Jurug Zoo. Solo

[Kifaru Bwana]

Some babies has been born in Solo Safari, which include a unspecified number of agile wallabies and an Bawean deer.

Solo Safari has apparently received another African spurred tortoises, donated once again by the city's mayor.

Solo Safari on Instagram: "Hai Sahabat Satwa Solo Safari telah berhasil merilis beberapa baby satwa, ada yang tahu? Yap! ada baby Wallaby yang berasal dari hutan tropis pulau Papua & baby Rusa Bawean yang tentunya dari pulau Bawean berada ditengah Laut Jawa. Kedua satwa ini merupakan spesies langka "terancam punah" & dengan ini Solo Safari telah membuktikan menjadi taman konservasi satwa di Indonesia. Ada juga Satwa baru di Solo Safari, apa itu? Yap! Satwa Hibah dari ms @gibran_rakabuming & @janethesdotcom yaitu Kura Kura Sulcata atau yang dijuluki African Spurred Tortoise yang berasal dari gurun Afrika. Ada keunikan pada setiap satwanya loh sahabat satwa, yuk cari tahu di Solo Safari #Solosafari #TamanSafariIndonesia #konservasi #wisatasolo #exploresolo #soloraya"

Solo Jurug Zoo, now has a small breeding herd of Bawean deer! How many at the zoo in 2024?

What are the plans for anoa, tigers (Bengal and the Sumatran) and banteng?

 

[Rizz Carlton]

Any updates on the zoo's animal collection? Or perhaps an updated list of (sub)species and domestic breeds?

I'll be planning to visit this place next saturday or sunday so it would be lovely for any updates regarding the zoo's collection.

 

[Rizz Carlton]

Just went the zoo yesterday, I'll list some changes that have been made from my last visit:

> There are now free-roaming Helmeted Guineafowl and at least 2 Javan Peafowl
> The semi-indoor viewing area for Komodo Dragons now houses a few reptile species in rather horrible enclosures, barebones wooden boxes with glass lid and sides. Here are its inhabitants:
- 1 sub-adult green Iguana
- 4 baby Sulcata tortoises
- 3 baby Sulcata tortoises
- 1 cornsnake
- 1 reticulated python
The enclosures were too small and had very shallow water bowls that were often soiled by feces. Some of the worst enclosures I've ever seen for reptiles in a zoo. My guess is that these were animals surrendered over to the zoo and they did not have time, or more likely effort, to create better enclosures for them.
> The Asian Panorama section of the zoo still has the same odd combination of livestock (including 2 cassowaries and a pair of Javan Banteng), but some parts are now periodically sectioned off to allow the grass to recover from grazing. Same goes for the Agile Wallaby exhibit.
> A new glass exhibit has been made at the entrance of the Primate Islands which houses 3 Javan Lutung. These are presumably the family that was once housed in Jurug.
> The old enclosure housing the dromedary camel has been renovated into an oval trackway for 1 Dromedary Camel and 2 Bactrian Camels that visitors can ride on or feed. The camels are on leashes.
> They have added more meerkats, I'm unsure of how many, but I saw at least 5, which is 2 more than the original.
> Beside the meerkat exhibit is now a glass enclosure housing 4 Asian Leopard Cats (Prionailurus sp.), these are most likely the "Bobcats" we were promised as there are no American Bobcats in the entire zoo and it lists them as such in the zoo map. Not a loss for me since the enclosure is decent and the cats were adorable (pictures soon)

> The islands also now have freeroaming ducks, specitically White Chinese Geese and Muscovy Ducks. That particular day, the sun was quite hot, so much so that both the Pelicans and the Cormorants were taking shade below foliage. So far no sign of the promised Black Swans, though it could just be that I missed them.
> Preceding the aviary are a number of enclosures showcasing hornbills and cockatoos:
- 2 Wreathed Hornbills
- 1 Rhinoceros Hornbill
- 1 Oriental Pied Hornbill
- 2 Tanimbar Corella
- 3 Sulfur Crested Cockatoos
- 1 Palm Cockatoo
The enclosures are decent, if not a bit empty, consisting of faux rock walls and a few long horizontal branches that extend throughout the length of the enclosure. They are kept clean, way more than the reptiles are, though I didn't see any hide boxes or enrichment besides a few coconuts nailed to the branches.

