Put Me In The Zoo: San Diego Zoo Review
Date of zoo visit: March 10, 2012
Does this zoo satisfy the reviewer’s Inner-3-Year-Old by featuring his lifelong favorite animals, giraffes and elephants?
Yes, the zoo has a herd of Masai giraffes and a herd of Asian elephants, all elderly and non-breeding. There is one African savanna elephant that lives with them at the time of this review.
The San Diego Zoo’s sister park has a breeding herd of African elephants and herds of Rothschild’s giraffes and reticulated giraffes.
The San Diego Zoo has quite possibly the worst giraffe exhibit in any major American zoo. There are 6 Masai giraffes crammed into a yard that is probably smaller than the lot of an average American home. They share this cramped space with a herd of Sommering’s gazelles. I would point out that this species mix is completely unnatural as these species would never mix in the wild, but that is beside the point that they are in a lousy exhibit. This is particularly disappointing when one considers that the zoo’s sister Safari Park has one of the best giraffe exhibits in the zoo world. I find this disparity puzzling and appalling. The San Diego Zoo should not be exhibiting giraffes if they are not going to adequately house them in enough space. I’m sure that the zoo would claim that this giraffe space is adequate.
The zoo’s elephants are housed in the newest major exhibit at the zoo, Elephant Odyssey. Several zoo critics have pounced on the execution of this exhibit for being clumsy and unnaturalistic. There has been no attempt to recreate any approximation of natural elephant habitat here as their yards are decorated with metallic “utilitrees” that serve as shade structures. No natural vegetation is present in the elephant exhibit. The elephant exhibits are accompanied by exhibits representing species that lived with the relatives of the elephants, mammoths, which used to roam California and the rest of the northern hemisphere. Species exhibited include African lions, jaguar, capybaras, guanacos, secretary birds, California condors, domestic horses, several rattlesnake species, and dung beetles. Statues of the extinct Pleistocene species are placed around the live animal enclosures to contrast the living and the dead species. I personally find the theme of this exhibit quite interesting and its execution mostly works for me. Some of the graphics and storytelling elements are indecipherable and fail. The elephant yards are not always easy to see and the placement of a garden of Madagascan plants in the middle of all of it is distracting and stupid. Overall I think that this exhibit is worthwhile and certainly provides adequate and mostly interesting homes for the species living here, in contrast to the aforementioned giraffes.
I bring all of this up because I think that the contrast between the giraffe and elephant exhibits at the San Diego Zoo illustrates that although this zoo has achieved an almost mythological reputation as perhaps the greatest zoo in the world, it is in the end just a zoo with flaws and strengths like most zoos. Truthfully there are probably enough mediocre to bad exhibits in the San Diego Zoo to equal the size of a medium sized zoo. The giraffe exhibit is one of the worst exhibits, but there are others that are worse. The clouded leopard lives in a pathetically small cage. It once was housed in a large enclosure in the new Monkey Trails exhibit in the center of the zoo, but for some reason has been crammed into a section of small, outdated exhibits along with some other unfortunate species. The bears at the San Diego Zoo, including the giant pandas, are in smallish grottoes that are planted and have enrichment features like ponds and climbing structures, but seem barely adequate compared to the size and complexity of bear exhibits in other zoos like Woodland Park Zoo’s grizzly exhibit, Oakland Zoo’s sun bear exhibit, or Smithsonian National Zoo’s giant panda exhibits. Even some of the newer exhibits like the Malayan tapir exhibit in the Tiger River exhibit seem inadequately small and barren.
Does this zoo have any animals that would excite a zoo aficionado?
The San Diego Zoo derives much of its reputation I think from its legendary animal collection and breeding successes with them. The collection is still spectacular with reportedly the largest bird collection in the western hemisphere. There is a great collection of Austalasian birds in particular including the Raggiana bird of paradise. The zoo is famous for its collection of Queensland koalas. Giant pandas, white-bellied tree pangolin, okapis, Mang Mountain pitvipers, and many other species.
Does this zoo have any immersion exhibits that would impress a zoo aficionado?
Their polar bear exhibit is quite good. It has some good exhibit interpretive graphics about global warming and Arctic life. The accompanying Arctic duck aviary with smew, harlequin ducks, long-tailed ducks, and other species is a treat.
Tiger River is a decent Asian rain forest exhibit complex with tigers, fishing cats, Johnson’s crocodiles, and several aviaries. The Malayan tapir exhibit is unfortunately not up to the standard of the rest of the complex. The newish Monkey Trails exhibit in the center of the zoo is a series of large, lushly vegetated enclosures for primate species and accompanying rain forest species. The orangutan-siamang exhibit is not particularly naturalistic, but is fairly large and has some of the best primate viewing that I have ever seen in a zoo. Ditto the bonobo exhibit. The gorillas have a fairly large and lushly vegetated exhibit, but not as immersively impressive as Disney or the Bronx Zoo gorilla exhibits.
The San Diego Zoo has several HUGE walk-through aviaries with many rain forest bird species from around the world. These are truly world-class immersive exhibits.
