Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum News

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Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

This establishment is actually regarded as one of the best, most naturalistic zoos in North America, and was founded in Tucson, Arizona in 1952. It is a zoo, museum and botanical garden all rolled into one, and has over 500,000 annual visitors.

There is a gem, mineral and fossil collection totalling 14,000 specimens, 6,000 books on desert ecology, 40,000 plants including over 1,300 species, and...

106 mammals of 31 taxa
241 birds of 72 taxa
361 reptiles of 86 taxa
122 amphibians of 23 taxa
10,700 fish of 9 taxa
840 arthropods of 78 taxa

Exhibit

This AZA award-winning exhibit is renowned for its natural ability to blend in to the surrounding desert. Javelinas (peccary pigs) are exhibited here, and this is just one of many noteworthy enclosures within the park.

There are other famous exhibits: Mountain Woodland, Desert Grassland, Cat Canyon (bobcat, margay, jaguarundi, ocelot), Desert Loop Trail, and the aquatic Riparian Corridor set of fish, beaver and river otter enclosures.

P.S. For you Aussies, this park is extremely similar to the brilliant Alice Springs Desert Park, which is found in the direct center of Australia.
 
The absolutely most astouning zoo exhibit I have ever seen, is at the ASDM. This facility overall is amazing, but the highlight is the desert loop trail. It takes you on a dg trail through real upland Sonora desert, the javelina habitat is so thoroughly hidden in the landscape that as you are walking, the peccaries seem as though they could literally be anywhere. The invisinet fencing is held up by artificial plant stems and branches hidden within real plants. Through a series of bridges over washes you cross over the exhibit a number of times. I've seen javelinas in the wild before, but this was as close to that experience as possible.
 
Historical Timeline

1952 - Groundbreaking April 1st; ASDM opened to the public Labor Day on its original 10 acres; Founded by William H. Carr, operated by the ANA
1953 - Admission charge of 50 cents instated; Papago dwelling built; “Desert Trails†(a weekly television program) created
1954 - Photographic Wildlife Blind
1955 - Incorporated as a non-profit educational corporation
1956- Original Aquarium exhibits opened in the East Wing of the Main Museum
1957 - Tunnel Exposition
1958 - Amphibian Room
1959- Water Street, U.S.A.
1961 - Main Entrance expansion (admissions, offices, conference room, library)
1963- Demonstration Desert Garden (1st section opened)
1964 - Gift Shop
1965 - Refreshment Area
1966 - Orientation Room
1967- Riparian Corridor (Otter-Beaver-Bighorn Complex)
1968 - Main Entrance expansion (executive offices)
1969 - Aquarium Hall
1971 - Demonstration Desert Garden (completed)
1973 - Cat Canyon
1978 - Tunnel Exposition closed
1986 - Mountain Woodland Habitat
1989- Life Underground (renovation of “Tunnel Expositionâ€Â)
1992 - Desert Grassland
1998 - Olsen Building (Off-exhibit holding of reptiles, amphibians, etc.); AZA Significant Achievement Award for Hummingbird Propagation and the Javelina Exhibit
2007 - Life on the Rocks
Future - Education Center, Jaguar/Mountain Lion Exhibit, Animal Retirement Facility
 
I had heard many years ago that the jaguar exhibit was permenantly shelved. Have they revived it? The tropical deciduous forest exhibit that they once planned was to be amazing.
 
I gleamed the future plans from the museum's website on its history page:

2004 was selected as the year to announce an $18 million capital campaign to the public. Having raised over $12 million in dollars and pledges, the Museum felt ready to bring this important campaign to the public for the remaining support. This capital drive represents the single largest fund-raising initiative ever undertaken by the Museum, and endeavors to bring much needed support to the Museum's modest endowment as well a new education building, jaguar/mountain lion habitat, and animal retirement facility. There has also been an increased focus on the role of public science education, as the Museum has more closely interfaced the education and science departments placing greater emphasis on the Sea of Cortez than in past years.
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I also understand that the local (Tucson) organization to build an aquarium in the area is working with the Desert Museum and may possibly build an aquatic facility near the Museum, but this (I heard) was still may years away.
 
Yeah, the Sonoran Sea Aquarium they are calling it. Interesting plans. High time AZ had an aquarium. I'm not putting too much stock in Mickey Olson's plans going up in Litchfield Park.
 
Great timeline, but a few of the most significant exhibits at ASDM were not mentioned:

The Cave (late 70s)--still the most realistic cave experience ever created in any zoo or museum. Signalled the beginning of the Larson Company, the for-profit rockwork venture founded by the former director of ASDM, that went on to do zoo work around the world.

Walk-through Aviary (early 80s?)

