There are many ZooChatters such as myself, that have an immense sense of nostalgia towards the place that will always be known to us as "The San Diego Wild Animal Park". I figured I would start a thread that is not about the future but dedicated to the past instead. On that note, I figured I would get the ball rolling with this video clip of the Wild Animal Park as it was in 1974. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=A5lCD7XpV6M What I found particularly interesting was the large grassy paddock filled with Bruijn's Padelemons and Emus that was visible from the monorail? Any old timers have memory of this?
Thank you for the link to that video, it was filmed at about the time of my first visit there although I have no memory of it; my parents and grandparent remembered that first visit as being very hot with little available shade anywhere in Nairobi Village. I started going regularly with them in 1979, we probably went every year for a decade after that as more attractions were added to Nairobi Village and the Kilimanjaro Trail (and parts of it became shadier)! I do not remember the exhibit for pademelon and emu on the monorail route, but it appears similar to the last two exhibits on the tour that contained gerenuk and okapi for many years (separately), encountered just after the bonobo exhibit (that held mandrill for many years).
Wild World of Animals - 1972 I just bought the first edition of the San Diego Wild Animal Park's 'Wild World of Animals', the glossy softcover guidebook from the first year of the park's public opening. I had the 1979 edition for years but it disappeared some years ago. I had read it so many times when I was young that this similar edition is a delight to learn about the earlier appearance and differences in those 7 years, although the text is nearly identical. One major difference was how limited the initial offerings were in Nairobi Village. All three show amphitheaters did not exist, although the one near the administration building was listed as 'future amphitheater'. In fact, there was no Kilimanjaro Trail and thus no access to the areas that would eventually have the bird show and the elephant show. Therefore there was no pedestrian access to the two elephant exhibits, the lion exhibit, or the East Africa exhibit (sound familiar, Disney's Animal Kingdom?) It appears that visitors were confined to the upper hillside and could not descend down to where many features would eventually be built. So what was there in Nairobi Village initially? The guide map in this book appears to show a complete listing. I'll describe it from the park entrance and go clockwise around Mombasa Lagoon. The Entry Rondavel was nearly the same as it is today, and the entry path immediately entered the Aviary (it was not designated specifically as an African aviary on the map). The map does not show an alternate route to going through the aviary; I seem to remember one on the side for those that did not want to go through it? The current aviary called Wings of the World is a rebuilt one to the side of the same location as this original one, providing the main pedestrian route with a bird-free experience. There were no Safari Outfitters or Nairobi Plant Trader shops. After exiting the aviary, there was a small pond for lesser flamingo, and a larger one for pelican (unidentified species), in the same locations as the present, at the headwaters of the Congo River Fishing Camp. Also a small stage next to the walkway for 'informal shows' now called Animal Ambassador Stage. To the North of these was a toucan exhibit (unidentified species) in a connected series of tall hexagonal wire cages; I seem to remember this exhibit housing spot-nosed guenons in the 1980's. Also here were the restrooms, Administration Building, and Simba Station for boarding the Wgasa Bush Line - all still there but of course the monorail does not exist anymore and the Administration is now called Ranger Base. There was no Carousel or Hunte Pavilion. The connected Thorntree Terrace (restaurant) and Bazaar (main shop) were just as they are today, but the small island exhibit for primates was for spider monkey (it looks like it is for cotton-top tamarin now?) The location of the current meerkat exhibit was occupied by one for Galapagos tortoise. Incredibly, the small exhibit space on the edge of Mombasa Lagoon that has held babirusa and others was originally an exhibit for black rhinoceros! No aviary for bee-eaters or hornbills was there. Where today it appears there are small open exhibits for red river hog and wallaby, there was one larger exhibit for 'hooved animals' although no species were identified; I specifically remember that area divided into two exhibits in the 1980's with slender-horned gazelle and Kirk's dik-dik. The ring-tailed lemur exhibit on the small island in the lagoon was original and lasted for years; the current map does not show anything on the island, has it been abandoned? The Animal Care Center and Kraal were also there, much as they are today (now designated as Nairobi Station, Nairobi Nursery, and Petting Kraal). The current location of the Rodrigues fruit bat exhibit and Jungle Ropes Safari was originally a picnic area, observation point (apparently as close as a pedestrian could get to the field exhibits), and the unloading dock for the Wgasa Bush Line. A planted area next to Mombasa Cooker was the Elephant Wash, where Asian elephants would be walked up the hill from their exhibit and bathed in a pool with a sloping floor, at the time when there was no elephant show for the public to get closer to the elephants. Next to this was a greater flamingo exhibit on the edge of the lagoon, but no island for shoebill as exists today. Mombasa Cooker and the Clock Tower were original features, but not the Mombasa Pavilion next to them (there were play structures there). An exhibit that was gone by the 1980's was near the Clock Tower: one for desert lizards, although none were identified on the map. There was also a tall round structure composed of upright poles that could be entered and it was a green iguana exhibit. I seem to remember this as having been incorporated as the entrance to the Tropical America Aviary by 1980 (it was a large walk-through experience with birds as well as squirrel monkeys and brocket deer and iguanas and turtles), if it is still there it is part of either Lorikeet Landing or Hidden Jungle. They were not