San Diego Zoo Elephant oddessey
- Thread starter Dom
- Start date
@Drummerzoobloke: check out the photo gallery here at ZooChat, as there are a few new shots of Elephant Odyssey and a couple of lively debates over the quality of the exhibit.
Its massive and entertaining... =P there are lots of places to view the elephants and the side exhibits are very nice. The capybara and tapir have a nice waterfall and pond. The lion and jaguar exhibits are not completed, but the new jaguar exhibit has lots of climbing places and a good stream. The sloth exhibit is pretty neat to me, I was interested in how they would make the exhibit, and the climbing tree is very nice for the sloth. I don't think it will strip the tree of leaves anytime soon though.
mweb08
Well-Known Member
First off, I was quite disappointed that the lion and jaguar exhibits were yet to be completed, although it looks like it won't be much longer. The turtle/lizard/frog exhibit doesn't have any animals in it either. No secretary bird as well.
Now onto the exhibit, I think it's quite good despite my previous complaints that there's no grass/trees. It's plenty big enough imo, and I think I prefer the long slender style with the other exhibits at it's side. That allows many good views of the elephants, gives the elephants the ability to keep their distance from their herd mates if they want, and gives the visitor the stimulus of seeing other animals in between elephant views.
The pool looks great, and the mixed species concept is cool, even though that wasn't implemented at the time I was there.
The condor exhibit is great imo, very spacious and great viewing opportunities.
The camel/pronghorn exhibit is good as well, it's cool that the zoo has two camel species.
The rattlesnake exhibit is excellent.
The turtle/lizard/frog exhibit looks quite nice although there's no animals yet.
The big screen with the elephant video is a nice addition under the elephant bridge.
The insects are a nice little addition and shows the elephant/dung beetle relationship.
The tapir/capybara exhibit is good.
The jaguar exhibit looks like it will be quite good once it's done, just hope it becomes more lush. Certainly will provide great views, as will the lion exhibit, which I wish was a little larger, but is bigger and nicer than the other lion exhibit.
The guanacos are in a decent exhibit, but will at times have access to the elephant exhibit.
The sloth is in a solid exhibit, however, that's an animal that is likely to be hard to see/and or doing nothing the vast majority of the time.
The statues are ok.
The info on the extinct animals is a big plus imo.
Overall, I'm happy with it.
Now onto the exhibit, I think it's quite good despite my previous complaints that there's no grass/trees. It's plenty big enough imo, and I think I prefer the long slender style with the other exhibits at it's side. That allows many good views of the elephants, gives the elephants the ability to keep their distance from their herd mates if they want, and gives the visitor the stimulus of seeing other animals in between elephant views.
The pool looks great, and the mixed species concept is cool, even though that wasn't implemented at the time I was there.
The condor exhibit is great imo, very spacious and great viewing opportunities.
The camel/pronghorn exhibit is good as well, it's cool that the zoo has two camel species.
The rattlesnake exhibit is excellent.
The turtle/lizard/frog exhibit looks quite nice although there's no animals yet.
The big screen with the elephant video is a nice addition under the elephant bridge.
The insects are a nice little addition and shows the elephant/dung beetle relationship.
The tapir/capybara exhibit is good.
The jaguar exhibit looks like it will be quite good once it's done, just hope it becomes more lush. Certainly will provide great views, as will the lion exhibit, which I wish was a little larger, but is bigger and nicer than the other lion exhibit.
The guanacos are in a decent exhibit, but will at times have access to the elephant exhibit.
The sloth is in a solid exhibit, however, that's an animal that is likely to be hard to see/and or doing nothing the vast majority of the time.
The statues are ok.
The info on the extinct animals is a big plus imo.
Overall, I'm happy with it.
Last edited:
Thanks for the review and photos!! It sounds as if the $45 million exhibit is still a work in progress, with missing jaguars, lions, secretary birds and various reptiles and amphibians. I wonder how much of a rush job it was to get everything completed? From the photos I can see some positive additions to the zoo, but on the other hand the donkeys, horses, and loads of steel are ugly and let down many visitors. With San Diego everyone expects the best possible habitats, and for the amount of money spent I can only hope that this part of the zoo ages well over time.
mweb08
Well-Known Member
I will agree that the horses/donkeys are pointless.
