Oakland Zoo Oakland Zoo Species List - September 2025

[Coelacanth18]

An update to my list from November 2021. Each bullet indicates one enclosure, unless preceded by a colon (in which case they are separated by / ). Species that were seen are marked in regular text, species that were unseen are marked in italics.

MAIN ENTRANCE

• Lesser Flamingo, African Spoonbill, Hadada Ibis

TROPICAL RAINFOREST

• Sun Bear
• Turquoise-fronted Amazon, Red-lored Amazon, Lilac-crowned Amazon (seen, unsigned: Southern Pudu)
• Cottontop Tamarin, Southern Pudu
• Siamang
• Lar Gibbon
• unsigned: Klipspringer (formerly held Great Curassow)
• Guira Cuckoo
• Blue-and-gold Macaw, Military Macaw, "Miligold" Macaw (Blue-and-gold x Military hybrid), Red-rumped Agouti
• Chimpanzee
• Common Squirrel Monkey
• Tiger (generic) (2 enclosures)

There is also an overgrown and abandoned cage by the Lar Gibbons that formerly held Wreathed Hornbill.

CHILDREN'S ZOO (OUTDOORS)

• Aldabra Tortoise (seen, unsigned: African Spurred Tortoise)
• Ring-tailed Lemur, Crowned Lemur
• North American River Otter
• American Alligator, Florida Red-bellied Turtle
• Fruit Bats: Island Flying Fox, Malayan Flying Fox / Domestic Rabbit (in side enclosure)
• Domestic Rabbit (main yard)
• Guinea Hog (domestic pig breed)
• Goat and sheep petting yard (*I skipped this area*)

CHILDREN'S ZOO (REPTILE AND AMPHIBIAN ROOM)

• Green Anole, Eastern Box Turtle, Three-toed Box Turtle, Spotted Turtle (seen, unsigned: Brown Anole)
• Gila Monster, Blue Spiny Lizard, Common Chuckwalla, Colorado River Toad
• Red-Tailed Boa, Amazon Tree Boa, Amazon Milky Frog, poison dart frogs (not signed to species level; saw Yellow-banded, Green-and-Black and either Golden or Bicolor)
• Black Tree Monitor
• Panamanian Golden Frog
• Henkel’s Leaf-Tailed Gecko, Green Mantella, Starry Night Reed Frog (Heterixalus alboguttatus), Powder Blue Reed Frog (Heterixalus madagascariensis), Neon Day Gecko (Phelsuma klemmeri)

CHILDREN'S ZOO (HOUSE OF BUGS)
I did not take a full species list for this exhibit like I did in 2021; I at least noted Macleay's Spectre and Golden Silk Spider in two of the larger terrariums, and also noted that several of the smaller terrariums are the same inhabitants as in years past.

AFRICAN SAVANNA

• Hamadryas Baboon

• Common Warthog
• Giraffe (generic, signed as Reticulated)
• Dromedary Camel
• African Lion
• Savanna Aviary: Blue-bellied Roller, Taveta Golden Weaver, Red-bellied Parrot, Hamerkop, White-faced Whistling Duck
• Hillside Aviary: Klipspringer, Madagascar Sacred Ibis, Superb Starling, Yellow-billed Stork, Hooded Vulture, Rock Hyrax (confirmed by keeper to not be held in this exhibit anymore) (seen, unsigned: Hamerkop)
• Savanna Reptiles: Giant Plated Lizard, Sudan Plated Lizard, African Pancake Tortoise / Rock Hyrax (former Rock Monitor exhibit - monitor confirmed gone from zoo by keeper) / unsigned, nothing seen (former - possibly still - Royal Python)
• Plains Zebra (signed in 2021 as Grant's, now signed as Plains)
• Spotted Hyena
• Schmidt’s Red-tailed Monkey
• Meerkat

CALIFORNIA TRAIL

• Bald Eagle
• Gray Wolf
• California Condor
• Jaguar
• Grizzly Bear
• Mountain Lion
• American Black Bear
• American Bison

WILD AUSTRALIA*
Emu*, Common Wallaroo*, Agile Wallaby*

*did not visit; species listed on website

-------------------

Mammals (excluding domestics): 32
Birds: 21
Reptiles: 18
Amphibians: 9

Total (excluding domestics and invertebrates): 80

Besides the addition of klipspringer and rock hyrax (and of course the departure of elephants), the most notable difference from my 2021 visit was the drop in birds. The Savanna aviary hemorrhaged species, the Pied Crows and curassow are gone and Egyptian Goose wasn't seen or signed at the giraffe exhibit (the eland are also gone from this exhibit now).

 

[Zoo Birding]

I'm happy to read that they moved the hadada ibises into the refurbished flamingo aviary. I understand that they had to pinion the African spoonbills but I thought it was weird that, for an enclosed aviary, they didn't have any other flighted African waterbirds in the aviary. Would've been cool if they added their Egyptian geese in there or introduce another species like Cape shelducks or moved both their hamerkops and white-faced whistling-ducks into that aviary.

I'm sad to read that the great curassow pair have either passed away or were moved. Based on your list, their final Fischer's lovebird must've passed away. The pied crows must have either been killed or captured by someone in the community after they escaped from the Hillside Aviary. With the crows gone, I wonder what replacement or additional species they'll add. They'll need to be able to hold their own over the hooded vulture pair, Madagascar sacred ibises, the yellow-billed stork pair, and the klipspringers.

I also find it weird that they didn't move their superb starlings into the Savanna Aviary since I've seen them mixed with nearly all the species in that aviary at other zoos. I would love to see them include species like the buff-crested bustard, white-headed buffalo-weaver and/or red and yellow barbets into the Savanna Aviary.

I wish the zoo would redesign that large aviary where the macaws and agouti are currently housed and make that their first walkthrough aviary. It would be a great opportunity to move the Amazon parrots into that aviary and include such species like roseate spoonbills, scarlet ibises, and sunbitterns into that aviary.

I know right now, they're using the old curassow aviary as a holding spot for the klipspringers but I wonder what other species, thematically, would be more appropriate? Binturong? Ocelot? Or maybe they can hold any of the spider monkeys that come their way and put them on exhibit?

The old flight where the wreathed hornbills used to live in can still hold another, AZA-backed, Asian hornbill like the wrinkled or knock down the neighboring flight cage and join them to house either great or rhinoceros hornbills.

For the giraffe yard, the AZA really pushes for the Soemmerring's gazelle to be the go-to companion species for giraffe exhibits.

With the elephants gone, I wonder if they'll make it into a rhinoceros yard? I also never understood why they didn't move zebras away from the hyenas and put them in with the giraffes? Maybe they can cohabitate with whatever species they decide for the elephant yard.

I digress.

Thank you for sharing this update. Until they can add more species to the zoo, I don't see myself going back there anytime soon.

 

[DavidBrown]

I still can't believe that Oakland Zoo went out of elephants, but there it is.

 

[Coelacanth18]

The pied crows must have either been killed or captured by someone in the community after they escaped from the Hillside Aviary.

I know one was recovered, but I'm not sure if the other one (Diego) ever was? The recent USDA inspection report still had one Pied Crow listed, so it's just off-exhibit now I guess.

I still can't believe that Oakland Zoo went out of elephants, but there it is.

At least in Oakland's case, the elephant exhibit was at the end of a dead-end path; only for that brief moment I was by the Hillside Aviary did I even think about how there used to be elephants. Not like LA, where the now-empty elephant complex is right smack in the zoo's center and presumably hard to ignore.