San Diego Trip Planning

[King of Komodo Dragons]

Hello, I am currently planning a trip to San Diego for early September. I am planning on visiting the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and Sea World San Diego. This will be my first time visiting these zoos

I am hoping I could get some advice on a few things.

for San Diego Zoo:
- Could the entire park be visited in a single day or is 2 days recommended? I originally wanted 2 days for both parks and I imagine I could do seaworld in a day as I am not doing any rides, but my schedule might not allow me to be gone for as many days as I initially wanted.
- Does the zoo still have Ground Cuscus? you used to be able to see it during the backstage pass tour, but apparently that tour is no longer offered, there is the animals in action tour which I think has the banded palm civet right? even if the cuscus isn't there do you reccomend doing the animals in action tour?
- What species are off display right now? I know the Owen's Aviary is currently closed, what species would I be missing as I heard they have Maleo there and I didn't get to see them at Tulsa due to a closure last year so I'd hate to miss them twice.
Is the show at Wegeforth Bowl worth going too? I heard they have beavers and grey wolves there which would be species I'm interested in.
-Is there a best route to take, I want to see everything so I want to make sure I make the most of my time as I don't know when I'll get the chance to come back.
-Is there a best time to view the Giant Pandas? I heard that the glare gets bad around midday.
- Does the zoo still have Vervet Monkeys, Black-Crested Mangabey, St. Vincent Amazon Parrot, Common Wombat, Bettong, and Kagu?
- I was told that the takins can still be seen with a good zoom camera, any other species that are off-display but still technically viewable?
- Any rarities I should keep my eyes out for, other than what I've mentioned above I know they also have Lord Howe Island Stick Insect, Gelada, Tufted Deer, Santiago and Volcan Wolf Galapagos Tortoises, Blue-Eyed Black Lemur, Allen's Swamp Monkey, Silvery Langur, Narrow-Headed Softshell, California Condor, Bornean Sun Bear, Splendid Sunbird, Pronghorn, Gerenuk, Soemerring's Gazelle, and Chinese Giant Salamander
- Know a few rarities have left the collection recently such as Tasmanian Devil, African Darter, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Coconut Crab(really sad about this one as I issed it at Tulsa), Lion-Tailed Macaque and a few others, I wanted to ask are the most recent species lists still mostly up to date, or if they have acquired a few new species or lost others.

for safari Park:
- When is the best time to see/photograph the Platypus?
- is it easy to spot the Egyptian Vultures?
- is the Asia Cart Safari the best paid option to see the rare hoofstock like the new Nilgiri Tahr?
- Where are some good places that overlook the field exhibits to get photos
- Is it easy to take photos on the africa tram.
- Can everything be seen within a day
- The parks kiwis and echidnas are bts right, or are they on display somewhere?
- any rarities other than these below, I should keep an eye out for?
Is the most recent species list up to date?

Platypus

Egyptian Vulture

California Condor

Nilgiri Tahr

Cape Buffalo

Ugandan Kob

Desert Bighorn Sheep

Bactrian Hangul

Barbary Deer

Thick-Billed Parrot

White-Breasted Cormorant

San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike

Sand Cat

Nile Lechwe

Rodrigues Flying Fox

Red-Fronted Gazelle

Fringe-Eared Oryx

Somali Wild Ass

Roan Antelope

Red Lechwe

Barasingha

Barbary Sheep

Blackbuck

Burmese Brow-Antlered Deer

Pere David's Deer

Przewalski's Wild Horse

Sri Lankan Sambar Deer

Transcaspian Urial

Vietnamese Sika Deer

Nilgiri Tahr

Southern Gerenuk

Kordofan Aoudad

Peninsular Pronghorn

Aardvark

Black-Footed Cat

SeaWorld SD:
- Is the dolphin show the only place to see the Pilot Whales and Common Dolphin?
- Are the Guadalupe Fur Seals at Sea Lion Point?
- Does the park still have Harp Seal and northern elephant seal?
- How difficult is it to get photographs of the Emperor Penguins?
- If I just do animal related stuff, no rides is it easy to see everything in a day.
- Besides the animals I listed above and the Walrus and Lemon Shark, any other rarities to keep an eye out for.

thank you for any advice you can give me!

