The list below does not include several private facilities that aren’t open to the public, but how many other zoos am I missing? There are several nature centers with very small animal collections but are they worth visiting? Are there some natural history museums with significant animal collections that could qualify as a "zoo"? I already posted a comprehensive list of Texas zoos and ended up with around 50 but California has approximately 60 zoos. 60 California Zoos: Applegate Park Zoo (Merced) Aquarium of the Bay (San Francisco)* Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach)* Big Bear Alpine Zoo (Big Bear Lake) Birch Aquarium (San Diego)* Bolsa Chica Interpretative Center (Huntington Beach) Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (San Pedro)* California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco)* California Raptor Center (Davis) California Science Center (Los Angeles)* California Living Museum (Bakersfield) Charles Paddock Zoo (Atascadero)* CuriOdyssey (San Mateo)* Doheny State Beach Interpretative Center & Aquarium (Dana Point) Emerald Forest Bird Gardens (Fallbrook) Feline Conservation Center (Rosamond) Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary (Folsom) Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary (Phelan) Fresno Chaffee Zoo (Fresno)* Gibbon Conservation Center (Santa Clarita) Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (San Jose)* Lindsay Wildlife Museum (Walnut Creek) Lions Tigers & Bears: A Big Cat & Exotic Animal Rescue (Alpine) Living Desert Zoo (Palm Desert)* Los Angeles Zoo (Los Angeles)* Marine Mammal Care Center (San Pedro) Marine Mammal Center (Sausalito) Micke Grove Zoo (Lodi) Monterey Bay Aquarium (Monterey)* Monterey Zoo (Salinas) Morro Bay Aquarium (Morro Bay) Oakland Zoo (Oakland)* Ocean Institute (Dana Point) Ocean World (Crescent City) Orange County Zoo (Orange) Pacific Marine Mammal Center (Laguna Beach) Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo (Palo Alto) Project Survival’s Cat Haven (Dunlap) Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab & Aquarium (Manhattan Beach) Sacramento Zoo (Sacramento)* Safari West Wildlife Preserve (Sonoma County)* San Diego Zoo (San Diego)* San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Escondido)* San Francisco Zoo (San Francisco)* Santa Ana Zoo (Santa Ana)* Santa Barbara Zoo (Santa Barbara)* Santa Monica Pier Aquarium (Santa Monica) Sea Life Carlsbad (Carlsbad) SeaWorld San Diego (San Diego)* Sequoia Park Zoo (Eureka)* Serpentarium (Lodi) Seymour Marine Discovery Center (Santa Cruz) Shambala Preserve (Acton) Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo) Star Eco Station: Exotic Wildlife Rescue Facility (Culver City) Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary (Orange County) Turtle Bay Exploration Park (Redding) Ty Warner Sea Center (Santa Barbara) Wildlife Learning Center (Sylmar) Wolf Mountain Sanctuary (Lucerne Valley) * 23 zoos in California are AZA-accredited.
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County has significant animal collections they got live Insect and some others to but they have a huge significant animal collections it the biggest and best Natural History Museum in western United States worth a visit for sure around 35 million specimens in all that in the collections
Don't forget the Fountain Valley Reptile Zoo, snowleopard. I have visited 6 zoos in California, the same amount of zoos I have visited in Ohio. The zoos I have visited- 1. Living Desert Zoo and Gardens. I rank this #2, even above San Diego (#3) but below Columbus. 2. San Diego Zoo. #3. 3. Sea World San Diego #12. This was spectacular, but it was too gimmicky to get any higher. If it wasn't for the gimmicks this would be #5. 4. Orange County Zoo. #18. I recommend this small, but nice zoo. 5. Santa Ana Zoo. #19. Yuck. This was overpriced and terrible. 6. Reptile Zoo. #23. Double yuck. Never again. The ones worth it are Living Desert, San Diego, Sea World, OC, and maybe Santa Ana.
Thanks for the suggestions and I'm undecided about the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Some zoo nerds would count it for sure and I can name several that have, but I'm sitting on the fence for now. I will point out that on my master list I now have exactly 62 zoos listed for both California and Florida, although California has 23 that are AZA-accredited while Florida only has 16 accredited institutions. There must be a few really small places that are still out there...
