My review of the zoo, with the rest of my trip report, can be seen here, where the text excerpts are pasted from.
Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Garden - July 8th, 2024
“Alright. Finally. If there’s anything to understand about the LAZoo, it’s that it is rather confusing and windy and horribly (if one can call it so? I’ll elaborate) organized. You will be going in circles, the thematics of the zoo aren’t necessarily clear, and you will have to pretty regularly retracing/backtracking your steps to make your way around.
*To elaborate, it seems that the architect and designer of the zoo intentionally made it so, in order for guests to leisurely stroll and wander around. So maybe it’s not so horrible, and I need to learn to obsess a bit less over efficient paths and comprehensible maps
.”
Entry Promenade:
California Sea Lion
Harbor Seal
American Alligator
Trumpeter Swan (Closed)
Meerkat
Chilean Flamingo
“Since I arrived so late into the morning, my first move was to make a mad dash to the back of the zoo to catch their Calamian deer before they disappeared for the day (around noon). My efforts were successful, as I was able to catch one of their deer quite close to the fence finishing up its morning graze. Continuing along that row of ungulate exhibits, I was also able to get another significant lifer— Chinese goral! They had evaded me twice before at St. Louis and Omaha, but third times the charm, right?
The rest of the Asia collection was pretty nice, with species like markhor, takin (a personal favorite), and another lifer for me— wrinkled hornbill.”
Asia:
Chinese Goral
Chinese Goral
Tufted Deer
Calamian Deer
Visayan Warty Pig
Steller’s Sea Eagle
Siberian Eagle Owl
Siamang
Sichuan Takin
Buff-Cheeked Gibbon
Tadjik Markhor
Sumatran Tiger
Indian Rhino
Bornean Crested Fireback (nominate)
Wrinkled Hornbill
Binturong
Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo
Snow Leopard
“South America is home to one of ZooChat’s favorite animals at Los Angeles, no doubt. I had the extreme pleasure of watching Mojito, the mountain tapir, awaken from his slumber and beg for love and affection from the keeper who was bringing him browse. For a few minutes, he trailed her every move around the enclosure, and went as far as calling for her return after she left! It’s a shame she probably wasn’t allowed to pet him. Darn safety protocols. Both South America and Asia were pretty similar visually, a series of moated yards and pits for larger carnivores/ungulates, with a series of roundhouses about. Well, pretty much the entire zoo looks like that, but I’d argue that these two sections are most alike.”
South America:
Aldabra Tortoise
Mountain Tapir
Brazilian Ocelot
Blue-Billed Curassow
Maned Wolf
Crested Caracara
Spotted Paca
Red-Legged Seriema
Giant Anteater
Andean Condor
Scarlet Macaw
Black Howler Monkey
Crested Capuchin
Geoffroy’s Spider Monkey
Squirrel Monkey (Closed)
Spectacled Owl
King Vulture
“South America is home to one of ZooChat’s favorite animals at Los Angeles, no doubt. I had the extreme pleasure of watching Mojito, the mountain tapir, awaken from his slumber and beg for love and affection from the keeper who was bringing him browse. For a few minutes, he trailed her every move around the enclosure, and went as far as calling for her return after she left! It’s a shame she probably wasn’t allowed to pet him. Darn safety protocols. Both South America and Asia were pretty similar visually, a series of moated yards and pits for larger carnivores/ungulates, with a series of roundhouses about. Well, pretty much the entire zoo looks like that, but I’d argue that these two sections are most alike.”
Rainforest of the Americas:
Jaguar
Green Aracari
Fringed Leaf Frog
Golden Poison Dart Frog
Green and Black Poison Dart Frog
Blessed Poison Dart Frog
Variable Poison Dart Frog
Bumblebee Poison Dart Frog
Blue Dyeing Poison Dart Frog
Cuvier’s Dwarf Caiman
Baird’s Tapir
Crested Oropendola
Black Howler Monkey
Giant Otter
Redbelly Piranha
Armored Catfish
Bucktooth Tetra
Cardinal Tetra
Dwarf Cichlid
White-Blotched River Stingray
Banded Leporinus
Motoro Stingray
Northern Caiman Lizard
Cardinal Tetra
Angelfish
Harpy Eagle
“The ‘focal point’ of the zoo is the multi-acre “Elephants of Asia” complex, which houses their (you guessed it) Asian elephant herd in a series of yards at the center of the zoo, themed around different nations in which elephants range in. It’s a shame that LA was the only stop on my trip where I could see my favorite animals, but the zoo does surely have some impressive elephants. Billy the elephant, who is constantly subject to animal rights legal battles, has one of the most impressive pairs of tusks I’ve seen on an elephant. Truly amazing to see him in person.”
