California Living Museum California Living Museum Species List Oct 2022

[Coelacanth18]

This is a full list of species on display at California Living Museum (CALM) as of October 2022. This small zoo on the outskirts of Bakersfield is focused on local California wildlife. Their website is outdated/not entirely accurate, and in any case only covers mammals and birds; therefore, this list should provide clarity as to what people can see there.

Italics indicate the animal was signed, but not seen. Subspecies are included for species whose signage included that info. Slashes indicate separate exhibits in the same area/complex.

I also took many photos, which I'm hoping to upload soon.

Outdoor Exhibits:

Meshed Desert Habitat: Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise, Harris’s Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Western Pond Turtle

Pair of Owl Enclosures: Long-eared Owl / Great Horned Owl

Pair of Small Mammal Enclosures: Striped Skunk / Virginia Opossum

Petting Zoo/Farm Area: domestics

Exhibits on Waterfowl Path (blocked off due to avian flu): Black-crowned Night Heron, American White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Mallard, Canada Goose / Blue-winged Teal / Ringtail / last exhibit couldn’t see signage, saw a Canada Goose

American Black Bear
Coyote

Pair of Cages: California Scrub-Jay / Acorn Woodpecker

Mammal Roundhouse: Red Fox / White-nosed Coati / Northern Raccoon / Island Fox / Grey Fox

Mule Deer

Corn-crib Enclosure: Burrowing Owl, Western Screech Owl, American Kestrel

American Badger
Raccoon (again)

Raptor Aviary Circle: Golden Eagle / Bald Eagle / California Condor / Turkey Vulture / Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier, Peregrine Falcon, Barn Owl, North American Porcupine

Desert Bighorn Sheep

Cats of California: Bobcat / Puma

Empty and Unsigned Exhibits:

Exhibit by exit (map indicates North American Porcupine)
Aquatic exhibit outside Reptile House, with water drained (map indicates American Beaver)

Reptile House (separate enclosure for every species; some have multiple enclosures):
Reptiles:
Banded Gila Monster
Panamint Rattlesnake
Mojave Rattlesnake (nominate ssp)
Northern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus)
Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake (signed as Crotalus mitchellii pyrrhus)
Sidewinder Rattlesnake
Gopher Snake (4 ssp – Baja, Pacific, San Diego, and Great Basin)
Common Chuckwalla
California Lyre Snake (Trimorphodon lyrophanes)
California Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis zonata multicincta, signed as Sierra Mountain)
Coastal Rosy Boa
California Kingsnake
Desert Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus magister)
San Joaquin Coachwhip Snake (M. f. ruddocki)
Desert Iguana
Alligator Lizard (Elgaria spp.)
Amphibians:
Pacific Tree Frog
Mammals:
Mexican Free-tailed Bat
Nelson’s Antelope Squirrel
San Joaquin Pocket Mouse

3 small unsigned exhibits might be for invertebrates (1 had a large web in it), but I couldn't find anything in them

California Coast Room (only open weekends 10-3):
Moon Jelly (Aurelia aurita)
Pacific Seahorse (Hippocampus ingens)
Small Tidepool Touch Exhibit (small whiteboard on wall noted many species present, but I did not get a photo of it nor any photos of the exhibit)


Total Animals Signed or Seen:

Mammals: 19
Birds: 23
Reptiles: 19
Amphibians: 1
Fish: 1
Invertebrates: several, only 1 verified

 

[Coelacanth18]

Minor updates from a revisit today:

I forgot to list the San Joaquin Kit Fox in my original list; it can be found at the mammal roundhouse with the other foxes.

Meshed Desert Habitat: Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise, Harris’s Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Western Pond Turtle

All signage for the species except desert tortoise have been removed; having seen none of them in there twice, I already suspected they weren't present.

Conversely, there *is* now a Southwestern Pond Turtle on display in the Reptile House. It did not displace any species.

Corn-crib Enclosure: Burrowing Owl, Western Screech Owl, American Kestrel

I'm now 0/3 for seeing the screech owl or kestrel in this enclosure - and it's very small - so I'm pretty sure they are not present either.

Exhibits on Waterfowl Path (blocked off due to avian flu): Black-crowned Night Heron, American White Pelican, Brown Pelican, Mallard, Canada Goose / Blue-winged Teal / Ringtail / last exhibit couldn’t see signage, saw a Canada Goose

Not sure if it's new or if I missed it initially, but Green Heron is also signed with the Blue-winged Teal. All of these enclosures are still blocked off due to avian flu, and I saw none of their inhabitants.

 

[DavidBrown]

It's interesting that this zoo does not have a river otter exhibit, which seems like low-hanging fruit for a crowd-pleasing exhibit that many other California zoos have.

Was there any sign of the San Joaquin pocket mouse on your recent exhibit?

It also appears from your species list that there is no San Joaquin kit fox on exhibit?

 

[Coelacanth18]

It's interesting that this zoo does not have a river otter exhibit, which seems like low-hanging fruit for a crowd-pleasing exhibit that many other California zoos have.

I didn't even notice until you mentioned it, but yeah no otters. Roadrunner is another seemingly ideal species they don't have, though they used to.

Was there any sign of the San Joaquin pocket mouse on your recent exhibit?

Not on this visit. I did see it a couple months ago, briefly; I have a photo I forgot to upload to the gallery.

It also appears from your species list that there is no San Joaquin kit fox on exhibit?

That was an oversight, thanks for pointing it out. The mammal roundhouse does indeed have one elderly San Joaquin Kit Fox, which I always see sleeping in a corner.