beastdoctor
Active Member
What changes, if any, would you make if you could buy the Zoo and Safari Park? They ran both very well until fairly recently and I wouldn't have changed much. What happened? What would you change or change back?
What would you do if you could buy the San DIego Zoo and Safari Park?
- Thread starter beastdoctor
- Start date
Just out of curiosity, what do you mean by the fact they are not running well? I agree, but instead of this being a fantasy zoo topic, I am wondering what you (and maybe some other people) felt about the future of the San Diego Zoo.
For San Diego Zoo:
1. Tear down Elephant Odyssey and create a much more natural (or at least natural looking) habitat for Elephants
2.-10. see No 1
11. Close all animatronic stuff and use the space for animal exhibits
12. Look for more consistent in zoo geografic exhibits, create (more) zoo geografic zones
13. Offer more themed food in each zoo geografic part where it belongs to (e.g.: Burritos, Churros in Latin America / Babootie, Boereworst, African Stews and Skewers in Africa / Curries, Nasi Goreng and Sweet and Sour in Asia).
14. Look for cooperations with movie and tv producers/companies to create a weekly show from the zoo and/or premieres with animal themed movies/musicals and cast
For San Diego Safari Park:
1. Re-open ALL zoogeografic parts for a new Monorail line (or at least for the current Safari Train)
2. Transform Nairobi Village (or at least the upper two thirds, beginning at the entrance) for African Animals only.
3. Built the new tiger habitat immediately.
4. Extent the park with a new Wild West Habitat, with (semi-)free ranging animals like Bisons, Pronghorns, Wapitis and big enclosures for predators like Grizzlies, Cougars and Wolves. Offer over-night stays in an Indian - oh sorry, American Native - Tipi-Village, with horse and bull riding and catching shows and other demonstrations (e.g. how Indians made fire, how they erect a tent etc.)
There might be more ideas, but that was came to my mind at the moment. Thoughts?
1. Tear down Elephant Odyssey and create a much more natural (or at least natural looking) habitat for Elephants
2.-10. see No 1
11. Close all animatronic stuff and use the space for animal exhibits
12. Look for more consistent in zoo geografic exhibits, create (more) zoo geografic zones
13. Offer more themed food in each zoo geografic part where it belongs to (e.g.: Burritos, Churros in Latin America / Babootie, Boereworst, African Stews and Skewers in Africa / Curries, Nasi Goreng and Sweet and Sour in Asia).
14. Look for cooperations with movie and tv producers/companies to create a weekly show from the zoo and/or premieres with animal themed movies/musicals and cast
For San Diego Safari Park:
1. Re-open ALL zoogeografic parts for a new Monorail line (or at least for the current Safari Train)
2. Transform Nairobi Village (or at least the upper two thirds, beginning at the entrance) for African Animals only.
3. Built the new tiger habitat immediately.
4. Extent the park with a new Wild West Habitat, with (semi-)free ranging animals like Bisons, Pronghorns, Wapitis and big enclosures for predators like Grizzlies, Cougars and Wolves. Offer over-night stays in an Indian - oh sorry, American Native - Tipi-Village, with horse and bull riding and catching shows and other demonstrations (e.g. how Indians made fire, how they erect a tent etc.)
There might be more ideas, but that was came to my mind at the moment. Thoughts?
