Blackduiker
For Los Angeles, I'd find funding to finally refurbish the Koala House into the proposed Australian exhibits that have been discussed for the last couple of years. I would immediately raise the height level of several roundhouse exhibits; especially those containing primates and birds. They had begun doing this several years ago, why they haven't continued is baffling. At least another 5 or 6 feet. And that's only a temporary solution before I'd totally demolish them, and put those spaces to more modern use. At least with the Snow Leopards they were on the right track, but even that exhibit could use glass fronting.
Provide proper climbing structures(preferably live trees), for all the great ape exhibits. Then I'd begin replacing and re-landscaping all perimeter exhibits, with more up-to-date fencing, barriers or whatever, to create a more eye-pleasing look for the zoo visitor. And some of the habitats could be enlarged, and in several cases bulldozed. That first hillside enclosure, on first leaving Africa, that has been sectioned off for many years to provide a smaller space for the Steenbok, but has seen everything else from Alpacas to Red River Hogs, just never worked. Before being sectioned off, can you believe that hillside originally housed Cheetahs? And later Greater Kudu. An aviary would probably be the best bet for that space.
All of Africa should be totally revamped, not necessarily with the same perimeters and pathways, to create a real African compound, both forest and savanna, to provide the kind of true natural habitat and space, now commonly seen in so many other zoos in the 21st Century. Our lions, zebras, giraffes, okapi, gerenuk, monkeys, elands, etc., deserve it. Not to mention the very loyal visitors from and to Los Angeles. Those plans would also include the greatly anticipated hippo habitat, with underwater viewing, that totally got tossed after Pachyderm Forest was greatly expanded. With maybe the rhinos thrown back into the mix too?
And the possibilities for the South American section, after the completion of Rain Forest of the Americas, are too numerous to begin. Especially now that what should have been a main feature of the habitat, the jaguars, have now been totally omitted from the plans. There should be plenty of land to create after the old structures are emptied to fill the Rain Forest.
Maybe a few more bear species once again, like Polar, Spectacled, and Grizzlies on the hillside, as shown in the master plan back in the 90s. Which by the way, would also include California Condors according to those plans. And why not putting a pair or two of Condors on exhibit? The argument that "they are in a breeding program" just doesn't cut it anymore. Especially when you see others putting them on display, like SDWAP, Santa Barbara, Oregon and up in Idaho even. And we're talking L.A., one of the original pioneers, along with SDWAP, mainly responsible for bringing them back from the brink of extinction. And don't let me get started on when we'll ever see penguins exhibited here again; my youngest son's favorite, and his most looked for display at any zoo or aquarium. But I digress.