 

[Kudu21]

Hi there! I am happy to help out the best I can

For San Diego Zoo:
- Could the entire park be visited in a single day or is 2 days recommended? I originally wanted 2 days for both parks and I imagine I could do seaworld in a day as I am not doing any rides, but my schedule might not allow me to be gone for as many days as I initially wanted.

I would recommend two days at the Zoo over two days at the Safari Park. The Safari Park, while very large and spread out, is easier to navigate and there is overall less to see. It makes for a long day, but a doable day (SeaWorld is absolutely doable in one day if you are just there for the animals). The Zoo can be done in one day; however, for a first visit, one day can be rushed and overwhelming. The layout of the Zoo can be very confusing, and it is just so packed full of exhibits and animals that it is a lot to see in one day until you know what you're doing. My first visit to the Zoo was before Wildlife Explorers Basecamp opened, and I was practically running at the end of the day to see the last couple of exhibits. Unfortunately, you will just be missing Nighttime Zoo, which ends on September 2nd. The 12-hour days during the summer make the Zoo much more manageable.

Does the zoo still have Ground Cuscus? you used to be able to see it during the backstage pass tour, but apparently that tour is no longer offered, there is the animals in action tour which I think has the banded palm civet right? even if the cuscus isn't there do you reccomend doing the animals in action tour?

The Zoo no longer has ground cuscus. The banded palm civet is in an exhibit next to the meeting area for the Animals in Action tour; however, I do not believe it is used as an animal ambassador any longer after some incidences of aggression while training. I do not, personally, think the tour would be worth losing time for the rest of the Zoo -- I echo this suggestion for the Wegeforth Bowl show as well. Your best chance of actually seeing a banded palm civet is at the Memphis Zoo.

What species are off display right now? I know the Owen's Aviary is currently closed, what species would I be missing as I heard they have Maleo there and I didn't get to see them at Tulsa due to a closure last year so I'd hate to miss them twice.

With a collection the size of San Diego's, this can change quite often, so there really aren't any guarantees. The Owens Aviary will, likely, still be closed by the time of your visit. Many of the birds have been moved to other on-show aviaries around the Zoo, but others have been moved behind-the-scenes. The maleo are some of the birds that have, unfortunately, moved behind-the-scenes.

Is there a best route to take, I want to see everything so I want to make sure I make the most of my time as I don't know when I'll get the chance to come back.

I posted the below route recommendation in a thread last year, and it is still my go-to route now. The only real difference is that the Owens Aviary is now closed, so just take that part out.

Do Wildlife Explorers Basecamp and the Reptile House/Walk area first. This area become much more congested the later in the day it gets.

From there, I personally go back across the entrance and start in the Australian Outback and Urban Jungle areas before going down through Africa Rocks. Once I get to the bottom of Africa Rocks, I go through the Panda Canyon and adjacent leopard exhibits before doing a slight detour to the Ituri Forest and the lower waterfowl ponds. I then go up Eagle Canyon, around the remnants of Horn and Hoof Mesa, through Polar Bear Plunge, and on to Elephant Odyssey. Upon exiting Elephant Odyssey, I go through the Kopje area and then back to the Koalifornia Boardwalk to go down Bear Canyon and Sun Bear Forest. From there, I'll go up the stairs above the tufted deer yards to the lower level of the Owens Aviary, crossing through Owens to Fern Canyon. I'll then go up Fern Canyon and hang a right to go past the orangutans/siamangs. From there, it is through the Parker Aviary to then go down and go through the other levels of the Owens Aviary and back up through the Aviary Trail. After completing Aviary Trail, I hang a right, go around the gorilla exhibit and then up through Hippo Trail before going down and through the Scripps Aviary. From there, I go down past the bonobos, mangabeys, and crowned eagle, make a U-turn, and then go back to go all the way down to Tiger Trail. Then you can take Tiger Trail all the way up to Monkey Trails and Forest Tales and explore the multiple level viewing of the primate and babirusa habitats at your leisure before heading out past the flamingo lagoon. I always finish with a quick jaunt over to the aviary at the bus loading station and then call it a day!

