I will load some pictures of the new meerkat exhibit soon. I didn't see the butterfly pavilion - maybe it was a temporary exhibit?
The 2007 frog exhibit was a remodel of the indoor exhibits of Eagle Canyon. They were originally comparative exhibits of African and North American desert animals. They had adjacent exhibits with jerboa and kangaroo rat, a naked mole rat exhibit, elephant shrew, and spiny mice. It was a unique small mammal exhibit.
Where is the new meerkat exhibit? (This is news to me). Is it next to the future lion exhibit as originally planned? Also, do you happen to know what species is in the small mammal cage the meerkats used to inhabit?
Where is the new meerkat exhibit? (This is news to me). Is it next to the future lion exhibit as originally planned? Also, do you happen to know what species is in the small mammal cage the meerkats used to inhabit?
The new meerkat exhibit is located in the East Africa garden area. The old meerkat exhibit is empty. All of the other old cages are still in use with rock hyrax, sand cat, and Arabian wild cat. The cage that housed a serval now has a Scops owl. The serval is now in the former caracal exhibit in Eagle Canyon. These cages are the least attractive exhibits at the zoo as others have mentioned and will hopefully be replaced with modern exhibits at some point.
The Living Desert has a wildlife rehabilitation hospital for injured wildlife and many of the aviaries have non-releasable raptors and other birds. Some of the species seen in these aviaries in my January 2013 visit: turkey vulture, snowy egret, black-crowned night herons, Harris hawk, peregrine falcon, great horned owl, barn owl, burrowing owl, acorn woodpecker, scrub jay, American raven, curve-billed thrasher, evening grosbeak. There were also aviaries with painted bunting and crested caracara.
- Here is a breakdown of North American bird aviaries via my 2011 review:
Smaller aviaries that are found scattered along the way to Eagle Canyon have these species: Barn Owl, Curve-Billed Thrasher, Roadrunner, Scrub Jay, Burrowing Owl, Caracara, Black-Headed Grosbeak, Acorn Woodpecker, Painted Bunting, Varied Bunting, Red-Tailed Hawk, Harris’ Hawk, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl, Great Horned Owl and Prairie Falcon.
- Two more avaries with full species listing from 2011:
There is also a walk-through aviary with these 7 species: Turkey Vulture, Green Heron, Black-Crowned Night Heron, Common Raven, Roadrunner, Common Egret and Great-Tailed Grackle. A second, smaller walk-through aviary has these 11 species: Common Moorhen, Fulvous Duck, Snowy Egret, White-Winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Common Flicker, Redhead Duck, American Wigeon, Mexican Cacique, Black-Vented Oriole and Great Blue Heron.
- African aviaries from 2011:
There are also numerous bird aviaries in the African zone with these species: White-Faced Scops Owl, Spur-Winged Plover, Cape Thicknee, Racquet-Tailed Roller, Red-Billed Hornbill, Spur-Winged Plover, Waldrapp Ibis, Eurasian Black Vulture and various weaver birds in a large aviary.
They have always had striped hyenas. They also used to have an aardwolf, but it passed and there is now an African crested porcupine in the former aardwolf exhibit.
