This section is composed of most of the former Dog and Cat Canyon section, with many older rocky grottos and cages, mostly for carnivorous mammals. This exhibit is composed of two adjacent enclosures.
This section is composed of most of the former Dog and Cat Canyon section, with many older rocky grottos and cages, mostly for carnivorous mammals. This exhibit is composed of two adjacent enclosures.
This entire area of the zoo should really be extensively renovated, and I would rather have seen that occur instead of the infamous construction of Elephant Odyssey. The old canyon enclosures at the zoo are in striking contrast to the brilliance displayed elsewhere, and so hopefully "Africa Rocks" (ugh) will be altered considerably in the future.
Do the goral have access to both areas or just that one. This disappoints me there is no vegetation just concrete and two goats. I would have never thought that "The San Diego Zoo" would have an exhibit like this maybe 10 years ago but not now.
I think the goral have access to both yards. These exhibits are part of 5 pairs of small grottos in a row that were built for smaller carnivores long ago. In the mid-80s, after Goat Canyon (behind the current Polar Bear Plunge) was closed to public access, they started displaying goats and sheep and goat-antelopes in some of these exhibits and they installed the horrible fencing you see here. I remember seeing Japanese serow and mountain goats and Chinese goral for sure, and I think I saw chamois and Dalls sheep and Himilayan tar as well. These two goral yards are the only ones with goats still. Two of the former pairs have each been combined and netted and earth substrate added, one for striped hyena and one for New Guinea singing dogs. I suspect the other three will get a similar treatment in the future, including this one, and will probably not be for goral anymore after that. Based on the current collection and the new Africa Rocks section name, I could see this being the new habitat for bat-eared fox.
I remember traveling down this row and seeing such animals as Kamchatkan snow sheep, Dall's sheep, bharal, and Rocky Mountain goats. It was truly a sight to behold.
I don't think we'll be seeing new exhibits in this part of the zoo anytime soon. The zoo has renovated lots of these enclosures to be some what decent like the cat and dog exhibits. Bear Canyon(Outback, forget it, it will always be Bear Canyon to me until they demolish it) could also use new enclosures, but they have been renovated to be a lot better than some of the 1985 pictures on this site. I haven't seen or heard any plans for these two canyons. I bet it would be tricky to come up with a plan that still allows for road access and landscape immersion at the same time.
What I've heard from keepers in Reptile Mesa is that they have been promised facilities along the end of the canyon (not the Reptile House) for the smaller reptile exhibits for quite awhile. Reptile Mesa is supposed to be redone and it looks like that that will be the next project due to the new tortoise exhibit. Also, the Francois Langur exhibit by the koalas has been closed for construction too. Probably for a new Australian walk-through aviary suggest in the Alexor plans. The San Diego Zoo is also accumulating a lot Australian animals and enlarging the amount of animal ambassadors they have.
What I've heard from keepers in Reptile Mesa is that they have been promised facilities along the end of the canyon (not the Reptile House) for the smaller reptile exhibits for quite awhile.
Sorry I meant mesa. At the end of reptile mesa, where they have the small individual frog, turtle, amphibian, and snake houses. These are all supposed to be demolished and replaced in some form.
