San Diego Zoo The Future of San Diego Zoo

I have heard rumblings that the current Elephant Mesa may be converted into a savannah-type exhibit at some point in the future, with the aim of house the giraffes and several species of hoofstock (and probably birds).
 
I also now the Dholes,(currantly off show), Will Be moving Into the currant lion enclosure
 
From the April 2008 Zoonooz

At the Zoo, we are in the midst of creating our largest exhibit complex ever, Elephant Odyssey, as well as planning an African savanna and state-of-the-art education center.
Click to expand...
 
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For some reason I have a feeling that the Elephant Odyssey will not be as good as the other elephant exhibits opening across north america.

Also, I can't wait to see how the African Savanna exhibit will look like.
 
The promenade proposal is on hold and no time line is available. The San Diego Zoo is focusing its efforts on Elephant Odyssey right now. The exhibit plan is quite exciting. There will be four parts to the yard so that keepers can shift animals to any number of yards for cleaning, socializing, etc. Or the whole section can be kept open for one large yard. The guanacos, capybara and tapir will share an adjacent yard and will have the opportunity to share the elephants' larger yard if they choose to. But their yard will not be accessible to the elephants, just in case the little guys need some space away from the elephants. Also, there are plans for hydraulic trees that will be set to feed elephants at different times of the day. The feeders will be higher than the elephants can reach and will drop at different times so that the elephants have to forage for food. It will have one large pool and one smaller pool at the other end. The idea of this exhibit is to keep the elephants active.
 
The November issue of ZOONOOZ (the SDZ's member magazine) focusses on Elephant Odyssey, although there's not really that much new information presented. From their write-up, it sounds like it will be pronghorns that will have creep access into the elephant exhibit. There is also a little write-up regarding the successful introduction of 2.0 guanaco to their pair of Baird's tapir and 0.1 capybara, in preparation for the new exhibit.
 
I saw that combonation on Monday at the zoo.They seemed very at ease and it looks like the transition looked good.
 
The November calendar issue of Zoonooz includes bison for December. Does this in any way indicate that to be a planned species for the exhibit? If so this is the first I've heard of it.
 
I cant find bison on any of the plans that I have...except the new calendar. If its in the new Elephant Odyssey themed calendar, I think its safe to assume they have been added to the collection. Also, I didnt see any zebras in the calendar, they've been mentioned in the past.
 
Yeah I also noticed the lack of any mentioning of equids, which with the theme of this exhibit is a shame.
 
But most hoofstock holding and exhibits are very similar...there will always be a chance for different species of hoofstock for Elephant Odyssey. They are also leaving out bears from the original plans.
 
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