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Santa Ana Zoo at Prentice Park Review of Santa Ana Zoo

Discussion in 'United States' started by geomorph, 19 Jul 2010.

  1. geomorph

    geomorph Well-Known Member 10+ year member Premium Member

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    This small zoo is in the center of a very populous Southern California county and occupies a triangular site surrounded by development on all sides, including a busy freeway. Fortunately, the outside world is mostly screened from view within the grounds. It is 20 acres, but is spread out so that it features a rather sparse animal collection. It opened in 1952 as the major component of Prentice Park, whose land was gifted to the city of Santa Ana by a man who stipulated that the zoo would always contain at least 50 monkeys; the major focus of the collection to this day is the primate collection, especially Central and South American monkeys, and much of the rest of the collection features animals from Central and South America. The long-range plan of the zoo is to continue to focus on this continent, and about half of its acreage has been renovated since the 1990s with this in mind. The newer exhibits are admirable attempts at immersion, while the older ones in the other half are below-average enclosures with little detail (although they are surrounded by rather lush subtropical foliage). The small parking lot outside the entrance does little to indicate that they entertain about 270,000 visitors a year. A park setting with clusters of trees and a picnic area leads from the lot to the main entrance, a nice low masonry complex from 1986 with the ticket booth and gate and visitor services building surrounding an informal plaza. A modern playground adjoins it, from which start the informal paths that tour the rest of the zoo. Roaming on the grounds are Indian blue peafowl and helmeted guineafowl.

    Main Entrance:
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    Family Farm is a very fine domestics area that is the closest thing to a themed exhibit complex at the zoo. It is reached from a spur path from the main loop and opened in 2004. At its entrance is the Conservation Carousel, and the boarding station for the Zoofari Express Train Ride that circles the farm as well as another part of the zoo. Crop planting beds and a scenic well and water tower area begin the complex, which then leads to an archway and the main farm area. It is a roomy cluster of wood-railing pens and bright modern metal sheds and buildings punctuated with fine bold graphics, a sort of contemporary take on the agrarian aesthetic. The largest building is a red barn with a grey silo, with pig and goat pens on one side. Surrounding it are a shed and pen for rabbits, a shed and pond for ducks, a shed and pen for chickens, a shed and petting yard for goats and sheep, a barn with open sides for two wire bird cages (blue-and-yellow macaw and yellow-headed Amazon parrot), a restroom building, a barn with open sides for 5 wire bird cages (2 for Swainson’s hawk, 1 for great horned owl, 1 for barn owl, 1 empty), a shed and yard for ponies, and a large yard with a windmill for cows and horses. Details include donor names on stacked metal milk jugs and a handwashing station in a trough. Area paving is all decomposed granite, and occasional citrus trees rise from the informal ground plane, punctuated with several tractor tires. The quality of this area is on par with many major zoos and their domestics areas.

    The main barn and handwashing station in Family Farm:
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    The first of a trio of newer Amazon-themed exhibits that are clustered together is Exploration Outpost. Although it is primarily an education room in a themed peaked-roof thatched building surrounded by some play statues of a lizard and tortoise, it does have a small area with several glass terrariums for tropical insects inside. Nearby is the obligatory decrepit Jeep on which to play, a feature usually seen in African-themed areas.

    Amazons Edge is described by the zoo as its premier exhibit. It opened in 1993 and has indeed grown into a lush and immersive mixed-species habitat for black howler monkey, black-necked swan, crested screamer, and mallard. It is viewed from rustic wood railing areas as well as a rustic viewing shelter buried within the shade of a tropical paradise. The front of the habitat is a nice water moat into which a large waterfall spills; behind it is a lushly planted land area with climbing branches and perches for the monkeys, who are the lucky monkeys of the zoo! The moat and back walls of the habitat are contained within fairly convincing exposed riverbank rockwork, softened by a wide variety of broad-leaved evergreens.

