Fresno Chaffee or Micke Grove?

azcheetah2

azcheetah2

Well-Known Member
I am hoping to travel to Northern California this summer and will have the opportunity to visit either Fresno Chaffee or Micke Grove Zoo (due to distance from 'home base') and was wondering which one you would recommend if you have been to both. Both zoos have animals I like so I can't use that to help me decide. If you wouldn't recommend either and have another suggestion, I'd be happy to hear it. I'm already planning on SF Zoo and Oakland. Sacramento Zoo is also an option instead of Fresno or Micke Grove.

Thanks in advance for any input/suggestions you can give me!
 
The Micke Grove Zoo is a very small and underfunded zoo currently in an uphill battle to update a very old facility to modern standards. Although I love the zoo and have made major efforts to support their cause and though it is a charming small zoo, I feel that if you are coming a long way to see it you'll be disappointed. You'll most likely be better off at Fresno or Sacramento. Sacramento is a nice zoo and although I've never seen Fresno's zoo, I've heard it's nice.
 
Marazzi42 said:
The Micke Grove Zoo is a very small and underfunded zoo currently in an uphill battle to update a very old facility to modern standards. Although I love the zoo and have made major efforts to support their cause and though it is a charming small zoo, I feel that if you are coming a long way to see it you'll be disappointed. You'll most likely be better off at Fresno or Sacramento. Sacramento is a nice zoo and although I've never seen Fresno's zoo, I've heard it's nice.
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Thank you for taking the time to give me your opinion. Since I live in Central Arizona, it is a bit of a trip to get to that area so I'd hate to be disappointed by the state of a zoo I chose to visit. I am all for supporting zoos that are in dire need of it, as it sounds like Micke Grove is, but...

Thanks again.
 
Hi azcheetah2: if you needed to pick I would recommend Fresno as it is a larger zoo with more animals. I also love Micke Grove and it needs a lot of support. They have a great staff and were in the middle of building a new snow leopard-Asian small clawed otter complex when the horrible recession hit. They have lost staff positions and consequently their AZA accreditation. Hopefully that will turn around.

Fresno has a fairly comprehensive collection for its small size (Asian elephants, giraffes, orangutans, good reptile house, sea lions (new exhibit under construction), tigers, rain forest aviary, Malayan tapirs, peccaries, giant anteaters, among other species).

Sacramento has a zoo in a beautiful botanical setting. It also has a good collection for its size (giraffes, orangs, good reptile house, Coquerel's sifakas, Grevy's zebras, lions, tigers, jaguars, snow leopards, tamanduas, thick-billed parrots, yellow-billed magpies, red pandas, giant anteaters, chimpanzees).

Micke Grove has a nice lemur exhibit, a good puma exhibit, a good Mediterranean aviary with Waldrapp's ibis (or at least used to). They used to have Chinese alligator and Rodrigues fruit bats, but I think that these species have left.

I hope that you have a good trip. All three of these zoos are within 3 hours of each other on Highway 99 and could conceivably be visited on an ambitiously busy day.
 
DavidBrown said:
Hi azcheetah2: if you needed to pick I would recommend Fresno as it is a larger zoo with more animals. I also love Micke Grove and it needs a lot of support. They have a great staff and were in the middle of building a new snow leopard-Asian small clawed otter complex when the horrible recession hit. They have lost staff positions and consequently their AZA accreditation. Hopefully that will turn around.

Fresno has a fairly comprehensive collection for its small size (Asian elephants, giraffes, orangutans, good reptile house, sea lions (new exhibit under construction), tigers, rain forest aviary, Malayan tapirs, peccaries, giant anteaters, among other species).

Sacramento has a zoo in a beautiful botanical setting. It also has a good collection for its size (giraffes, orangs, good reptile house, Coquerel's sifakas, Grevy's zebras, lions, tigers, jaguars, snow leopards, tamanduas, thick-billed parrots, yellow-billed magpies, red pandas, giant anteaters, chimpanzees).

