Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens Los Angeles Zoo News 2025

African Grey said:
November animal transactions: https://lazoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/3-Zoo-Commission-Animal-Transaction-Report-11.18.25.pdf
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Just did a deep dive on the West Texas Wildlife Preserve:
It positions itself as a breeding center for threatened and imperiled species. Founded by Marcus Hemker, the son of the founders of the Hemker Park Zoo in Minnesota. They were one of the main zoos to bring in animals from the closed facility in Puerto Rico. They have about 80 species, all of which they are trying to breed. Species I have seen mentioned or pictured include: Bairds Tapir, blue-throated macaw, common peafowl, crested pheasant, saurus crane, red-billed blue magpie, red fronted macaw, sand fox, spectacles owl, scarlet macaw, spur-winged lapwig, stellers sea eagle, sun bittern, Greater Flamingo, hammerkop, Victoria crowned pigeon, hippo, reticulated giraffe, Abyssinian ground hornbill, Cuviers Gazelle (supposedly the last breeding herd), Grevys Zebra, Bongo, Waterbuck, Bontebok, Beisa Oryx, Greater Kudu, Wildebeest, Ostrich, Rhino, and Bactrian Camel. There are more but those are just what I picked up from an initial investigation.
 
Westcoastperson said:
Just did a deep dive on the West Texas Wildlife Preserve:
It positions itself as a breeding center for threatened and imperiled species. Founded by Marcus Hemker, the son of the founders of the Hemker Park Zoo in Minnesota. They were one of the main zoos to bring in animals from the closed facility in Puerto Rico. They have about 80 species, all of which they are trying to breed. Species I have seen mentioned or pictured include: Bairds Tapir, blue-throated macaw, common peafowl, crested pheasant, saurus crane, red-billed blue magpie, red fronted macaw, sand fox, spectacles owl, scarlet macaw, spur-winged lapwig, stellers sea eagle, sun bittern, Greater Flamingo, hammerkop, Victoria crowned pigeon, hippo, reticulated giraffe, Abyssinian ground hornbill, Cuviers Gazelle (supposedly the last breeding herd), Grevys Zebra, Bongo, Waterbuck, Bontebok, Beisa Oryx, Greater Kudu, Wildebeest, Ostrich, Rhino, and Bactrian Camel. There are more but those are just what I picked up from an initial investigation.
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At these animals would do better in Texas and I think the West Texas Wildlife Preserve needs it’s own News Thread, Gallery, and a species list.
 
So since they approved the master plan I hope elephants return. The zoo can't be without elephants, also i they gotta make a few changes to the master plan if they turn the old Elephant yards into an indian mix species exhibit (I hope they can bring sloth bears,penguins and horses)
just saying I want the best for the LA Zoo is my favorite place in LA
 
Samueltiger said:
So since they approved the master plan I hope elephants return. The zoo can't be without elephants, also i they gotta make a few changes to the master plan if they turn the old Elephant yards into an indian mix species exhibit (I hope they can bring sloth bears,penguins and horses)
just saying I want the best for the LA Zoo is my favorite place in LA
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Agreed, would prefer that they do some renovations like an expansion and perhaps aims towards the original Pachyderm Forests concept (feel like this would be the biggest project and might not happen til the next few years). As much as I would love LA to have elephants right now, I cannot see it happening due to the heated ARA environment LA seems to have alongside the negative press towards the zoo's previous elephants, I would hope for more positive PR and public support once the vision plan goes through and then hopefully it will then be safe for the zoo to bring in elephants with public support.
 
peruvianbirdie said:
Agreed, would prefer that they do some renovations like an expansion and perhaps aims towards the original Pachyderm Forests concept (feel like this would be the biggest project and might not happen til the next few years). As much as I would love LA to have elephants right now, I cannot see it happening due to the heated ARA environment LA seems to have alongside the negative press towards the zoo's previous elephants, I would hope for more positive PR and public support once the vision plan goes through and then hopefully it will then be safe for the zoo to bring in elephants with public support.
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you are so right, plus if they bring gaurs they can be LA's first true bovid to be with the rhinos also they can bring Blackbucks,axis deer and sambar deer. Okay hear me out for the new africa exhibit they can make a much larger exhibit for lions,hippos and wild dogs
 
Kudu21 said:
A lot of times when you see “Donation to X — transaction eliminates an unnecessary loan”, it usually means said animal was already at that facility — it is the actual ownership of the animal that is changing hands.