    Amazons Edge:
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    Nearby is my favorite exhibit at this zoo, Colors of the Amazon, from 1996. It is a large octagonal aviary with sheer netting supported from two high timber poles. Inside is a meandering path that passes a stream and two ponds and a timber railing bridge, punctuated by low rockwork outcrops and occasional log benches. A wide variety of gingers and palms and philodendrons and bird of paradise make it a lush habitat, worthy of inclusion in major zoos such as San Diego or Miami. Species contained within include roseate spoonbill, scarlet ibis, striated heron, sunbittern, grey-necked wood rail, white-faced whistling duck, troupial, blue-crowned motmot, and white-bellied caique. In addition, the ponds feature red-eared slider turtle.

    Colors of the Amazon:
    [​IMG]

    The newest exhibit at the zoo opened this year, Tierra de las Pampas, and is composed of two exhibits. The larger and more successful is for guanaco and greater rhea. It is a roomy open yard with scattered boulders and fenced areas of bunch grasses and plants, with a thatched shade structure in the middle. Its back perimeter is contained with low rustic fencing and a backdrop of trees that partially hide the motel and lodge beyond the zoo property. The viewing area is a long path lined with timber and cable railings; next to this are swaths of grasses that effectively hide much of the Zoofari Express tracks that run between the path and habitat. Another swath of grasses is located between the tracks and the low fenced moat at the front of the habitat. This sophisticated arrangement creates a nearly seamless visual field of grasses that blurs the line between visitor and animal areas and recreates the Pampas effectively. One of the rheas inside has mostly white plumage, a first for me. The smaller exhibit is a nice one for giant anteater, contained within low metal fencing that angles inward. It is also lined with grasses that obscure the fence. This habitat is shadier, with several large trees towering above it and a thatched small building for holding, and can be divided into several yards if needed. The terrain inside is varied and studded with boulders and grasses. Features include a small pond and a rocky low mound shelter. Both habitats have fine graphics, including life-size comparisons of the members of the ratite, camelid, and anteater families.

    The viewing area for the guanaco and greater rhea exhibit in Tierra de las Pampas:
    [​IMG]

    The older remainder of the zoo is the most concentrated in terms of the collection and exhibits, located toward the back of the property. A few of the exhibits have been renovated, but are not especially noteworthy. One is called Tropical Rainforest and is the second best monkey exhibit, for white-faced saki, but is currently empty while it is going through a minor renovation. It is a roomy timber-and-netting habitat for this species, and one side of it has a small holding building that also has a glass view into a small iguana exhibit. Meanwhile, the sakis are in one of the numerous small old wire cages that compose Monkey Row. These cages are mostly undetailed, usually with concrete floors with potted plants scattered inside but a fair amount of branches and perches rigged to the wire. Although the experience of seeing the primates is poor, the concentration of so many species in a small area is impressive, and fortunately the focus is mostly on small species for these small cages. It should be noted that this zoo is AZA accredited and participates in many SSPs for primates, apparently with a good record of breeding. The species in Monkey Row include: dusky titi monkey, Bolivian squirrel monkey, brown capuchin, crested capuchin, white-handed gibbon, white-faced saki, two enclosures for a mix of black-handed and brown-headed spider monkeys, silver langur, black-and-white ruffed lemur, black-and-white colobus monkey, cottontop tamarin, red-handed tamarin, golden lion tamarin mixed with blue-crowned motmot, golden-headed lion tamarin, emperor tamarin mixed with channel-billed toucan, and owl monkey. One of the cages also has the only feline at the zoo, margay, but the zoo plans to have a new ocelot exhibit in the future. The largest cage in this area is a former aviary in a tall oblong wire enclosure; it is filled with plants and trees and rocky outcrops and is now an African/Madagascan exhibit viewed from outside. It is only impressive compared to nearby cages, containing a motley crew of black-and-white ruffed, ring-tailed, and black lemurs as well as African crested porcupine, rock hyrax, and trumpeter hornbill! A few additional bland cages are for binturong and boa constrictor. There is also a small grotto with a wire top for an injured flightless bald eagle; incredibly, it was originally built in the 1950s as a bear exhibit! Two open yards complete the zoo and are bland fenced areas; one is for dromedary camels that give rides on weekends and the other is Australian and contains emu, swamp wallaby, and magpie goose.