>The walk-through aviary is large, though again a bit barren. There is a waterfall in the middle of the exhibit and a ramp that takes you to a photo spot where you can take a picture with a few birds. The inhabitants are as follows:
- Black naped Orioles
- Javan Myna
- Black Winged Myna
- Indian Myna
- Sunda Collared Dove
- Oriental Magpie Robin
- Javan Peafowl
- Eclectus Parrots
- Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo (Photo spot)
- Blue and Yellow Macaws (Photo spot)
It's possible I might have missed some bird species, since many of them decided to perch on the aviary dome's support rather than in the few short trees present in the aviary. I also have to notr the 8 or so Javan Peafowl in the area, they will peck if you get too close.
It's strange that they did not add some sort of waterfowl, considering that they have a water feature. In fact, it feels as if the entire aviary is lacking some unique birdstock. It could just be that Solo Safari is not done introducing all the birds intended for the aviary, hence why the structure often isn't present in their social media posts despite being a large selling point when phase 2 was in development.

> Exiting the walk-through aviary, there are a few more enclosures with a similar style to those housing the cockatoos and hornbills. This area houses several birds of prey:
- 1 White-bellied sea eagle
- 2 Changeable hawk-eagles
- 5 Brahminy Kites
- 2 Crested Serpent Eagles
- 2 Javan Eagles
> The African Savannah has 2 new zebras and 2 new blue wildebeest, upping the count to 4 for each species. There is also a new zipline that takes you through the middle of the enclosure.
> Next up is the Tropical Jungle, which is a ramp that takes you above several semi aquatic enclosures and ending with the newly refurbished ASC otter enclosure which is twice as long as the previous one. The other enclosures include:
- 1 Pygmy Hippo (moved from the African Savannah)
- 1 Common Hippo (moved from its old enclosure)
- 1 Saltwater Crocodile
- 1 False Gharial
> The Tiger enclosure has its entire viewing gallery indoors. There's a cordoned section on the left where you can pay a fee to feed the tigers. The enclosure itself has a large waterfall in the back where the water flows to the swimming area right behind the glass. The enclosure houses 2 Bengal tigers.
> Beside the tiger exhibit is the serval exhibit, also located indoors. The enclosure is quite long and tall, though not very wide with a few perches that the serval can jump on. It houses a single serval.

And that's all for the animal enclosures (so far at least), though there doesn't seem to be any plans to add in new large enclosures besides a planned "night safari". Instead I feel like they will now focus on building the "amusement park" section of the zoo, such as the haunted house.

I've just visited yesterday and here's some minor updates:

• Several turkeys were added as part of the zoo's free-roaming roster
• In the indoor viewing area of the Komodo dragon exhibit, the corn snake terrarium was empty while an quince monitor was added to replace the green iguana
• Its possible for visitors to interact and take a picture with several smaller reticulated pythons in the Komodo dragon area as well
• In the Asian Panorama, apparently the cassowaries has been taken off-display
• In the animal presentation, an barn own and several fancy rats were also part of the "presentation" (Circus)
• No cormorants or purple heron were present in the Primate Island, only a single Australian pelican and several domestic ducks and geese
• In the walkthrough aviary, an black swan has been added, probably will be moved to the Primate Island some day
• The walkthrough aviary itself was somewhat empty, with only three Java peafowls, several passerines, and some Vosmaer's eclectus

While not really that relevant for the update, I overheard a kid wanting to see a capybara in the zoo, which one of the guide just said that they hopefully kept them in the future. While its somewhat ironic since Solo Safari used to had an capybara back when they're still called Jurug Solo Zoo, it does leave a interesting question if they will join the capybara-keeping bandwagon in the near future.

Another important note, I find it disappointing that they are more focused on making the rest of the park into a themed park rather than focusing on making a more, interesting exhibit. While walking along the exit trail, there's seems so much space left for some exhibits.

I mean, this zoo barely even have a reptile house and it doesn't even have a aquarium! Really hope that there will be new plans for another new exhibits in the future.

 

[Rizz Carlton]

@Mossman Joe if I may ask also, do you aware of what or any (sub)species and domestic animals that are still off-display and/or previously were kept during the Jurug Solo Zoo-era but doesn't return to Solo Safari (yet)?

Maybe it might help in determining what animals could be added next, but it will also be a interesting record on what this site used to display before the Taman Safari takeover.