Does this zoo have any good basic exhibits?
As mentioned above I think that Elephant Odyssey is a decent, but not spectacular, elephant exhibit. There is a large reptile house with a diverse collection in moderately large terrariums; it is comparable to the reptile houses of the other large famous zoos in North America, but rather pedestrian when compared to the Los Angeles Zoo’s new LAIR.
Does this zoo have any exhibits that should be bulldozed?
See my rant about the giraffe and bear exhibits above. There are entire sections of the zoo containing outdated grottoes and old-style cat and monkey cages that need to be modernized.
Does this zoo have any elements that make it particularly family friendly?
There is a good children’s zoo with a big playground. There are good animal talks and shows throughout the day. Generally I think that San Diego has very good interpretive wildlife presentations and attending one or more throughout the day is highly recommended. I think that is really does enhance the experience of visiting this zoo. Without touches like these presentations this can be a very overwhelming zoo. It is VERY hard to navigate around, being built in a series of valleys and hills. They know this and have worked hard to simplify their pathways, but it is still an extremely confusing place to navigate.
There are bus tours that go around the zoo. If you have small children this may be the best way to see large parts of the zoo. You would then see the highlights and have an idea of where to visit more in depth.
Does this zoo have any interesting plans for the future?
At the time of this review the koalas are off exhibit and their area is being completely rebuilt. A large section of the reptile exhibit seems to be under construction with details of new or modified exhibits yet to be announced.
Would a zoo aficionado like this zoo enough to go out of his or her way to visit it?
The San Diego Zoo proclaims itself to be “World Famous”, and of course it is. With lushly planted grounds and a spectacular animal collection it is a mecca for zoo nerds of the world. There are many species and exhibits that justify its fame and reputation as a destination zoo.
However, the San Diego Zoo like many zoos has a legacy of small and inadequate exhibits that it needs to fix in order to be truly great. Its giraffe, bear (except for polar, but including giant panda), clouded leopard, and Malayan tapir exhibits are really not good, and the zoo should be embarrassed to be exhibiting these species in these conditions in contrast to many of its better exhibits.
Perhaps more troubling is the increasing presence of “rides” and “games” like the climbing wall and “4D Theater” that are taking up increasing amounts of the zoo grounds. I appreciate that this zoo needs to raise funds to keep going, especially in the bad economic conditions that we live in as I write this review, but the zoo management is giving at least the appearance of turning the zoo into a third-rate theme park. This may be an overly harsh assessment of their motives and results, but the zoo could become “World Famous” for becoming tacky and stupid, and that would be bad.
Date of zoo visit: March 10, 2012
Does this zoo satisfy the reviewer’s Inner-3-Year-Old by featuring his lifelong favorite animals, giraffes and elephants?
Yes, the zoo has a herd of Masai giraffes and a herd of Asian elephants, all elderly and non-breeding. There is one African savanna elephant that lives with them at the time of this review.
The San Diego Zoo’s sister park has a breeding herd of African elephants and herds of Rothschild’s giraffes and reticulated giraffes.
The San Diego Zoo has quite possibly the worst giraffe exhibit in any major American zoo. There are 6 Masai giraffes crammed into a yard that is probably smaller than the lot of an average American home. They share this cramped space with a herd of Sommering’s gazelles. I would point out that this species mix is completely unnatural as these species would never mix in the wild, but that is beside the point that they are in a lousy exhibit. This is particularly disappointing when one considers that the zoo’s sister Safari Park has one of the best giraffe exhibits in the zoo world. I find this disparity puzzling and appalling. The San Diego Zoo should not be exhibiting giraffes if they are not going to adequately house them in enough space. I’m sure that the zoo would claim that this giraffe space is adequate.
The zoo’s elephants are housed in the newest major exhibit at the zoo, Elephant Odyssey. Several zoo critics have pounced on the execution of this exhibit for being clumsy and unnaturalistic. There has been no attempt to recreate any approximation of natural elephant habitat here as their yards are decorated with metallic “utilitrees” that serve as shade structures. No natural vegetation is present in the elephant exhibit. The elephant exhibits are accompanied by exhibits representing species that lived with the relatives of the elephants, mammoths, which used to roam California and the rest of the northern hemisphere. Species exhibited include African lions, jaguar, capybaras, guanacos, secretary birds, California condors, domestic horses, several rattlesnake species, and dung beetles. Statues of the extinct Pleistocene species are placed around the live animal enclosures to contrast the living and the dead species. I personally find the theme of this exhibit quite interesting and its execution mostly works for me. Some of the graphics and storytelling elements are indecipherable and fail. The elephant yards are not always easy to see and the placement of a garden of Madagascan plants in the middle of all of it is distracting and stupid. Overall I think that this exhibit is worthwhile and certainly provides adequate and mostly interesting homes for the species living here, in contrast to the aforementioned giraffes.