Elephants of Asia:
Asian Elephant
Sarus Crane
“On my visit, only one of their aviaries was open, so I made a quick dash through. As a bird lover, it’s a shame the other aviary was closed, but it was a treat to see a pretty cool lifer— the black-collared starling. At this point, I had worked my way back to the front of the zoo (considering the first thing I did was) run straight to the back of the zoo to see the Calamian deer). I must admit, due to a long day of traveling and the time crunch I was faced with to see the rest of the zoo, my memory is a bit hazy for these last four complexes.”
Aviary:
Nicobar Pigeon
Superb Starling
African Spoonbill
Trumpeter Swan
Violet Turaco
Sacred Ibis
Spur-Winged Lapwing
White-Faced Whistling Duck
Bruce’s Green Pigeon
West African Crowned Crane
Galah
Black-Collared Starling
“The LAIR, which I’m sure of the best regarded reptile complexes in America, truly show the strength of LA’s reptile collection. The exhibit is comprised of two “LAIR” buildings, one a tropical and the other a desert ecosystem, and two outdoor sections, one a desert exhibit and the other for crocodilians. The first building is the largest, and holds several notable species such as: Chinese giant salamander, Armenian viper, Mary River turtle (though I missed this one
), and Gray’s monitor. Exiting this building will take you to a round outdoor exhibit designed for a myriad of Southwestern desert species, which provides a perfect segue into the smaller, desert building. This building is more heavily designed to the desert theme, and hosts mostly Southwestern desert herps, but also some of the more common Saharan species in public display. The crocodilian exhibits are last, and display two rarer species found in North American zoos: the tomistoma and gharial. I found LAIR to be impressive, and one of the zoo’s stronger exhibits along with Rainforest of the Americas and Elephants of Asia.”
The LAIR:
Giant Day Gecko
Kaiser Newt
Tiger Salamander
Rough-Scaled Python
Temple Viper
Green Tree Python
Chinese Giant Salamander
Mexican Jumping Viper
Roti Island Snake-Necked Turtle
Fly River Turtle
Mary River Turtle
Jaculatrix Archerfish
Eastern Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia splendida)
Australian Lungfish
Mangrove Viper
Vampire Crab
Armenian Viper
Blue Dyeing Poison Dart Frog
Green and Black Poison Dart Frog
European Long-Nosed Viper
Bushmaster
Mangshan Pit Viper
Gaboon Viper
Cape Cobra
West African Green Mamba
Gray’s Monitor
Boyd’s Forest Dragon
Magnificent Tree Frog
Merten’s Water Monitor
Mexican West Coast Rattlesnake
Mexican Beaded Lizard
Lancehead Rattlesnake
- Reptile Nursery -
Brazilian Salmon Tarantula
Southern Ridgenose Rattlesnake
Tamaulipan Rock Rattlesnake
Caucasian Viper
Black-Tail Horned Viper
DurangoRock Rattlesnake
Vampire Crab
Southern Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog
Rock Rattlesnake
Ridgenose Rattlesnake
Gray’s Monitor
Fiji Banded Iguana
Spotted Chuckwalla
Spiny Lizard
San Esteban Island Chuckwalla
Cape Rock Lizard
Santa Catalina Side-Blotched Lizard
Desert Iguana
California Kingsnake
San Diego Gopher Snake
Southern Pacific Rattlesnake
Southwest Speckled Rattlesnake
Baja California Ratsnake
Sidewinder
Aruba Island Rattlesnake
Santa Catalina Island Rattlesnake
Desert Hairy Scorpion
Saharan Horned Viper
Rock Rattlesnake
Sonoran Tarantula
Gray-Banded Kingsnake
Desert Rosy Boa
Red Diamond Rattlesnake
Sonoran Giant Centipede
Mexican West Coast Rattlesnake
Sunburst Diving Beetle
Toebiter Beetle
Sonoran Toad
Gila Monster
Gharial
Painted River Terrapin
Tomistoma
