Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

Otter Lord said:
In the document it states that the zoo is looking to reobtain belugas, what happened? Didn't they have belugas before?
Click to expand...

The zoo had a male beluga die from a bacterial infection in early 2009 and the remaining male was sent to Seaworld in San Antonio a few months later. That ended a long run of 25 years of beluga whales at Point Defiance Zoo, and since then there have been harbour seals in the old whale exhibit. To be honest the pool is large for seals and that zone, while a bit dated now in terms of the public area, is still quite good and along with the seals are walruses, puffins and sea otters. It would be a shame to bring back belugas as the pool is not really large enough and the Vancouver Aquarium has 4 belugas and is only a few hours to the north.
 
Looking forward to visiting this zoo next week. Any recommendations, caveats (construction sites etc.), things-to-do's etc. are greatly appretiated.
 
I enjoy the sea otters the most. There are four total including a youngster who is a ball of energy. And I'd imagine seeing the clouded leopard cubs is a must. I've yet to be up there to see them.
 
Shirokuma said:
Is Cats of the Canopy open yet?
Click to expand...

The grand opening for the new clouded leopard exhibit, Cats of the Canopy, is Saturday, August 27th. The zoo actually has 8 of the rare leopards but I'm not sure how many will be on exhibit at once. My guess is the breeding pair and in the near future their two young offspring as well.

There is one photo of the exhibit on this link:

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
 
The exhibit is already open to view prior to the official launch and it's very nice. It's high with lots of logs and branches and there is a separate viewing area for the two cubs they have.

I spotted one adult lounding on a branch by the viewing windows but too high up to see properly and the cubs were sleeping but very sweet if you like little fluffy things like that.
 
I will but not for another week or two as I am still travelling. I got pictures of it from various angles as well as the off show cages through a gap in a fence - which earned me a "Can I help you sir?" from a zoo employee :)
 
Very exciting for cat lovers like me and a reason for me to make a return trip to the Seattle-Tacoma area. Looks like an excellent photo opportunity if the cats are in the bottom half of the exhibit, where all the foliage is. If they are on the logs in the upper half it would just be a bare log with cage behind, so not as good. But I suppose the newly planted trees may eventually grow up to fill the full height of the exhibit?
 
I actually met the Director of Point Defiance Zoo, He took me Behind the Scenes of the Zoo on Both of my Visits of 2011, First Time was Above the Shark Tank and the Second Time was Behind the Scenes of the Asian Forest Sancutary.
 
Nice to see a Russian exhibit, without the whiff of tigers or leopards, very original and possibly unique.
 
It appears that the 1963 North Pacific Aquarium will eventually become a South American rainforest exhibit, and the future Pacific Rim Aquarium will tie into the Rocky Shores/Arctic Tundra area to form a cohesive zone. Basically the 3 oldest sections of the zoo will be combined into one modern, immersive experience.

Preliminary plans for the new cold-weather complex include species such as sea eagle, Pallas cat, goral, Amur leopard, Arctic hare, snowy owl, white-naped crane and Siberian musk deer that are currently not at the zoo. This is the proposed map:

http://www.pdza.org/files/library/e4be331b2879279a_o.pdf

Future zoo map including new $30-40 million complex:

http://www.pdza.org/file_viewer.php?id=3955
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top