Day Twenty-One
First day in LA, and the sun was definitely shining! My partner was a bit over zoos, so went to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour instead, and raved about it afterwards. I, on the other hand, was not quite over zoos, and so went to the final zoo of the trip. I was running a bit late, so ended up taking a taxi rather than public transport to the Los Angeles Zoo. On arrival, I loitered outside the gates, applying liberal amounts of sun block, while I waited for the man in the giraffe t-shirt. Who arrived in due course, and graciously got me in to the Zoo for free. This was, of course, David Brown, only the second ZooChatter I had met and the first (and so far only) one I have toured a zoo with. It’s quite weird meeting a random internet person in real life, but it went very well, and I’m glad I took the opportunity.
LA Zoo is quite odd in many ways. Firstly, it’s surprisingly young, opening in 1966, although it had operated at a different site within Griffith Park since 1912. The Zoo retains much of its 60s design, with a number of recent developments that have been built since the late 90s, following a period of stagnation. This rejuvenation has been rather piecemeal (and some of the new exhibits are so poor that it’s hard to imagine that they are improvements), although it does appear to be transforming into a biogeographically themed zoo. The site itself is also very awkward, with a narrow ridge leading up from the entrance into the heart of the zoo, which has paths going all over the place. The entrance itself is a huge monstrosity, reminiscent of prison gates. Beyond that lie Sea Life Cliffs, a fairly standard pinniped complex with underwater viewing for Harbour and Grey Seals. The path continues up the ridge, passing a series of stand-alone exhibits for American Alligator, Chilean Flamingos, Black-necked Swans and Meerkats, which are all fairly average, and not particularly memorable. At the top of the entrance path however, is one of LA Zoo’s very best features.
LAIR (Living Amphibians, Invertebrates & Reptiles) is a very modern reptile house, which must have cost a bomb, but is simply brilliant. The first building holds a fairly generic collection representing global biomes, with a few choice species, including Guatemalan Palm Viper, Mexican Leaf Frog and Chinese Giant Salamander. The first part of the building was a twisting corridor of mock rock to the ceiling, with terrariums in the rock, while the second part was a large, airy room, with floor-to-ceiling glassed enclosures. This was very impressive, and a great way of displaying the reptiles. Outside were aviary-style cages for tropical tortoises, and open, rock-walled yards for Californian reptiles, which were also very well done. A second building housed further local species, again in excellent, large and well-furnished enclosures. The final exhibit, back outside, was a large pond for False Gharial. Overall, I saw 51 reptile and amphibian species displayed here, as well as numerous fish and inverts, and it was probably the best reptile house I have ever seen.
Nearby was another new complex, although this one had only just opened, and rather than being world-class was instead quite disappointing. Rainforest of the Americas was a short trail along a hillside, featuring tropical South American species in an apocalyptic wasteland. At least I think that was the theme... The first two exhibits were the best however, a large Giant Otter enclosure with underwater viewing (the front of which was actually a separate tank for Piranhas!), and a tall adjacent aviary for Harpy Eagles. A barren concrete yard held Baird’s Tapir, with a vegetated outcrop in the centre for Cotton-top Tamarins. Two meshed cages contained Black Howler Monkey and Red Uakari, one of the most exciting species at the zoo, albeit set very far back from the path. The complex was rounded out by a pair of aviaries and a series of terrariums with what appeared to be one-way glass that had been installed backwards. A Jaguar exhibit has since been added, which also appears to represent a tree-less jungle. So not the best South American tropical exhibit, but hopefully with time, more vegetation and improvements especially for the Tapirs, this could be a reasonable one.
As David had to leave soon, and we had taken quite a while to get to this point as we had spent so much time talking, we decided to finish our joint tour with the nearby set of South American exhibits. This area is still very 60s, with a series of yards and roundhouses. Roundhouses are an interesting concept, and one that works well for certain species, including birds and small primates. They are essentially donut-shaped mesh cages, viewed from the centre, via a small entry-way, and divided into two to five enclosures. They varied a bit in size, and in this area housed a range of species from Jaguars to Spider Monkeys to King Vultures (i.e. species that were too big for them). There were also a range of other primates and birds, as well as yards for Maned Wolves and the Zoo’s other star attraction for ZooChatters – Mountain Tapir (a beautiful species that was definitely a trip highlight!). Like the rest of the “old” zoo, these exhibits were tired and dated, although many were a good size and well-furnished.
David Brown then departed, and I was left to my own devices. It was great to talk to a ZooChatter, and see his local zoo from his perspective, while getting tonnes of information about the Zoo’s history and future. Thanks David! The next exhibit I came too was a long, narrow, lush yard, holding Sarus Cranes and Chinese Water Deer, and marked the start of what I’m calling the Asian part of the zoo. This exhibit had views through to the massive paddock behind it, which held the Zoo’s Asian Elephants. This is a relatively new exhibit, Elephants of Asia, which looks really good, although I didn’t see many elephants in it. On the far side of the elephant complex was Red Ape Rainforest, another new complex, housing Bornean Orang-utans in large, netted enclosures.
Back by the Cranes, the path then led up to another set of old exhibits, mostly open yards with abundant mock rock, holding Tigers, American Black Bear, Common Hippo and Indian Rhino. Behind these were a set of old, but superb, hillside paddocks, for Tufted Deer, Calamian Hog Deer, Chinese Goral and Japanese Serow. Further exhibits in this Asian area included a concrete yard for Tadjik Markhor, a paddock for Sichuan Takin, and a large aviary for Francois’ Langurs, Reeves’ Muntjac and Lady Amherst Pheasant. The final exhibits were a trio of Roundhouses for Siamangs, Moustached Guenons and Stellar’s and African Fish Eagles. Most of the exhibits here, at least the yards and roundhouses, are not fit for purpose and require urgent renovation.