Well I guess this place is not open to the public, so it will not count. Too bad, because it is fascinating for anyone who likes turtles. Behler Chelonian Center (operated by Turtle Conservancy) Behler Chelonian Center
I've heard of that establishment, as the Frenchman Jonas Livet visited it in the past couple of years. He is an individual who is not yet 29 years old and he's already visited over 1,000 zoos! Here is his website: http://www.leszoosdanslemonde.com/
It's pretty comprehensive list, snowleopard, but I thought I would chime in with the Exotic Bird Sanctuary in Del Mar. It's pretty small, but they have a cool little collection. Exotic Bird Sanctuary There's a raptor center somewhere near the WAP, but I'm drawing a blank on the name. It was fun, but it's been years since I was last there.
Updated list: My "Master List" of USA zoos is now at approximately 670. 68 California Zoos: Applegate Park Zoo (Merced) Aquarium of the Bay (San Francisco)* Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach)* B. Bryan Preserve (Point Arena) Big Bear Alpine Zoo (Big Bear Lake) Birch Aquarium (San Diego)* Bolsa Chica Interpretative Center (Huntington Beach) Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (San Pedro)* California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco)* California Raptor Center (Davis) California Science Center (Los Angeles)* California Living Museum (Bakersfield) California Wolf Center (Julian) Charles Paddock Zoo (Atascadero)* CuriOdyssey (San Mateo)* Doheny State Beach Interpretative Center & Aquarium (Dana Point) Emerald Forest Bird Gardens (Fallbrook) Exotic Bird Sanctuary (Del Mar) Feline Conservation Center (Rosamond) Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary (Folsom) Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary (Phelan) Fresno Chaffee Zoo (Fresno)* Gibbon Conservation Center (Santa Clarita) Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (San Jose)* Hesperia Zoo (Hesperia) Lindsay Wildlife Museum (Walnut Creek) Lions Tigers & Bears: A Big Cat & Exotic Animal Rescue (Alpine) Living Coast Discovery Center (Chula Vista) Living Desert Zoo (Palm Desert)* Los Angeles Zoo (Los Angeles)* Marine Mammal Care Center (San Pedro) Marine Mammal Center (Sausalito) Micke Grove Zoo (Lodi) Monterey Bay Aquarium (Monterey)* Monterey Zoo (Salinas) Morro Bay Aquarium (Morro Bay) Natural History Museum: Butterfly Pavilion (Los Angeles) Oakland Zoo (Oakland)* Ocean Institute (Dana Point) Ocean World (Crescent City) Orange County Zoo (Orange) Pacific Marine Mammal Center (Laguna Beach) Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo (Palo Alto) Project Survival’s Cat Haven (Dunlap) Reptile Zoo (Fountain Valley) Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab & Aquarium (Manhattan Beach) Sacramento Zoo (Sacramento)* Safari West Wildlife Preserve (Sonoma County)* San Diego Zoo (San Diego)* San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Escondido)* San Francisco Zoo (San Francisco)* Santa Ana Zoo (Santa Ana)* Santa Barbara Zoo (Santa Barbara)* Santa Monica Pier Aquarium (Santa Monica) Sea Life Carlsbad (Carlsbad) SeaWorld San Diego (San Diego)* Sequoia Park Zoo (Eureka)* Serpentarium (Lodi) Seymour Marine Discovery Center (Santa Cruz) Shambala Preserve (Acton) Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo) Star Eco Station: Exotic Wildlife Rescue Facility (Culver City) Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary (Orange County) Turtle Bay Exploration Park (Redding) Ty Warner Sea Center (Santa Barbara) Wildhaven Ranch (Lake Arrowhead) Wildlife Learning Center (Sylmar) Wolf Mountain Sanctuary (Lucerne Valley) * 23 zoos in California are AZA-accredited.
Are you counting Discovery Kingdom in that tally? If I remember correctly, it was granted a five-year accreditation in 2011.