Is there a best time to view the Giant Pandas? I heard that the glare gets bad around midday.

Currently you do not have much say in what time you view the giant pandas unless you buy the guided tour of Panda Ridge at opening. Otherwise, you will be assigned a viewing time via QR code at the entrance of the Zoo or you can stand in line for however long it takes to see them "on your own time". I would personally suggest just getting the timed viewing ticket and dealing with whatever view you get, as otherwise you do not know how much time you will waste in line. You can also see them from above from the Bashor Bridge and the Skyfari.

Does the zoo still have Vervet Monkeys, Black-Crested Mangabey, St. Vincent Amazon Parrot, Common Wombat, Bettong, and Kagu?

The Zoo does still have all of these animals. There are vervets in Africa Rocks and across from the bonobos in Lost Forest, the black-crested mangabeys are mixed with Angolan colobus in Sun Bear Forest, the common wombat has an exhibit at the start of the Australian Outback, and there are brush-tailed bettongs in the left former Tasmanian devil exhibit and in the first koala exhibit along the Koalifornia Boardwalk -- beware that the wombat and bettongs are notorious no-shows. The St. Vincent Amazons and the kagu were in the Bus Loading Aviary; however, this has been closed for renovations, and I do not know if it has reopened yet or if it will reopen by the time of your visit. Kagu can be seen in the semi-off-show aviaries below the Tundra Aviary and are also on exhibit at the Safari Park. The Amazons were moved off-exhibit.

I was told that the takins can still be seen with a good zoom camera, any other species that are off-display but still technically viewable?

The semi off-show aviaries below the Tundra Aviary are probably the next most notorious examples of this other than the takin and Visayan warty pigs, as these were the previous home of the Tongan scrubfowl, which is now permanently off-exhibit. These aviaries currently house the aforementioned kagu, as well as blue coua, Guinan cock-of-the-rock, and assorted other smaller birds.

Any rarities I should keep my eyes out for, other than what I've mentioned above I know they also have Lord Howe Island Stick Insect, Gelada, Tufted Deer, Santiago and Volcan Wolf Galapagos Tortoises, Blue-Eyed Black Lemur, Allen's Swamp Monkey, Silvery Langur, Narrow-Headed Softshell, California Condor, Bornean Sun Bear, Splendid Sunbird, Pronghorn, Gerenuk, Soemerring's Gazelle, and Chinese Giant Salamander

Of the above mentioned animals, the pronghorn are the behind-the-scenes (although on exhibit at the Safari Park), the tufted deer are off-display due to the on-going construction on the Owens Aviary (I have never seen them anyways), and the sun bear and splendid sunbirds are notoriously difficult to spot.

Know a few rarities have left the collection recently such as Tasmanian Devil, African Darter, Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Coconut Crab(really sad about this one as I issed it at Tulsa), Lion-Tailed Macaque and a few others, I wanted to ask are the most recent species lists still mostly up to date, or if they have acquired a few new species or lost others.

Other notable rarities that have left the collection recently are the West African lungfish, Blyth's tragopan, horned parrakeet, and Australian king parrot.

For the Safari Park
- When is the best time to see/photograph the Platypus?

I imagine that @Julio C Castro will be able to offer the best advice here!

is it easy to spot the Egyptian Vultures?

I have never had any issues in seeing the Egyptian vultures, personally. Their exhibit is not terrible large, and while there are places for them to be out of view, I have not experienced that.

is the Asia Cart Safari the best paid option to see the rare hoofstock like the new Nilgiri Tahr?

