San Diego Zoo Elephant Odyssey opens May 23

BlackRhino said:
why is everyone so against the utili-trees? They are one of the most innovative concepts for an elephant exhibit I have ever seen. Sure, their ugly, but they are so useful to the elephants, and the whole goal of the exhibit was more so to keep these elephants active than immerse you in an Asian forest.
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Actually, the primary goal of the exhibit (at least as stated by SDZS) is to show how elephants and other animals lived in North America during the Pleistocene. A cartoonish set of animal sculptures next to giant metal "utilitirees" and a massive, unadorned concrete holding building are unlikely to allow visitors to feel transported back 12,000 years.

That said, this is clearly a huge leap forward in terms of elephant well-being and care at San Diego, and that is a very good thing.
 
Actually if you read the SDZ blog, the artists actually put a lot of effort into the sculptures, and (I think) they look really good in the exhibit.

I sort of meant the goal in moving the elephants into a new exhibit, not the overall goal of the exhibit.
 
The Phoenix Zoo's look like they are a lot more simplified than the ones the San Diego Zoo has.
 
Don't be fooled by there appearance. They have a computer controlled winch that lowers browse at different times, they have heaters, fans, and misters, they have shade, and they have a puzzle feeder. The ONLY thing that the utilitrees have that these do not is the acacia growing on top.
 
There's a video on the E.O. site that shows the WAP elephants in their new home. The video is taken at the pool area, so you really only see that part of the exhibit:

Elephant Odyssey

I just watched the Zoo elephants leave their old elephant mesa exhibit for their new home too:)
 
I would also like to see some grass and actual trees, although I understand the problems with that. Other than that, I don't get as worked up as some others on here about things not looking natural. I will of course reserve final judgement for when I actually visit the zoo after the exhibit is open.
 
mweb08 said:
I would also like to see some grass and actual trees, although I understand the problems with that. Other than that, I don't get as worked up as some others on here about things not looking natural. I will of course reserve final judgement for when I actually visit the zoo after the exhibit is open.
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I feel the same way.
 
Here is the video of the zoo elephants moving to Elephant Odyssey.

 
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As of last weekend, the construction was still going on full time. I hope it'll be ready by the opening day.

All three girls from the Elephant Mesa moved to the new exhibit.

The opening day is the start of the Memorial Day weekend, so expect the huge crowd, despite all the flu scares. I may wait one weekend or so.
 
I was reading some older San Diego Zoo blogs earlier ( Trying to find the one where they mentione my name and awnsered my question) and I ended up discovering that the original name for Elephant Oddesey was actually "American Elephant"
 
No kidding, American Elephant, what kind of name is that
 
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