I am not counting Six Flags Discovery Kingdom as they are not accredited. The facility was AZA-accredited in 2011 for another 5 years but subsequently lost that accreditation and all of the recent updates on the official AZA site do not include the establishment. The whole fiasco is linked to improper treatment of elephants, whether by training methods or the rides given to the public.
Interesting. I wasn't aware that they had lost their accreditation. In fact, I remember them advertising the fact that were one of two AZA accredited facilities where you could ride elephants.
One day I'm going to have to take another road trip through California and tour all 70 of these places. Updated list of 70 California Zoos: Applegate Park Zoo (Merced) Aquarium of the Bay (San Francisco)* Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach)* Aquatica (San Diego) B. Bryan Preserve (Point Arena) Big Bear Alpine Zoo (Big Bear Lake) Birch Aquarium (San Diego)* Bolsa Chica Interpretative Center (Huntington Beach) Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (San Pedro)* California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco)*- Steinhart Aquarium California Raptor Center (Davis) California Science Center (Los Angeles)* California Living Museum (Bakersfield) California Wolf Center (Julian) Central Coast Aquarium (Avila Beach) Charles Paddock Zoo (Atascadero)* CuriOdyssey (San Mateo)* Doheny State Beach Interpret. Center & Aquarium (Dana Point) Emerald Forest Bird Gardens (Fallbrook) Exotic Bird Sanctuary (Del Mar) Feline Conservation Center (Rosamond) Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary (Folsom) Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary (Phelan) Fresno Chaffee Zoo (Fresno)* Gibbon Conservation Center (Santa Clarita) Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (San Jose)* Hesperia Zoo (Hesperia) Lindsay Wildlife Museum (Walnut Creek) Lions Tigers & Bears: A Big Cat & Exotic Animal Rescue (Alpine) Living Coast Discovery Center (Chula Vista) Living Desert Zoo (Palm Desert)* Los Angeles Zoo (Los Angeles)* Marine Mammal Care Center (San Pedro) Marine Mammal Center (Sausalito) Micke Grove Zoo (Lodi) Monterey Bay Aquarium (Monterey)* Monterey Zoo (Salinas) Morro Bay Aquarium (Morro Bay) Natural History Museum: Butterfly Pavilion (Los Angeles) Oakland Zoo (Oakland)* Ocean Institute (Dana Point) – Ocean Education Center Ocean World (Crescent City) Orange County Zoo (Orange) Pacific Marine Mammal Center (Laguna Beach) Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo (Palo Alto) Project Survival’s Cat Haven (Dunlap) Reptile Zoo (Fountain Valley) Roundhouse Marine Studies Lab & Aquarium (Manhattan Beach) Sacramento Zoo (Sacramento)* Safari West Wildlife Preserve (Sonoma County)* San Diego Zoo (San Diego)* San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Escondido)* San Francisco Zoo (San Francisco)* Santa Ana Zoo (Santa Ana)* Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center (Santa Barbara) Santa Barbara Zoo (Santa Barbara)* Santa Monica Pier Aquarium (Santa Monica) Sea Life Carlsbad (Carlsbad) SeaWorld San Diego (San Diego)* Sequoia Park Zoo (Eureka)* Serpentarium (Lodi) Seymour Marine Discovery Center (Santa Cruz) Shambala Preserve (Acton) Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo) Star Eco Station: Exotic Wildlife Rescue Facility (Culver City) Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary (Orange County) Turtle Bay Exploration Park (Redding) Wildhaven Ranch (Lake Arrowhead) Wildlife Learning Center (Sylmar) Wolf Mountain Sanctuary (Lucerne Valley) * 23 zoos in California are AZA-accredited.