Since there is no guarantee which fields you would enter on a Caravan Safari, the Asian Cart Safari is going to be your safest option for seeing the animals in the Asian field exhibits, including the Nilgiri tahr. That said, the fields are, of course, large, and the tahr, in particular, can be tricky to spot.

Where are some good places that overlook the field exhibits to get photos

There are overlooks along the boardwalk in Condor Ridge and along the new pathway between Tiger Trail and Elephant Valley that provide overlooks of the fields. Kalima Point near the Watering Hole restaurant and the top deck of the elevator also provide very nice views of the fields.

it easy to take photos on the africa tram.

This is another question for @Julio C Castro

Can everything be seen within a day

As previously discussed, the Safari Park is a long but doable single day park.

The parks kiwis and echidnas are bts right, or are they on display somewhere?

The kiwi and echidnas are, indeed, only behind-the-scenes.

any rarities other than these below, I should keep an eye out for?

Other than the often discussed ungulate rarities, there are quite a few rare birds as well (including the previously discussed kagu), so keep an eye out in all of the aviaries around the Park. The line-ups can change rather often, so I cannot guarantee what will be on exhibit during your visit.

Is the most recent species list up to date?

Platypus

Egyptian Vulture

California Condor

Nilgiri Tahr

Cape Buffalo

Ugandan Kob

Desert Bighorn Sheep

Bactrian Hangul

Barbary Deer

Thick-Billed Parrot

White-Breasted Cormorant

San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike

Sand Cat

Nile Lechwe

Rodrigues Flying Fox

Red-Fronted Gazelle

Fringe-Eared Oryx

Somali Wild Ass

Roan Antelope

Red Lechwe

Barasingha

Barbary Sheep

Blackbuck

Burmese Brow-Antlered Deer

Pere David's Deer

Przewalski's Wild Horse

Sri Lankan Sambar Deer

Transcaspian Urial

Vietnamese Sika Deer

Nilgiri Tahr

Southern Gerenuk

Kordofan Aoudad

Peninsular Pronghorn

Aardvark

Black-Footed Cat

Of the above listed animals, the Park no longer has white-breasted cormorants (there is a large flock at the Zoo, however) and the aardvarks, black-footed cats, and Indian sambar are all housed behind-the-scenes. There are, however, Malayan sambar on exhibit in the Asian Plains field exhibit and in the Nubian ibex exhibit.

SeaWorld SD:
- Is the dolphin show the only place to see the Pilot Whales and Common Dolphin?

The pilot whales and common dolphin can also be seen from above in their holding pools behind the stadium. I do not know if the common dolphin is even in the show, currently?

Are the Guadalupe Fur Seals at Sea Lion Point?

That is correct.

Does the park still have Harp Seal and northern elephant seal?

Not on display, no. Elephant seals sometimes come in as rescue animals but are not on display, and there was a harp-ish looking seal on exhibit for awhile in Wild Arctic, but the seals in that exhibit were replaced by sea otters.

How difficult is it to get photographs of the Emperor Penguins?

I am not really a photographer, but I imagine it is quite tricky. I do not know if the lights will still be off at the time of your visit (simulating Antarctic winter), but even if they are not, you cannot get particularly close to the glass and the glass if often foggy and/or wet.

If I just do animal related stuff, no rides is it easy to see everything in a day.

As previously discussed, if you are only there for the animals, it is very easy to do in one day.

Besides the animals I listed above and the Walrus and Lemon Shark, any other rarities to keep an eye out for.

I am not as overall familiar with SeaWorld's collection or of the rarity of aquatic animals; however, the biggest one would probably be the Brandt's cormorant on exhibit with the Humboldt penguins.

