Fresno Zoo has had addax for many years, going back to the original giraffe and antelope complex that is now where the Australia exhibit and the Asia complex are.
Fresno Chaffee Zoo Fresno Chaffee Zoo News 2025
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Fresno Zoo has had addax for many years, going back to the original giraffe and antelope complex that is now where the Australia exhibit and the Asia complex are.
I was looking at old posts and I saw that they did use to have them, but apparently they phased them out for a while but now brought them back. I think the zoo is planning on breeding them again from the looks of it. However they also don’t have a male yet. I’m gonna ask someone there tomorrow more about that.
FrederickA
Active Member
Well a thing of note regarding the addax is that one of the females arrived pregnant already and gave birth at the zoo a few weeks ago and I was told that the calf would be the only addax baby for now at least and that the wildebeest and sent out to different zoos for breeding in exchange for the addaxes; can't say where they come from though.
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that’s weird. I didn’t see a calf while I was there either. When did you take this photo?
Fresno should have four Orangutans - a male and his three offspring.
They're also planning to acquire a female 'Jingga' from Toronto.
where did you hear this from?
It was mentioned in the Orangutan Population thread last year;
FrederickA
Active Member
February 27, I was told by the zookeepers on the Twiga Terrice that on the day of my visit the calf was just born a few hours before they opened. They couldn't say whether the calf was male or female.
Good to know. Thank you for telling me.
Ok, I went back to Fresno Chaffee zoo today. I did NOT find out what facility. the female addaxes are from, but I do know more about their calf. Apparently it’s a male, and it hasn’t been on exhibit cause the mom was having some health problems, (she’s ok now), but the zoo now has been having to hand rear it sort of. Once it’s older it will go on exhibit but that’s why I didn’t see it yesterday.
by the way, I did not see the kudu calf on exhibit. And if you’re wanting to look for it don’t. It unfortunately passed away recently from a bacterial infection. However their male kudu currently has a recommendation to breed with all of the zoos female kudu.
One of the zoos male Slender Horned gazelles has a breeding recommendation elsewhere and will be transferring to another zoo soon.
As for the orangutans, the zoo actually only has 3 now. A male (EDIT Labu, thank you to Zoofan15 for the correction). I believe was his name recently had a breeding recommendation elsewhere and he’s now at another zoo. The male Busar actually is able to go out on exhibit with the other orangutans currently, but has been choosing not to lately. The Siamangs again were not on exhibit but I don’t know what the deal is there.
Their false gharial Basar for the first time that I’ve visited WAS on exhibit! She’s been coming out right around 2-3pm I guess lately so if you want to catch her that’s your best possible chance to do so. I’ll be posting new photos of her later today. This Malayan turtle, (forgot species name), was also on exhibit with the False Gharial though I didn’t get a good look at it.
Apparently the zoo does NOT plan on bringing in muntjac deer now for their Kingdoms of Asia.
I also learned the zoos red wolves successfully locked together for the first time last month, and the zoo is very hopeful they will be having pups this year. In terms of why their female red wolf Daisy wasn’t on exhibit last year when I went, she apparently did something to her hip and needed intense physical therapy but she’s better now.
I think that’s everything I learned that I can share anyway, if I remember anything else I’ll post it here.
by the way, I did not see the kudu calf on exhibit. And if you’re wanting to look for it don’t. It unfortunately passed away recently from a bacterial infection. However their male kudu currently has a recommendation to breed with all of the zoos female kudu.
One of the zoos male Slender Horned gazelles has a breeding recommendation elsewhere and will be transferring to another zoo soon.
As for the orangutans, the zoo actually only has 3 now. A male (EDIT Labu, thank you to Zoofan15 for the correction). I believe was his name recently had a breeding recommendation elsewhere and he’s now at another zoo. The male Busar actually is able to go out on exhibit with the other orangutans currently, but has been choosing not to lately. The Siamangs again were not on exhibit but I don’t know what the deal is there.
Their false gharial Basar for the first time that I’ve visited WAS on exhibit! She’s been coming out right around 2-3pm I guess lately so if you want to catch her that’s your best possible chance to do so. I’ll be posting new photos of her later today. This Malayan turtle, (forgot species name), was also on exhibit with the False Gharial though I didn’t get a good look at it.
Apparently the zoo does NOT plan on bringing in muntjac deer now for their Kingdoms of Asia.
I also learned the zoos red wolves successfully locked together for the first time last month, and the zoo is very hopeful they will be having pups this year. In terms of why their female red wolf Daisy wasn’t on exhibit last year when I went, she apparently did something to her hip and needed intense physical therapy but she’s better now.
I think that’s everything I learned that I can share anyway, if I remember anything else I’ll post it here.
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That orangutan would be 1.0 Labu (born October 31, 2010). His name means ‘Pumpkin’ as a reference to his DOB.
