It seems like management there is kind of crooked, I'm getting the impression that its not the zookeepers or the janitors or what have you that are causing problems with the zoo, but the bean counters and such.
SF Zoo Blogger (Kimberly Forwood as seen in news article) posted in her blog about the new chimpanzee exhibit to be built. I'm guessing the zoo will move the female chimps once the male (Cobby) passes, since AZA is probably not allowing more chimpanzees to be sent to SF. Chimpanzee Blog Save San Francisco Zoo Chimps Concept Plans http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MG-5pKdURd0/VTfM6dsszLI/AAAAAAAAIu8/MIDatYVBttc/s1600/IMG_9032.JPG http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wk_YTjEKNTw/VTfMcl6CVDI/AAAAAAAAIu0/K0FiFPqUauU/s1600/IMG_9584.adj.jpg
Pike the polar bear was euthanized . This leaves San Francisco with only one polar bear: Uulu, the oldest in the country. S.F. Zoo favorite, Piké the polar bear, dies at age 32 - SFGate
It'll be interesting to see what new species the zoo brings in. I'd like to see sloth or asiatic black bears. Though I think more likely they'll get spectacled again or rescued black bears since that part of the zoo is being developed as the Americas biogeographical area. Maned wolves are another possibility according to staff.
Link to $750,000 Sculpture Learning Plaza at the SF Zoo. Reach out and touch an S.F. Zoo animal ... sculpture - San Francisco Chronicle
Do you have any idea what species will be in it? From the concept drawings it looks like they have free-flying parrots planned. Update: It occurred to me to look up the SF Zoo website and this is what it says about the rain forest exhibit as of June 2015:
Some links about the new "Sculpture Learning Plaza" Although I would rather have the zoo spend money on new exhibits for the animals (i.e. cats, primates, bears), I believe that the money was already appropriated beforehand. The models are amazingly realistic and I like how the models are of animals that the zoo will most likely be unable to obtain, showing the diversity of more uncommon animals. sculpturelearningplaza SF ZOO Animal Learning Plaza
I got to peek inside from over the construction fence, of it I could see it looks very immersive and uses the space much better than before. The sloth will be able to climb over the crowd on a network of branches. For now, the sloth will probably be the only mammal species in the building. South American primate species will not be featured, though there seems to be a push by the board to bring in more members of the Xenartha order to the zoo, so tarmanduas are a real possibility.
There are images of the building interior on the zoo website. The terrarium area is not very immersive with the metal bracing present (slight resemblance of California Academy of Sciences), but the overall building looks nicely planted and lush. tropicalforest
(from the Zoo docent website) Here is the list of animals in the renovated Koret-Taube South American Tropical Rainforest and Aviary, opening July 11. The gems of the building are probably the Honduran spiny-tailed iguanas. http://www.sfzoodocents.org/notebook/FactSheets/TropicalBldgAnimals.pdf Also, for those who are interested, this link has the list of the all the animals at the Zoo. Index of /notebook/FactSheets
Anyone else find it ironic that the San Francisco garter snake is no longer included in the list of animals at the San Francisco Zoo?
I never knew that but yes, it is ironic. Don't these bean counters realize how elusive native wildlife can be?
There are no fish species at the Zoo. Originally, piranhas (and stingrays?) were planned for the building, but I guess filtration for aquariums would add expenses to the already $6 million cost.
Several years ago they had stingrays and arapaima swimming around in the pond in the tropic house, but that was at least one or two remodels ago.
The Snake that has been missing has been found...in its enclosure. They believe she may have never left it. S.F. Zoo?s missing snake mystery solved - SFGate
I was at the zoo this past Friday and noticed the main grizzly exhibit was blocked off. I peeked over the rope and saw that one panel of glass was shattered, though intact.