 

[King of Komodo Dragons]

Hi there! I am happy to help out the best I can


I would recommend two days at the Zoo over two days at the Safari Park. The Safari Park, while very large and spread out, is easier to navigate and there is overall less to see. It makes for a long day, but a doable day (SeaWorld is absolutely doable in one day if you are just there for the animals). The Zoo can be done in one day; however, for a first visit, one day can be rushed and overwhelming. The layout of the Zoo can be very confusing, and it is just so packed full of exhibits and animals that it is a lot to see in one day until you know what you're doing. My first visit to the Zoo was before Wildlife Explorers Basecamp opened, and I was practically running at the end of the day to see the last couple of exhibits. Unfortunately, you will just be missing Nighttime Zoo, which ends on September 2nd. The 12-hour days during the summer make the Zoo much more manageable.


The Zoo no longer has ground cuscus. The banded palm civet is in an exhibit next to the meeting area for the Animals in Action tour; however, I do not believe it is used as an animal ambassador any longer after some incidences of aggression while training. I do not, personally, think the tour would be worth losing time for the rest of the Zoo -- I echo this suggestion for the Wegeforth Bowl show as well. Your best chance of actually seeing a banded palm civet is at the Memphis Zoo.


With a collection the size of San Diego's, this can change quite often, so there really aren't any guarantees. The Owens Aviary will, likely, still be closed by the time of your visit. Many of the birds have been moved to other on-show aviaries around the Zoo, but others have been moved behind-the-scenes. The maleo are some of the birds that have, unfortunately, moved behind-the-scenes.



I posted the below route recommendation in a thread last year, and it is still my go-to route now. The only real difference is that the Owens Aviary is now closed, so just take that part out.




Currently you do not have much say in what time you view the giant pandas unless you buy the guided tour of Panda Ridge at opening. Otherwise, you will be assigned a viewing time via QR code at the entrance of the Zoo or you can stand in line for however long it takes to see them "on your own time". I would personally suggest just getting the timed viewing ticket and dealing with whatever view you get, as otherwise you do not know how much time you will waste in line. You can also see them from above from the Bashor Bridge and the Skyfari.


The Zoo does still have all of these animals. There are vervets in Africa Rocks and across from the bonobos in Lost Forest, the black-crested mangabeys are mixed with Angolan colobus in Sun Bear Forest, the common wombat has an exhibit at the start of the Australian Outback, and there are brush-tailed bettongs in the left former Tasmanian devil exhibit and in the first koala exhibit along the Koalifornia Boardwalk -- beware that the wombat and bettongs are notorious no-shows. The St. Vincent Amazons and the kagu were in the Bus Loading Aviary; however, this has been closed for renovations, and I do not know if it has reopened yet or if it will reopen by the time of your visit. Kagu can be seen in the semi-off-show aviaries below the Tundra Aviary and are also on exhibit at the Safari Park. The Amazons were moved off-exhibit.


The semi off-show aviaries below the Tundra Aviary are probably the next most notorious examples of this other than the takin and Visayan warty pigs, as these were the previous home of the Tongan scrubfowl, which is now permanently off-exhibit. These aviaries currently house the aforementioned kagu, as well as blue coua, Guinan cock-of-the-rock, and assorted other smaller birds.


Of the above mentioned animals, the pronghorn are the behind-the-scenes (although on exhibit at the Safari Park), the tufted deer are off-display due to the on-going construction on the Owens Aviary (I have never seen them anyways), and the sun bear and splendid sunbirds are notoriously difficult to spot.


Other notable rarities that have left the collection recently are the West African lungfish, Blyth's tragopan, horned parrakeet, and Australian king parrot.


I imagine that @Julio C Castro will be able to offer the best advice here!


I have never had any issues in seeing the Egyptian vultures, personally. Their exhibit is not terrible large, and while there are places for them to be out of view, I have not experienced that.


Since there is no guarantee which fields you would enter on a Caravan Safari, the Asian Cart Safari is going to be your safest option for seeing the animals in the Asian field exhibits, including the Nilgiri tahr. That said, the fields are, of course, large, and the tahr, in particular, can be tricky to spot.


There are overlooks along the boardwalk in Condor Ridge and along the new pathway between Tiger Trail and Elephant Valley that provide overlooks of the fields. Kalima Point near the Watering Hole restaurant and the top deck of the elevator also provide very nice views of the fields.


