San Diego Zoo Africa Rocks Reviews and discussion
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Are the coquerel's sifaka on exhibit yet?
Not yet.
!
What about now?
Nope, but the ring-tailed and red ruffed lemurs were on exhibit together yesterday.
My excerpt from vacation thread about my visit today:
After that I immediately made my way to AR. I began at the old kopje which holds of fantastically for its age. The main mixed species habitat is still as great as it always was. I only saw a single klipspringer, about three hyrax huddled at the top of a boulder, and a family of dwarf mongoose resting in a corner. Not the most active, but must be buzzing when they are. The old North Chinese Leopard exhibit makes a great home for the pair of servals that live there. Ironically, the exhibit is still fairly new (2011) and its already been home to three species (the other being caracals). Servals definitely make the best use of the space and mesh well into the rest of the kopje. Other than that, two small aviaries for passerines, a basic but large meerkat yard and a small yellow spotted hyrax cage make up the rest. However, my favorite exhibit in this section is the bataleur aviary. Two eagles are treated to a large sloped space and they look wonderful in it. I'm really glad they kept this older section around, as it still integrates perfectly into the new habitats.
Next up is the Ethiopian Highlands. There are three massive yards that were each home to a different species on my visit. There largest and furthest south habitat held an engaging group of hamadryads baboons that were a joy to watch. The middle habitat held one of only two groups of geladas in the US. And the furthest North Habitat held the newly introduced Nubian ibex. The ibex are intended to be mixed with the primates in the near future, but until then each species will remain separate. The H Baboons were my favorite to observe. 20 baboons of all ages chasing each other around a rocky hill was great. Visitors actually made comments about the animals that weren't "HAHAHAHA LOOK AT THEIR BUTS!!! HAHA" (Though there was of course a couple). Anyways, this habitat is probably my favorite, and my only flaw in that there is a rather ugly wall at the back of all three exhibits. Nothings perfect I suppose.
Acacia Woodlands was next and I enjoyed it a lot. The leopard was resting between the transfer shoot that is cleverly imbedded into the rocks between both exhibits. The first exhibit was a fine size, but the second exhibit felt just a tad too small for my liking. Still better then a good majority of leopard exhibits though. The standard isn't exactly high but the exhibit is still nice. Vervet monkeys were entertaining. Only about four were out but they were all over the mesh and trees in the exhibit. A larger group could turn this in to a real sight to see though. Then the aviary was approached and the zoo is famous for already having a trio of fantastic free-flight walkthrough aviaries. The Scripps, Owens and Parker aviary are all fantastic (more on them later) so I expected something good from this one. Its quite good, but doesn't quite have as many species as the others. Still really good and a worthy addition to the zoo.
I went into Madagascar with mixed expectations. The mesh was the biggest concern, however it looked much better in person. It was a cloudy day so maybe when its sunny its harder to see through but it was perfectly fine today. I saw 3 of the 5 lemur species (Ring-tailed, Red Ruffed and Blue eyed Black) and the exhibits look great for them. They can climb very far in the air and the planting looked really good to me. I was a slightly disappointed that the conquerel's sifaka wont be on exhibit for another week of so but I'm sure once all five species are together it will look remarkable. The ratel was a no show but the exhibit looked pretty nice. The fossa was poucning around on the rock background with her cups which was really fun to watch. Fossa cubs aren't the most commonly seen creatures in zoos.
West African Forest is the smallest area in AR. The waterfall is magnificent and is really well made. The mixed species reptile enclousree is also really great. A dwarf croc was relaxing in the sun while two turtle species swam with several unsigned fish in the exhibit. The land area is lushly planted throughout and the glare really was not as bad as I though it would. Again, it could have been because it was a cloudy day.
Finally we have Cape Fynbos. The African penguin and leopard shark exhibit is easily one of the best for both species. The land area has rocky alcoves, real plants and some great rockwork. Some of the best fake rock I have ever seen in a zoo. The underwater viewing area is where this exhibit really shines however. The massive viewing windows look right into penguins gliding across the water in front and behind boulders and fake seaweed. It would be better if it was real, but again nothings perfect.
