Oakland Zoo Oakland Zoo News 2019

I also agree that there is a huge lack of the little guys in the Californian Trail exhibit. You'd think at least there would be a small exhibit for western pond turtles and Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs. What other species would you propose?

Anything, really. Red-legged frogs. Another frog or toad species. California tiger salamanders. Another salamander, whether newts or ensatinas or aroboreal or Pacific giant salamanders. Native fish like trout or sturgeon. Rattlesnakes. One of the local racers or garter snakes or another species entirely. Desert tortoise. Native lizards. A nocturnal habitat featuring bats or rodents; California has multiple threatened examples of the latter. Some small carnivores. Native birds, whether waterfowl or yellow-billed magpies or burrowing owls or songbirds or shore birds. Even something like peninsular pronghorn, which could certainly take advantage of the open terrain and acreage of the hillside, would make it seem a little more diverse. Heck, I'd even take an exhibit featuring introduced species.

Many of California's local small mammals or amphibians or reptiles could probably use some ex situ conservation, too. I'm not aware of any programs for blunt-nosed leopard lizard, a San Joaquin Valley endemic whose habitat has been decimated by agriculture. Ditto for many others. Panamint alligator lizard. Coachella fringe-toed lizard. Multiple species of kangaroo rat. Like I said, if there are breeding programs, I'm not currently aware of them.

I don't expect them to realistically have all of these species or groups, but those are simply examples of creatures that can use some conservation attention that could add to the exhibit complex.

About the grotto, I asked the zoo about this today and they responded saying that the exhibit was recently renovated to be an enclosed aviary with great curassows but then they say "Cuckoo's" are coming soon. I'm going to assume that Cuckoos was a typo and that they meant curassow but if that is the case then what is the point of getting new birds and having a new exhibit when they already have a pair of great curassows and a relatively young exhibit for them? Anyone who understands zoo planning can you help me understand why they would do this? I asked them this with my follow up question but I am going to assume that they won't respond for a while. Until then, Merry Chrismas.

Are the curassows aggressive with the other species? I know instances of other curassow species being removed from walk-through aviaries for being aggressive with visitors when they are breeding.

Unless of course it is an aviary with cuckoos. Many American zoos have guira cuckoos. Either way, that's a reasonable-sized habitat for either.

Merry Christmas!
 
Anything, really. Red-legged frogs. Another frog or toad species. California tiger salamanders. Another salamander, whether newts or ensatinas or aroboreal or Pacific giant salamanders. Native fish like trout or sturgeon. Rattlesnakes. One of the local racers or garter snakes or another species entirely. Desert tortoise. Native lizards. A nocturnal habitat featuring bats or rodents; California has multiple threatened examples of the latter. Some small carnivores. Native birds, whether waterfowl or yellow-billed magpies or burrowing owls or songbirds or shore birds. Even something like peninsular pronghorn, which could certainly take advantage of the open terrain and acreage of the hillside, would make it seem a little more diverse. Heck, I'd even take an exhibit featuring introduced species.

Many of California's local small mammals or amphibians or reptiles could probably use some ex situ conservation, too. I'm not aware of any programs for blunt-nosed leopard lizard, a San Joaquin Valley endemic whose habitat has been decimated by agriculture. Ditto for many others. Panamint alligator lizard. Coachella fringe-toed lizard. Multiple species of kangaroo rat. Like I said, if there are breeding programs, I'm not currently aware of them.

I don't expect them to realistically have all of these species or groups, but those are simply examples of creatures that can use some conservation attention that could add to the exhibit complex.



Are the curassows aggressive with the other species? I know instances of other curassow species being removed from walk-through aviaries for being aggressive with visitors when they are breeding.

Unless of course it is an aviary with cuckoos. Many American zoos have guira cuckoos. Either way, that's a reasonable-sized habitat for either.

Merry Christmas!

Well the aviary isn’t a walk through one and during my visits I haven’t noticed any aggression between them and the other residents. So it makes little sense for me to create a new exhibit for them.
 
Just confirmed with the zoo that the old macaw exhibit will be the new home for the great curassow pair. Turns out they weren’t getting along with the other residents so a new exhibit will be made. I think maybe guira cuckoos might join them in that exhibit but again it could be a typo.
 