there, nor were the small hornbill aviaries, the aviary with the ramp spiraling around it, or the other features down the hill: the elevator, the Benbough Amphitheater for the bird show, the large gibbon exhibit (wich was occupied for many years by Hanuman langur), or the Samburu Terrace restaurant and Jungle Gym. Next to the Green Iguana Exhibit was an elephant ride. The gorilla exhibit was essentially the same as it is today, removed from the rest of the village by being located along a path that went under the track of the monorail. After the gorilla exhibit, the path dead-ended at a Komodo dragon exhibit which must have been removed for continuing the path to the bird show and Kilimanjaro Trail once those were constructed in the early years. So what exhibits were seen from the 55-minute tour on the Wgasa Bush Line Monorail initially? This book has a separate map that shows them; there were fewer exhibits, but the main 5 as well as 3 smaller ones seen first were in place from opening day. The first seen was the Asian elephant exhibit (now part of the enlarged African elephant exhibit) on the right of the monorail route and African elephant on the left. Then the lion exhibit on the left was seen (there was no tiger exhibit on the right of the monorail opposite the lions, instead there was the first view of the Eastern Africa Exhibit). 4 of the 5 main exhibits were seen on the right of the monorail, while only the smallest one (North Africa) was on the left. The order of encountering them - some multiple times from different sides - was: Eastern Africa, Asian Plains, Eastern Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, Asian Swamps (later renamed Asian Waterhole), Southern Africa, and Eastern Africa. The gorilla exhibit in Nairobi Village was also seen from the monorail at the end of the tour (again, on the right side!). According to this map, later exhibits built on the left side (rising up the hills from the track) did not exist initially, including exhibits for Grevy's zebra, kiang, onager, Somali wild ass, Arabian oryx, the Mountain Habitat (for multiple goat and sheep species), Przewalski's wild horse, mandrill (later bonobo), gerenuk, and okapi. Unfortunately, the text of the book did not describe what species were held in which enclosures; instead, it had two generalized sections about the wildlife of Africa and Asia, but these sections were illustrated with pictures of animals in the exhibits. Therefore I will list all the animals pictured in these sections, with the assumption that it will give a good picture of what was held there at the time. Africa is illustrated with pictures of: African elephant (known to be in their own exhibit) African lion (known to be in their own exhibit) Cheetah (they must have been off-exhibit but present somewhere on site) And the following were exhibited in one of the 3 major exhibits for Africa, either North Africa or Eastern Africa or Southern Africa: White rhinoceros Black rhinoceros Giraffe Cape buffalo (picture looks like forest buffalo) Sable Antelope Southern Eland Impala Uganda kob Greater kudu Roosevelt's gazelle Slender-horned gazelle Springbok Fringe-eared oryx Gemsbok Ellipsen waterbuck Topi Cape hartebeest White-bearded gnu White-tailed gnu Sitatunga Lowland nyala Red lechwe Grant's zebra Grevy's zebra Hartmann's mountain zebra Ostrich Secretary bird Marabou stork Demoiselle crane Asia is illustrated with pictures of: (these must have been exhibited in either Asian Plains or Asian Swamps): Water Buffalo Gaur Nilgai Saiga Blackbuck Pere David's deer Axis deer Sambar deer Formosan sika deer Hog deer Himilayan tahr Adjutant stork Sarus crane Hooded crane
I actually had the pleasure of visiting in summer 1972 - just a couple months after the park opened. The first photo below is me on the asian elephant ride (I am the boy riding in front). Notice how barren the landscape is! I was 7 years old at the time, so those of you who are good at math will be able to extrapolate and figure out I am now 29. The second photo is the much beloved, much missed monorail. Not sure when I took that photo, but it is a picture of it passing over the bridge between the lion and tiger exhibits (old lion exhibit, now empty, and current but soon to be replaced tiger exhibit). The huge lion exhibit is fantastic, the addition of Condor Ridge added a new vantage point into it, and it kills me that they are not using it. I love Lion Camp, but I do not see why they cannot keep lions both here and the newer exhibit (as they did when Lion Camp first opened). The third photo is more recent, but it shows one of the original structures that has been there since the 1972 opening. The walkway over the waterfall in Nairobi Village, that is a recreation of an African fishing village. Sadly they no longer do summer nights here (only at the zoo now) so this lit up scene can no longer be seen. I have one of their older official guidebooks, published in 1991, and it has some great photos, including the pygmy hippo that used to be in the large lake in the East Africa field exhibit. I distinctly remember that, but I do not remember the emu and wallaby exhibit refered to in the video. Here is a link to used copies on Amazon, but their description says publication date 1985 however that is the exact same cover of the one I am holding now which clearly says 1991: [ame=http://www.amazon.com/The-Diego-wild-animal-park/dp/0917859081/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1362365575&sr=8-16&keywords=san+diego+wild+animal+park]The San Diego wild animal park: Bill Bruns: 9780917859083: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
Here is another book that deals with both the zoo and wild animal park (mostly the zoo as I recall): [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Life-Zoo-Behind-Scenes-Doctors/dp/0231132492/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1362366703&sr=1-2&keywords=zoo+veterinarian]Life at the Zoo: Behind the Scenes with the Animal Doctors: Phillip T. Robinson: 9780231132497: Amazon.com: Books[/ame] It is written by one of their former veterinarians. Regarding the history of the wild animal park, there is a very amusing first person account of how they came up with the name for the monorail: WGASA Bush Line Railway.
geomorph, do you know when the original mandrill exhibit became the bonobo exhibit? I remember that it was a bonobo exhibit when I first visited the WAP in 1991.
