolute most terrifying sounding animal I have ever heard.

The Bonobos make quite a bit of noise when Makasi is out, but they are only seen through glass, unless you know of a couple secret spots.

The peacocks were moved off exhibit during an avian flu time period.

The male Screaming Pia in the hummingbird house has been very very vocal lately!

The cheetahs in Urban Jungle often purr or chirup!

Early morning the Koala closest to the padded play area/baboons makes some grunting click sounds.

The wolves when they are part of the 2pm Wildlife Wonders show will howl. Or the New Guinea singing dogs!

The Tapirs on Tiger Trail make a sound that is like a bottle rocket, a whistle then a pop sound.

That's most of what I can think of. I know this is after your visit, but incase anyone else is looking for similar info.
 
Haybale said:
What was your experience?

I have only heard the elephants when they were new here.

The Tigers like to be vocal in the mornings.

The Lemurs are the absolute most terrifying sounding animal I have ever heard.

The Bonobos make quite a bit of noise when Makasi is out, but they are only seen through glass, unless you know of a couple secret spots.

The peacocks were moved off exhibit during an avian flu time period.

The male Screaming Pia in the hummingbird house has been very very vocal lately!

The cheetahs in Urban Jungle often purr or chirup!

Early morning the Koala closest to the padded play area/baboons makes some grunting click sounds.

The wolves when they are part of the 2pm Wildlife Wonders show will howl. Or the New Guinea singing dogs!

The Tapirs on Tiger Trail make a sound that is like a bottle rocket, a whistle then a pop sound.

That's most of what I can think of. I know this is after your visit, but incase anyone else is looking for similar info.
Click to expand...

Thank you for asking, sadly my visit did not pan out at all as expected. Despite having been in touch with the zoo for over 5 months to organize this, a contract did not materialize until the very last working day before my visit. As I was promised a contract would indeed come through, I booked my flight and stay from Europe to LA months ahead of time (as one would for scheduled work), asking to be reassured that a contract would indeed come through and receiving confirmation it would.
Upon arrival, a new person that was previously not part of the thread first cancelled my recording session without adding information, then proceeded to take my call after numerous attempts and stated "I do not want to have to keep ignoring your calls, so I am picking up as a courtesy". The same person made me feel quite bad for having committed to my flight without a signed contract and asked how many zoos I could have ever visited that did this without a contract (the answer is all of them, more than 30 in my 5 years experience).
Finally, a contract was sent over with impossible to sign clauses which were never discussed before, so I had to move on and find another place to visit. A terrible experience all in all but something came out of it in another zoo.
 
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