What California's Zoos Have that other U.S. Zoos Don't? :)

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Nikola Chavkosk

Well-Known Member
I was thinking of identifying a more distinct ''clade'', or group of American zoos, that will be a little bit different from the rest, as like the case in Europe, where there are some, although not very significant, differences in zoos between different countries owning to cultural, economical, climatic, geographical, and other differences reflecting into enclosure designs, species diversity, zoo animal species distributions (eg. common hippo in Europe most common in zoos in France, Spain and Italy (Romagne language countries), or that German and Dutch zoos have some great indoor enclosures due to the climate, or that British zoos are located mostly out of cities on grassy terrain, or Balkan zoos - very small substandard zoos that are in the process of modernisation, or that okapi, bonobo and black rhinos or most ''hot'' zoo animals tend to have densiest distribution in continental Western Europe (Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Denmark) and in Britain).

What would make California's zoos different from the rest contiguous U.S. states zoos in regards to species held (eg. uniqe zoo animals, in the U.S. present only in California), or some specific enclosure design reflecting Californian culture, etc.)? Hope so I am clear; This is very subjective but should be interesting.
:)
 
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The first animal that comes to my mind would be the California condor, and perhaps some smaller local species of reptile/amphibian.
 
There is very little that can be described as "California culture." The agricultural areas in the center of the state have very different values from the Bay Area, which has a very different style/culture from the San Diego area, which is hardly anything like the Northern California communities. Just because there are some political decisions that get made, doesn't mean that they define the state. More often, in the USA, it is a question of whether urban areas or non-urban areas manage to have greater political clout.
Also, in the USA, zoo directors and zoo staff move easily from one part of the country to another. They are neither local nor even regional in their careers. And the small number of zoo design firms work all over the country (and internationally) so you will see essentially the same animal exhibit in Texas, California and Pennsylvania
 
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d1am0ndback said:
California condor, and perhaps some smaller local species of reptile/amphibian.
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With the amphibian you are correct: the mountain yellow-legged frog is in a recovery program with a few zoos in the state (Oakland, San Francisco, others). However, California condors are kept at out-of-state facilities such as the Oregon Zoo and the World Center for Birds of Prey (Idaho).

Now, apart from native species, I can think of several only kept in Californian zoos (in the US anyways) but the reasons for that are based on other factors than location.
 
jayjds2 said:
With the amphibian you are correct: the mountain yellow-legged frog is in a recovery program with a few zoos in the state (Oakland, San Francisco, others). However, California condors are kept at out-of-state facilities such as the Oregon Zoo and the World Center for Birds of Prey (Idaho).

Now, apart from native species, I can think of several only kept in Californian zoos (in the US anyways) but the reasons for that are based on other factors than location.
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I had no idea there were California condor outside of California besides the population in the Grand Canyon.

And yes, being that large zoos like San Diego and Los Angeles are in California, there are a good amount of animals only found in specific zoos, but not because those zoos are in California. Small local species seem to be the safest bet for any region to have that other regions don't.
 
I think that @Zooplantman summarized things very well, as California is an enormous state and larger than both Germany and the Netherlands combined! It is actually rather extraordinary that there are "only" 70+ zoos in the state but the population is just under 40 million. (However, that is more than my birthplace of Canada, which is the 2nd largest country on Earth)

Anyway, there is a vast amount of diversity in Californian zoos and in particular the state has a lot of aquariums (at least 20) and many of those facilities specialize in sea creatures caught right off the coast.
 
Ok then. I hope so one day I would be able to visit San Diego's zoos and Los Angeles zoo. And can't wait to see, American version of Zootierliste! When will be that? :) - I guess you'll need a licensed company to gether all that data from North American (or U.S.) zoos?
 
Yes there are "only" 70 zoos, but by USA standards that is a huge number for any single state. As someone stated there are huge cultural and political differences between the different regions. Someone recently even promoted the idea of splitting it up into (I think) six different states based on the differences. For almost as long as I can remember there has been talk of at least splitting it into two states (north and south). Currently there is a group trying not to split the state itself up, but to split the entire state off USA and form their own country. Nothing will come of any of this, but it just illustrates the difficulty of defining any single California trend (zoo or otherwise). Add to this the concentrations of ethnic communities (with their own languages) in Los Angeles area, and you see the difficulty of making generalizations.
 
With all that being said, certainly there are some remarkable gems in the state of California. Both San Diego parks are recognized by everyone (public, zoo industry, ZooChat members) as truly world class and many would consider them best in the country. Monterey Bay Aquarium is also considered best aquarium in the country by many. The new and improved Fresno Zoo is quickly becoming one of America's best. Oakland Zoo is up and coming with its new California expansion. (Which brings up an important question - why aren't there other California themed exhibits?). My personal favorite Cat Haven is not a large facility and would not be in the same class as any of the above, but it gets my vote for strongest dedication to field conservation. There is no denying that California is a must-see destination for zoo lovers, especially those coming from outside the region or country.