The next part of the Zoo housed most of the African collection, starting with the Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains complex, which was split into two parts. The first was a rock-walled naturalistic yard, and the second a functional cage. Both were very large, and I’d be interested to know which the chimps prefer (certainly the yard looks much better). The path led past an average yard for a herd of Masai Giraffes, and a tiny yard for African Lions. I think this is the single worst enclosure at the zoo, and I hope this appalling exhibit is rebuilt very soon. A yard nearby, beautifully shaded and vegetated, held Okapi. This part of the zoo was full of fairly mature trees, and quite shady and peaceful. A series of Roundhouses ahead held a variety of primates, including Gibbons, Mandrills, Colobus, Mangebeys and Lemurs (notably Coquerel’s Sifaka), as well as Serval and Fossa. Behind these were the last row of hillside paddocks, holding Black Duiker, Lesser Kudu, Steenbok, Ostrich and Red River Hog. Finally, the path led downhill, passing yards for Gerenuk, Nubian Ibex, Bongo and Yellow-backed Duiker before arriving at Campo Gorilla Reserve. This was similar to every other Gorilla exhibit, and featured gorillas sitting in the shade against rock walls while the expansive grassed enclosure sat empty in the sun.
The next corner of the Zoo was a small loop that I shall call North America, which featured a series of yards, some quite reasonable, and a couple of roundhouses, and a random assortment of species. This seems to be a rather “forgotten corner”, where the leftover species are held in fairly old exhibits. Hoofstock were well-represented here, with Grevy’s Zebra, Peninsular Pronghorn, Desert Bighorn Sheep, Lowland Anoa, Babirusa, Speke’s Gazelle and Chacoan Peccary displayed, generally quite well. The Roundhouses held Bat-eared Fox, North American River Otter, Cape Rock Hyrax and a variety of birds, while a final yard held African Wild Dogs. It’d be great to see this area redeveloped with a focus on local species, say coyote and bear, with a number of birds also incorporated.
The three last areas of the Zoo are the Australasian complex, the “Aviary”, and the Children’s Zoo. Australasia actually is quite good species-wise, with fairly run-down looking outdoor exhibits for Koala, Tammar Wallaby, Western Grey Kangaroo, Short-beaked Echidna, Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby, Southern Cassowary and Visayan Warty Pig. A Roundhouse holds Komodo Dragons, which are always worth seeing. The Aviary is a large walkthrough exhibit, lushly planted, with a confusing layout that follows paths to several dead ends and through multiple aviaries (I think). And, for some reason, there were hardly any birds! I saw just three species (Greater Flamingo, Crowned Crane, Nicobar Pigeon), and signs for just a half dozen or so more. Very disappointing. Also my camera died here. So I really dislike this aviary. I don’t know why it died, it’d been playing up for a couple of days, but here was where it gave up the ghost. At least it lasted almost to the end of the trip and to almost the end of the last zoo. RIP Camera.
After the final aviary door clanged shut, I headed back down to the entrance, where the Children’s Zoo was located. Most Children’s Zoos are avoided by ZooChatters, but this was worth a visit, as it contained a variety of interesting species and only a small domestic section. The first part was the Animal Health Centre, essentially a small mammal house, with exhibits for Harris’ Antelope Ground Squirrel, Prevost’s Squirrel, Greater Malayan Chevrotain, Panay Cloud Rat & Red-rumped Agouti. A yard outside functioned as a nursery, and held several young Gerenuk. The second section was Desert Trails, the start of which was a cave with several terrariums, including for an unseen Elephant Shrew. Outside were exhibits for Prairie Dogs, Ocelot and birds. Finally, there was Muriel’s Ranch, possibly the most amusingly named domestic animal exhibit in the world.
So, overall Los Angeles Zoo is a very large zoo, with a very impressive mammal collection (especially hoofstock and primates), a stunning herp exhibit, and a rather minimal set of birds. The newer exhibits in the Zoo are generally of a very high standard, and many of the older/original exhibits are absolutely perfect for their inhabitants. The rejuvenation of the zoo appears to be happening in a very piecemeal manner, with several species (apes, elephants) already upgraded. The upgrades appear to be locating species in geographically themed areas, which will hopefully result in a much more cohesive collection in the future. Immediate priorities for upgrades should include the lions, tigers, bears, hippo and rhino, which are all very poorly housed. Hopefully the improvements keep coming, as I really did like LA Zoo. Thanks again David!
Total Species:
Amphibians: 7 (2 new)
Reptiles: 51 (8 new)
Birds: 33 (3 new)
Mammals: 77 (5 new)
Total: 168 (18 new)
New Species:
Couch’s Spadefoot Toad, Mexican Leaf Frog, South American Slider, Mossy Leaf-tailed Gecko, Guatemalan Palm Viper, Black-tailed Horned Viper, Mexican West Coast Rattlesnake, Cottonmouth, San Esteban Island Chuckwalla, Spotted Chuckwalla, Blue-billed Curassow, White Ibis, Yellow-billed Magpie, Red Uakari, Crested Capuchin, Moustached Guenon, Mountain Tapir, Calamian Hog Deer.
. I will hopefully get to Florida some time in the next few years to get a look at SeaWorld Orlando (this will be part of a larger trip to see the Everglades and maybe some of the Keys, also the Bahamas aren't being ruled out.)