For all the frequent Oakland Zoo visitors on here, I was wondering if you guys could answer a few questions for me. I know Oakland Zoo has seven chimpanzees - at least from what I have found online - but I can only find information on two of them. Bernie and Eddie are two chimp brothers who had been the stars of the zoo until 2016 or so when five new chimpanzees moved to Oakland. Moses is the name of the male, but I cannot find any other information besides his name. Amy is one of the four females, but I cannot find anything else on her or the other three females. Any help is appreciated!

I'm unsure where you got the impression that there were only two chimps up until 2016 since according to this studbook in 2012, it says that the zoo had 3.4 common chimpanzees. Here are the names as follows (The ages are as of 2019):

Abigail (36 year old Female)
Amira (24 year old Female)
Caramia (24 year old Female)
Andi (27 year old Female)
Moses (26 year old Male)
Bernie (26 year old Male)
Eddie (29 year old Male)

Most of the chimpanzees came from Yerkes Primate Research Center with the exception of Abigail who came from the Potawatomi zoo and the two Hollywood stars Bernie and Eddie. If you need any more information let me know.
 
Hey guys a little off topic but I’ve been curious on what SSP Oakland is involved in and I was wondering if any of you could help out. I know they are leaders in the Baboon ssp but that’s about it.
 
I did this last year so I'll do it again this year. Here is a year in review!

  • The zoo has seen some tragic losses this year in the form of its oldest residents. Benghazi the giraffe, Leonard the African lion, Grace the tiger, and M'Dunda the African elephant all lived long lives at the zoo and have become staples of the zoo family. They will be missed.
  • The zoo has also seen the arrival of new individuals. A new white-handed gibbon pair and a new cotton top tamarin male have arrived in the zoo per AZA recommendations. Hopefully, we will see a newborn from either primate families. The zoo wasn't without new babies this year with the birth of 4 wolf pups at the zoo! The two bison have also arrived from Yellowstone and will continue the conservation effort that the zoo is partaking with the Blackfoot community.
  • While THERE IS STILL NO MASTER PLAN* the zoo has been making efforts to renovate some of their exhibits. Maybe we will see something in the future. The zoo is still waiting on the jaguar but maybe she will arrive next year.
And that's it. I hope the best for the zoo in 2020!


* I get that it takes time to formulate a plan. I have actually been designing my own plan as a side project. Maybe I'll post it one day.
 
While THERE IS STILL NO MASTER PLAN* the zoo has been making efforts to renovate some of their exhibits. Maybe we will see something in the future. The zoo is still waiting on the jaguar but maybe she will arrive next year.

I find the Oakland Zoo has always been a little slow as far as their biggest plans go. California Trail, originally California 1820 from what I remember, was announced in the 1990s as being scheduled for the mid-2000s, but didn't open until 2018.

That said, if I were Oakland I'd focus on refurbishing the existing areas and new exhibits from some of the marquee animals before creating a brand new area.

Personally, for a new area, I would take advantage of the hillside between the main zoo and California Trail and California's Mediterranean climate to create a Mediterranean/North African/West Asian area with several expansive exhibits featuring animals from those areas and maybe some smaller animal habitats as well. Especially since a lot of the current AZA TAG recommendations for ungulates are for species from North Africa and Western Asia.
 
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I find the Oakland Zoo has always been a little slow as far as their biggest plans go. California Trail, originally California 1820 from what I remember, was announced in the 1990s as being scheduled for the mid-2000s, but didn't open until 2018.

That said, if I were Oakland I'd focus on refurbishing the existing areas and new exhibits from some of the marquee animals before creating a brand new area.

Personally, for a new area, I would take advantage of the hillside between the main zoo and California Trail and California's Mediterranean climate to create a Mediterranean/North African/West Asian area with several expansive exhibits featuring animals from those areas and maybe some smaller animal habitats as well. Especially since a lot of the current AZA TAG recommendations for ungulates are for species from North Africa and Western Asia.
A lot of the area that you mentioned is protected by the zoo as a place of ecological recovery since species such as the Alameda whipsnake live there so much of that land won’t be used by the zoo.
 
A lot of the area that you mentioned is protected by the zoo as a place of ecological recovery since species such as the Alameda whipsnake live there so much of that land won’t be used by the zoo.

Oh, I am well aware of that, but at the same time I don't know the full extent of the land they are protecting. That said, that used to be home to bison and tule elk in decades past, so a similar type land usage to that I could see for the less sensitive areas.
 
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