I don't think the loads of steel are really letting down many visitors. Sure, it's a letdown to some here, but the people who post on here are a different breed of zoo goers. I don't think most people care about that. I also don't think this exhibit is that much worse in this regard than the WAP's exhibits. The utilitrees and the location/appearance of the elephant house is the difference there.
If this was a tiger or gorilla exhibit or something like that, I would agree that natural appearance would be important, but not with asian elephants. I'm not sure a very natural looking and large asian elephant exhibit exists. It would be very difficult to create and maintain imo.
I do think the elephant exhibit could be better, but I think it's pretty good, I also think the other exhibits are being somewhat overlooked here. This can't be judged solely on the elephant exhibit regardless of how one feels about that. The condor exhibit is great, the jaguar exhibit looks like it will be very good, the lion exhibit looks pretty good, the reptiles are in great exhibits, and the sloth and secretary bird are in good exhibits. Plus the animals surrounding the elephants are in good exhibits and many of them will be given access to the elephant yards, which I think is an exciting feature to EO.
Also, like most new exhibits, I think a few years of time is helpful in terms of judging it, lets see how trees/plants grow in, how the animals behave, and what if any adjustments the zoo makes to the exhibits. As someone else mentioned, monkey trails looks much better now than it did when it opened.
I don't think the loads of steel are really letting down many visitors. Sure, it's a letdown to some here, but the people who post on here are a different breed of zoo goers. I don't think most people care about that. I also don't think this exhibit is that much worse in this regard than the WAP's exhibits. The utilitrees and the location/appearance of the elephant house is the difference there.
If this was a tiger or gorilla exhibit or something like that, I would agree that natural appearance would be important, but not with asian elephants. I'm not sure a very natural looking and large asian elephant exhibit exists. It would be very difficult to create and maintain imo.
I do think the elephant exhibit could be better, but I think it's pretty good, I also think the other exhibits are being somewhat overlooked here. This can't be judged solely on the elephant exhibit regardless of how one feels about that. The condor exhibit is great, the jaguar exhibit looks like it will be very good, the lion exhibit looks pretty good, the reptiles are in great exhibits, and the sloth and secretary bird are in good exhibits. Plus the animals surrounding the elephants are in good exhibits and many of them will be given access to the elephant yards, which I think is an exciting feature to EO.
Also, like most new exhibits, I think a few years of time is helpful in terms of judging it, lets see how trees/plants grow in, how the animals behave, and what if any adjustments the zoo makes to the exhibits. As someone else mentioned, monkey trails looks much better now than it did when it opened.
According to Rick Schwartz the jaguar/lion habitats will be done near the end of June. I am sure with a months worth of work they will be really nice.
Personally I really love the new elephant exhibit. I think the Utilitrees although ugly work very well for the elephants. Honestly I have yet to see an Asian elephant exhibit that looks like the wilds of Asia. All the good Asian ones are spacious and have enrichment i.e. Columbus, St. Louis, Miami, Busch Gardens, etc. I agree that for gorillas and tigers it is far more fitting for them to be in environment that looks like their natural habitat. Elephants however are extremely costly and hard to maintain therefore it is more important that the needs of the pachyderms are met so that they are occupied with enrichment and foraging, and I have yet to see an Asian elephant habitat that looks like the wilds of Asia.
I give them credit for thinking outside the box with the utilitrees. May not be pretty, but they do have a specific purpose. I agree about the horses/donkeys. Kind of lame for a zoo with rep like SD. If they're wanting to go for a prehistoric theme, why not some Prezwalski's or maybe even re-engineered tarpan? They may not exaclty be from Cali, but it would provide less of a petting zoo feel with the exhibit.
Zooplantman
Well-Known Member
Asian elephants at the Bronx Zoo and Melbourne (attached)
I accept that you like these trees and the exhibit, but why do you insist that it was impossible for it to look good too?
