Kudu KuDoes SoCal --May 2021

[Kudu21]

Hello everyone!

A month from now I will be flying to sunny Southern California to visit the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park for some business. I will be in the area for about a week, and I am currently planning on also visiting The Living Desert and the Los Angeles Zoo while I am in the area. This will be my first time visiting these collections, so if anyone has any tips and tricks for making the most of these facilities, I'd greatly appreciate them! As I mentioned, my visits to the San Diego parks will be for business, so I don't know how much that will dictate the days that I spend there, but I'll appreciate any and all input, no matter! I'll also gladly welcome any suggestions for other things to do/tips and tricks for the San Diego/Palm Springs/Los Angeles areas themselves, as I've never been to that part of the country before, and coming from New Orleans, I know that locals/regulars always know best.

Thank you all in advance!

 

[Arizona Docent]

I assume you know like most zoos in the Covid age you need to book your tickets ahead of time online.

The Living Desert is one of my all time favorites (Los Angeles Zoo not so much). Palm Desert will be hot and sunny by May, so be sure to arrive at 8am opening and wear sunscreen (if you are light skinned). Joshua Tree National Park is also in the area and may be worth either a sunset drive or a sunrise drive. The Palm Springs area itself has one main drive - Hwy 111 - which includes several cities from Palm Springs on the west to Palm Desert on the east. It's an upscale area and the main attraction are expensive shops and nice restaurants. It's nice just to drive along and nice to get a good lunch or dinner.

The main tourist attraction (besides The Living Desert) is the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. It starts at the base of the mountains just west of the city of Palm Springs and goes to the top of the mountain in the pine trees, which will be cool. There are hiking trails and a restaurant.

There are some small zoos in southern California - two in Orange County and one in Big Bear - but none of them I think are worth a special trip unless you have lots of time or are obsessed with racking up your zoo count like a certain Canadian ZooChatter (cough - @snowleopard - cough).

 

[Arizona Docent]

I didn't mention aquariums, but of course there is the nice Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach which is surrounded by a nice touristy area. There are a couple smaller ones as well.

 

[Julio C Castro]

Can’t wait to have you out here in SoCal! Since I’m LA based, I’m pretty well rounded with the LA Zoo. Yes it’s not anywhere near the super stars California has to offer, both San Diego parks and Living Desert, I’d say that it’s a definite stop for those interested in ungulates or wanting to stop by for a quick trip! The Zoo still has some restrictions but as LA is still heading into the orange tier of COVID, we may see opening of their indoor/enclosed exhibits.

Elephants of Asia is great exhibit for elephants and now that all of our elephants are integrated together, including our male Billy, they can all explore entire habitat together if they chose to. And as it’s getting hotter, our elephants love to take dips in their pools

The Rainforest of the Americas has a few key species that aren’t readily seen at many zoos such as the giant river otters and harpy eagles. Their poison frog exhibit that recently opened in this section has such a colorful array of poison frogs including the golden poison frog. Daisy, our sole red uakari, is hard to see since the distance of the exhibit to the main path so perhaps not a major point to stop by yet she’s most active the first couple hours the zoo opens.

And if the indoor exhibits are open by then, the LAIR is amongst the best ectotherm exhibits in the country. They have about 60-70 species including the recently added palawan palm vipers. The crocodile swamp shows off both tomistomas and Indian gharials in nearby exhibits, a good way to compare and contrast both species.

As for ungulates, here are some I’ve seen last visit: black duiker, red flanked duiker, yellow backed duiker, tadjik markhor, reeve’s muntjac, desert bighorn sheep, addax, chacoan peccary, red river hog, visayan warty pig, babirusa, lowland anoa, peninsular pronghorn, grevy’s zebra, mountain tapirs, baird’s tapir, southern pudu, speke’s gazelle, southern genenuk, greater malay chevrotain, calamian deer, lesser kudu, masai giraffe, okapi, chinese goral, and tufted deer. The hardest ones to spot are the tufted deer and reeve’s muntjac, the latter being less difficult to see. I may have missed a couple and the hippos may have left already the zoo by then.

