San Diego Zoo San Diego Zoo

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geoffw

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I visited the San Diego Zoo in 1986, so comments about the zoo are perhaps not timely enough to be relevant.

But this zoo was one of the very first on a two week Contiki tour, which had started out of Los Angeles.

I'd met a rather attractive lady on the tour shortly before we went to the zoo. So, during the zoo visit, I stuck with her a little bit. We enjoyed the zoo very much- and in the end, there were just the two of us- having lost track of time- making a mad dash back to the bus to make it back, only just in time before the very strict time which had been laid out in concrete.

This being late became a bit of a tradition- this very attractive person became my wife.

I had not realised that the Mexican tradition on time and appointments is very laid back as compared with Australia- and especially as compared with the very punctual traditions I had inherited.
 
I have visited San Diego zoo twice ( about the same time as you were there)
From what I have heard from other people who have been there more recently , alot of the layout hasnt changed too much . So here is a general picture ;
The zoo is about 100 acres , very close to downtown San Diego . But it is spread out over 3 or 4 canyons , and those canyons are STEEP -- alot steeper than Wellington zoo or Taronga Park ! They have a cableway going right across and above the zoo -- magnificent views .
I recommend that people go on the double decker bus tour through the zoo , which is very informative compared to other zoo busses , and then you can go to the part which you were interested in and have a closer look .
There are anumber of escalators climbing the hills for your covenience ( did I tell you that this zoo is steep ?! )
The zoo certainly lives up to its reputation as being in the top zoos of the world , and the gardens are also top notch -- it certainly makes the zoo very green in what would otherwise be brown canyons . If anyone is visiting Southern california , I would certainly recommend it !
 
I loved San Diego zoo. They have had real sucsess in their hornbill breeding and hav a very large bird of Paradise collection. Unfortunatly when I went I did not know this and missed all of them.
 
Have just had a flick through my san Diego zoo book and have found a small article about calfbirds ( Capuchinbirds). Apparently the zoo used to have them. Do they still have them, do any other zoos hold it?
 
Going through ISIS i always pass my favorite animals (apparantly Philly zoo had 2 more giant otter pups) and when i hit the Douc langurs i got a very big suprise indeed. After keeping Douc langurs at San Diego for many years their group had dwindled to 1.3 and they decided to place 1.1 (mother and son) on loan to philadelphia Zoo and 0.2 (elderly) behind the scenes.

Now ISIS reports they have 9.9.4 ! Apparantly they imported a huge group of them, anyone know ANYthing about this import at all?
 
New douc langurs imported from Asia - that would be spectacular!!! However I won`t believe it until there is confirmation from another source, ISIS is not relieable and often has mistakes. I think I`ll email the zoo and see if I get an answer - or has anyone else already tried?
 
I tried to email them about tarictic hornbills, but they sent me a link to a kids help with your homework page. It may be an automated reply. I couln't find anywhere to ask properly. you have to post on their site, but it's not very clear.
 
Yassa said:
New douc langurs imported from Asia - that would be spectacular!!! However I won`t believe it until there is confirmation from another source, ISIS is not relieable and often has mistakes.
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I know ISIS is unreliable when it claims that animals are present, but until recently i'm sure ISIS read San Diego Zoo 0.2 and Philly Zoo 1.1. It would be weird if someone logged on as a member of San Diego Zoo and changed it into what it says now for no apparant reason?
 
Yes!! Great news. No view on panda cam at Present, but within the next 24 hours!!!

Also in panda terms; Mei sheng is returning to China.
 
douc langurs...

on the doucs i wouldn't get too excited. firstly thats and aweful lot of monkeys and i know of only one place that would have that many and thats the EPRC. somehow, since they are working at reintroducing primates into the wild, i doubt they would happily give away over 20 animals!! secondly it says that there are five animals of unknown sex. its usually not that hard to sex monkeys - not even from afar....
 
Writhedhornbill said:
Yes!! Great news. No view on panda cam at Present, but within the next 24 hours!!!

Also in panda terms; Mei sheng is returning to China.
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I imagine San Diego are privately getting pretty resentful of having to return every young Panda they produce, to China. They built an expensive Panda facility designed to hold up to six, but under this ruling, they can never have more than the two parents plus their most recent two cubs on show, as each cub has to leave the Zoo when its three years old.

Surely its time for China to let them at least set up a 2nd breeding pair, by allowing them to keep one offspring and providing an unrelated partner?

Given San Deigo's repeated success(four babies to date, all successful) it seems very unfair of China to repeatedly penalise their efforts like this.:(
 
I would have to agree with everything you have said here Grant, San Deigo zoo have put in a big effort here.
 
Unfair? For the Chinese, it`s all about money, and they are acting very clever to ensure that the giant pandas will continue to earn millions of dollars in the years to come for them. Through keeping ownership of all animals born in western zoos and forcing the zoos to send them back to China they make sure that there will never be a self-sustaining population outside China and that the only way for a western zoo to exhibit giant pandas is renting them from China. They don`t need US zoos to breed the pandas, since they are so sucessful in China these days, with more then 20 cubs born each year. The one in San Diego each two years is not really that important.

Actually, I think the western zoos should kick the Chinese in the ass and stop exhibiting pandas if they have to accept these condition... enough is enough. This has nothing to do with conservation at all, it`s only about MONEY.
 
let's just hope the money is actually going to panda care and conservation and not being embezzled by the government. you all know whats been going on with the olympics :p
 
Yassa said:
Actually, I think the western zoos should kick the Chinese in the ass and stop exhibiting pandas if they have to accept these condition... enough is enough. This has nothing to do with conservation at all, it`s only about MONEY.
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San Diego are caught between a rock and a hard place over this, and with a large Panda exhibit still half empty to constantly remind them of it..
 
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