San Diego Zoo San Diego Zoo News 2025

Are there known details about Asian Passage already out there? I'd love to know more.

pachyderm pro said:
Regardless of when the Asian Passage redevelopment takes place, as it seems increasingly likely that will be the zoo's next major project, the demolition of those monkey cages is exciting in itself and long overdue. Perhaps this is wishful thinking, but I sincerely hope the zoo will take this opportunity to build a proper nocturnal house for the aye-ayes. It doesn't seem like the originally planned location in Africa Rocks is still available, but surely there is somewhere in the zoo were that could happen.
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I agree both that it is unlikely but also the hopes it will happen nonetheless. Nocturnal houses have been out of vogue but with this zoo seeming to have a history of behind-the-scenes nocturnal species holdings (aye-aye, kiwi, tuatara at least formerly?) it wouldn't be a bad idea to add something to give these secretive species a chance to be seen and educated visitors of their importance. As has been said, it's not really their style, but all the more reason it might be a smart change of pace sometime.
 
JVM said:
Are there known details about Asian Passage already out there? I'd love to know more.


I agree both that it is unlikely but also the hopes it will happen nonetheless. Nocturnal houses have been out of vogue but with this zoo seeming to have a history of behind-the-scenes nocturnal species holdings (aye-aye, kiwi, tuatara at least formerly?) it wouldn't be a bad idea to add something to give these secretive species a chance to be seen and educated visitors of their importance. As has been said, it's not really their style, but all the more reason it might be a smart change of pace sometime.
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My best guess is when Bronx Zoo reopens World of Darkness, it maybe send a trend of a new generation of Nocturnal houses perhaps, I mean when the original one opened in 1969 every zoo followed in suite?!
 
JVM said:
Are there known details about Asian Passage already out there? I'd love to know more.


I agree both that it is unlikely but also the hopes it will happen nonetheless. Nocturnal houses have been out of vogue but with this zoo seeming to have a history of behind-the-scenes nocturnal species holdings (aye-aye, kiwi, tuatara at least formerly?) it wouldn't be a bad idea to add something to give these secretive species a chance to be seen and educated visitors of their importance. As has been said, it's not really their style, but all the more reason it might be a smart change of pace sometime.
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It seems like a curio that nocturnes and nocturnal houses have become an out-of-place currency within the North American zoo community. Sadly so, when well-regarded and directional institutions like the San Diego Zoo do not have one on their premises....!
 
Great Argus said:
I said generally, not none. It's possible they might but I find it highly unlikely. The platypus easily stands alone, and the bat exhibit was empty of visitors on my visit. The Kiwi house is long closed to the public, and Cool Critters was designed to be a second herp house of sorts. Indoor exhibits just aren't really San Diego's thing.
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It is generally true that San Diego Zoo was bereft of indoor exhibits, but their superb invertebrate house shows that they can build them. That said, it does seem unlikely that a nocturnal house is in their plans. They announced and then cancelled plans for one with Africa Rocks. The kiwi house was long ago bulldozed to make way for Africa Rocks, and is much missed.
 
Kudu21 said:
-A new lesser kudu calf was born right before the start of the year, and it is now on exhibit with the rest of the herd and the Speke's gazelles in the upper corner of the old Horn & Hoof Mesa area.
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The calf is a girl according to the zoo's Facebook page.
"The newest kudu calf at the Zoo is finding her footing as she practices her pronking skills under the watchful eyes of mom and dad. The leggy new little was born a few weeks ago and we highly recommend paying her a visit to witness these spectacularly silly shenanigans in person."
 
A couple updates from the Zoo:
- There has been discussion revolving around the theming for the Polar Bear Plunge refurb. The pool has been getting drained regularly lately and the pool in the Arctic Aviary is empty. This would seem to indicate that the Polar Bear renovation is next up before Urban Jungle and Asian Passage.
- The female Maned Wolf is officially on habitat and viewable.
- The male Bontebok habitat is being renovated for Visayan Warty Pigs. The male Bontebok will return to the habitat the females were in after breeding concludes.
- There are now two male Amur Leopards in Africa Rocks and Maryann has been moved to Asian Leopards.
- The Flamingo Lagoon in Urban Jungle is currently undergoing construction with a new mesh cover that appears to serve as protection.
 