I hope this helps and if you have questions about the LA Zoo, shoot me a message or just tag me on here

 

[Julio C Castro]

And I agree with @Arizona Docent too about the Aquarium of the Pacific! It’s nice small aquarium you can do in a 2-3 hours easily. They have a great exhibition of frogs, the pacific vision exhibit has a nice shoal of delta smelt, sea otters, a new display of confiscated corals as well in the Tropical Pacific gallery. I don’t know if you have any time to squeeze in the California Science Center but if you can do it, certainly do so especially for the Ecosystems exhibit. It’s an AZA accredited facility with a few cool animals such as chuckwallas, beetles, giant sea bass, 3-4 leaf gecko species, desert tortoise, turkey vulture, and many tropical fish as well

 

[Kudu21]

Thank you both for your responses, @Arizona Docent and @Julio C Castro! I really appreciate it.

I am very much looking forward to The Living Desert-- it looks like an absolutely stunning facility (and the Cuvier's gazelles don't hurt!). My partner will be travelling with me, so we'll be treating this a little vacation, as such it is nice to know a little bit more about other things to do in the area (Joshua Tree was already on our list of places to go while in the area). He's an animal person as well, but perhaps not to the same degree as myself Has anyone gone on their hiking trails before? That is something we're definitely interested in doing. We're trying to enjoy as much of the different climate and environment as possible!

I'd always love to be able to squeeze in more zoos, but I don't know how many more I would be allowed . The Aquarium of the Pacific might work out though-- he has been wanting to go to an aquarium (the Audubon Aquarium isn't really worth it at the moment (even with being able to visit for free), and I said no to the infamous Landry's aquarium in Houston while we were there last weekend).

I am mostly interested in the Los Angeles Zoo for the Calamian deer and mountain tapirs (and the uakari, even though primates are not usually my forte!)-- those were my selling points to my partner to get it included (that and my boss used to work with the Calamian deer and was excited that I might see them). Hopefully some of the COVID restrictions will be lifted in time for our visit, as I would be very interested in checking out LAIR, and I feel like it'd be such a shame to visit and miss it! The elephant enclosure also looks very nice, as much of a shame as it is that it isn't put to better use (especially after just getting to spend almost an hour watching the antics of Houston's growing herd last week).

 

[Arizona Docent]

...Has anyone gone on their hiking trails before? That is something we're definitely interested in doing...

In May you will not want to go hiking in the desert! A better option at that time of year is to take the aerial tramway to the top of the mountains and hike up there.

 

[Coelacanth18]

I am very much looking forward to The Living Desert

Joshua Tree was already on our list of places to go while in the area

Has anyone gone on their hiking trails before? That is something we're definitely interested in doing.

I'm not sure if by "their hiking trails" you mean Living Desert or Joshua Tree, but I've done both. The trails at Living Desert are fine, they have some signage and are a good representation of SoCal desert. There isn't anything special or unique there, but if you just want a solid "desert trail" experience it's convenient. If you decide to walk them, I'd suggest going straight there at opening when it's coolest - much of the zoo has shade, the trails not so much!

Joshua Tree is definitely a cool place to visit, but as @Arizona Docent noted May is not the friendliest season. Maybe you'll get lucky with weather, but if you go out to Joshua Tree I'd suggest planning your hiking/walking around for the early morning or evening if possible. Save the middle of the day for resting in shade or indoors. They have a small visitor center that could help kill a bit of time as well.