That said, this does, indeed, mean that the sand foxes have been sent away.
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Thank you for clarifying that! I was confused about the giraffes, as we only have 2 females and 1 male to begin with, and I hadn't heard of any plans for Zainabou and Sophie to go anywhere.
 
African Grey said:
November animal transactions: https://lazoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/3-Zoo-Commission-Animal-Transaction-Report-11.18.25.pdf
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Reviewing the most recent animal transaction report, it's surprising how many animals are being sent away to other institutions, especially the non-AZA accredited West Texas Wildlife Preserve. It seems to me that with half of the zoo's exhibits closed, it's a poor idea to be reducing the current animal collection even more.

According to a YouTuber who visits the zoo frequently, the Speke's gazelle and fennec fox exhibits are empty (closed sign in gazelle habitat and no food or water in the fox enclosure). When I visited the zoo a few months ago, there was a giant hamster wheel in Radar the fox's enclosure, which I thought was odd.

I don't think moving the tufted deer to the sarus crane exhibit is a good idea as those deer are incredibly skittish and elusive. Their current exhibit has less foot traffic and is more suited to deer with the wooded hillside.
 
Lori Patton said:
Reviewing the most recent animal transaction report, it's surprising how many animals are being sent away to other institutions, especially the non-AZA accredited West Texas Wildlife Preserve. It seems to me that with half of the zoo's exhibits closed, it's a poor idea to be reducing the current animal collection even more.

According to a YouTuber who visits the zoo frequently, the Speke's gazelle and fennec fox exhibits are empty (closed sign in gazelle habitat and no food or water in the fox enclosure). When I visited the zoo a few months ago, there was a giant hamster wheel in Radar the fox's enclosure, which I thought was odd.

I don't think moving the tufted deer to the sarus crane exhibit is a good idea as those deer are incredibly skittish and elusive. Their current exhibit has less foot traffic and is more suited to deer with the wooded hillside.
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Yeah also me when I went to the zoo I noticed that the speke's gazelle exhibit was closed I was so confused about it
 
when I was at the zoo I noitced a construction on the old spider-monkey exhibit as well as the elephant yards what's going on?
 
The Speke’s gazelle population has dropped off quite dramatically recently, and it is my understanding that they’re making an effort to consolidate the animals at the facilities that have larger herds and a better track record with the species (namely San Diego and St. Louis). Luckily this decision is being made earlier than it was with gerenuk when the gerenuk population started to plummet when they were spread out to facilities that did not know how to work with them and had a new SSP coordinator that didn’t know enough about them to support the new facilities… The Speke’s gazelle population is at least still in a better position than the gerenuk population is…
 
Perhaps the Speke's Gazelle Yard could become a Second Babirusa Yard to house a Male and for better breeding.
 
Kudu21 said:
The Speke’s gazelle population has dropped off quite dramatically recently, and it is my understanding that they’re making an effort to consolidate the animals at the facilities that have larger herds and a better track record with the species (namely San Diego and St. Louis). Luckily this decision is being made earlier than it was with gerenuk when the gerenuk population started to plummet when they were spread out to facilities that did not know how to work with them and had a new SSP coordinator that didn’t know enough about them to support the new facilities… The Speke’s gazelle population is at least still in a better position than the gerenuk population is…
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@Kudu21, thanks for your elaborate response! To have some focal zoos with larger breeding herds indeed makes sense in a time that the species seems to have been doing less well in less experienced ... (or even in inapt landscape/climate/husbandry regime) zoos.

Historically, St. Louis was the main breeder and also the one who had links to other breeders across other Continents. I remember that some time ago St. Louis imported individual(s) from Qatar (Al-Wabra...).
 
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