Hummingbird Aviary (late 80s?)

Desert Trail (groundbreaking, AZA Award-winning sequence featuring javelinas, coyotes, lizards in a brilliant immersion exhibit)--1996?

Coati exhibit (expansion of Riparian zone)--1998?


Brilliant place--one of my very favorites
 
thanks reduakari. I'm waiting for my budget to allow me to purchase a more current history book of the musuem that might hold dates for those exhibits. I believe the hummingbird exhibit opened at sometime in the 90s, I think it also received an AZA award.
 
I would add that they have the best cafeteria I've seen at any zoo (as well as an upscale restaurant that I've never eaten in because it's pricey and because the food in the regular cafeteria is so good). One of my major complaints about zoos is the lack of healthy food choices at some zoos. If they can consult a nutritionist for their animal diets, why can't they provide a good diet for visitors?!! Arizona Sonora Desert Museum provides a full day's pleasure, including a nice lunch (or dinner during summer Saturday nights).
 
I reported a few months ago in gallery that the javelina exhibit was ruined by cutting it in half and putting up a thick metal fence. That was apparently temporary while they made repairs. I was there last Thursday, which luckily happened to be the first day the renovated exhibit was reopened. It covers the entire original area and has a mesh fence again. HOWEVER, it is a thicker grade of mesh than the original (which was literally invisible except when the sun hit it just right). The new mesh is very obvious, not nearly as good as the original, but still better than the temporary fencing.

The black bear exhibit is still empty, but the last newsletter said they are going to refurbish it this summer and hopefully open it with a new bear this Fall.

The old raptor cages (which were the last of the old style cages) in the middle of the grounds were torn down many months ago. Unfortunately, they have been replaced with an "ethnobotany garden" (I think), which as far as I can tell is nothing more than a dirt plot with chicken wire draped across it.
 
Excellent news. Now... if they would just restore the collection in Cat Canyon... :)
 
Arizona Docent said:
I reported a few months ago in gallery that the javelina exhibit was ruined by cutting it in half and putting up a thick metal fence. That was apparently temporary while they made repairs. I was there last Thursday, which luckily happened to be the first day the renovated exhibit was reopened. It covers the entire original area and has a mesh fence again. HOWEVER, it is a thicker grade of mesh than the original (which was literally invisible except when the sun hit it just right). The new mesh is very obvious, not nearly as good as the original, but still better than the temporary fencing.

Sad to hear this award-winning and incredibly innovative exhibit has been compromised. Sounds like ASDM is in another period of poor direction, as has happened at several points in its history.
Click to expand...
 
I'm willing to cut them some slack on the mesh. I don't believe they just decided, "Hey we need thicker mesh here." It sounds to me like something came up that proved that the old mesh wasn't going to work one way or another. It would be interesting to know the circumstances, but they wouldn't have changed it if it was working.
 
It worked fine from 1995 until last year--when a wild javy "invaded." Sounds like the "risk managers" prevailed to me.
 
Is that not a problem? Why not just let them all come and go as they please shall we? What exactly should they have done?
 
That tiger enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo also worked pretty good for decades until December 2007...and we saw how that turned out.
 
Latest update is that they plan to renovate the black bear exhibit this Summer and hopefully have a new black bear on exhibit this Fall. (Last two black bears, both quite old, have been permanently retired and exhibit has been empty for at least a year). Renovation includes combining night houses into one larger house, so they can only have one bear (which is fine, since they're solitary by nature).
 
Yesterday I posted several photos of the new Life On The Rocks exhibit. (Well, it's sort of new, actually opened about a year ago). One of them is a shot of a mother scorpion with a couple dozen babies on her back! For some reason, the photos never showed up in the "New Photos" thread. But they are there in the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum gallery if you want to check them out.

When Life On The Rocks first opened, I wasn't crazy about it. But I like it more each time I see it. The bat is a new addition which is very cool.
 
I'm a little surprised there hasn't been more discussion on this zoo.
I visited it last month and thought it was awesome. I don't really have any major complaints about it at all, everything was well-done. Even without the animals in enclosures, there were plenty of native birds, lizards and even a rattlesnake around the grounds.

Partial list of species in the desert aviary...

Black-bellied Whistling-duck
Gambel's Quail
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
Inca Dove
Greater Roadrunner
Gila Woodpecker
Cactus Wren
Northern Cardinal
Great-tailed Grackle

Not a complete list but the bird collection appears to be decreasing. However some of the species in there especially the doves are in large numbers.
 
Siamang27, could you confirm whether or not there was a black bear on display again in the Mountain Woodlands section?

Also, were you properly impressed with the Hummingbird Aviary there?
 
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