“Australia and Drylands. Both pretty similar complexes, they have a main ‘loop’ of exhibit yards accompanied with their fair share of roundhouses. Both are clearly intentioned to be more ‘arid’, with more sparsely planted foliage compared to the Asia and South America sections. They also host a solidly unique collection of species. In Australia, you’ll find short-beaked echidnas, perentie, yellow-footed rock wallaby, and Southern hairy-nosed wombats (in a rather peculiar and large indoor nocturnal building). The Drylands stands out for having one of the only Ruppell’s Foxes on display anywhere in the world, which unfortunately I was not able to find. I did, however, watch a failed zebra breeding event, which was rather interesting, to say the least…“
Australia:
Western Grey Kangaroo
Koala
Short-Beaked Echidna
Tammar Wallaby
Laughing Kookaburra
Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat
Rhinoceros Hornbill
Yellow-Footed Rock Wallaby
Komodo Dragon
Perentie
Southern Cassowary
Drylands:
Black-Headed Weaver
White-Headed Buffalo Weaver
Spotted Thick-Knee
Golden-Breasted Starling
Spur-Winged Lapwing
Speckled Mousebird
White-Cheeked Turaco
African Wild Dog
Chacoan Peccary
Speke’s Gazelle
Sunbittern
Black-Necked Stilt
Bufflehead
Scarlet Ibis
Chestnut Teal
Australian Wood Duck
Masked Bobwhite
Masked Lapwing
Greater Roadrunner
Babirusa
Peninsular Pronghorn
Desert Bighorn Sheep
Ruppell’s Sand Fox
Cape Rock Hyrax
Ring-Tailed Lemur
Grevy’s Zebra
Gorilla Preserve:
Western Lowland Gorilla
Red Ape Rainforest:
Bornean Orangutan
“Africa was the last section I visited, though it was an incredibly quick visit. Again, so much of the zoo is similar that it’s fair to describe Africa as a larger, more densely planted and shaded, and disorganized version of the Asia/South America sections. I do consider Africa, however, to be what comes to mind as the ‘Los Angeles Zoo’. Winding paths, shady palms, all very LA. Much of the complex was under construction at the time— a few of the primate roundhouses, the Cape Vulture area (is that even open yet?). But, I had one objective in mind: to find the Somali ostrich. So after rushing through Africa to see her, I concluded my visit.”
Africa:
Masai Giraffe
Chimpanzee
Okapi
Kikuyu Colobus Monkey
Mandrill
Serval
Radiated Tortoise
Addax
Ostrich
Somali Ostrich
Red River Hog
Children’s Zoo:
Axolotl
Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Garden - July 8th, 2024
“Alright. Finally. If there’s anything to understand about the LAZoo, it’s that it is rather confusing and windy and horribly (if one can call it so? I’ll elaborate) organized. You will be going in circles, the thematics of the zoo aren’t necessarily clear, and you will have to pretty regularly retracing/backtracking your steps to make your way around.
*To elaborate, it seems that the architect and designer of the zoo intentionally made it so, in order for guests to leisurely stroll and wander around. So maybe it’s not so horrible, and I need to learn to obsess a bit less over efficient paths and comprehensible maps
.”Entry Promenade:
California Sea Lion
Harbor Seal
American Alligator
Trumpeter Swan (Closed)
Meerkat
Chilean Flamingo
“Since I arrived so late into the morning, my first move was to make a mad dash to the back of the zoo to catch their Calamian deer before they disappeared for the day (around noon). My efforts were successful, as I was able to catch one of their deer quite close to the fence finishing up its morning graze. Continuing along that row of ungulate exhibits, I was also able to get another significant lifer— Chinese goral! They had evaded me twice before at St. Louis and Omaha, but third times the charm, right?
