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California: Zoo List

Discussion in 'United States' started by snowleopard, 22 Sep 2014.

  1. snowleopard

    snowleopard Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

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    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.
     
    Last edited: 23 Sep 2014
  2. geomorph

    geomorph Well-Known Member 10+ year member Premium Member

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    Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito.
     
  3. dinosaur50

    dinosaur50 Well-Known Member

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    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
     
  4. cloudedleopard

    cloudedleopard Well-Known Member

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    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.
     
  5. Arizona Docent

    Arizona Docent Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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  6. snowleopard

    snowleopard Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

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    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...
     
  7. jbnbsn99

    jbnbsn99 Well-Known Member

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    Do the Museum. It comes with a dual ticket to the LaBrea Tar Pits.
     
  8. Arizona Docent

    Arizona Docent Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    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
     
  9. snowleopard

    snowleopard Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

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    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/
     
  10. Buldeo

    Buldeo Well-Known Member

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    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.
     
  11. snowleopard

    snowleopard Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

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    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.
     
  12. Buldeo

    Buldeo Well-Known Member

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    Are you counting Discovery Kingdom in that tally? If I remember correctly, it was granted a five-year accreditation in 2011.
     
  13. snowleopard

    snowleopard Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

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    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.
     
  14. Buldeo

    Buldeo Well-Known Member

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    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.
     
  15. snowleopard

    snowleopard Well-Known Member 15+ year member Premium Member

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    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.
     
  16. JBZvolunteer

    JBZvolunteer Well-Known Member

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    You also need to add America's Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College.
     
  17. Blackduiker

    Blackduiker Well-Known Member

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    I've visited only 16 out of the above list of 70.
     
  18. Jonas Livet

    Jonas Livet Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    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)
     
  19. Arizona Docent

    Arizona Docent Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    @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?
     
  20. DavidBrown

    DavidBrown Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    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.