Does anyone have any information regarding details of the elephant calves that were moved to China after being born at the park in the 80's? Such as why the move took place, and if the Canton zoological garden's reciprocated?
David, it must have been right around 1991 because I have a guidebook with a 1991 copyright date and it still shows mandrills.
@Ituri, Geomorph and Arizona Docent: Thank you very much guys for sharing your memories and infos about the good old SDWAP here. That brings up my own memories to this (once?) wonderful and unique park. I was visiting it for the first time at the begining of the 1990s. The warm climate, the plants, the atmosphere, the large herds of hoofed animals running down the hill, the comfortable ride with the Wgasa Bush Monorail - it was all breath taking. And all my European friends that had also visited the park, have had the same experience and were excited too. So no wonder I came back the following years whenever possible. And I allways became surprised positively by new exhibits like Condor Ridge or Heart of Africa. But know - exactly after the "death" of my beloved Wgasa - I have the impression that the park is slowly running down. I deeply hope that the planned new Tiger habitat will be a big step (into the right direction) again. However, although it has a new name, it will allways be the San Diego Wild Animal Park for me - one of the best (if not the best) zoological institution on the planet. 29? - How many times
Does anyone remember what animals were in the Australian Rainforest section of the zoos? Its kind of a shame that was torn down for a non-animal attraction and an (although nice) outlook with stairs and an elevator that they wouldn't have had to build if they had kept the monorail route and just gotten new parts. Anyone know where I can find pictures of the Australian Rainforest too? I'd like to keep some with me for remembering it and I have nothing but a few small photos in my memory. Also, anyone think that its interesting that the WAP was supposed to be the zoo of the future with expansive field exhibits and a simple concept of a few walking trails and one large tour through the field exhibits, and they've done the complete opposite by making the tour smaller by making the field exhibits smaller?
Also, I remember in the early 90s there was a walkthrough exhibit with Kangaroos, and possibly Emus. Anyone have photo evidence too?
The main animal exhibit in the rainforest at the WAP was a cassowary enclosure. I think there was a hornbill aviary also (don't remember what species). It was primarily plants, and made for peaceful and very enjoyable walk on a hot day. I don't have any pictures of that area unfortunately, but hopefully others do. The problem with being the "zoo of the future" is that eventually the future actually occurs and becomes the past. The whole monorail tour model seems not to really have caught on with the public, although I loved it and miss it. I think people were frustrated that sometimes they never saw the animals and were far away from them. At the Bronx Zoo the model has resulted in marquee species like the elephants and Indian rhinos being inaccessible to visitors for much of the year and only visible for minutes or seconds.
I know people who don't go to the Park anymore because the monorail is gone. It was immensely popular and their main attraction.
There is discussion of species that were found in the old Australian Rainforest exhibit here: http://www.zoochat.com/22/australian-rainforest-189037/ To summarize there was essentially one open air pen and two aviaries. The open air pen had been home at different times to Swamp Wallabies, Eastern Gray Kangaroo, Emu, and Bennett's Cassowary. The aviaries held different things over the years, but at its closing both held hornbill species (Javan Rhinoceros and Sulawesi Red-knobbed). The temporary walk-through kangaroo exhibit held just about every species available, Bennett's Wallaby, Wallaroo, Red Kangaroo, both species of Gray Kangaroo. I think this exhibit lasted just one year as I never saw it. I think it was approximately 1995. There was a Zoonooz issue that covered it, unfortunately that is one of the holes in my collection.
Also it seems the design of having large mixed species exhibits worked better for aesthetic effect then it did for actual breeding. You will find that the current line of thinking is to have large single-species enclosures such as are found at the Audubon facility and White Oak.
I have never heard that before. Ituri, you are a true fount of knowledge. And if they are not going to have the much missed monorail, they need to figure out some way to let people see the asian field exhibit (without paying an arm and a leg for a special VIP tour).
Thanks, but don't take it as gospel. It's almost speculation on my part just observing how things are usually set up these days where breeding is the priority. It makes sense if you think about it, you take out the concern of inter-species aggression.
In particular, in the case of black rhinos and zebras (all species), now segregated from the large mixed ranges. The monorail was taken out of operation not just because of mechanical issues, but also the problem of no restrooms and no emergency access for many portions along the 45+ minute circuit, which of course to many of us was part of the charm, now lost in a sea of commercial ventures and relentless upsell.... Others have noted the trajectory of the San Diego legacy as well: Zoo Futures | Conservation Magazine
Here is a nice Flickr stream the zoo posted on the history of the park: History of the Safari Park - a set on Flickr