This is another question for @Julio C Castro


As previously discussed, the Safari Park is a long but doable single day park.


The kiwi and echidnas are, indeed, only behind-the-scenes.


Other than the often discussed ungulate rarities, there are quite a few rare birds as well (including the previously discussed kagu), so keep an eye out in all of the aviaries around the Park. The line-ups can change rather often, so I cannot guarantee what will be on exhibit during your visit.


Of the above listed animals, the Park no longer has white-breasted cormorants (there is a large flock at the Zoo, however) and the aardvarks, black-footed cats, and Indian sambar are all housed behind-the-scenes. There are, however, Malayan sambar on exhibit in the Asian Plains field exhibit and in the Nubian ibex exhibit.


The pilot whales and common dolphin can also be seen from above in their holding pools behind the stadium. I do not know if the common dolphin is even in the show, currently?


That is correct.


Not on display, no. Elephant seals sometimes come in as rescue animals but are not on display, and there was a harp-ish looking seal on exhibit for awhile in Wild Arctic, but the seals in that exhibit were replaced by sea otters.


I am not really a photographer, but I imagine it is quite tricky. I do not know if the lights will still be off at the time of your visit (simulating Antarctic winter), but even if they are not, you cannot get particularly close to the glass and the glass if often foggy and/or wet.


As previously discussed, if you are only there for the animals, it is very easy to do in one day.


I am not as overall familiar with SeaWorld's collection or of the rarity of aquatic animals; however, the biggest one would probably be the Brandt's cormorant on exhibit with the Humboldt penguins.

Thank you so much for the advice!!

 

[Julio C Castro]

Thank you for tagging me, @Kudu21! To answer the photography questions:

• For the platypus, it’s best to go as soon as the park opens. Sometimes the sunlight peaks in a bit into the habitat and I’ve gotten my best shots of them during that time. However, with extended hours at the Safari Park, there is a better chance if your gear can’t shoot too well in low light settings. They will turn on the habitat lights during the late evening and you can get as best of a shot of the platypus. Unfortunately, I take the train and haven’t stayed in SD overnight in a long time so Ive not shot in those settings yet. The largest tank in the habitat has been the easiest to photograph them, there are floating logs and will occasionally stop to get a scratch an itch
• As for the easiness for shooting from the tram, you need 3 things to make it easier: high shutter speed, image stabilization(whether in the body/lens), and a telephoto lens. Unless you plan to shoot the habitats, I would slap on a telephoto lens exclusively for the tram ride. I’d recommend anything between 200-400mm at bare minimum, the longer the better especially in the larger field exhibits. It’s easier to shoot the smaller hillside exhibits as that focal length will get you what you need. Shoot at a high shutter speed, 1/1000 is ideal as it will get you a more still shot but also somewhat compensate for the movement of the tram.

Feel free to ask away any photo tips for either of the SDZ parks, I’ve not been back in a hot minute due to my work schedule but plan to go back soon

 

[King of Komodo Dragons]

Thank you for tagging me, @Kudu21! To answer the photography questions:

• For the platypus, it’s best to go as soon as the park opens. Sometimes the sunlight peaks in a bit into the habitat and I’ve gotten my best shots of them during that time. However, with extended hours at the Safari Park, there is a better chance if your gear can’t shoot too well in low light settings. They will turn on the habitat lights during the late evening and you can get as best of a shot of the platypus. Unfortunately, I take the train and haven’t stayed in SD overnight in a long time so Ive not shot in those settings yet. The largest tank in the habitat has been the easiest to photograph them, there are floating logs and will occasionally stop to get a scratch an itch
• As for the easiness for shooting from the tram, you need 3 things to make it easier: high shutter speed, image stabilization(whether in the body/lens), and a telephoto lens. Unless you plan to shoot the habitats, I would slap on a telephoto lens exclusively for the tram ride. I’d recommend anything between 200-400mm at bare minimum, the longer the better especially in the larger field exhibits. It’s easier to shoot the from the smaller hillside exhibits as that focal length will get you what you need. Shoot at a high shutter speed, 1/1000 is ideal as it will get you a more still shot but also somewhat compensate for the movement of the tram.