Africa Rocks is a lovely exhibit and a strong addition to the zoo. When things such as the hyenas, zebras, aye-ayes and other things started to get cut from the plan, I really started to worry about how it would turn out. It feels great to be proven wrong. The exhibits like a fine wine, it gets better with age. Once the plants grow in more the exhibit will look even be even better.
My rankings of the six Africa Rocks areas:
1. Ethiopian Highlands
2. Cape Fynbos
3. Kopje
4. Acacia Woodlands
5. Madagascar
6. West African Forest
After that I immediately made my way to AR. I began at the old kopje which holds of fantastically for its age. The main mixed species habitat is still as great as it always was. I only saw a single klipspringer, about three hyrax huddled at the top of a boulder, and a family of dwarf mongoose resting in a corner. Not the most active, but must be buzzing when they are. The old North Chinese Leopard exhibit makes a great home for the pair of servals that live there. Ironically, the exhibit is still fairly new (2011) and its already been home to three species (the other being caracals). Servals definitely make the best use of the space and mesh well into the rest of the kopje. Other than that, two small aviaries for passerines, a basic but large meerkat yard and a small yellow spotted hyrax cage make up the rest. However, my favorite exhibit in this section is the bataleur aviary. Two eagles are treated to a large sloped space and they look wonderful in it. I'm really glad they kept this older section around, as it still integrates perfectly into the new habitats.
Next up is the Ethiopian Highlands. There are three massive yards that were each home to a different species on my visit. There largest and furthest south habitat held an engaging group of hamadryads baboons that were a joy to watch. The middle habitat held one of only two groups of geladas in the US. And the furthest North Habitat held the newly introduced Nubian ibex. The ibex are intended to be mixed with the primates in the near future, but until then each species will remain separate. The H Baboons were my favorite to observe. 20 baboons of all ages chasing each other around a rocky hill was great. Visitors actually made comments about the animals that weren't "HAHAHAHA LOOK AT THEIR BUTS!!! HAHA" (Though there was of course a couple). Anyways, this habitat is probably my favorite, and my only flaw in that there is a rather ugly wall at the back of all three exhibits. Nothings perfect I suppose.
li">- Media
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Acacia Woodlands was next and I enjoyed it a lot. The leopard was resting between the transfer shoot that is cleverly imbedded into the rocks between both exhibits. The first exhibit was a fine size, but the second exhibit felt just a tad too small for my liking. Still better then a good majority of leopard exhibits though. The standard isn't exactly high but the exhibit is still nice. Vervet monkeys were entertaining. Only about four were out but they were all over the mesh and trees in the exhibit. A larger group could turn this in to a real sight to see though. Then the aviary was approached and the zoo is famous for already having a trio of fantastic free-flight walkthrough aviaries. The Scripps, Owens and Parker aviary are all fantastic (more on them later) so I expected something good from this one. Its quite good, but doesn't quite have as many species as the others. Still really good and a worthy addition to the zoo.
I went into Madagascar with mixed expectations. The mesh was the biggest concern, however it looked much better in person. It was a cloudy day so maybe when its sunny its harder to see through but it was perfectly fine today. I saw 3 of the 5 lemur species (Ring-tailed, Red Ruffed and Blue eyed Black) and the exhibits look great for them. They can climb very far in the air and the planting looked really good to me. I was a slightly disappointed that the conquerel's sifaka wont be on exhibit for another week of so but I'm sure once all five species are together it will look remarkable. The ratel was a no show but the exhibit looked pretty nice. The fossa was poucning around on the rock background with her cups which was really fun to watch. Fossa cubs aren't the most commonly seen creatures in zoos.