I bring all of this up because I think that the contrast between the giraffe and elephant exhibits at the San Diego Zoo illustrates that although this zoo has achieved an almost mythological reputation as perhaps the greatest zoo in the world, it is in the end just a zoo with flaws and strengths like most zoos. Truthfully there are probably enough mediocre to bad exhibits in the San Diego Zoo to equal the size of a medium sized zoo. The giraffe exhibit is one of the worst exhibits, but there are others that are worse. The clouded leopard lives in a pathetically small cage. It once was housed in a large enclosure in the new Monkey Trails exhibit in the center of the zoo, but for some reason has been crammed into a section of small, outdated exhibits along with some other unfortunate species. The bears at the San Diego Zoo, including the giant pandas, are in smallish grottoes that are planted and have enrichment features like ponds and climbing structures, but seem barely adequate compared to the size and complexity of bear exhibits in other zoos like Woodland Park Zoo’s grizzly exhibit, Oakland Zoo’s sun bear exhibit, or Smithsonian National Zoo’s giant panda exhibits. Even some of the newer exhibits like the Malayan tapir exhibit in the Tiger River exhibit seem inadequately small and barren.
Does this zoo have any animals that would excite a zoo aficionado?
The San Diego Zoo derives much of its reputation I think from its legendary animal collection and breeding successes with them. The collection is still spectacular with reportedly the largest bird collection in the western hemisphere. There is a great collection of Austalasian birds in particular including the Raggiana bird of paradise. The zoo is famous for its collection of Queensland koalas. Giant pandas, white-bellied tree pangolin, okapis, Mang Mountain pitvipers, and many other species.
Does this zoo have any immersion exhibits that would impress a zoo aficionado?
Their polar bear exhibit is quite good. It has some good exhibit interpretive graphics about global warming and Arctic life. The accompanying Arctic duck aviary with smew, harlequin ducks, long-tailed ducks, and other species is a treat.
Tiger River is a decent Asian rain forest exhibit complex with tigers, fishing cats, Johnson’s crocodiles, and several aviaries. The Malayan tapir exhibit is unfortunately not up to the standard of the rest of the complex. The newish Monkey Trails exhibit in the center of the zoo is a series of large, lushly vegetated enclosures for primate species and accompanying rain forest species. The orangutan-siamang exhibit is not particularly naturalistic, but is fairly large and has some of the best primate viewing that I have ever seen in a zoo. Ditto the bonobo exhibit. The gorillas have a fairly large and lushly vegetated exhibit, but not as immersively impressive as Disney or the Bronx Zoo gorilla exhibits.
The San Diego Zoo has several HUGE walk-through aviaries with many rain forest bird species from around the world. These are truly world-class immersive exhibits.
Does this zoo have any good basic exhibits?
As mentioned above I think that Elephant Odyssey is a decent, but not spectacular, elephant exhibit. There is a large reptile house with a diverse collection in moderately large terrariums; it is comparable to the reptile houses of the other large famous zoos in North America, but rather pedestrian when compared to the Los Angeles Zoo’s new LAIR.
Does this zoo have any exhibits that should be bulldozed?
See my rant about the giraffe and bear exhibits above. There are entire sections of the zoo containing outdated grottoes and old-style cat and monkey cages that need to be modernized.
Does this zoo have any elements that make it particularly family friendly?
There is a good children’s zoo with a big playground. There are good animal talks and shows throughout the day. Generally I think that San Diego has very good interpretive wildlife presentations and attending one or more throughout the day is highly recommended. I think that is really does enhance the experience of visiting this zoo. Without touches like these presentations this can be a very overwhelming zoo. It is VERY hard to navigate around, being built in a series of valleys and hills. They know this and have worked hard to simplify their pathways, but it is still an extremely confusing place to navigate.
There are bus tours that go around the zoo. If you have small children this may be the best way to see large parts of the zoo. You would then see the highlights and have an idea of where to visit more in depth.
Does this zoo have any interesting plans for the future?
At the time of this review the koalas are off exhibit and their area is being completely rebuilt. A large section of the reptile exhibit seems to be under construction with details of new or modified exhibits yet to be announced.
Would a zoo aficionado like this zoo enough to go out of his or her way to visit it?
The San Diego Zoo proclaims itself to be “World Famous”, and of course it is. With lushly planted grounds and a spectacular animal collection it is a mecca for zoo nerds of the world. There are many species and exhibits that justify its fame and reputation as a destination zoo.
However, the San Diego Zoo like many zoos has a legacy of small and inadequate exhibits that it needs to fix in order to be truly great. Its giraffe, bear (except for polar, but including giant panda), clouded leopard, and Malayan tapir exhibits are really not good, and the zoo should be embarrassed to be exhibiting these species in these conditions in contrast to many of its better exhibits.
Perhaps more troubling is the increasing presence of “rides” and “games” like the climbing wall and “4D Theater” that are taking up increasing amounts of the zoo grounds. I appreciate that this zoo needs to raise funds to keep going, especially in the bad economic conditions that we live in as I write this review, but the zoo management is giving at least the appearance of turning the zoo into a third-rate theme park. This may be an overly harsh assessment of their motives and results, but the zoo could become “World Famous” for becoming tacky and stupid, and that would be bad.
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