Part One
I am currently on a trip to California, starting from San Francisco down to San Diego. I plan to visit zoos and aquariums among other things. I am not sure I will be able to post a review/species list for every stop I make, but I wanted to at least do it for the San Francisco Zoo.
On July 8th 2023, I visited the San Francisco Zoo for the first time ever. I arrived for the opening (10am) and left close to closing time (around 4h45pm). The weather was lovely, starting slightly cloudy and becoming sunny around noon-ish, with temperature around 14-17 Celsius. The zoo was not too crowded, which was an unexpected added bonus.
I had the time to visit the whole zoo, some sections 2-4 times, which allowed me to see animals I had not spotted in my first visit to said section. I really appreciated the visit overall. The zoo has some stunning exhibits (Lemur Forest, Bear Country, African Region, the Insect Zoo, etc.). I was lucky enough to see many lifers, including Coquerel's Sifaka, Wallaroo, Wolwerine and Southern Cassowary. The staff was extremely helpful and always willing to give information on their animals. I was glad I purchased the zoo key, which allows you to hear educational content from strategically placed speakers all around the zoo and added to my experience. The Gardens and sculptures (many life-like) are very impressive all around the zoo.
However, the zoo has some major repairs and developments going on : a Madagascar section by the Lipman Family Lemur Forest (part of that development I think ?) ; all around Cat Kingdom (blocking what I think was the Sumatran Tiger exhibit, what was the Bongo enclosure, etc.) ; parts of the Great Apes Passage ; the future Andean Condor aviary by the Bear Country and South America section ; etc. Hence a number of paths were blocked for repairs too, making the visit a bit confusing by moments. Based on what i read in previous species lists (2022 by ZooBirding San Francisco Zoo Full Species List (As of 08/24/2022) [San Francisco Zoo] and 2021 by Hipporex San Francisco Zoo Species List (Aug. 2021) [San Francisco Zoo]), the Exploration Zone seemed to be impoverished in species, many exhibits seemingly empty on my visit. Also based on those lists, I believe parts off the bird collection might still be kept off-show at the moment because of the avian flu.
All in all, I am not disappointed by my visit. I am under the impression that, like many facilities, the SF Zoo is “catching up” from the pandemic, trying to tackle the many developments slowed by COVID-19. Even so, I highly recommend visiting the San Francisco Zoo, especially once the current developments are completed.
Italic means animals signed but not seen.
Bold means animals seen but not signed.
***Exhibits listed in the order I visited them first. It was not the most linear visit ever.
Lipman Family Lemur Forest
- Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata variegata)
- Blue-eyed Black Lemur (Eulemur flavifrons) - in a side-aviary
- Crowned Lemur (Eulemur coronatus)
- Red-bellied Lemur (Eulemur rubriventer
- Red-fronted Lemur (Eulemur rufifrons)
- Red Ruffed Lemur (Varecia rubra)
- Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta)
- American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)
- Pink-backed Pelican (Pelecanus rufescens)
Flamingo Aviary :
- Chilean flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis)
Outback Trail
- Koala Crossing :
- Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) - indoor enclosure with viewing window 1
- Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) - indoor enclosure with viewing window 2
- Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) - outdoor enclosure
- Outback Trail - Australian WalkAbout :
- Common Wallaroo (Osphranter robustus)
- Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae)
- Outback Trail - Cassowary enclosure :
- Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius)
South America :
- South American Tropical Rainforest and Aviary - from the western entrance to the eastern entrance
- Free-flying birds :
- Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)
- Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
- Fulvous Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)
- Northern White Ibis (Eudocimus albus albus)
- Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja)
- Curl-crested Araçari (Pteroglossus beauharnaisii)
- Blue-headed Macaw (Primolius couloni)
- Blue-throated Macaw (Ara glaucogularis)
- Salvin’s Amazon Parrot (Amazona autumnalis salvini)
- Red-fronted Macaw (Ara rubrogenys) - cage at the back of the Anaconda Terrarium
- Green Jay (Cyanocorax yncas)
- Crested Oropendola (Psarocolius decumanus)
- Termite Terrarium (on the right by the cave - visitors not allowed) :
- Unspecified Termite species
- Large Terrarium on the left :
- Green Anaconda (Eunectes murinus)
- Frog Terrarium 1 (on the right) :
- Golfodulcean Poison Dart-frog (Phyllobates vittatus)
- Green-and-black Poison Dart-frog (Dendrobates auratus)
- Frog Terrarium 2 (on the right) :
- Dyeing Poison Dart-rog (Dendrobates tinctorius)
- Frog Terrarium 3 (on the right) :
- Panamanian Golden Frog (Atelopus zeteki)
- Red-eyed Tree-frog (Agalychnis callidryas)
- Frog Terrarium 4 (on the right) :
- Smoky Jungle Frog (Leptodactylus pentadactylus)
- Tortoise exhibit - behind the left pond :
- Red-footed Tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria)
- Terrarium close to the “bench area” :
- Amazon Tree-boa (Corallus hortulana)
- Sloth exhibit :
- Temminck's Tragopan (Tragopan temminckii)
- Linnaeus's Two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus)
- Eastern Entrance Terrarium 1 :
- Northern Caiman Lizard (Dracaena guianensis)
- Eastern Entrance Terrarium 2 :
- Guatemalan Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura palearis)
- Eastern Entrance Terrarium 3 :
- Red-tailed Boa (Boa constrictor constrictor)
- Eastern Entrance Terrarium 4 :
- Emerald Tree-boa (Corallus caninus)
- Free-flying birds :
- Puente al Sur - large aviary :
- Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber)
- Black-faced Ibis (Theristicus melanopis)
- Northern White Ibis (Eudocimus albus albus)
- Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja)
- Green-winged Macaw (Ara chloropterus)
- Calico Macaw (Ara militaris x chloropterus) - not sure of the hybrid but based on ZooBirding’s 2022 list
- Red-rumped agouti (Dasyprocta leporina)
- Puente al Sur - owl aviary :
- Spectacled Owl Pulsatrix perspicillata
- Puente al Sur enclosure :
- Guanaco (Lama guanicoe)
- Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) - has access during the day according to the keeper
- Black-necked Swan (Cygnus melancoryphus)
- Puente al Sur - side-enclosure :
- Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla)
- Condor Aviary - empty :
- Future site of the Andean Condor
Bear Country :
- American Black Bear (Ursus americanus)
- Mexican Grey Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi)
- Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis)
- Pelican Beach :
- Exhibit still appears on the map, but is empty and all signs removed
- Chacoan peccary (Catagonus wagneri)
James S. Brady Therapeutic Riding - Therapy Horse :
- Various horse and pony breeds (Equus ferus caballus)
