Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens Los Angeles Zoo News 2025

Some updates:
  • The mandrills are now on exhibit in the renovated roundhouse that used to be home to the red-crowned mangabey and buff-cheeked gibbons which had been closed since around December 2023.
  • Burra the koala moved back to the San Diego Zoo to breed, so there are currently no koalas on exhibit.
  • The spectacled owl has returned to his exhibit in South America. The king vulture sign was still up at that exhibit, however, the king vulture has returned to his original (currently unsigned) exhibit in the same roundhouse.
  • 2 female crested oropendolas have moved into the exhibit with the male crested oropendola and sunbittern pair in the Rainforest of the Americas.
  • A baby perentie is now on exhibit per a sign in the Desert LAIR.
 
Elena said:
Some updates:
  • The mandrills are now on exhibit in the renovated roundhouse that used to be home to the red-crowned mangabey and buff-cheeked gibbons which had been closed since around December 2023.
  • Burra the koala moved back to the San Diego Zoo to breed, so there are currently no koalas on exhibit.
  • The spectacled owl has returned to his exhibit in South America. The king vulture sign was still up at that exhibit, however, the king vulture has returned to his original (currently unsigned) exhibit in the same roundhouse.
  • 2 female crested oropendolas have moved into the exhibit with the male crested oropendola and sunbittern pair in the Rainforest of the Americas.
  • A baby perentie is now on exhibit per a sign in the Desert LAIR.
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That's exactly what I saw, except the Oropendolas.

I saw that the Sloth Habitat was given floor substrate, the sloth, tamandua, babirusa, and the Jaguar were active today.

There was a researcher by the sloth Habitat observing how the sloth is reacting to the substrate, and I suggested to her that the lights should be dimmed for the Sloth and Armadillo, since they are nocturnal, similar to the lighting for the Wombat House.

The Mandrills were moved to the former red-crowned mangabey and buff-cheeked gibbons roundhouse, as their roundhouse habitat is in the process of renovation.

The Second Large Walk-through Aviary is in the planning stage. From what I'm told by staff, they need to trim and redo the planting and new mesh, too, before moving the birds back in.

Additionally, the Vision Plan design remains the primary goal of the zoo.
 
The lion and bear enclosures were pretty awful imo so I can’t say I’m sad they’ve gone but those animals are a loss to the zoo. Given what we know about Los Angeles Zoo I, unfortunately, won’t be holding my breath for a swift return, sadly.
 
Last week I visited the Wild World: Stories of Conservation + Hope exhibit at the L.A. Zoo, which is located near the entrance in the former California Condor Rescue Zone. The exhibit is run by Little Ray's Exhibitions, a Canadian organization with offices in New York. A small selection of reptiles, invertebrates, and amphibians is displayed inside along with ample signage about conservation. Here is the species list:
  • western fox snake
  • northern blue-tongued skink
  • New Caledonian crested gecko
  • Mexican red knee tarantula
  • bumblebee dart frog
  • red tegu
  • gray ratsnake
  • Saharan uromastyx
Although I only saw about half the animals due to some of them hiding in their terrariums, I thought it was very nicely done overall. It’s great that the zoo is finally utilizing this space as it was closed during the pandemic and never reopened. I spoke with two people operating the exhibition and they were both very friendly. They said that their exhibits are generally placed in museums rather than zoos, but that L.A. Zoo will host the Wild World exhibit until October 1. The building was also comfortably air-conditioned unlike the LAIR and is very good for disabled access as it's right at the entrance. Hopefully, the zoo will continue to have temporary exhibits like this until a more permanent use for the building is realized.
 
Cat-Man said:
That’s good news. Are they being raised by their parents, or by the keepers?
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I’m going to assume that them being in the nursery indicates that they are being hand-reared. It is not necessarily uncommon for gerenuk to be hand-reared. They are an extremely flighty species, so hand-rearing them can help make them more tractable and less prone to injuring themselves. Gerenuk are also not always the best first-time mothers/can be prone to birth complications, so it could be for any number of reasons. The population also desperately needs viable females, so any steps taken to ensure their survival are welcome!
 
Kudu21 said:
I’m going to assume that them being in the nursery indicates that they are being hand-reared. It is not necessarily uncommon for gerenuk to be hand-reared. They are an extremely flighty species, so hand-rearing them can help make them more tractable and less prone to injuring themselves. Gerenuk are also not always the best first-time mothers/can be prone to birth complications, so it could be for any number of reasons. The population also desperately needs viable females, so any steps taken to ensure their survival are welcome!
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That's Great, that the Gerenuk Breeding Program at the Los Angeles Zoo has resumed. It was paused when the Cape Vulture Habitat was being renovated next door, and they had to be off display.
 
I also forgot, the Drylands Bird Roundhouse in the right section has a Male Indian Peafowl.
 
Kudu21 said:
I’m going to assume that them being in the nursery indicates that they are being hand-reared. It is not necessarily uncommon for gerenuk to be hand-reared. They are an extremely flighty species, so hand-rearing them can help make them more tractable and less prone to injuring themselves. Gerenuk are also not always the best first-time mothers/can be prone to birth complications, so it could be for any number of reasons. The population also desperately needs viable females, so any steps taken to ensure their survival are welcome!
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@Cat-Man They're being hand-reared as I saw the keeper bottle-feeding them. In the past I think they've had parent-reared ones in the nursery area to minimize the likelihood of injury in the regular exhibit.
 
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Elena said:
@Cat-Man They're being hand-reared as I saw the keeper bottle-feeding them. In the past I think they've had parent-reared ones in the nursery area to minimize the likelihood of injury in the regular exhibit.
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Didn't they send Gerenuks to Berlin Tierpark? What's the status of the population in Europe?
 
Great Argus said:
A handful of animals split between Berlin Zoo and their Tierpark. Gerenuk will probably only remain at Berlin unless something surprising happens.
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Sadly only 5 animals left in total :( 1 male at the zoo and 1.3 at the Tierpark. They have bred fairly consistently since their arrival, but long term survival seems to be an issue. Unless they make major strides in their animals longevity, the population will likely be completely gone within the next 10 years (and as it stands, there isn't enough stock in the US to send more animals over, either).

Honestly having a Gerenuk population in the states 20 years from now would truly surprise me as well. The population suffers from unusually high mortality throughout all age classes, particularly in the first year of life, and is also extremely inbred (which likely compounds the existing mortality issues). That coupled with the fact Gerenuk are generally are delicate and sensitive animals to begin with, does not bode well for their population surviving long term in the states :(
 
Ways of being self-sufficient, you say, like perhaps a zoo association? GLAZA wasn't perfect but it seems like the director has isolated the zoo from any source of funding.

Very exciting about the tasmanian devils. Maybe that'll finally get me to go back. I love the zoo, and have since I moved her 20+ years ago, but it generally makes me sad to think about nowadays.

It's a shame that everything from the elephants to hot dogs to basic operations have become a fight between the city + director + GLAZA but I remember sitting at the Master Plan hearing and feeling so much hope. Even if the timeline was unrealistic, it felt like there was a vision for the future of the LA Zoo and instead, it's been almost all downhill since then.
 
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