Feel free to ask away any photo tips for either of the SDZ parks, I’ve not been back in a hot minute due to my work schedule but plan to go back soon

Thank you! I'll mess around with my camera to see if I can do!

 

[King of Komodo Dragons]

Hello! I just got back from my trip and had a great time. It was slightly unfortunate that my trip coinsided with a big heatwave but I still managed to see mostly everything besides that!.

San Diego Zoo - As suggested I did 2 days at the zoo and honestly I could of used a 3rd! i stayed from opening to closing on both days. One thing that I noticed was quite a few aviaries were closed, both the Africa Rocks and Scripps Aviary had their top floors blocked off. The Gharial exhibit was also blocked off on Thursday but open again on Friday. Due to the heat I was worried a lot of species would not be out but I got good showings from quite a few species, the Giant Pandas, Amur Leopards, Spotted-Necked Otters, and Parma Wallaby were highly active. I also managed to see a few of the more difficult to spot animals such as both Whydahs, the bettong, otters, and Splendid Sunbirds. Really the only major species I didn't see where the Common Wombat, Canadian Lynx, Bornean Sun Bear, and Sloth Bears.
a few intersting things i noted

• On Thursday the Chinese Alligator exhibit was normal but on Friday it was sitting inside a transport crate, wonder what thats about.
• Their is only a single Blue Morpho in the butterfly exhibit
• the keeper told me that if they could rescue another coconut crab they would but since they can't just buy them they will use the exhibit for giant toads(she didn't specify the species of toad.)
• The wedgeworth bowl show was cancelled for both days of my visit not sure why, would of loved to have seen the grey wolves and american beaver, o well.
• The zoo does still have a female Blyth's Tragopan on Aviary trail, it was in the enclosure with hooded pitta, woompoo fruit dove, tricolored parrotfinch, and pekin robin.
• I didn't manage to see the takins sadly, but I did see the Blue Coua in the aviaries behind the Arctic Aviary.

SeaWorld - I ended up doing the penguin on ice experience, it was amazing getting up close with Emperor Penguins among other species, definitely would recommend it, though my hands were numb for a bit after leaving the 25 degree enclosure haha. For SeaWorld I did see every species I wantd with the exception of the Common Dolphin calfs as the dolphin pools behind the stadium were blocked off. I also saw a White Sturgeon for the first time and was excited as I didn't know the park had them!

San Diego Zoo: Safari Park - I went here on Sunday which was my last day. I got there for opening and went straight to the Platypus. You weren't kidding it was basically impossible to get a photo! I ended up recording instead but did manage to get a semi-decent photo when the male stopped moving for a few seconds. I did the Asia Cart Safari and was the only person on the tour! Due to this I got a lot more personal experience and the driver would stop the vehicle and even let me get out a few times to get photos. I got to see the new rhino calfs and nilgiri tahr calf which was great aswell as many of the asian hoofstock like Transcapian Urial, Eld's Deer, Manchurian Wapiti, etc. We also passed through parts of the africa field yard to get there so I got to see the Fringe-eared oryx, cape buffalo, nile lechwe, and a few others before getting to the asian species. Funnily enough she told me that they still have a herd of Giant Eland bts, anyone know more info about this? Probably the most unfortunate thing was I didn't get to do the Africa Tram as it got closed due to lightning in the area, which was ironic considering it was a sweltering 110+ degrees and sunny, though admittedly I did hear some thunder around 1pm. So aside from some of the rare African Hoofstock (really bummed about not seeing the barbary deer, red lechwe, gemsbok, and red-fronted gazelle) aswell as a few asian hoofstock that we didn't see I did see everything I wanted to see at the safari park, even got the chance to redeem myself for not seeing Socorro Dove at the zoo.