 

[Mossman Joe]

• In the animal presentation, an barn own and several fancy rats were also part of the "presentation" (Circus)

The roster changed quite frequently during the few times I have seen the animal presentation, though this is the first time I've heard of the fancy rats and the barn owl.

• No cormorants or purple heron were present in the Primate Island, only a single Australian pelican and several domestic ducks and geese

The cormorants, to my understanding, freeroam the entire lake area of the Primate Islands. There used to be a presentation where people could feed the Pelicans and the Cormorants, the birds would come over to the island during this time. I'm a bit concerned about the Pelicans (Pedro and Mona Lisa), since they usually swim as a pair.

@Mossman Joe if I may ask also, do you aware of what or any (sub)species and domestic animals that are still off-display and/or previously were kept during the Jurug Solo Zoo-era but doesn't return to Solo Safari (yet)?

Maybe it might help in determining what animals could be added next, but it will also be a interesting record on what this site used to display before the Taman Safari takeover.

As far as I remember, the zoo used to have a few Batur sheep for interactions and a pair of albino water buffalo. I don't think these will be coming back for the future.

Aside from that, the species that would be missing in the revitalization would be crab-eating macaques, a lone tonkean macaque, a pair of elephant foot tortoises, several amboina box turtles, red eared sliders, a burmese python and a few birds I can't seem to remember but included a golden pheasant. I'll see if I can dig up some older images.

 

[Rizz Carlton]

This is the picture of the barn owl I managed to took if you would find it interesting! Didn't managed to take a clear pic of the rats since they're much farther away, sprinting along the hanging rope at the back of the stage


A closeup of the quince monitor, one of the zoo's (Probably) newer roster


My favorite species at Solo Safari! I just loved local natives and endemic in Indonesian zoos and aquarias. The only thing I disliked about this is just how small the anoa exhibit was


A good closeup I could take of the zoo's "bobcat". I forgot to mention this but the signage referred to this cat as a leopard cat, though the map still assigned it as a bobcat. Honestly, I don't really know the purpose of this mislabelling. After that signage change as well as seeing myself just how small the exhibit was (I led to believe that the leopard cats were just placeholders until the real bobcat came), I guess its just some bizarre mislabelling from the start

 

[Mossman Joe]

These are some very nice pictures!
The Anoa definitely leaves a very good first impression as the first exhibit in the zoo, though the small exhibit is a tad disappointing.

I actually have a theory on how the bobcat mislabelling came to be. When put into Google translate, the Leopard cat's common name "Kucing hutan" translates to bobcat.

 

[Rizz Carlton]

Just found out that if I had went to Solo Safari today instead, I would've met President Jokowi lol

Something interesting for me to think of.

 

[snowleopard]

I uploaded approximately 100 photos of Solo Safari into the gallery and this brand-new zoo (2023) has a lot to offer. The big Asian hoofstock paddock (7 species) is impressive, the African Savanna (7 species) is spectacular, the walk-through Aviary has a ton of potential, and there are very good exhibits for Komodo Dragons, African Lions and several other species. There's a few enclosures that are poor and could be much larger (Asian Elephant, Common Hippo, Tiger) and it's a small place that doesn't take long to see, but I would still highly recommend a visit. Plus, @twilighter and I had incredible hospitality there and we even shot a couple of videos for the zoo's Instagram social media account.

 

[Fargusno]

I uploaded approximately 100 photos of Solo Safari into the gallery and this brand-new zoo (2023) has a lot to offer. The big Asian hoofstock paddock (7 species) is impressive, the African Savanna (7 species) is spectacular, the walk-through Aviary has a ton of potential, and there are very good exhibits for Komodo Dragons, African Lions and several other species. There's a few enclosures that are poor and could be much larger (Asian Elephant, Common Hippo, Tiger) and it's a small place that doesn't take long to see, but I would still highly recommend a visit. Plus, @twilighter and I had incredible hospitality there and we even shot a couple of videos for the zoo's Instagram social media account.

Do you have photos for Cisarua?

 

[snowleopard]

Do you have photos for Cisarua?

Of course. I will eventually upload all the photos from the 59 zoos I visited in Southeast Asia.

 

[Fargusno]

Of course. I will eventually upload all the photos from the 59 zoos I visited in Southeast Asia.

Lessgo!!

