San Diego Zoo Safari Park San Diego Zoo Safari Park News 2024

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A couple of updates from the Park!

The pair of southern screamers has moved back to their island at the entrance of the Park, and birds have finally begun to be moved back into the Wings of the World Aviary.

It sounds like both the Petting Kraal and the Nursery Kraal are going to be decommissioned in the near future, turning both spaces into full-time displays for exotic animals.

The male common impala has been removed from the East Africa field exhibit and reintroduced to the African Forest field exhibit.

It looks like there is another very young Cape buffalo calf in the herd in the South Africa field exhibit!

One of the big coral trees in the South Africa field exhibit came down this morning, and a lot of the animals seemed to be really enjoying the enrichment! The giraffe and sable were browsing from its leaves, the buffalo were practically inside the tree scratching on the branches, and the Nile lechwe were sparring with the branches.
 
Kudu21 said:
A couple of updates from the Park!

The pair of southern screamers has moved back to their island at the entrance of the Park, and birds have finally begun to be moved back into the Wings of the World Aviary.

It sounds like both the Petting Kraal and the Nursery Kraal are going to be decommissioned in the near future, turning both spaces into full-time displays for exotic animals.

The male common impala has been removed from the East Africa field exhibit and reintroduced to the African Forest field exhibit.

It looks like there is another very young Cape buffalo calf in the herd in the South Africa field exhibit!

One of the big coral trees in the South Africa field exhibit came down this morning, and a lot of the animals seemed to be really enjoying the enrichment! The giraffe and sable were browsing from its leaves, the buffalo were practically inside the tree scratching on the branches, and the Nile lechwe were sparring with the branches.
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I forgot to add this in yesterday, but I received confirmation that the male generic giraffe the Park received earlier this year is three-year-old "Nicholas" from the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas.
 
Other 2024 News Worth Mentioning:
Kudu21 said:
A female southern pudu fawn was born recently and is now on exhibit with her parents in Nairobi Village.
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On May 27th, the zoo also announced the pudu's name, Petal.

362K views · 18K reactions | Meet the first fawn of the season As you stroll through the Park, make sure to sneak a peek at the pudu habitat where you'll find an adorable new addition named Petal. This dear deer was born on April 30th to parents Posey and Andy. She's an expert tucker and is giving Where's Waldo a run for his money, but trust us she's worth searching for. #preciouspudu #flowerchild #deardeer #sdzsafaripark | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | San Diego Zoo Safari Park · Original audio

On May 28th, the zoo announced they reacquired a (1.0) albino red-necked wallaby named Everest which is on exhibit.

44K views · 1.9K reactions | I ain't scared of no ghost No, Walkabout Australia isn't haunted but Everest the wallaby has returned! This ghostie guy was born at the Park a few years ago and spent most of his time at Wildlife Connections with his mama Thelma acting as an ambassador for wallabies. #albinowallaby #ghostbusters #everest #sdzsafaripark | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | San Diego Zoo Safari Park · Original audio

On June 5th, the zoo announced that another short-beaked echidna hatched.

187K views · 4K reactions | Puggle preview in 3, 2, 1.... When baby echidnas, also known as puggles, hatch (yes, hatch) they are smaller than a jelly bean. These pink little pouch potatoes spend the first 53 days of their life in mom's belly pocket gripping onto specialized hairs with their tiny claws. Unlike most mammals, echidnas secrete milk through special glands in their pouch that the puggle laps up until they are big enough to venture out on their own. #pugglepreview #monotrememagic #echidna #sdzsafaripark | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | San Diego Zoo Safari Park · Original audio

On August 16th, it was announced that the zoo transferred (1.2) banteng named Bruno, Dakota, and Rhubarb to the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Park in Missouri earlier in the summer.

Saint Louis Zoo
 
A few updates over at the Safari Park:
- The first phase of Elephant Valley construction is complete with the path connecting Lion Camp to the Roar & Snore restrooms.
- A Kinkajou is now in the Nairobi Nursery
- At least two Kimberley Rock Monitors now inhabit the what once was empty terrarium in the Nairobi Station.
- Two West African Crown Crane chicks are in Mombasa Lagoon.
- The Sumatran Tiger family is now spending time in yard C/waterfall yard.
- Frank and Monroe, the parks bachelor male Western Lowland Gorillas, are currently at the Animal Hospital as their “bachelor pad” is currently housing an “unknown” animal. I wasn’t given any specification other than “unknown.”
 