West African Forest is the smallest area in AR. The waterfall is magnificent and is really well made. The mixed species reptile enclousree is also really great. A dwarf croc was relaxing in the sun while two turtle species swam with several unsigned fish in the exhibit. The land area is lushly planted throughout and the glare really was not as bad as I though it would. Again, it could have been because it was a cloudy day.
li">- Media
- Information
Finally we have Cape Fynbos. The African penguin and leopard shark exhibit is easily one of the best for both species. The land area has rocky alcoves, real plants and some great rockwork. Some of the best fake rock I have ever seen in a zoo. The underwater viewing area is where this exhibit really shines however. The massive viewing windows look right into penguins gliding across the water in front and behind boulders and fake seaweed. It would be better if it was real, but again nothings perfect.
Africa Rocks is a lovely exhibit and a strong addition to the zoo. When things such as the hyenas, zebras, aye-ayes and other things started to get cut from the plan, I really started to worry about how it would turn out. It feels great to be proven wrong. The exhibits like a fine wine, it gets better with age. Once the plants grow in more the exhibit will look even be even better.
My rankings of the six Africa Rocks areas:
1. Ethiopian Highlands
2. Cape Fynbos
3. Kopje
4. Acacia Woodlands
5. Madagascar
6. West African Forest
Sorry if this has been addressed at some point, but are the leopard sharks and penguins sharing the same enclosure?
The_UltimateBea
Well-Known Member
Y
Yes.
I saw Africa Rocks back when it was still under construction, and was confused as to what the mesh "circus tent" roof was for. In all honesty, I thought San Diego was going to go for a walk-through lemur habitat with the way the construction was. As much as the animals' habitats suit their needs, the rockwork is just garish, (seriously, fire all those in charge of designing the rockwork and hire a geologist or an external design team) there is no attempt at "immersion" whatsoever. It's just an urbanized view of the animals from steel and cable fencing. Compare the path through Tiger River, (which uses riverbanks to demarcate the paths in a genius manner) to this. I also loathe the wide concrete paths, although those could have been constructed with practicality in mind. Overall, based on what I saw from construction as well as from the photos, Africa Rocks is a decent addition to the zoo. The truly spectacular habitats in my opinion are the Kopje portions and the Hamadryas Baboon portion of Ethiopian Highlands. (The one without those weird rock walls that has a background of foliage).
I am certain the wide concrete paths are for practicality purposes. Tiger River is brilliant in design and appearance, but completely unmanageable on a crowded day (which is most days at this zoo). It (Tiger River) is also unsuitable for wheelchairs or walkers, which is one of the reasons for the design of Africa Rocks. I do agree with your comment on the rockwork. My local Arizona Sonora Desert Museum has been doing extremely realistic rockwork since the 1970's, so obviously it can be done.
The_UltimateBea
Well-Known Member
I guess I don't have a problem with the rockwork as I have never seen better!
The_UltimateBea
Well-Known Member
Can we all agree that the zoos focus on horticulture works wonders? Great plantings throughout.
The_UltimateBea
Well-Known Member
http://zoonation.org/san-diego-zoo-expansion-africa-rocks/
Oh, how much has changed. None of the original concept art made it into the final Africa Rocks exhibit. What do you most wish was kept in the plans? Was this just a case of misleading marketing?
Oh, how much has changed. None of the original concept art made it into the final Africa Rocks exhibit. What do you most wish was kept in the plans? Was this just a case of misleading marketing?
I agree with this sentiment. The whole area feels very urban as there is so much stainless steel and concrete throughout. You're always up against a very high wall of fake rock. The rockwork is very poor and alarmingly fake, there are good sections here and there, but always a random "cave" or flat architectural line to throw it off. The color looks sprayed on and there is no attempt to blend it in with the the texture or form of the rockwork. Rady's "West Africa" Falls uses the rockwork from the Madagascar section, and the view of it is scarred by fencing and stainless steel cables.
The_UltimateBea
Well-Known Member
This is a general poll regarding your opinion of Africa Rocks as a whole.
Is your view of Africa Rocks more positive or negative?
Is your view of Africa Rocks more positive or negative?