Hi. I just wondered if anybody on here has visited, and has views/opinions/thoughts on, Johannesburg Zoo in South Africa? I have spent time working there and would be very interested to hear what people think of it, before I post my own comments. What do people think of the location and layout of the zoo? What about the collection? The enclosures? How about the new 'Temple of the Ancients' that is currently under construction? I have lots of pictures to upload if there is any interest. At present there is no real thread for 'Johannesburg Zoo' under the 'South Africa' link. Best wishes.
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Thoughts on Johannesburg Zoo.
- Thread starter vs0u2086
- Start date
I have uploaded a few photos but, in all honesty, I spent 3 months working at Johannesburg Zoo as a veterinarian and so most of my photos are of the work that I was doing, and not of the zoo/animals per se. I am not sure whether it would be appropriate (or just self-indulgent) for me to put them all up.
I have contacted the HR department in the hope of them sending me a copy of the zoo map - I shall upload this when/if I get it.
Johannesburg Zoo is a municipal zoo and so is mostly funded by the City of Johannesburg group. The zoo grounds include about 120 acres of parkland in the 'nicer' part of Johannesburg and it really is a tranquil setting right in the heart of the city.
The zoo collection is very varied and contains a very large collection of African animals, as well as many exotics. In particular I thought the zoo had a great collection of small carnivores including (from memory):
Fennec fox
Small spotted genet
African civet
Bat-eared fox
Caracal
Servals
Striped hyenas
Aardwolf
Honey badgers / ratels
Side-striped jackals
Margays
Pumas
African wild cats
Spot-necked otter
Meerkats
Most of the animal enclosures are large in size and are well furnished. 'Behavioural enrichment' is huge at the zoo and the staff are very active in making sure the animals are not bored. I did not observe or hear of any stereotypical behaviour in any of the mammals whilst I was at the zoo.
As well as the smaller carnivores, the zoo also has large well-constructed, open enclosures containing large carnivore species such as:
Polar bear
Brown bear
Spectacled bear
African lions
Amur tigers
Snow leopard
Cheetah
African wild dog
The zoo website is very poor and I mentioned this on a number of occasions to the CEO, but he disagreed with me. There is a huge amount of regeneration going on in South Africa in general (of course, the World Cup is being held there later this year) and the zoo is in the middle of a massive refurbishment programme. Some enclosures, such as those for the orangutans, Southern fur seals and African elephants are in need of improvement but the management knows this and these species are due to have new enclosures built within the next 5 years. Those are the only enclosures that I would say are 'obviously' less than ideal - but even so, they are better than many that I have seen.
The zoo has a large primate collection, including New and Old World monkeys, a large collection of lemurs, chimpanzees and a single Silverback gorilla. The zoo's previous Silverback, Max, was a local hero... One night in 1997, a local criminal was surprised by the police and, whilst trying to evade the police, decided to run into the zoo grounds and (for reasons known only to himself) decided to jump into Max's enclosure. Max had access to the outside enclosure and during the ordeal he seriously injured the criminal, whilst also being shot twice, in the neck and arm. The criminal was caught and Max was taken to the local human hospital where the gum pellets were removed and he made a full recovery. (Max also seriously injured 3 police officers during the ordeal, but that is rarely mentioned...). A statue of Max stands in the centre of the zoo.
With regards ungulates, the zoo has most of the commonly encountered African species, from nyala to Greater Kudu, bontebok (and other smaller antelope species) to Cape Buffalo, plus both Scimitar-horned and Arabian oryx, plus many, many more - I can try and write a definitive list if requested to. The zoo also has a nice herd of Lord Derby (Giant) Eland which are huge, beautiful creatures.
Other macro-mammal species at the zoo include pygmy hippo, African hippo, giraffe (I am unsure of the subspecies), white rhino and Bactrian camels.
The zoo is currently building a huge new exhibit with the working title, 'Temple of the Ancients' which will expand their South American species collection. This new facility will house a large number of new venomous snake species, such as fer-de-lance and bushmaster, as well as a large number of invertebrates, new primate enclosures for more tamarin/marmoset species and a large aquarium, including an underwater tunnel exhibit.