The rest of the Asia collection was pretty nice, with species like markhor, takin (a personal favorite), and another lifer for me— wrinkled hornbill.”Asia:
Chinese Goral
Chinese Goral
Tufted Deer
Calamian Deer
Visayan Warty Pig
Steller’s Sea Eagle
Siberian Eagle Owl
Siamang
Sichuan Takin
Buff-Cheeked Gibbon
Tadjik Markhor
Sumatran Tiger
Indian Rhino
Bornean Crested Fireback (nominate)
Wrinkled Hornbill
Binturong
Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo
Snow Leopard
“South America is home to one of ZooChat’s favorite animals at Los Angeles, no doubt. I had the extreme pleasure of watching Mojito, the mountain tapir, awaken from his slumber and beg for love and affection from the keeper who was bringing him browse. For a few minutes, he trailed her every move around the enclosure, and went as far as calling for her return after she left! It’s a shame she probably wasn’t allowed to pet him. Darn safety protocols
. Both South America and Asia were pretty similar visually, a series of moated yards and pits for larger carnivores/ungulates, with a series of roundhouses about. Well, pretty much the entire zoo looks like that, but I’d argue that these two sections are most alike.”South America:
Aldabra Tortoise
Mountain Tapir
Brazilian Ocelot
Blue-Billed Curassow
Maned Wolf
Crested Caracara
Spotted Paca
Red-Legged Seriema
Giant Anteater
Andean Condor
Scarlet Macaw
Black Howler Monkey
Crested Capuchin
Geoffroy’s Spider Monkey
Squirrel Monkey (Closed)
Spectacled Owl
King Vulture
“South America is home to one of ZooChat’s favorite animals at Los Angeles, no doubt. I had the extreme pleasure of watching Mojito, the mountain tapir, awaken from his slumber and beg for love and affection from the keeper who was bringing him browse. For a few minutes, he trailed her every move around the enclosure, and went as far as calling for her return after she left! It’s a shame she probably wasn’t allowed to pet him. Darn safety protocols
. Both South America and Asia were pretty similar visually, a series of moated yards and pits for larger carnivores/ungulates, with a series of roundhouses about. Well, pretty much the entire zoo looks like that, but I’d argue that these two sections are most alike.”Rainforest of the Americas:
Jaguar
Green Aracari
Fringed Leaf Frog
Golden Poison Dart Frog
Green and Black Poison Dart Frog
Blessed Poison Dart Frog
Variable Poison Dart Frog
Bumblebee Poison Dart Frog
Blue Dyeing Poison Dart Frog
Cuvier’s Dwarf Caiman
Baird’s Tapir
Crested Oropendola
Black Howler Monkey
Giant Otter
Redbelly Piranha
Armored Catfish
Bucktooth Tetra
Cardinal Tetra
Dwarf Cichlid
White-Blotched River Stingray
Banded Leporinus
Motoro Stingray
Northern Caiman Lizard
Cardinal Tetra
Angelfish
Harpy Eagle
“The ‘focal point’ of the zoo is the multi-acre “Elephants of Asia” complex, which houses their (you guessed it) Asian elephant herd in a series of yards at the center of the zoo, themed around different nations in which elephants range in. It’s a shame that LA was the only stop on my trip where I could see my favorite animals, but the zoo does surely have some impressive elephants. Billy the elephant, who is constantly subject to animal rights legal battles, has one of the most impressive pairs of tusks I’ve seen on an elephant. Truly amazing to see him in person.”
Elephants of Asia:
Asian Elephant
Sarus Crane
“On my visit, only one of their aviaries was open, so I made a quick dash through. As a bird lover, it’s a shame the other aviary was closed, but it was a treat to see a pretty cool lifer— the black-collared starling. At this point, I had worked my way back to the front of the zoo (considering the first thing I did was) run straight to the back of the zoo to see the Calamian deer). I must admit, due to a long day of traveling and the time crunch I was faced with to see the rest of the zoo, my memory is a bit hazy for these last four complexes.”
Aviary:
Nicobar Pigeon
Superb Starling
African Spoonbill
Trumpeter Swan
Violet Turaco
Sacred Ibis
Spur-Winged Lapwing
White-Faced Whistling Duck
Bruce’s Green Pigeon
West African Crowned Crane
Galah
Black-Collared Starling
“The LAIR, which I’m sure of the best regarded reptile complexes in America, truly show the strength of LA’s reptile collection. The exhibit is comprised of two “LAIR” buildings, one a tropical and the other a desert ecosystem, and two outdoor sections, one a desert exhibit and the other for crocodilians. The first building is the largest, and holds several notable species such as: Chinese giant salamander, Armenian viper, Mary River turtle (though I missed this one