That’s interesting to hear he’s been transferred out. Hopefully an announcement by the receiving zoo will be made soon.
That's really intriguing to hear, Labu was at Fresno for his birthday last year (in October) so it appears he's only been transferred out recently.
this was very recent. I’m not sure if it was or wasn’t announced but it was mentioned the other day they had 4 orangutans there and that is no longer the case apparently.
That would make sense as to why there's yet to be an announcement if he's only been transferred in the past few days.
His departure however, makes sense as it clears space for the incoming female from Toronto who'll be joining Busar (1984) his adult daughter, Ndari (2010) and his youngest son, Hantu (2018).
I think they’ll be making that announcement possibly once the new orangutan arrives
Nile Hippo Expert
Well-Known Member
@RJB Wildlife has confirmed via San Diego Zoo volunteers that Labu moved there.That orangutan would be 1.0 Labu (born October 31, 2010). His name means ‘Pumpkin’ as a reference to his DOB.
That’s interesting to hear he’s been transferred out. Hopefully an announcement by the receiving zoo will be made soon.
The Horse Boy
Well-Known Member
Why did they scrap their plans on that? I remember seeing a post teasing it
FrederickA
Active Member
Thanks for sharing! Sorry in advance for getting a little sentimental—maybe this should be in a different thread, but I can’t help but feel like African Adventure has finally come into its own. Since it opened in 2015, there have been a number of births (giraffes, rhinos, various hoof stock), but with the recent baby elephant calves, new lion cubs, and even a second litter of meerkat pups, the exhibit really feels complete in a way it hasn’t before. Almost every exhibit has “filled out” or reached its potential with offspring and the dynamic relationships that come with time.
The landscaping has matured as well—areas that once looked a bit sparse or freshly planted now feel more natural and intentional, helping the whole space feel cohesive and lived-in.
As someone who hopes to design exhibits in the future, I’ve got a special appreciation for watching something like this evolve over time. That said, I still feel a bit of disappointment about the African River project and the other originally planned phases that never materialized. I know the leadership likely had solid reasons for changing course, and there is still a lot to look forward to with planned renovations—but it’s hard not to wonder what might have been.
The landscaping has matured as well—areas that once looked a bit sparse or freshly planted now feel more natural and intentional, helping the whole space feel cohesive and lived-in.
As someone who hopes to design exhibits in the future, I’ve got a special appreciation for watching something like this evolve over time. That said, I still feel a bit of disappointment about the African River project and the other originally planned phases that never materialized. I know the leadership likely had solid reasons for changing course, and there is still a lot to look forward to with planned renovations—but it’s hard not to wonder what might have been.
BenFoxster
Well-Known Member
“African Adventure” is dear to my heart too. Fresno Chaffee was my childhood zoo, first zoo I went to and would go to once a year until I reached my teen years. Happened to go back with my mom years later around 2016 or 17. Started with the older sections of the zoo, a bit disappointed to see the Asian Elephants gone. Thought we were almost done with the zoo, then we got to the back of the zoo, saw that “hey this pathway wasn’t here before” and literally gasped out loud eyes bulging out of my eyes as I wandered upon one of the most beautiful and memorable scenes of my life, seeing a group of White Rhinos, Wildebeest, ostrich, and antelope grazing in front of a gorgeous African themed restaurant, with African elephants walking around in the background thinking they were in the same exhibit with the rhinos. I had a beautiful pop up book with a gorgeous scenes of African animals at a watering hole as a kid and it was like I was seeing it come to life for the first time in my life. It was my first time in my life seeing rhinos, cheetahs, African elephants, and wildebeest in a zoo before; I always thought they were impossible to keep in captivity having never seen them at any zoo before. As a casual animal fan back then it felt like a complete African section, the only species I noticed being missing were hyenas. It wasn’t until years later that someone else I went with reminded me that they didn’t have zebras, hippos, or gorillas.
I can proudly say that this very exhibit reinvigorated my love for zoos and would later get me into designing my own spec zoo exhibits and researching zoos and animals. Wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for that exhibit.
I agree with you that it’s been beautiful seeing so many animal births since its opening and to see that this exhibit was definitely a success, one all the keepers and employees need to be proud of.
I will admit it was sad seeing African River scrapped, especially when the vet should just remain on the other side of the zoo. And the event space seems like a waste of space to me considering that it was originally going to be an African Forest exhibit. It’s also been sad seeing so many species from the zebras, to the pelicans and wildebeest phased out from the Savannah. The wildebeest and pelicans in particular were awe inspiring for me the first time I saw the Savannah, I’m not sure I would have become so invested in zoos in general without those two species in the exhibit.
Nonetheless still looking forward to see how the zoo progresses, getting pretty excited for the aquarium and California zones, will compliment their sea lion exhibit.
Finally going to check out the babies tomorrow, going back for the first time in two years!