RJB Wildlife said:
- The Flamingo Lagoon in Urban Jungle is currently undergoing construction with a new mesh cover that appears to serve as protection.
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While the hand was forced by bird flu, the covering of waterbird exhibits will hopefully have the positive side of less flight restricted birds. Which would be a good step towards better breeding success for many storks and cranes in particular.
 
Great Argus said:
While the hand was forced by bird flu, the covering of waterbird exhibits will hopefully have the positive side of less flight restricted birds. Which would be a good step towards better breeding success for many storks and cranes in particular.
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The only odd thing about it is it doesn’t appear to be fully enclosed, just a canopy.
 
RJB Wildlife said:
A couple updates from the Zoo:
- There has been discussion revolving around the theming for the Polar Bear Plunge refurb. The pool has been getting drained regularly lately and the pool in the Arctic Aviary is empty. This would seem to indicate that the Polar Bear renovation is next up before Urban Jungle and Asian Passage.
- The female Maned Wolf is officially on habitat and viewable.
- The male Bontebok habitat is being renovated for Visayan Warty Pigs. The male Bontebok will return to the habitat the females were in after breeding concludes.
- There are now two male Amur Leopards in Africa Rocks and Maryann has been moved to Asian Leopards.
- The Flamingo Lagoon in Urban Jungle is currently undergoing construction with a new mesh cover that appears to serve as protection.
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Do you know what kind of theme they're going for with the Polar Bear Plunge refurbishment? I hope they keep the diving duck aviary/reincorporate that concept alongside the expanded space for the bears! (and maybe move the grizzlies over from Center Street in the process)
 
StoppableSan said:
Do you know what kind of theme they're going for with the Polar Bear Plunge refurbishment? I hope they keep the diving duck aviary/reincorporate that concept alongside the expanded space for the bears! (and maybe move the grizzlies over from Center Street in the process)
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My understanding was they were leaning in an Arctic theme direction with new species and habitats, but it’s starting to sound like a complete modern renovation of the area. Still way to early to tell.
 
RJB Wildlife said:
A couple updates from the Zoo:
- There has been discussion revolving around the theming for the Polar Bear Plunge refurb. The pool has been getting drained regularly lately and the pool in the Arctic Aviary is empty. This would seem to indicate that the Polar Bear renovation is next up before Urban Jungle and Asian Passage.
- The female Maned Wolf is officially on habitat and viewable.
- The male Bontebok habitat is being renovated for Visayan Warty Pigs. The male Bontebok will return to the habitat the females were in after breeding concludes.
- There are now two male Amur Leopards in Africa Rocks and Maryann has been moved to Asian Leopards.
- The Flamingo Lagoon in Urban Jungle is currently undergoing construction with a new mesh cover that appears to serve as protection.
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Bit late with the news, but happy to see that the visayan warty pigs are going to go back to a public exhibit and to see that the zoos are finally making movements with the polar bear expansion. The return of the maned wolves is preaty nice, I missed them a lot on my last visit, and the same could be said about the tasmanian devils, so happy to see that there's also more of them comming to the zoo!
RJB Wildlife said:
My understanding was they were leaning in an Arctic theme direction with new species and habitats, but it’s starting to sound like a complete modern renovation of the area. Still way to early to tell.
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Have they told wich new species are they going to acquire?
RJB Wildlife said:
- The former Aye-Aye and primate habitats are being torn down and demolished, unknown what is replacing them if anything.
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Even for Asian Passage, those exhibits were really bad and I'm happy to see that the zoo has bulldozed them. As so many people have stated, this will hopefully be the first movements for a future revamp of the hole area. Just hope thet the aye-ayes don't go the way of the kiwi!
On an unrelated note, I have a few questions:
  • Before the arrival of the tasmanian devils, I want to see the brush tailed bettongs, as I they're always no-shows, so want to know if there's an trick for seeing them.
  • Also does the zoo still holds wonga pigeons, puna teal, madagascar crested ibis and scaly-sided merganser? Didn't saw them at my last trip, so just curious to know if anyone knew if there still at the collection.
 