    Monkey Row, with the white-handed gibbon exhibit in the foreground:
    [​IMG]

    Santa Ana Zoo is not currently impressive but has a few highlights, and seems to have a clear focus on its future as it further emphasizes Central and South American wildlife, especially primates. It would really benefit from a complete tear-down of its outdated cages, allowing larger and more naturalistic netted enclosures for its monkeys to spread out and fill the property, perhaps similar to San Diego Zoo and its Monkey Trails complex on a smaller scale. It also would benefit from a fantastic jaguar habitat. Adult general admission is $8, which is a few dollars overpriced. Of the 55 zoos I have visited, I rank it at number 54. I have added additional pictures in the gallery.
     
  2. mweb08

    mweb08 Well-Known Member

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    Nice review. Yeah, it's not much of a zoo and I guess they raised the price quite a bit since my last visit.

    Did you get a chance to visit the nearby Orange County Zoo? It's of similar quality(I'd say a little better) and focuses on North American animals. It's also cheaper.
     
  3. geomorph

    geomorph Well-Known Member 10+ year member Premium Member

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    mweb, no I have not been to the Orange County Zoo, but I visit the area frequently so maybe next time!
     
  4. Arizona Docent

    Arizona Docent Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Well, the new pampas exhibits sound like they have improved this small zoo tenfold. I can't believe it is 20 acres - my remembrance of it was more like 10 acres or less. My local Reid Park Zoo is 17 acres and it feels a lot bigger than Santa Ana Zoo. I guess that is because Santa Ana wasn't fully developed when I went and had a large grass picnic area where I assume the new guanaco and anteater exhibits are.

    Amazon's Edge had capybaras when I went years ago. That was a better use of the moat, but I am glad to hear some monkeys have been liberated from their small cage to this nicer area.

    The original master plan, which I saw years ago in the zoo office, showed jaguarundi. Someone posted a link on here recently to the latest Felid TAG report stating that some institutions expressed an interest in jaguarundi so they have tentatively left open the possibility of adding that species to TAG recommendations. That would be reason enough for me to revisit Santa Ana.
     
  5. geomorph

    geomorph Well-Known Member 10+ year member Premium Member

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    Arizona Docent, I agree that this zoo feels more like 10 acres than 20!
     
  6. siamang27

    siamang27 Well-Known Member

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    That's a great primate collection, but disappointing that the majority of it is displayed poorly.
     
  7. snowleopard

    snowleopard Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

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    Thanks for the review, as I'm currently spending hours researching California zoos and aquariums and thus some of your extensive reviews have come in handy. I still chuckle each time I read that the Santa Ana Zoo must have a minimum of 50 monkeys at all times!
     
  8. cloudedleopard

    cloudedleopard Well-Known Member

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    Santa Ana was a nice, charming little zoo; but the monkey row and parts of the farm were dumpy.
     
  9. MRJ

    MRJ Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

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    I visited Santa Ana Zoo about three weeks ago, and nothing much has changed from Geomorth's very complete review above, so I just thought I would note changes I did see and add a couple of personal comments:

    • A large Ferris wheel is currently under construction between the farmyard and Amazon's Edge. Construction means the pathway around Amazon's Edge is cut so it is not possible to walk through that way to the pampas exhibits.
    • The only exhibit under construction I noticed is a "frog pod". This is a shipping container converted to breeding frogs and with a windows so visitors can see the process and the frogs. I am quite familiar with these in Australia, but have never seen one in a US zoo before. From signage it is intended for an endangered species of local frog, but it is hard to tell if construction has stalled or not.
    • The ocelot exhibit obviously has been completed some time ago. I would call it functional in design, and it has obviously been set up to facilitate breeding.
    • The Australian animals exhibit has disappeared.
    • The former aviary (still described as such by the Zoo) that housed an African/Madagascar group now only houses ringtail lemurs.
    • There seemed to be a massive reduction in bird, both species and numbers, both from the review above and from signage. The Colours of the Amazon aviary, for instance, only contained 3 sun conures, 2 scarlet ibis and 1 sunbittern. I wondered if birds had been taken off exhibit over winter?
    • I can only endorse comments on "monkey row". An enclosure that is quite adequate for a colony of tamarins is cruelly small for a gibbon. I can't see how they maintain their accreditation with some of these exhibits.
    • There seemed to be a strong emphasis on conservation, which was very pleasing to see.
    There was a lot of "waste space" through the zoo and I think a well thought out master plan emphasizing the South American focus could produce a little gem.
     
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