There is good hiking in both the LA and SD areas that is closer to the coast and will not be as hot. Griffith Park (where the LA Zoo is) has good trails, and the old abandoned zoo (close to the current one) is a nice and interesting walk. In the SD area, the La Jolla/Torrey Pines coastal strip has nice breezes and good hiking/outdoor areas. La Jolla Cove is a good place to see cormorants and sea lions. In these places May *can* be hot, but coming from NOLA I doubt you'll find it noticeable

If you don't have the time for a bigger aquarium experience like Aquarium of the Pacific, the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is also in pretty much the same location and is free. It has several native tanks and can be explored in roughly an hour.

I can try and answer more specific questions about travel, day-to-day things, and sightseeing in the area if you have any - either on here or feel free to PM them to me too if you want

 

[African Grey]

The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is still closed. When you go the LA zoo can you ask how many Calamian Deer they still have as well as the Black Duikers?

 

[Julio C Castro]

@Kudu21 Oh how I echo your same opinion about the elephants at my home zoo, I think their major concern was integrating Billy with other elephants for the longest which after years of planning and consulting it seems to have paid off. Now I want to see fertile cows here so we can hopefully have calves here in LA with Billy’s genetics in due time Anyways I hope you enjoy your visit with us here in SoCal!

 

[Kudu21]

In May you will not want to go hiking in the desert! A better option at that time of year is to take the aerial tramway to the top of the mountains and hike up there.

I'm not sure if by "their hiking trails" you mean Living Desert or Joshua Tree, but I've done both. The trails at Living Desert are fine, they have some signage and are a good representation of SoCal desert. There isn't anything special or unique there, but if you just want a solid "desert trail" experience it's convenient. If you decide to walk them, I'd suggest going straight there at opening when it's coolest - much of the zoo has shade, the trails not so much!

Joshua Tree is definitely a cool place to visit, but as @Arizona Docent noted May is not the friendliest season. Maybe you'll get lucky with weather, but if you go out to Joshua Tree I'd suggest planning your hiking/walking around for the early morning or evening if possible. Save the middle of the day for resting in shade or indoors. They have a small visitor center that could help kill a bit of time as well.

There is good hiking in both the LA and SD areas that is closer to the coast and will not be as hot. Griffith Park (where the LA Zoo is) has good trails, and the old abandoned zoo (close to the current one) is a nice and interesting walk. In the SD area, the La Jolla/Torrey Pines coastal strip has nice breezes and good hiking/outdoor areas. La Jolla Cove is a good place to see cormorants and sea lions. In these places May *can* be hot, but coming from NOLA I doubt you'll find it noticeable

Duly noted-- Thank you both! We will be visiting in the beginning of May (the 4th through the 9th), so we weren't sure if it would already be too hot in the desert by then. When I mentioned "their hiking trails", I was speaking specifically about The Living Desert. We were wondering if it was still cool enough to hike in early May, if it would be worth doing so at both The Living Desert and Joshua Tree or just doing the zoo and leaving the hiking to Joshua Tree. Thank you @Coelacanth18 for the suggestions in the LA and SD areas! My partner and I are both from different parts of the country where hiking is a real thing that people do -- moving to NOLA and only having swamp boardwalks to fill the void has really had us wanting to get out as much as we can while we're there! And yes, I'm not too bothered by the heat after working outside in the south-eastern Louisiana sun for almost three years now, so that won't be a problem!

If you don't have the time for a bigger aquarium experience like Aquarium of the Pacific, the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is also in pretty much the same location and is free. It has several native tanks and can be explored in roughly an hour.

The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is still closed.

About roughly how long does it take to tour the Aquarium of the Pacific? Could it be combined with other things in the area? If the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is open by the time of our visit we might see about checking it out. I'll keep it in mind and remember to check back on it.

I can try and answer more specific questions about travel, day-to-day things, and sightseeing in the area if you have any - either on here or feel free to PM them to me too if you want

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. We're still nailing down the day-to-day because I'm waiting on final confirmation on when I will be needed at the SDZ and SDZSP, but I know that we will be flying into LA and flying out of SD and everything else falls in between, haha. I will definitely let you know if I have any further questions once we start finalizing when we will be in certain places.