Panda_Fan said:
Just hope thet the aye-ayes don't go the way of the kiwi!
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Basically nobody ever saw the Aye-ayes to begin with, so not really any loss there.

Panda_Fan said:
Also does the zoo still holds wonga pigeons, puna teal, madagascar crested ibis and scaly-sided merganser?
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They held the first two in small numbers last I was aware, so in theory they're still there somewhere.
 
Great Argus said:
Basically nobody ever saw the Aye-ayes to begin with, so not really any loss there.
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I just hope they built a better exhibit for them in the future, instead of keeping them behind the scenes. They're really cool and rare, and it would be very disappointing not beeing able to see them in a realy good habitat.
Great Argus said:
They held the first two in small numbers last I was aware, so in theory they're still there somewhere.
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Good to know, thanks!:)
 
RJB Wildlife said:
No species have been confirmed for the speculated new Polar Bear Plunge. My best guess would be it’d be species we’ve seen before like Arctic Fox and Reindeer.
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My personal opinion is that San Diego must be brutal and only keep polar bears in this area. The current enclosure is way too small and I didn't even see the polar bears on my visit across two days because it was too hot. Even an expansion into the reindeer enclosure would not be enough to reach the bar set by other zoos for modern polar bear enclosures. The enclosure must expand into the entire polar plunge area and would ideally have a larger indoor area that can be viewed by visitors if there is no other way to encourage the bears outside during the hottest weather.
 
RJB Wildlife said:
No species have been confirmed for the speculated new Polar Bear Plunge. My best guess would be it’d be species we’ve seen before like Arctic Fox and Reindeer.
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Personally I'm a bit surprised they would opt to renovate Polar Bear Plunge at the present moment - Chinook is 30 this year and Kalluk and Tatqik are 25, not exactly spring chickens. If they wanted to overhaul the area it would make the most sense to do it when they have a clearer understanding if it can remain Polars long term come 5 years down the road as their bears will be pretty old at that point. Availability is currently about zero on new Polars and the exhibit is not really that bad to particularly necessitate renovations from husbandry standards. At that point if Polars were unavailable they could renovate for the grizzlies. As it stands, it doesn't particularly make sense to me to touch the bear exhibit. There's not a ton of usable space over there either if my memory serves me correctly, maybe they're considering doing a small refresh to fix some things and perhaps update the couple older cages over there. Center Street and Urban Jungle on the other hand could use a bit of construction work.
 
Great Argus said:
Personally I'm a bit surprised they would opt to renovate Polar Bear Plunge at the present moment - Chinook is 30 this year and Kalluk and Tatqik are 25, not exactly spring chickens. If they wanted to overhaul the area it would make the most sense to do it when they have a clearer understanding if it can remain Polars long term come 5 years down the road as their bears will be pretty old at that point. Availability is currently about zero on new Polars and the exhibit is not really that bad to particularly necessitate renovations from husbandry standards. At that point if Polars were unavailable they could renovate for the grizzlies. As it stands, it doesn't particularly make sense to me to touch the bear exhibit. There's not a ton of usable space over there either if my memory serves me correctly, maybe they're considering doing a small refresh to fix some things and perhaps update the couple older cages over there. Center Street and Urban Jungle on the other hand could use a bit of construction work.
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From everything I’ve heard it’s overall enhancements to the habitat including an expanded underwater viewing, filtration replacement and then the area would receive an overhaul with the educational elements, former Reindeer habitat, current Lynx and Magpie habitats and Aviary being removed in favor of new modern habitats and interactive educational material.
 
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