 

[Rizz Carlton]

There appears to be a new exhibit built for a large group of Javan rusa deers? This looks rather different compared to the Asian Panorama exhibit, especially with the fences on the foreground (That atleast wasn't present in June of this year) and the space is much narrower. I did saw several off-display enclosures for some deers during my first visit, though it seems to be unrelated.

This still indicate that Solo Safari have a large surplus of Javan rusa deers.



In another unrelated news, from photos and news given by @snowleopard during his visit in August, it appears that the zoo's false gharial is not on-display (Taken over by another saltwater crocodile). Though, of course, there are no public confirmation on this issue as of yet. It was an adult individual that presumebly had been an inhabitant since the Jurug Solo Zoo-era.

While the possible death of the individual is still on the table, my assumption would either be taken off-display (Due to health issues, for example) or being transported elsewhere.

Taken by @snowleopard of the former false gharial exhibit, currently houses saltwater crocodile.
Saltwater Crocodile Exhibit - Solo Safari - ZooChat

 

[Mossman Joe]

Some old, but sad news, in May and August of this year, Solo Safari lost a total of 2 elphants. One of the new elephants to the park, Inova died on May, while an elephant that was present before the revitalization, Manohara, died this August. An investigation has found that both elephants died from EEHV. Manohara was 16 years old when she died.

Terungkap Penyebab Dua Gajah Solo Safari Mati, Ternyata karena Ini

 

[Rizz Carlton]

I've went to Solo Safari today (November 17, 2024) and as I suspect, not much interesting updates are happening there. Instead there's seems to be a decrease in term of numbers of animals.

• The pair of Java peafowls that were free-roamer are now seems to be pulled off, as there's only a large group of helmeted guineafowls and domestic turkeys.
• In the Komodo cave, the single quince monitor has fully settled in its small and lackluster exhibit, complete with lighting and signage. The former corn snake exhibit (Empty during my previous visit in July) has been taken over by an albino Burmese python, which the species somewhat making a return to the zoo.
• In the Asian Panorama, some part of the exhibit are now fenced to make way for new areas. Additionaly, the nilgai and Malayan tapir are nowhere to be seen, while only an female blackbuck is present.
  • A large patch of land is fully fenced to prevent the rest of the inhabitants to fully devoured the grasses that are attempted to be grown again in that part.
  • The family of Javan banteng (1M:1F:1 baby) has received their own 'exhibit', separated from the rest of the exhibit by electric wired fences. Some Bawean deers and Javan rusa deers are still there, including an mature male rusa deer who clashes with the male banteng.
  • A part of the Asian Panorama exhibit are also fence seemingly to house the zoo's Malayan tapir. Still, the animal are nowhere to be seen.
• In the constantly rotating Animal Presentation, green iguana and an baby saltwater crocodile (New roster) replacing the barn owl, blue-and-yellow macaw, and wreathed hornbill from my last visit in July.
• In the Primate Island, a pair of cormorants are back on display after a while of absent.
• In the walkthrough aviary, several birds have apparently been phased out, with seem birds include;
  • Black swan
  • Java peafowls
  • Java mynas
  • Javan pied myna
  • Black-winged myna
  • Vosmaer's eclectus
  • Blue-and-yellow macaw (Photo opportunity)
• The false gharial is apparently was still on display after a while, probably only briefly replaced by an saltwater crocodile in August for some unspecified reason (As documented by @snowleopard)
• Only a single Sumatran elephant has remained on display, with one off-display. Some elephants has sadly passed away as previously reported.
• An single Sunda porcupine has returned on display after being absent for a while after the rebranding, as several porcupines used to be displayed before that. It inhabited a large pit (Drained pond) in the corner of the petting zoo and was unsigned. Its likely that it will fully be established as a porcupine exhibit in the future.

This is a part of a full-day long visit in Solo, which include the small yet interesting bird market and seeing two out of four kaloula baleata in the Omah Ketupu cafe of @Mossman Joe, who had accompanied me during my visit there. Photos will be posted soon.

 

[Rizz Carlton]

There appears to be a new exhibit built for a large group of Javan rusa deers? This looks rather different compared to the Asian Panorama exhibit, especially with the fences on the foreground (That atleast wasn't present in June of this year) and the space is much narrower. I did saw several off-display enclosures for some deers during my first visit, though it seems to be unrelated.

This still indicate that Solo Safari have a large surplus of Javan rusa deers.