When you go the LA zoo can you ask how many Calamian Deer they still have as well as the Black Duikers?

I don't have to visit to let you know this! LA has 2.0 Calamian deer and 2.1 black duiker.

@Kudu21 Oh how I echo your same opinion about the elephants at my home zoo, I think their major concern was integrating Billy with other elephants for the longest which after years of planning and consulting it seems to have paid off. Now I want to see fertile cows here so we can hopefully have calves here in LA with Billy’s genetics in due time Anyways I hope you enjoy your visit with us here in SoCal!

I was reading about that development! It is good to see that at least some progress is being made after all of these years, and hopefully that progress keeps coming. Thank you, though! I am very excited about it-- I am sure it will be a great time

 

[Westcoastperson]

About roughly how long does it take to tour the Aquarium of the Pacific? Could it be combined with other things in the area? If the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is open by the time of our visit we might see about checking it out. I'll keep it in mind and remember to check back on it.

It usually takes me about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to get through the whole aquarium if I take my time. Afterwards I would suggest going to the nearby Marine Mammal Center which will be one of the best opportunities out there to see Northern Elephant Seals (they constantly have them). You could also go North into Palos Verdes which holds some of the most beautiful cliffs, massive kelp forests, great whale watching from land, and the remnants of the old Marineland of the Pacific. You could also hang out in Long Beach and going to restaurant near the aquarium like Buba Gump or Cafe Sevilla. Or if you go past Palos Verdes you could go to the beaches which are lovely in May. One thing you shouldn’t do is try to go to Los Angeles city that day. It is far from the Aquarium and traffic will kill you. But I do hope you enjoy Los Angles. I also hope you like Joshua Tree, I have been rock climbing there a few times and it is amazing. Also when you are in California just try In n Out, it is a key part of local culture.

 

[Kudu21]

It usually takes me about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to get through the whole aquarium if I take my time. Afterwards I would suggest going to the nearby Marine Mammal Center which will be one of the best opportunities out there to see Northern Elephant Seals (they constantly have them). You could also go North into Palos Verdes which holds some of the most beautiful cliffs, massive kelp forests, great whale watching from land, and the remnants of the old Marineland of the Pacific. You could also hang out in Long Beach and going to restaurant near the aquarium like Buba Gump or Cafe Sevilla. Or if you go past Palos Verdes you could go to the beaches which are lovely in May. One thing you shouldn’t do is try to go to Los Angeles city that day. It is far from the Aquarium and traffic will kill you. But I do hope you enjoy Los Angles. I also hope you like Joshua Tree, I have been rock climbing there a few times and it is amazing. Also when you are in California just try In n Out, it is a key part of local culture.

Thank you very much for the info and for the other suggestions! Currently we are set to be in LA on May 4th, in Palm Springs/Palm Desert the 5th and 6th, and in San Diego the 7th-9th. Both of our schedules at work are changing ahead of our trip, so we might now be able to add a day on either side, so the extra suggestions are appreciated. My partner grew up between central California and southern Oregon, so In N Out is inevitable

 

[Kudu21]

Alright, so Los Angeles folks— our reservations for the LA Zoo are for noon, as we are hitting the zoo the day we fly in and want to give home for delays. About how much time does it take to see everything (minus what is still closed), and are there any particular routes you would suggest taking through the zoo?

Our reservations for the Living Desert are at 9:00, so I’m less worried about efficiency there, and I’m still working out the kinks with my work for our days at the San Diego parks.

 

[Julio C Castro]

If you are a moderate speed walker like I am, it should take between 2-3 hours to see it all given the current closures.

I do a counter clockwise lap around the zoo, it splits up into the Main Zoo after the Flamingos.

On the left side of the fork(clockwise route for me), you will pass the LAIR but is closed still although they have the Tomistomas and Indian Gharials on exhibit for viewing outside of the LAIR. Then Australasia follows next with Campo Gorillas Reserve being the next major attraction.