So once again thank you for the advice and now that I've been I can hopefully plan an even better trip in a few years time(maybe when a certain black-and-white bear has some cubs haha)

 

[Julio C Castro]

Hello! I just got back from my trip and had a great time. It was slightly unfortunate that my trip coinsided with a big heatwave but I still managed to see mostly everything besides that!.

San Diego Zoo - As suggested I did 2 days at the zoo and honestly I could of used a 3rd! i stayed from opening to closing on both days. One thing that I noticed was quite a few aviaries were closed, both the Africa Rocks and Scripps Aviary had their top floors blocked off. The Gharial exhibit was also blocked off on Thursday but open again on Friday. Due to the heat I was worried a lot of species would not be out but I got good showings from quite a few species, the Giant Pandas, Amur Leopards, Spotted-Necked Otters, and Parma Wallaby were highly active. I also managed to see a few of the more difficult to spot animals such as both Whydahs, the bettong, otters, and Splendid Sunbirds. Really the only major species I didn't see where the Common Wombat, Canadian Lynx, Bornean Sun Bear, and Sloth Bears.
a few intersting things i noted

• On Thursday the Chinese Alligator exhibit was normal but on Friday it was sitting inside a transport crate, wonder what thats about.
• Their is only a single Blue Morpho in the butterfly exhibit
• the keeper told me that if they could rescue another coconut crab they would but since they can't just buy them they will use the exhibit for giant toads(she didn't specify the species of toad.)
• The wedgeworth bowl show was cancelled for both days of my visit not sure why, would of loved to have seen the grey wolves and american beaver, o well.
• The zoo does still have a female Blyth's Tragopan on Aviary trail, it was in the enclosure with hooded pitta, woompoo fruit dove, tricolored parrotfinch, and pekin robin.
• I didn't manage to see the takins sadly, but I did see the Blue Coua in the aviaries behind the Arctic Aviary.

SeaWorld - I ended up doing the penguin on ice experience, it was amazing getting up close with Emperor Penguins among other species, definitely would recommend it, though my hands were numb for a bit after leaving the 25 degree enclosure haha. For SeaWorld I did see every species I wantd with the exception of the Common Dolphin calfs as the dolphin pools behind the stadium were blocked off. I also saw a White Sturgeon for the first time and was excited as I didn't know the park had them!

San Diego Zoo: Safari Park - I went here on Sunday which was my last day. I got there for opening and went straight to the Platypus. You weren't kidding it was basically impossible to get a photo! I ended up recording instead but did manage to get a semi-decent photo when the male stopped moving for a few seconds. I did the Asia Cart Safari and was the only person on the tour! Due to this I got a lot more personal experience and the driver would stop the vehicle and even let me get out a few times to get photos. I got to see the new rhino calfs and nilgiri tahr calf which was great aswell as many of the asian hoofstock like Transcapian Urial, Eld's Deer, Manchurian Wapiti, etc. We also passed through parts of the africa field yard to get there so I got to see the Fringe-eared oryx, cape buffalo, nile lechwe, and a few others before getting to the asian species. Funnily enough she told me that they still have a herd of Giant Eland bts, anyone know more info about this? Probably the most unfortunate thing was I didn't get to do the Africa Tram as it got closed due to lightning in the area, which was ironic considering it was a sweltering 110+ degrees and sunny, though admittedly I did hear some thunder around 1pm. So aside from some of the rare African Hoofstock (really bummed about not seeing the barbary deer, red lechwe, gemsbok, and red-fronted gazelle) aswell as a few asian hoofstock that we didn't see I did see everything I wanted to see at the safari park, even got the chance to redeem myself for not seeing Socorro Dove at the zoo.

So once again thank you for the advice and now that I've been I can hopefully plan an even better trip in a few years time(maybe when a certain black-and-white bear has some cubs haha)

Happy to hear your trip was fruitful! I’ve been wanting to go back but with a new job and some family matters, I’ve had to postpone Thank you for visiting us out here!