Savannah Exhibits?

J

JBZvolunteer

Well-Known Member
With all these new threads about which zoo has certain popular animals on exhibit we begin to be drawn into the question which zoos are missing staple exhibit complexes? One of the most common zoo exhibits out their is a grouping of savannah animals, so I was wondering what zoos don't have an exhibit area for animals of the savannahs of Africa?

(At least this time we know that Binder Park Zoo has an this exhibit type!! :) ;) )
 
Do you mean the zoo can have species found in savannahs or they have a specific exhibit dedicated to the savannah?
 
Well, there's only one Savannah in the US, and it's in Georgia. There might be plenty of savanna exhibits though... :)
 
Lots of zoos DO NOT have a savannah exhibit per se, probably way too many to list. Also it might be hard to define what counts. I mean if they have two species of sub-sahara african animals together, does that automatically make it a savannah exhibit?

A more realistic question might be, what are the best savannah exhibits in the US? Give approximate size and number of species. Since wildlife parks such as San Diego Safari Park or The Wilds are essentially one giant savannah, I think it is safe to exclude them and restrict the list to traditional urban zoos.

Here are a couple favorites that I have personally seen:

Phoenix Zoo, 4 acres (I think)
giraffe, ankoli cattle, thomson gazelle, crowned crane, ruppel vulture, gerenuk (maybe - sometimes there, sometimes not), a smaller bird I forget, ostrich

Caldwell Zoo, 3-4 acres (a guess)
warthog, zebra, kudu, ostrich, impala, crowned crane

Dallas zoo, 6 acres with elephants (a guess)
giraffe, impala, zebra, crowned crane, guineafowl, ostrich ...... and neighboring elephant which is sometimes opened up to allow others to mix with elephants
 
Last edited:
Arizona Docent said:
Lots of zoos DO NOT have a savannah exhibit per se, probably way too many to list. Also it might be hard to define what counts. I mean if they have two species of sub-sahara african animals together, does that automatically make it a savannah exhibit?

A more realistic question might be, what are the best savannah exhibits in the US? Give approximate size and number of species. Since wildlife parks such as San Diego Safari Park or The Wilds are essentially one giant savannah, I think it is safe to exclude them and restrict the list to traditional urban zoos.

Here are a couple favorites that I have personally seen:

Phoenix Zoo, 4 acres (I think)
giraffe, ankoli cattle, thomson gazelle, crowned crane, ruppel vulture, gerenuk (maybe - sometimes there, sometimes not), a smaller bird I forget, ostrich

Caldwell Zoo, 3-4 acres (a guess)
warthog, zebra, kudu, ostrich, impala, crowned crane

Dallas zoo, 6 acres with elephants (a guess)
giraffe, impala, zebra, crowned crane, guineafowl, ostrich ...... and neighboring elephant which is sometimes opened up to allow others to mix with elephants
Click to expand...

You missed Common Eland, Lappet-faced Vulture, and Yellow-billed Stork in Phoenix.

Woodland Park Zoo has a nice one that also includes side exhibits for River Hippopotamus, Patas Monkey, African Lion, and Common Warthog. The mixed savanna exhibit houses Giraffe, Plains Zebra, Fringe-eared Oryx, Grant's Gazelle, Ostrich, Helmeted Guineafowl, and Black Spur-winged Goose.
 
By savannah exhibit i meant an exhibit featuring a large mixed savannah along with a couple side exhibits such as the ones Arizona Docent pointed out.
 
Birmingham - Elephant Bachelor Herd, White Rhino Trio, Hippo, Giraffe, Lion, Wild Dog, Zebra, Grant's Gazelle, Red River Hog, Guineafowl (11 Acres)
 
San Francisco Zoo has one, it is 3 acres and it used to be a Musk ox (Ovibos moschatus) exhibit, the african savannah exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo has Giraffes, Greater kudu, Scimitar horned oryxes, Grants zebra, and Ostrich

The Los Angeles Zoo where I work does not have a savannah exhibit but the closest thing that they did have was a Giraffe, Gerenuk, Lesser kudu exhibit 20 years ago, they also had in what is now the Grevys zebra exhibit a mixed savannah exhibit with Greater kudu, Impala, Crowned crane and Secretary birds

The closest thing to a savannah exhibit at Santa Ana Zoo is a 2 acre South American Pampas exhibit with Greater rheas, Guanacos, and Giant anteaters

And I kind of think about American bison/Pronghorn mixed exhibits as North American savannahs in a way
 
Oregon Zoo has an African Savanna exhibit that features
reticulated giraffe, Speke's gazelle, hippopotamus, gerenuk (southern subspecies), southern ground hornbill, egyptian spiny mice, naked mole rat, and De Brazza's monkey.
Damara zebra use to be exhibited but their last (and oldest) zebra has passed away about a month ago.

I would love to see other hoofstock besides the common giraffes and zebras. Though I know there are some species that just don't do well in zoos.
 
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