Fresno Chaffee Zoo Fresno Chaffee Zoo News 2022

Adventuredl said:
The initial drawing called for the entire exhibit to have added and redone rockwork walls and intricate planting to match the rest of Asia. It’s closer in design to Komodo, which is more natural rockwork without temple theming. They are supposed to rip out the plumbing on the waterfall, reduce the flow and redo it to a filter system, as most of the new large pools in the zoo are on. They would resurface it with new rockwork as well. They would create a stream though the middle of the exhibit leading to a public overlooking deck by the cafe. This would have access to the ground floor of the exhibit where keepers can train and also do behind the scenes encounters. The main structure/barn itself is a concrete bunker, with solid concrete walls nearly a foot thick. Currently behind the scenes animal holding consists of 3 large rooms about 2 stories tall with hydraulic concrete doors nearly as tall as well as a hallway with 2 large horizontal metal bars that are hydraulic as well. They are supposed to put a hole in the right wall to build a chute to connect the current babirusa exhibit to this exhibit, as well as redo the rooms into hoofstock stalls. Blowing holes in all that concrete and redoing plumbing takes time and money, and they are supposed to complete all construction in the next 2 months and haven’t touched it yet.
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So if construction's supposed to be finished in Octoberish, but Kingdoms of Asia's going to be opened in February, does that mean the zoo's saving tapir/babirusa for a future phase or doing last-minute construction after October? I understand there's still animal acclimations and whatnot, as well as letting the plants establish (I really hope these exhibits do actually come out looking like a legitimate jungle)
 
Smaggledagle said:
On July 18th, the zoo announced that due to avian influenza, they have closed down their Rainforest and Australasian aviaries, moved their birds of prey, crested screamers, emu, ostrich, pelicans, and flamingo off exhibit, and modified the Wings Wonder Bird Show to limit fly-over demonstrations.

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On August 25th, the zoo announced that the Winged Wonders Bird Show has stopped running until further notice due to avian influenza.

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This is the most recent construction update of Kingdoms of Asia from the channel I mentioned earler. I'm especially hyped about the rockwork in particular, it's genuinely coming out to be as good as Sea Lion Cove and African Adventure! Can't wait to see how the finished product turns out!
 
New Masterplan to be Unveiled at Kingdoms of Asia Benefit Night

Kingdoms of Asia is scheduled to open early 2023. Species include Malayan tiger, Sloth bear, orangutans, False gharial, King cobra and Komodo dragon.

Progress continues on new Kingdoms of Asia exhibit at Fresno Chaffee Zoo

On Friday Night, the Fresno Chaffee Zoo will host its annual benefit called Safari Night, opening its door to more than 500 guests to experience the zoo and the construction of the new, immersive exhibit Kingdoms of Asia.

Located in the heart of the zoo, guests will enter through what looks like the 7th wonder of the world -- large concrete temple themed after Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Dohlin is also unveiling the zoo's new masterplan and mission statement.
 
As cool as more hippos would have been, I like this plan. That northern portion of the zoo where the California exhibits would go is just a small and forgettable area with a handful of primates, and the new aquarium won't be eliminating the Reptile House since a new one will be built on the south end.

Interesting that much of the unused portion south of Africa is just set aside for potential "rotating exhibits"... seems like prime real estate for a few more exhibits to me. But maybe that'll get decided at some point down the pipeline.
 
The goal with the master plan was to mainly focus on animals the zoo already has, and to upgrade them instead of giving focus to new flashy megafauna.
An interesting note is that a significant amount of the new species that are coming to the zoo are fish, with every new exhibit from kingdoms of Asia onward including them.

The rotating area is mainly for seasonal exhibits, such as the animatronic dinosaurs but temporary butterfly and reptile exhibits has been talked about as well.
 
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Adventuredl said:
The goal with the master plan was to mainly focus on animals the zoo already has, and to upgrade them instead of giving focus to new flashy megafauna.

The rotating area is mainly for seasonal exhibits, such as the animatronic dinosaurs but temporary butterfly and reptile exhibits has been talked about as well.
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I like the California focus, especially the vernal pools. That is a cool ecosystem that even most Californians do not know about.
 
DavidBrown said:
I like the California focus, especially the vernal pools. That is a cool ecosystem that even most Californians do not know about.
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The zoo received a significant grant for a California tiger salamander exhibit, a species that is known to inhabit them.
 
If I'm understanding this master plan correctly, they're going to remove the Australasian Aviary, the Wolf Woods section, current Galapagos tortoise / southern screamer paddock, and reptile house and revamp it into a full-fledge California section; do a complete overhaul of the part of the zoo that currently has the capybara and giant anteater exhibit, outdoor Komodo dragon exhibit, the fennec fox and Old World monkey enclosure, American flamingo pond, the Asian Tropical Birdhouse, raptor / hornbill aviaries, and the Roo Walkabout into the a "Conservation Corridor", and fit an aquarium in place.

What I find most interesting is the silence regarding overhauling / renovating the building inside the Tropical Rainforest Aviary.
 
macaw-maniac-91 said:
If I'm understanding this master plan correctly, they're going to remove the Australasian Aviary, the Wolf Woods section, current Galapagos tortoise / southern screamer paddock, and reptile house and revamp it into a full-fledge California section; do a complete overhaul of the part of the zoo that currently has the capybara and giant anteater exhibit, outdoor Komodo dragon exhibit, the fennec fox and Old World monkey enclosure, American flamingo pond, the Asian Tropical Birdhouse, raptor / hornbill aviaries, and the Roo Walkabout into the a "Conservation Corridor", and fit an aquarium in place.

What I find most interesting is the silence regarding overhauling / renovating the building inside the Tropical Rainforest Aviary.
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Everything that is not sea lion cove, African adventure and the new kingdoms of Asia will no longer exist.
The renovation inside the rainforest was canceled, and that interior exhibit is permanently closed.
 
macaw-maniac-91 said:
What I find most interesting is the silence regarding overhauling / renovating the building inside the Tropical Rainforest Aviary.
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Adventuredl said:
The renovation inside the rainforest was canceled, and that interior exhibit is permanently closed.
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Yeah, I noticed that the master plan has part of the play area on the footprint of that building, changed the aviary to just the outdoor walk-through, and added a primate enclosure to the side.
 
What I'm hoping is that the pronghorn and sandhill crane exhibit would be covered so the cranes can at least fly around. American zoos need to move away from pinioning large, flighted birds and give them the opportunity to fly. I understand flight-restraint in the form of constant wing trims is an option but one that's inconvenient for zoo staff and stressful for the bird.
 
The main reason why I visit Fresno Chaffee is because of their walkthrough aviaries and for being one of four California zoos that hold African elephants. I saw they plan on moving their macaws in their separate flights along the proposed "Conservation Corridor". Looks like they'll move their small primates that used to be in the building in the aviary into their separate enclosure next to the main walkthrough aviary. Geez, it's been decades since I've seen golden lion tamarins.

I glad to see there are plans to expand the elephant's habitat.

I'm wondering if Fresno Chaffee's Andean condor pair will be transferred to San Francisco if this plan comes into fruition.
 
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