The right side of the fork(counter clockwise route which is my main choice), will lead you uphill to the Cambodian Pavillion of the Elephants of Asia as well as Rainforest of the Americas. The next neighboring area is South America which has the infamous Mountain Tapirs

Knowing you want to see the Tapirs, I’d start counter clockwise. The Baird’s Tapir are located in the Rainforest of the Americas exhibit in case you wanted to see them too! If you manage to be there within the first two hours of the zoo being open, you may see all our elephants in the Cambodia area or down by the waterfall in the India plaza.

The Calamian Deer in the farthest exhibit along the hillside of the zoo. It’s by the Child’s Play Area.

I hope you have fun out here, yes it pales in comparison to the San Diego parks and Living Desert but it always holds a special place for me

 

[Westcoastperson]

Our reservations for the Living Desert are at 9:00, so I’m less worried about efficiency there, and I’m still working out the kinks with my work for our days at the San Diego parks.

When you are at the Living Desert arrive before it opens so you can be there while it's still morning. You really want to avoid the desert sun. I suggest doing the African section first as that has the least amount of shade compared to the Australian and North American sections.

 

[Kudu21]

If you are a moderate speed walker like I am, it should take between 2-3 hours to see it all given the current closures.

I do a counter clockwise lap around the zoo, it splits up into the Main Zoo after the Flamingos.

On the left side of the fork(clockwise route for me), you will pass the LAIR but is closed still although they have the Tomistomas and Indian Gharials on exhibit for viewing outside of the LAIR. Then Australasia follows next with Campo Gorillas Reserve being the next major attraction.

The right side of the fork(counter clockwise route which is my main choice), will lead you uphill to the Cambodian Pavillion of the Elephants of Asia as well as Rainforest of the Americas. The next neighboring area is South America which has the infamous Mountain Tapirs

Knowing you want to see the Tapirs, I’d start counter clockwise. The Baird’s Tapir are located in the Rainforest of the Americas exhibit in case you wanted to see them too! If you manage to be there within the first two hours of the zoo being open, you may see all our elephants in the Cambodia area or down by the waterfall in the India plaza.

The Calamian Deer in the farthest exhibit along the hillside of the zoo. It’s by the Child’s Play Area.

I hope you have fun out here, yes it pales in comparison to the San Diego parks and Living Desert but it always holds a special place for me

Thank you very much! I appreciate it. I will gladly take the suggestion of a local. We visited Houston a couple of weeks ago, and we ended up back tracking quite a bit to make sure we hit everything, so it's nice to go in with a plan. Thank you for confirming the location of the deer, as well, seeing as they are not on the map. While it might not be those other facilities, I am looking forward to exploring it, all the same!

When you are at the Living Desert arrive before it opens so you can be there while it's still morning. You really want to avoid the desert sun. I suggest doing the African section first as that has the least amount of shade compared to the Australian and North American sections.

Thank you for the suggested shadier route! I'm sure that'll be appreciated. We will be arriving at 9:00, so just an hour after opening. (I wanted to shoot for opening, but it isn't solely my vacation )

 

[Kudu21]

I've finally gotten the itinerary for my meetings at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. My meetings at the zoo will last from 9:00 to 10:30 and from 1:00 to 2:00, my meetings the next day at the safari park will be from 11:00 to 1:00. The safari park seems more self explanatory in its routing, but I know the zoo is notorious for its confusing layout. The first meetings will be in the Urban Jungle and the second will be in the Ituri Forest. What routes do regulars recommend to avoid missing things/avoid as much back tracking as possible? The meetings will throw a slight wrench into that, but it would be nice to at least have a plan!