Attachments
I like the picture of the old Elephant exhibit at Bronx. I personally thought the outside exhibit was nice and you didn't have to get on the monorail to see them. That was when the Zoo Center had asian elephants, malay tapir and rapunzel, sumatran rhino which was only a few years ago.
P.S. Sorry to go off subject
mweb08
Well-Known Member
I certainly think it could look better, but they also weren't going for an asian elephant natural habitat, so people wanting that really have more of an issue with the theme of the exhibit.
I agree with mweb08 and BlackRhino. I think the exhibit is nice and the exhibits surrounding are much better. I don't like the whole prehistoric theme though and I miss the Sable Antelope, Wapiti, and Lowland Anoas. Most of these animals I now have to go to the SDWAP and wait in a line to ride a bus to catch a glimpse of some of these animals. Anyways, yes this exhibit could look better and have more immersion, but I don't criticize the new Elephant Care Center or utlilitrees because they have some good application. The exhibit will probably look better after some time, and who knows... they might decide to move in some plants. EO is pretty good and entertaining to go see, but its not a spectacular exhibitry masterpiece, nothing to put at the end of "Ultimate Zoo" (maybe the first exhibit they show or would show concerning its not around anymore). As for the SDZ this is a good achievement for an old, constricted 2nd generation zoo who realizes this and is trying to modernize. If you check out here: Alexor Design (link thanks to Ituri), we can expect maybe some masterpieces in the future from the SDZ and even more from the WAP. So I'd say the zoo achieved something but still has more to bring to the table.
I could see this exhibit on Ultimate Zoo. If one never finds out about zoochat it is perhaps to them one of the best set of exhibits in America.
Yeah, I said I could see it on Ultimate Zoo, just not one that is really spectacular.
Once again... I agree, I loved the new Heart of the Zoo when it came out. Its landscape is covered in plants and the monkeys love the cages. There's so many places to walk and see animals from too.
Once again... I agree, I loved the new Heart of the Zoo when it came out. Its landscape is covered in plants and the monkeys love the cages. There's so many places to walk and see animals from too.
That is if they ever do Ultimate Zoo again (I wish).
mweb08
Well-Known Member
Went there today, update...
The jaguar exhibit is done and the cat was out for viewing.
The lion exhibit has the fencing up, seems to be done, lions make debut on 6/27.
Old lion exhibit is no longer viewable, signs are taken down, and it mentions the new exhibit in EO, not sure what they're doing with the two female cats in there since those aren't the ones going into EO as far as I understand.
Two camels were brought into an area just big enough for them to stand in and eat so people could get real close to them and pet them if they wished. I was lucky enough to be there during this.
A keeper was feeding one of the elephants while I was there and talking to the crowd. He was standing above their enclosure(and right in front of the fence) while dropping the food in front of him so people could get a good view of the elephant using it's trunk and eating. Pretty neat.
The Secretary Bird is now out.
The Guanacos/Tapirs/Capybara's now all have access to the both of their yards and the pool, which was not the case the last time I was there.
They are still waiting on most of the animals that go in the stream exhibit.
A little grass has grown in at some of the exhibits.
The rhinos are now in the old elephant exhibit.
Will load up some pics from the day.
The jaguar exhibit is done and the cat was out for viewing.
The lion exhibit has the fencing up, seems to be done, lions make debut on 6/27.
Old lion exhibit is no longer viewable, signs are taken down, and it mentions the new exhibit in EO, not sure what they're doing with the two female cats in there since those aren't the ones going into EO as far as I understand.
Two camels were brought into an area just big enough for them to stand in and eat so people could get real close to them and pet them if they wished. I was lucky enough to be there during this.
A keeper was feeding one of the elephants while I was there and talking to the crowd. He was standing above their enclosure(and right in front of the fence) while dropping the food in front of him so people could get a good view of the elephant using it's trunk and eating. Pretty neat.
The Secretary Bird is now out.
The Guanacos/Tapirs/Capybara's now all have access to the both of their yards and the pool, which was not the case the last time I was there.
They are still waiting on most of the animals that go in the stream exhibit.
A little grass has grown in at some of the exhibits.
The rhinos are now in the old elephant exhibit.
Will load up some pics from the day.
Last edited: