San Diego Zoo San Diego Zoo News 2009
- Thread starter okapikpr
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My review of the San Diego Zoo from my visit on 2/18/09:
The Best:
Tiger River- An excellent set of habitats, with one of the best tiger exhibits I have ever seen. I went to this part first thing in the morning when the zoo opened and they just let the tiger cubs out. They were all running around and pouncing on each other, it was a treat to see! The tapir exhibit is very spacious and offers the black and white pachyderms a variety of things to do. The fishing cat exhibit is superb as are all the other habitats in this area.
Gorilla Tropics- An incredible gorilla habitat, that is extremely lush, and actually offers the apes some things to climb, what a concept! A keeper was out in the exhibit with a tiny baby gorilla that had to be hand-raised. After fifteen minutes they put the baby back in and let the one troop out, and it was really fun to watch as they would stand up on two legs and run toward another! The bonobo exhibit was also incredible although not as impressive as the gorilla exhibit, still a great exhibit. They had tons of climbing structures, and it was lush like the lowland valleys where the pygmy chimps come from.
Ituri Forest- My personal favorite habitat in the entire zoo. The hippo pool is fantastic, and the new male hippo was chased into the water by the aggressive female! It was quite a sight to see, and I got some great pictures of the female hippo coming up to the glass. If I complained about the fence in the back of the hippo exhibit, it would be nit-picking a fantastic hippo habitat. The okapi habitat was well shaded, and all the okapis were all occupied browsing. The swamp monkey/otter habitat was one of the highlights of my visit, as the swamp monkeys raced around their enormous enclosure (for a couple monkeys).
Monkey Trails and Forest Tales- Another fantastic set of habitats with absolutely nothing to complain about. The best pygmy hippo and clouded leopard exhibits in the country can be found here, along with enormous, superb mesh enclosure for the variety of monkey species, and all the monkeys (especially the wolf's guenons) were a delight to see. I almost think this may be the strongest part of the whole zoo.
Reptile Mesa- Not the biggest reptile fan, but a fantastic gharial exhibit, and an awesome collection of reptiles in the reptile house.
Polar Bear Plunge- An above average polar bear exhibit, that still probably pales in comparison to Detroit, but nevertheless, a great polar bear habitat even though they were all hiding in the back.
Rhino exhibit on Elephant Mesa- It may seem odd to include this in the "best" section, but I really enjoyed the rhino exhibit. The two young brothers were sparring with each other and it was really fun to watch. The enclosure really suited the rhinos as it was really muddy and shaded. Perfect for the Indian rhinos.
Absolutely Apes- Absolutely Apes is an amazing ape exhibit and I like how the exhibit disappears down a hill to make the habitat really extensive. The apes had tons of climbing structures, and although they are unnatural looking, they still do the job for the orangs, and two of them were curled up in a hammock high above the ground.
Giant Panda Research Station- The only giant panda habitat I have seen, so I don't have anything to compare it too, but the pandas had lots of things to do in the habitats, but they could have been a bit bigger.
Koalas- Really nice koala exhibit, and maybe the best in the country.
Aviaries- The aviaries are all incredible and the birds have lots of room for flying. I like how lush all of them are.
Average:
The rest of Elephant Mesa- The elephant habitat seemed sort of small for the huge pachyderms. The keepers were all out around the exhibit, doing training with the elephants. They let the elephants in to place food in the feeders which took about a half an hour and in the mean-time the elephant were put into a tiny enclosure on the side of the main habitat. It was visible to guests and it was sort of disturbing to see both of the elephants swaying, however I think they were eager to go out into the exhibit to eat the food the keepers placed. They ran out so fast when the keepers opened the door, and I was happy to see the keepers didn't just throw the food on the ground for the elephants to gobble up. Instead, they took the time to put it in feeders in the trees, to stimulate browsing for the elephants. The baird's tapir exhibit seemed large enough for the pig-like pachyderms and the giraffe exhibit seemed kind of small, especially when you compare it to some of the other fabulous giraffe habitats that dot the nation.
Sun Bear Forest- The sun bear habitat was not as impressive as I thought it was, although it was larger than many other sun bear habitats. The primate enclosures were huge, and were definitely big enough for all their inhabitants.
Cat Canyon- The cat cages were really well-planted but are too small when you see them in person. I was really happy to not find any pacing cats. They were all exploring their habitats, or watching guests as they walked by.
Bear Canyon- Most definitely the weakest part of the zoo, and the bear exhibits all seemed to small. The lion exhibit is average at best, and the best past about this part was the fact that I didn't see any pacing animals.
The Best:
Tiger River- An excellent set of habitats, with one of the best tiger exhibits I have ever seen. I went to this part first thing in the morning when the zoo opened and they just let the tiger cubs out. They were all running around and pouncing on each other, it was a treat to see! The tapir exhibit is very spacious and offers the black and white pachyderms a variety of things to do. The fishing cat exhibit is superb as are all the other habitats in this area.
Gorilla Tropics- An incredible gorilla habitat, that is extremely lush, and actually offers the apes some things to climb, what a concept! A keeper was out in the exhibit with a tiny baby gorilla that had to be hand-raised. After fifteen minutes they put the baby back in and let the one troop out, and it was really fun to watch as they would stand up on two legs and run toward another! The bonobo exhibit was also incredible although not as impressive as the gorilla exhibit, still a great exhibit. They had tons of climbing structures, and it was lush like the lowland valleys where the pygmy chimps come from.
Ituri Forest- My personal favorite habitat in the entire zoo. The hippo pool is fantastic, and the new male hippo was chased into the water by the aggressive female! It was quite a sight to see, and I got some great pictures of the female hippo coming up to the glass. If I complained about the fence in the back of the hippo exhibit, it would be nit-picking a fantastic hippo habitat. The okapi habitat was well shaded, and all the okapis were all occupied browsing. The swamp monkey/otter habitat was one of the highlights of my visit, as the swamp monkeys raced around their enormous enclosure (for a couple monkeys).
Monkey Trails and Forest Tales- Another fantastic set of habitats with absolutely nothing to complain about. The best pygmy hippo and clouded leopard exhibits in the country can be found here, along with enormous, superb mesh enclosure for the variety of monkey species, and all the monkeys (especially the wolf's guenons) were a delight to see. I almost think this may be the strongest part of the whole zoo.
Reptile Mesa- Not the biggest reptile fan, but a fantastic gharial exhibit, and an awesome collection of reptiles in the reptile house.
Polar Bear Plunge- An above average polar bear exhibit, that still probably pales in comparison to Detroit, but nevertheless, a great polar bear habitat even though they were all hiding in the back.
Rhino exhibit on Elephant Mesa- It may seem odd to include this in the "best" section, but I really enjoyed the rhino exhibit. The two young brothers were sparring with each other and it was really fun to watch. The enclosure really suited the rhinos as it was really muddy and shaded. Perfect for the Indian rhinos.
Absolutely Apes- Absolutely Apes is an amazing ape exhibit and I like how the exhibit disappears down a hill to make the habitat really extensive. The apes had tons of climbing structures, and although they are unnatural looking, they still do the job for the orangs, and two of them were curled up in a hammock high above the ground.
Giant Panda Research Station- The only giant panda habitat I have seen, so I don't have anything to compare it too, but the pandas had lots of things to do in the habitats, but they could have been a bit bigger.
Koalas- Really nice koala exhibit, and maybe the best in the country.
Aviaries- The aviaries are all incredible and the birds have lots of room for flying. I like how lush all of them are.
Average:
The rest of Elephant Mesa- The elephant habitat seemed sort of small for the huge pachyderms. The keepers were all out around the exhibit, doing training with the elephants. They let the elephants in to place food in the feeders which took about a half an hour and in the mean-time the elephant were put into a tiny enclosure on the side of the main habitat. It was visible to guests and it was sort of disturbing to see both of the elephants swaying, however I think they were eager to go out into the exhibit to eat the food the keepers placed. They ran out so fast when the keepers opened the door, and I was happy to see the keepers didn't just throw the food on the ground for the elephants to gobble up. Instead, they took the time to put it in feeders in the trees, to stimulate browsing for the elephants. The baird's tapir exhibit seemed large enough for the pig-like pachyderms and the giraffe exhibit seemed kind of small, especially when you compare it to some of the other fabulous giraffe habitats that dot the nation.
Sun Bear Forest- The sun bear habitat was not as impressive as I thought it was, although it was larger than many other sun bear habitats. The primate enclosures were huge, and were definitely big enough for all their inhabitants.
Cat Canyon- The cat cages were really well-planted but are too small when you see them in person. I was really happy to not find any pacing cats. They were all exploring their habitats, or watching guests as they walked by.
Bear Canyon- Most definitely the weakest part of the zoo, and the bear exhibits all seemed to small. The lion exhibit is average at best, and the best past about this part was the fact that I didn't see any pacing animals.
No, I visited in November 07 too.
@BlackRhino: great review of a wonderful zoo!! I too have been to San Diego twice, and having seen the majority of the big name zoos in North America I'm convinced that it is the best that the zoo industry has to offer on this continent. The fact that other than the reptile house the entire 100 acres is "open-air" all year long is a major benefit for zoo visitors.
Even the main reptile house, the guest doesn't go inside, but views it from an outside courtyard. I guess the only real buildings would be the Kiwi building and the three Klauber buildings on Reptile Mesa, (but those don't have doors so are you really inside?)
@Ituri: interesting point, and you could make a case that other than perhaps the kiwi building the entire San Diego Zoo is open-air. It is certainly a contrast from zoos like Toronto and the Bronx where there are at least 7-8 buildings/pavilions at each establishment. Ya gotta love the southern California sunshine, and the fact that the animals are not locked indoors for weeks or months at a time. In the summer San Diego is regularly open until late in the evening...
It was an awesome day at the San Diego Zoo, and it was 65 degrees and perfectly sunny, unbeatable winter weather!
mstickmanp
Well-Known Member
Actually, in LA we had a 72 degree sunny day both yesterday and today. The weirdest thing is that is warm, but if you look at the mountains they are full of snow.
LA always seems like it is warmer than San Diego
Miniaturezoo954
Well-Known Member
I will be at the san diego zoo on the last week of april, i really can't wait, i have read and looked at pics of this zoo for many years, yet i have never been there, i know it will well worth it.
The only other 2 big zoos that i have been to are Berlin zoological gardens, and Bronx, of this two, i loved Bronx, but my favorite is still Berlin. San Diego will be a very different type of zoo but plants are very close to my heart, and i have seen that their botanical collection is world class, so i really can't wait.
The only other 2 big zoos that i have been to are Berlin zoological gardens, and Bronx, of this two, i loved Bronx, but my favorite is still Berlin. San Diego will be a very different type of zoo but plants are very close to my heart, and i have seen that their botanical collection is world class, so i really can't wait.
I am sure you will really love it and have a great time. If the tiger cubs are still there, go to Tiger River first to see them running around and active. I got to the zoo at 9AM and went straight to the tigers and it was really nice because I was the only one watching them because it was so early and they were really active. The cubs chase each other all over the habitat and it is really fun to watch! Have fun!
Did Monkey Trails & Forest Tales open after or before your visit?
It had just opened up, so the plants hadn't grown in, all of the signage wasn't in place, and some of the animals weren't on display yet (black mangabeys, lesser spot-nosed guenons) I wasn't really impressed, but with an exhibit like that it's hard to really judge it when it is so sparkly new. I'd really like to see what it looks like now.
It's extremely lush now, and I personally would rank it very high because it certainly offers all the monkeys tons of space, and the pygmy hippo/slender snouted crocodile habitat is brilliant (I think). I think it is really cool how the wolf's guenons and the pygmy hippos share the same enclosure, and I also think it is home to one of the best clouded leopard exhibits in the country.
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