This are apparently just the Asian Panorama, though there were not that many deers there as opposed to the large group seen in the photo.

 

[Mossman Joe]

In the Primate Island, a pair of cormorants are back on display after a while of absent.

The Little Black Cormorants are spread out throughout the park and would come over during feeding time. The Pelican and Cormorant feeding shows have since been discontinued.

 

[Rizz Carlton]

The Little Black Cormorants are spread out throughout the park and would come over during feeding time. The Pelican and Cormorant feeding shows have since been discontinued.

They really have a weird management system for their animals. Why did they decided to only house a pair (A single individual now) pelican anyway? As opposed to multiple pelicans that were there before the rebranding (Albeit in a far worse condition).

 

[Rizz Carlton]

Fully-settled exhibit for quince monitor (Picture 1) and new inhabitant albino Burmese python (Picture 2), two out of four lazy and awful reptile exhibits within the Komodo cave.


Some new extensions within the Asian Panorama exhibit, including a fully-fenced area to grow grass and prevent the animals to eat them off (Picture 1) and another extension that supposed to house the zoo's Malayan tapir (Picture 2) that are nowhere to be seen.



An off-display pen for some Javan rusa deers that can be seen from the Asian Panorama, located at the back of the exhibit.


Two of the rotating animals for the presentation, the saltwater crocodile (Picture 2) is an new roster. It should be noted that during the show, the baby croc was swinged with one hand into the air and down a couple of times by the handler (Unable to photographed since it captured the handler's whole face), raising concern for me regarding Solo Safari's reptile management.

Solo Safari is one of the remaining zoo that still use young Bornean orangutan for their animal show/presentation. This individual was born in Taman Safari Bogor and brough into Solo during the rebranding, not sure about it's parent whereabout (The family that include one baby in the Primate Island are different and likely unrelated). There are noticable fur loss especially in the rear area (Picture 1).


One of the two little black cormorant that are present in the pelican and duck island, these birds have free access to roam the entire lake area that span much of the central part of the zoo..

 

[Rizz Carlton]

An promototional banner for the "Savanna Zipline" that went above the African savannah exhibit, which noticably include an bongo. While of course the animal isn't present and likely never going to come, this is an example of the brand and marketing practise of plastering random, unrelated animals by Indonesian zoos and aquarias to their promotional banners as either showcasing popular and recognizable animals or appears to "stack up" their collection through these practise. This are likely the former, but I don't think bongos are particularly popular in Indonesia (Worth noting that Solo Safari are known for their use of AI for marketing purposes, so this is also an option).


The zoo's single false gharial that is still on-display after a while.

While these pictures aren't enough to show it's full size, this individual is the largest saltwater crocodile that I've ever seen. This individual is very likely to be one of the animals remaining from the Jurug Solo Zoo-era.


The single Sumatran elephant on-display in a presentation stage/exhibit after two elephants had died months ago. The zoo's management of their elephants are also questionable.


The former fish pond and the scrapped Bantam chicken exhibit at the very corner of the Petting Zoo has been repurposed to house an unsigned Sunda porcupine, a returning species from the Jurug Solo Zoo-era. It's likely that the exhibit will be fully settled in the coming month with signages and other enrichment. The rather random addition and the nature of it makes Solo Safari to more than likely to not have no clear management plans for new animals aside from the animals that are planned during the Phase 1 and 2 of the revitalization and rebranding, something that we talked about with @Mossman Joe in Solo.



An African spurred tortoise exhibit signed as "donation from Ethes and Gibran", which the former is the son of the latter, the former mayor of Solo and current vice-president of the country. While this exhibit are there more than likely to attract guests as an attraction, this also shows the good business relations of the Manansang and Sumampau (The two families that own Taman Safari Indonesia) with Gibran and his family, as with most other conglomerate in the country.


An signage for the "bobcat" exhibit near the Makunde restaurant, which the Indonesian-languaged signs all say kucing hutan (Forest cat). Posting this, seeing the exhibit itself in the gallery, as well as considering the weather condition in Solo, this are needed to clear up any misconception that Solo Safari are very likely never planned or even though of acquring actual bobcats. The assigned name of 'bobcat', like @Mossman Joe stated, are likely to be an mistake translating to English by the zoo that they didn't bother to recheck.

To put it in a very easy and digestable sentence; Solo Safari never planned to get a bobcat and the sign are a translation mistake.