beastdoctor
Active Member
San Diego Zoo
I haven't been pleased with the destruction of Horn and Hoof Mesa at the Zoo. I am not a fan of Elephant Odyssey. I liked their previous elephant exhibit. I am not a fan of dumping Asian elephants, guanacos, African lions, and whatever else they stirred in there to make a pseudo Pleistocene exhibit. LA has the La Brea Tar Pits with genuine fossils from the Pleistocene in a very nice museum. The Zoo didn't need to do their version. I have not seen a current species inventory, but it seems the Zoo and Safari Park are following 2 trends which I do not care for- cutting down their species numbers, and making smaller exhibits. I call it the urbanization of the zoo- tiny yards and packed in tight. This is esp. a problem at the Zoo. Of course the Safari Park has huge exhibits, but the African exhibit is getting carved up into smaller parcels- it isn't as large as it used to be. I don't like seeing gelada baboons being crammed into a tiny cage, the forest buffalo being crammed into a tiny exhibit, the reindeer have a miniscule living space, at the Zoo. Of course the elephants at both locations have their huge mandated spaces. I also don't like at the Safari Park how the monorail is gone, and you can't see what you used to could. It used to be "free", and interesting. My only gripe with it was that it did not allow for lingering at an area/exhibit. I would very much like to have stayed observing the outer exhibits for much longer than the monorail ride. The Safari Park now charges extra for everything, it seems. I prefer the previous, original Wild Animal Park method of animal observation to the current one. I do find it fascinating that the African elephant collection there is doing well. Maybe that is the secret to getting a breeding herd of elephants- catch a whole herd in the wild and transfer it to a zoo. They may be on to something. The idea about having a North American area at the Safari Park is interesting. I like the combination of bison, pronghorn and elk, which used to exist on the Plains. That would make a nice exhibit. They have the space for it. That, plus a nice predator area would make for an interesting "safari" experience. I doubt San Diego will do it, though, but some other zoo might give it a go. It wouldn't hurt to ask them, however. I like the Zoo and Park, but have not been tickled with some of their recent developments. I have mentioned some of them.
I haven't been pleased with the destruction of Horn and Hoof Mesa at the Zoo. I am not a fan of Elephant Odyssey. I liked their previous elephant exhibit. I am not a fan of dumping Asian elephants, guanacos, African lions, and whatever else they stirred in there to make a pseudo Pleistocene exhibit. LA has the La Brea Tar Pits with genuine fossils from the Pleistocene in a very nice museum. The Zoo didn't need to do their version. I have not seen a current species inventory, but it seems the Zoo and Safari Park are following 2 trends which I do not care for- cutting down their species numbers, and making smaller exhibits. I call it the urbanization of the zoo- tiny yards and packed in tight. This is esp. a problem at the Zoo. Of course the Safari Park has huge exhibits, but the African exhibit is getting carved up into smaller parcels- it isn't as large as it used to be. I don't like seeing gelada baboons being crammed into a tiny cage, the forest buffalo being crammed into a tiny exhibit, the reindeer have a miniscule living space, at the Zoo. Of course the elephants at both locations have their huge mandated spaces. I also don't like at the Safari Park how the monorail is gone, and you can't see what you used to could. It used to be "free", and interesting. My only gripe with it was that it did not allow for lingering at an area/exhibit. I would very much like to have stayed observing the outer exhibits for much longer than the monorail ride. The Safari Park now charges extra for everything, it seems. I prefer the previous, original Wild Animal Park method of animal observation to the current one. I do find it fascinating that the African elephant collection there is doing well. Maybe that is the secret to getting a breeding herd of elephants- catch a whole herd in the wild and transfer it to a zoo. They may be on to something. The idea about having a North American area at the Safari Park is interesting. I like the combination of bison, pronghorn and elk, which used to exist on the Plains. That would make a nice exhibit. They have the space for it. That, plus a nice predator area would make for an interesting "safari" experience. I doubt San Diego will do it, though, but some other zoo might give it a go. It wouldn't hurt to ask them, however. I like the Zoo and Park, but have not been tickled with some of their recent developments. I have mentioned some of them.
I haven't been to either of these zoos but I do like your Wild West idea except for the rodeo one. While I don't mind rodeos I don't think those are a good idea for a zoo. It seems like the next thing would be a circus.
You are joking, right?
beastdoctor
Active Member
Previous elephant exhibit
You didn't?
You didn't?
along with the false gharial exhibit, i feel that they couldve designed a new sloth bear exhibit to complement in the tiger trail and move the san diego zoo's sloth bears there instead of the hideous concrete exhibit theyre in right now
then at the zoo i would scrap the current bear canyon and rebuild it similar to africa rocks but make it south american themed.......they already have a spectacled bear as well as giant otters at the zoo, add some agouti or paca in an exhibit as well as some monkey species or a hoatzin and then have the main attraction exhibit be an Orinoco Crocodile exhibit
no matter what they do i still think both parks are amazing and 2 of the best in the world
then at the zoo i would scrap the current bear canyon and rebuild it similar to africa rocks but make it south american themed.......they already have a spectacled bear as well as giant otters at the zoo, add some agouti or paca in an exhibit as well as some monkey species or a hoatzin and then have the main attraction exhibit be an Orinoco Crocodile exhibit
no matter what they do i still think both parks are amazing and 2 of the best in the world