 

[Westcoastperson]

I've finally gotten the itinerary for my meetings at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. My meetings at the zoo will last from 9:00 to 10:30 and from 1:00 to 2:00, my meetings the next day at the safari park will be from 11:00 to 1:00. The safari park seems more self explanatory in its routing, but I know the zoo is notorious for its confusing layout. The first meetings will be in the Urban Jungle and the second will be in the Ituri Forest. What routes do regulars recommend to avoid missing things/avoid as much back tracking as possible? The meetings will throw a slight wrench into that, but it would be nice to at least have a plan!

Here is my suggestion based on your time. So when you finish your meeting head through Africa Rocks and back up through the Asian Passage Bear Grottos. Once your done with those head over to Mokey Trails and Forest Tales which should lead you to wherever you are meeting. Now I am not very experienced with Lost Forest and I don't know where your meeting but my suggestion is that when your second meeting is done you just explore the Lost Forest. You should try to leave either at the end of the Hippo Trail or down the escalators that start between the Parker Aviary and Aviary Trail. Both will generally take you to the Panda Trek and Flight Cages. Once you do those head up the road to Polar Plunge and the rest of Northern Frontier. Take the Elephant Odyssey path to Front Street. At the end of the day go to the Reptile Walk and Wegeforth Bowl area.

 

[Julio C Castro]

I've finally gotten the itinerary for my meetings at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. My meetings at the zoo will last from 9:00 to 10:30 and from 1:00 to 2:00, my meetings the next day at the safari park will be from 11:00 to 1:00. The safari park seems more self explanatory in its routing, but I know the zoo is notorious for its confusing layout. The first meetings will be in the Urban Jungle and the second will be in the Ituri Forest. What routes do regulars recommend to avoid missing things/avoid as much back tracking as possible? The meetings will throw a slight wrench into that, but it would be nice to at least have a plan!

My route after the past 2 years has been to go right from the main entrance, passing through Australian Outback and it’s split into two parts. The Koala yards are close to Urban Jungle so you can knock that out in minutes.

Knowing the time crunch you’re one, I’ll modify my plan slightly between the two meetings. I’d walk through Asian Passage grottos and once you pass through Sun Bear Forest, it will lead you into the Africa Rocks which that entrance is the Penguins/sharks exhibit.

By the end of the Kopje, make a left turn to head you into Elephant Odyssey which the first exhibit is the California Condors. After walking through Elephant Odyssey, it should bring you to a forked road. One way is Bashor Bridge over to Lost Forest or the other side which is Northern Frontier.

Knowing that you’re an ungulate fan, I’d take the path towards Northern Frontier which has the remaining exhibits from Horn and Hoof Mesa. It neighbors Polar Bear Plunge and can be done within minutes. Take the path down Norther Frontier and walk along the left side to the Raptor Aviaries.

Continuing this path, you’re going to be spit out to the entrance of Asian Leopards/Panda Trek. This can all be done between the time of the two meetings and is by the entrance to Ituri Forest You can backtrack only a smidge as if going uphill to Northern Frontier but taking the left side path to see the waterfowl pond instead of the Raptor Aviaries.

I think Lost Forest is a hot mess between all of the sections of the zoo since it’s not a singular exhibit but a massive collection of immersive exhibits. It will be the most backtrack you’ll end up doing and unfortunately it will be the only choice if truly want to see it all.

So the order I’d do it would be: Ituri Forest, Tiger River Trail, go to the upper level of Monkey Trails, Scripps Aviary, Bonobos, Gorilla Tropics, Forest Tales. Here it splits up into two paths. The right side is leading towards Absolutely Apes/Monkey Trails. The left side is Aviary Trail with the easily missed Wings of Australasia and Parker Aviary, followed closely by Owens Aviary. Choose which side you want to do since you’ll end up backtracking a bit if you want to see it all mostly due to Lost Forest

And to finish, Reptile Walk should be last and easily one of the more calmer areas towards the end of the day. Luckily it’s getting hotter and staying hotter for longer so the reptiles will be out until much later.

Enjoy your stay in California and hope this helps!