), and Gray’s monitor. Exiting this building will take you to a round outdoor exhibit designed for a myriad of Southwestern desert species, which provides a perfect segue into the smaller, desert building. This building is more heavily designed to the desert theme, and hosts mostly Southwestern desert herps, but also some of the more common Saharan species in public display. The crocodilian exhibits are last, and display two rarer species found in North American zoos: the tomistoma and gharial. I found LAIR to be impressive, and one of the zoo’s stronger exhibits along with Rainforest of the Americas and Elephants of Asia.”The LAIR:
Giant Day Gecko
Kaiser Newt
Tiger Salamander
Rough-Scaled Python
Temple Viper
Green Tree Python
Chinese Giant Salamander
Mexican Jumping Viper
Roti Island Snake-Necked Turtle
Fly River Turtle
Mary River Turtle
Jaculatrix Archerfish
Eastern Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia splendida)
Australian Lungfish
Mangrove Viper
Vampire Crab
Armenian Viper
Blue Dyeing Poison Dart Frog
Green and Black Poison Dart Frog
European Long-Nosed Viper
Bushmaster
Mangshan Pit Viper
Gaboon Viper
Cape Cobra
West African Green Mamba
Gray’s Monitor
Boyd’s Forest Dragon
Magnificent Tree Frog
Merten’s Water Monitor
Mexican West Coast Rattlesnake
Mexican Beaded Lizard
Lancehead Rattlesnake
- Reptile Nursery -
Brazilian Salmon Tarantula
Southern Ridgenose Rattlesnake
Tamaulipan Rock Rattlesnake
Caucasian Viper
Black-Tail Horned Viper
DurangoRock Rattlesnake
Vampire Crab
Southern Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog
Rock Rattlesnake
Ridgenose Rattlesnake
Gray’s Monitor
Fiji Banded Iguana
Spotted Chuckwalla
Spiny Lizard
San Esteban Island Chuckwalla
Cape Rock Lizard
Santa Catalina Side-Blotched Lizard
Desert Iguana
California Kingsnake
San Diego Gopher Snake
Southern Pacific Rattlesnake
Southwest Speckled Rattlesnake
Baja California Ratsnake
Sidewinder
Aruba Island Rattlesnake
Santa Catalina Island Rattlesnake
Desert Hairy Scorpion
Saharan Horned Viper
Rock Rattlesnake
Sonoran Tarantula
Gray-Banded Kingsnake
Desert Rosy Boa
Red Diamond Rattlesnake
Sonoran Giant Centipede
Mexican West Coast Rattlesnake
Sunburst Diving Beetle
Toebiter Beetle
Sonoran Toad
Gila Monster
Gharial
Painted River Terrapin
Tomistoma
“Australia and Drylands. Both pretty similar complexes, they have a main ‘loop’ of exhibit yards accompanied with their fair share of roundhouses. Both are clearly intentioned to be more ‘arid’, with more sparsely planted foliage compared to the Asia and South America sections. They also host a solidly unique collection of species. In Australia, you’ll find short-beaked echidnas, perentie, yellow-footed rock wallaby, and Southern hairy-nosed wombats (in a rather peculiar and large indoor nocturnal building). The Drylands stands out for having one of the only Ruppell’s Foxes on display anywhere in the world, which unfortunately I was not able to find
. I did, however, watch a failed zebra breeding event, which was rather interesting, to say the least…“Australia:
Western Grey Kangaroo
Koala
Short-Beaked Echidna
Tammar Wallaby
Laughing Kookaburra
Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat
Rhinoceros Hornbill
Yellow-Footed Rock Wallaby
Komodo Dragon
Perentie
Southern Cassowary
Drylands:
Black-Headed Weaver
White-Headed Buffalo Weaver
Spotted Thick-Knee
Golden-Breasted Starling
Spur-Winged Lapwing
Speckled Mousebird
White-Cheeked Turaco
African Wild Dog
Chacoan Peccary
Speke’s Gazelle
Sunbittern
Black-Necked Stilt
Bufflehead
Scarlet Ibis
Chestnut Teal
Australian Wood Duck
Masked Bobwhite
Masked Lapwing
Greater Roadrunner
Babirusa
Peninsular Pronghorn
Desert Bighorn Sheep
Ruppell’s Sand Fox
Cape Rock Hyrax
Ring-Tailed Lemur
Grevy’s Zebra
Gorilla Preserve:
Western Lowland Gorilla
Red Ape Rainforest:
Bornean Orangutan
“Africa was the last section I visited, though it was an incredibly quick visit. Again, so much of the zoo is similar that it’s fair to describe Africa as a larger, more densely planted and shaded, and disorganized version of the Asia/South America sections. I do consider Africa, however, to be what comes to mind as the ‘Los Angeles Zoo’. Winding paths, shady palms, all very LA. Much of the complex was under construction at the time— a few of the primate roundhouses, the Cape Vulture area (is that even open yet?). But, I had one objective in mind: to find the Somali ostrich. So after rushing through Africa to see her, I concluded my visit.”
Africa:
Masai Giraffe
Chimpanzee
Okapi
Kikuyu Colobus Monkey
Mandrill
Serval
Radiated Tortoise
Addax
Ostrich
Somali Ostrich
Red River Hog
Children’s Zoo:
Axolotl