Micke Grove has a nice lemur exhibit, a good puma exhibit, a good Mediterranean aviary with Waldrapp's ibis (or at least used to). They used to have Chinese alligator and Rodrigues fruit bats, but I think that these species have left.

I hope that you have a good trip. All three of these zoos are within 3 hours of each other on Highway 99 and could conceivably be visited on an ambitiously busy day.
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Thank you for your input, David. You just made my decision all the more difficult. The Lemur exhibit is a big reason why I was considering Micke Grove! All 3 possible in one day, huh? Hahaha.
 
azcheetah2 said:
Oh man, you would have to suggest something like that. Sanctuaries are my weakness. Especially when they involve cats.
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Just to let you know, it is technically NOT a sanctuary (which I take to mean a place that strictly takes in unwanted cats that need a home). Cat Haven actually procures its animals from breeders or direct import and occasionally breeds their cats as well. However, it is a good facility, and they are very strongly involved in raising funds to help cats in the wild. Several field conservation projects they support.
 
Arizona Docent said:
Just to let you know, it is technically NOT a sanctuary (which I take to mean a place that strictly takes in unwanted cats that need a home). Cat Haven actually procures its animals from breeders or direct import and occasionally breeds their cats as well. However, it is a good facility, and they are very strongly involved in raising funds to help cats in the wild. Several field conservation projects they support.
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Oh, okay. Thank you for the clarification. I didn't really look too deeply into the website and with a name like Cat Haven I assumed they'd be a sanctuary. But no, if they breed they are definitely not a sanctuary, but they're still good in that they take in unwanted/abused cats so they're kind of like a sanctuary.
 
If you are primarily interested in lemurs then would definitely recommend Sacramento as they have Coquerel's sifaka, black and white ruffed, and mongoose lemurs. Micke Grove is about 40 minutes from Sacramento and both of those zoos could be visited in a day with no problem.
 
DavidBrown said:
If you are primarily interested in lemurs then would definitely recommend Sacramento as they have Coquerel's sifaka, black and white ruffed, and mongoose lemurs. Micke Grove is about 40 minutes from Sacramento and both of those zoos could be visited in a day with no problem.
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Thank you. I like Lemurs and cats so I was looking at the zoos that had the animals I like the most and it looks like Sacramento has more than Fresno, although I'd like to see the Malayan tiger Paka (assuming he's still there). However, I've decided that if I'm able to make the trip, I'll be going to Fresno and Micke Grove. Trying all 3 in one day is a bit too ambitious for me.

I really appreciate all the input you (and everyone has) has given me. :)
 
I am going to Fresno Chaffee Zoo next week with four other people from Reid Park Zoo (then on to Sequoia and Cat Haven). We know the Fresno director who used to be the curator at Reid Park. I will post a report and photos late next week.
 
Arizona Docent said:
I am going to Fresno Chaffee Zoo next week with four other people from Reid Park Zoo (then on to Sequoia and Cat Haven). We know the Fresno director who used to be the curator at Reid Park. I will post a report and photos late next week.
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I hope you have a fun and safe trip. I look forward to your report and photos!
 
Arizona Docent said:
I am going to Fresno Chaffee Zoo next week with four other people from Reid Park Zoo (then on to Sequoia and Cat Haven). We know the Fresno director who used to be the curator at Reid Park. I will post a report and photos late next week.
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Any gossip that you can get on how the Fresno Africa exhibit plan is coming along and what it will be like (species, etc.) would be greatly appreciated, as this could be a great exhibit complex. Hopefully it is on target for a 2014 completion. From previous zoo press material it sounds like it will have new African elephant herd exhibit; a mixed-species savanna for giraffes, white rhinos, and antelope; spot-necked otters, and a lion exhibit. Hopefully that is all still intact.

I hope that you have a great trip. Hopefully the sequoias will be glorious and not too crowded.
 
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