Thanks Snowleopard for this very interesting thread! Here is my own list for California with 87 zoological institutions. I may have included some private collections which would not fit in the definition of a zoo most of you may have. ;-) Acton - Shambala Preserve Alpine - Lions Tigers & Bears Big Cat and Exotic Animal Rescue Atascadero - Charles Paddock Zoo Bakersfield - Cailfornia Living Museum (CALM) Berkeley - Field Station for the Study of Behavior, Ecology and Reproduction (FSSBER) (P) (1985-2014?) Bonsall - Wild Wonders Big Bear Lake - Big Bear Alpine Zoo Carlsbad - Sea Life Carlsbad Cedar Glen - Wildhaven Ranch Chula Vista - Living Coast Discovery Center Cobb Mountain - The Mountain Of Attention Sanctuary/Fear-No-More Zoo Crescent City - Ocean World Culver City - Star Eco Station Dana Point - Doheny State Beach Aquariums & Visitor Center (1988-2007 & 2014-) Dana Point - Ocean Institute Davis - California Raptor Center (P?) Davis - California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC) (P) Del Mar - Exotic Bird Sanctuary Dunlap - Project Survival's Cat Haven Elk Grove - The Serpentarium Escondido - San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park Eureka - Sequoia Park Zoo Fallbrook - Emerald Forest Bird Gardens (P) Folsom - Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary Fountain Valley - The Reptile Zoo Fresno - Fresno Chaffee Zoo Hesperia - Hesperia Zoo Huntington Beach - Bolsa Chica Conservancy Interpretive Center Julian - California Wolf Center La Jolla - Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography Laguna Beach - Pacific Marine Mammal Center Lodi - Micke Grove Zoo Lodi - The Serpentarium Long Beach - Aquarium of the Pacific Los Angeles - Los Angeles Zoo Los Angeles - California Science Center Los Angeles - Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Los Angeles - Playboy Mansion Zoo (P) Los Olivos - Neverland Valley Ranch (P) Lucerne Valley - Wolf Mountain Sanctuary Manhattan Beach - Roundhouse Lab and Aquarium Merced - Applegate Park Zoo Modjeska Canyon - Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary Monterey - Monterey Bay Aquarium Moorpark - America's Teaching Zoo Morro Bay - Morro Bay Aquarium Newhall - William S. Hart Ranch and Museum Oakland - Oakland Zoo Ojai - Behler Chelonian Center (P) Orange - Orange County Zoo Palm Desert - The Living Desert Palo Alto - Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo Perris - Have Trunk Will Travel Phelan - Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary Point Arena - B. Bryan Preserve Redding - Turtle Bay Exploration Park Rosamond - EFBC's Feline Conservation Center Sacramento - Sacramento Zoo Salinas - Wild Things/Monterey Zoo/Vision Quest Ranch San Diego - San Diego Zoo San Diego - SeaWorld San Diego San Diego - San Diego Natural History Museum San Diego - United States Navy Marine Mammal Program (P) San Francisco - San Francisco Zoological Gardens San Francisco - Aquarium of The Bay San Francisco - California Academy of Sciences/Steinhart Aquarium San Jose - Happy Hollow Zoo San Mateo - Coyote Point Museum/CuriOdyssey San Pedro - Cabrillo Marine Aquarium San Pedro - Marine Mammal Care Center San Simeon - Hearst Castle Santa Ana - Santa Ana Zoo Santa Barbara - Santa Barbara Zoo Santa Barbara - Ty Warner Sea Center Santa Barbara - Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Santa Clarita - Gibbon Conservation Center (GCC) Santa Cruz - Seymour Marine Discovery Center Santa Monica - Santa Monica Pier Aquarium Santa Rosa - Safari West Wildlife Preserve Sausalito - Marine Mammal Center Shafter - Insect Lore Bugseum Sunland - Shadow Hills Zoological Park (P) Sylmar - Wildlife Waystation Sylmar - Wildlife Learning Center Vallejo - Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Walnut Creek - Lindsay Wildlife Museum Woodside - The Gorilla Foundation (P)
@JonasLivet - I am intrigued by the place in Sunland - Shadow Hills Zoological Park. I grew up right next to Sunland in La Crescenta, assuming that is the same Sunland. (I could see a popular name like that being used in more than one place in California). Can you tell me what it is about?
Thanks for the list, Jonas. The zoo at Hearst Castle closed in the 1930s when Hearst gave away his animals. You can still see some of the old bear and big cat grottoes on the tour and there are still some zebras running around, but that's it. Michael Jackson's zoo at Neverland was disbanded before he died in 2009. The California Raptor Center is a public facility for rehabilitating injured raptors. It is open for public tours and has several non-releasable birds.