Johannesburg Zoo has a huge avian collection and is heavily involved in many bird conservation programmes, such as those for the Wattled Crane and Southern Ground Hornbill. The previous curator of birds at Chester Zoo has recently moved to take up the position at Johannesburg Zoo. The zoo has a number of large mixed-species aviaries including different psittacines, passerines and raptors, many of which I have seen nowhere else.
This is the first time I have written about a zoo in this way so I am unsure about what fellow ZooChatters would like to know. Please ask any questions and I will do my best to answer them.
I have contacted the HR department in the hope of them sending me a copy of the zoo map - I shall upload this when/if I get it.
Johannesburg Zoo is a municipal zoo and so is mostly funded by the City of Johannesburg group. The zoo grounds include about 120 acres of parkland in the 'nicer' part of Johannesburg and it really is a tranquil setting right in the heart of the city.
The zoo collection is very varied and contains a very large collection of African animals, as well as many exotics. In particular I thought the zoo had a great collection of small carnivores including (from memory):
Fennec fox
Small spotted genet
African civet
Bat-eared fox
Caracal
Servals
Striped hyenas
Aardwolf
Honey badgers / ratels
Side-striped jackals
Margays
Pumas
African wild cats
Spot-necked otter
Meerkats
Most of the animal enclosures are large in size and are well furnished. 'Behavioural enrichment' is huge at the zoo and the staff are very active in making sure the animals are not bored. I did not observe or hear of any stereotypical behaviour in any of the mammals whilst I was at the zoo.
As well as the smaller carnivores, the zoo also has large well-constructed, open enclosures containing large carnivore species such as:
Polar bear
Brown bear
Spectacled bear
African lions
Amur tigers
Snow leopard
Cheetah
African wild dog
The zoo website is very poor and I mentioned this on a number of occasions to the CEO, but he disagreed with me. There is a huge amount of regeneration going on in South Africa in general (of course, the World Cup is being held there later this year) and the zoo is in the middle of a massive refurbishment programme. Some enclosures, such as those for the orangutans, Southern fur seals and African elephants are in need of improvement but the management knows this and these species are due to have new enclosures built within the next 5 years. Those are the only enclosures that I would say are 'obviously' less than ideal - but even so, they are better than many that I have seen.
The zoo has a large primate collection, including New and Old World monkeys, a large collection of lemurs, chimpanzees and a single Silverback gorilla. The zoo's previous Silverback, Max, was a local hero... One night in 1997, a local criminal was surprised by the police and, whilst trying to evade the police, decided to run into the zoo grounds and (for reasons known only to himself) decided to jump into Max's enclosure. Max had access to the outside enclosure and during the ordeal he seriously injured the criminal, whilst also being shot twice, in the neck and arm. The criminal was caught and Max was taken to the local human hospital where the gum pellets were removed and he made a full recovery. (Max also seriously injured 3 police officers during the ordeal, but that is rarely mentioned...). A statue of Max stands in the centre of the zoo.
With regards ungulates, the zoo has most of the commonly encountered African species, from nyala to Greater Kudu, bontebok (and other smaller antelope species) to Cape Buffalo, plus both Scimitar-horned and Arabian oryx, plus many, many more - I can try and write a definitive list if requested to. The zoo also has a nice herd of Lord Derby (Giant) Eland which are huge, beautiful creatures.
Other macro-mammal species at the zoo include pygmy hippo, African hippo, giraffe (I am unsure of the subspecies), white rhino and Bactrian camels.
The zoo is currently building a huge new exhibit with the working title, 'Temple of the Ancients' which will expand their South American species collection. This new facility will house a large number of new venomous snake species, such as fer-de-lance and bushmaster, as well as a large number of invertebrates, new primate enclosures for more tamarin/marmoset species and a large aquarium, including an underwater tunnel exhibit.
Johannesburg Zoo has a huge avian collection and is heavily involved in many bird conservation programmes, such as those for the Wattled Crane and Southern Ground Hornbill. The previous curator of birds at Chester Zoo has recently moved to take up the position at Johannesburg Zoo. The zoo has a number of large mixed-species aviaries including different psittacines, passerines and raptors, many of which I have seen nowhere else.
This is the first time I have written about a zoo in this way so I am unsure about what fellow ZooChatters would like to know. Please ask any questions and I will do my best to answer them.