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RJB Wildlife said:
- Two West African Crown Crane chicks are in Mombasa Lagoon.
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They’re not actually West African/black crowned crane chicks — they’re eastern grey crowned crane chicks being raised by the black crowned crane pair. The black crowned cranes failed to produce a fertile clutch, and the grey crowned crane pair failed to care for the chicks, so the Park gave the grey crowned crane chicks to the black crowned cranes, which are proven parents. They raised a clutch of grey crowned crane chicks last year as well.

RJB Wildlife said:
- Frank and Monroe, the parks bachelor male Western Lowland Gorillas, are currently at the Animal Hospital as their “bachelor pad” is currently housing an “unknown” animal. I wasn’t given any specification other than “unknown.”
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The “unknown” animals are construction equipment. They’re renovating the bachelor exhibit currently. They’re adding new climbing frames, enrichment structures, shelters, etc. as well as redoing the holding building.
 
Kudu21 said:
They’re not actually West African/black crowned crane chicks — they’re eastern grey crowned crane chicks being raised by the black crowned crane pair. The black crowned cranes failed to produce a fertile clutch, and the grey crowned crane pair failed to care for the chicks, so the Park gave the grey crowned crane chicks to the black crowned cranes, which are proven parents. They raised a clutch of grey crowned crane chicks last year as well.


The “unknown” animals are construction equipment. They’re renovating the bachelor exhibit currently. They’re adding new climbing frames, enrichment structures, shelters, etc. as well as redoing the holding building.
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Thank you for the clarification! I remember being told about the crowned crane chicks, but wasn’t informed of the construction equipment which makes more sense.
 
Kudu21 said:
Two more updates from my most recent visit to the Park -- there is at least one Nubian Soemmerring's gazelle calf with the herd in African Woods, and there are several Nubian ibex kids (at least three!) in their exhibit above the Asian Plains field exhibit!
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How are you able to visit so often?! I’m jealous!
Excited for so many calves this year :D
 
JessKimber said:
How are you able to visit so often?! I’m jealous!
Excited for so many calves this year :D
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I am just lucky enough to have the San Diego parks as my local zoos :P The membership program is quite generous in that it allows you entry to both the Zoo and the Safari Park, so it is really convenient to visit both parks.

I absolutely agree! It is really exciting to finally see the Safari Park actually breeding their herds again after over half a decade of decline. The increased breeding and the return of several previously phased-out species give me hope for a continued upward trend :)
 
Kudu21 said:
I absolutely agree! It is really exciting to finally see the Safari Park actually breeding their herds again after over half a decade of decline. The increased breeding and the return of several previously phased-out species give me hope for a continued upward trend :)
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What other species have returned recently? The tur are obviously a notable addition and indeed the amount of ungulate births as of late has been astounding.
 
pachyderm pro said:
What other species have returned recently? The tur are obviously a notable addition and indeed the amount of ungulate births as of late has been astounding.
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The Nilgiri tahr are, of course, the most notable animals to make a return, but the Park has also brought back breeding herds of greater kudu and Pere David's deer after slowly phasing both species out over the past half a decade. They have also brought in a a single-sex pairing of Cavendish's dik-dik, which have not been at the Park for even longer. As well as bringing these species back entirely, the Park has brought in new breeding males for almost all of their existing antelope herds, some of which have not been bred at the Park since 2017.
 
Kudu21 said:
Two more updates from my most recent visit to the Park -- there is at least one Nubian Soemmerring's gazelle calf with the herd in African Woods, and there are several Nubian ibex kids (at least three!) in their exhibit above the Asian Plains field exhibit!
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Amazing news for Nubian Soemmerring's gazelle population to grow by at least on more individual, hopefully more will be born.
 
I spent the day at the zoo, but heard about a potentially exciting development at the Safari Park. Jillian, one of the female Sumatran Tigers may be expecting! From what I’ve heard, successful mating has been observed along with changes in behavior. She’s also been spending extensive time in the maternal yard while Diana and her cubs are in the waterfall yard.
 
The pair of saddle-billed storks have returned to the Delta exhibit along the African Tram, with the flock of East African grey crowned cranes and the single southern ground hornbill.

The male addra gazelle calf being hand-raised in the Nursery Kraal has been moved to the lowland nyala exhibit across from the Africa Tram loading station.
 
Kudu21 said:
The pair of saddle-billed storks have returned to the Delta exhibit along the African Tram, with the flock of East African grey crowned cranes and the single southern ground hornbill.

The male addra gazelle calf being hand-raised in the Nursery Kraal has been moved to the lowland nyala exhibit across from the Africa Tram loading station.
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I can’t wait to see the Saddle-billed Storks, hopefully I can get a good shot of them. I hope that the Shoebills will make an eventual return though.
 
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