Edit - I forgot to list The Living Desert, one of my favorites and unique in that it is the only USA zoo I know of that focuses on the world's deserts (as opposed to regional North American deserts).
 
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Arizona Docent said:
Oakland Zoo is up and coming with its new California expansion. (Which brings up an important question - why aren't there other California themed exhibits?).
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San Diego Zoo Safari Park's Condor Ridge is arguably California themed (minus the thick-billed parrot and ocelot...),and on the plus side the L.A. Zoo has a California exhibit in their new master plan. I expect we'll be seeing some more California-themed exhibits in the future.
 
AD pointed out interesting things or trends maybe, thanks.
Totally unimportant, but first color wth wich I link California's zoos is yellow to cream color maybe because I've seen many buildings in CA-zoos in yellow to cream color, on internet and TV.
Also first color that comes to my mind when I think on the next U.S. states zoos is:
Texas: Green
Arizona: Orange
Florida: Pink
New York: Blue
Colorado: White
Ohio: Green
Georgia: White

European color links, maybe in a special thread :)
 
Oakland Zoo is up and coming with its new California expansion. (Which brings up an important question - why aren't there other California themed exhibits?).
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I can't speak for the entire country, but I know none of the zoos here in Illinois have focused on Illinois-themed full exhibits, and many are content with a 'North America' section, though these can often be dominated by more charismatic species like grizzlies, who aren't found in half of the country anymore.

It should definitely be noted that, obviously, California zoos, although not unlike the rest of the Southwest, is in a warmer climate where winter quarters are not as much of an issue as they are here in the midwest.
 
Arizona Docent said:
Yes there are "only" 70 zoos, but by USA standards that is a huge number for any single state. As someone stated there are huge cultural and political differences between the different regions. Someone recently even promoted the idea of splitting it up into (I think) six different states based on the differences.
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I think you'll find that proposal was less about the differences between regions in California and more about boosting Republican representation in Congress. :)
 
d1am0ndback said:
The first animal that comes to my mind would be the California condor, and perhaps some smaller local species of reptile/amphibian.
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pygmy owls elephant seals(until the one in Pittsburgh debuts) kob probably other antelope peninsular pronghorn and the great white shark and laysan albatross not always on display also uakari calamian and chinese water deer
 
drill said:
pygmy owls elephant seals(until the one in Pittsburgh debuts) kob probably other antelope peninsular pronghorn and the great white shark and laysan albatross not always on display also uakari calamian and chinese water deer
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The peninsular pronghorn may or may not count for this, but great whites and elephant seals do not, unless someone is exhibiting Northern elephant seals that I do not know of. As for the ukari and non native californians you listed, they are in those specific zoos because those zoos are large, not because they are in California.
 
The marine mammal center in CA has northern elephant seals on public display currently they have 16 patients
 
drill said:
The marine mammal center in CA has northern elephant seals on public display currently they have 16 patients
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I think that, unless you count display as seeing a pup through up to even 10 layers of fence, you'll find that they aren't on display. You don't walk through their containment area; you have to get lucky and see if one is in the pens directly next to the visitor viewing area. Besides, none are permanently in captivity, and if that is the case, they will be transferred elsewhere (such as Pittsburgh).

While the rest of the species you mention are only in captivity in California, their location is not the reason for that (as I mentioned earlier). Furthermore, no public zoos in California exhibit or even hold Chinese water deer (as far as I am aware, Los Angeles currently does not have the species). Regardless if California zoos have the species, zoos elsewhere also have it (such as the Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium). There are out-of-state holders of peninsular pronghorn as well, such as the El Paso Zoo.
 
jayjds2 said:
While the rest of the species you mention are only in captivity in California, their location is not the reason for that (as I mentioned earlier).
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To be fair,though,the title is "What California's Zoos Have That Other Zoos Don't",not "What California Native Species Are Exclusive to California's Zoos",so it should still count if they have exotic species not found anywhere else,unless I misread the original poster's intent.
 
California is unique in that it shares two dual advantages as a state that is both large, arid, and with a warm climate, which offer flexibility for displaying a number of species that are harder to keep in smaller zoos or colder climates, but this is balanced by a different advantage, that California has multiple large urban centers, more than many other southeastern states, which allow the financial and tourist support for multiple zoos. While both factors/advantages exist in other parts of the country, only a handful of states can offer both advantages in full. Most zoos in the north or midwest will be colder and more urbanized, whereas many western and southern states may be warmer and have varying amounts of undeveloped land, but can't always be so supported.
 
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