Quite a variety... This is from memories of a (thankfully) brief visit about two years ago. Land animal-wise, they have a small assortment of big cats, notably Bengal tigers, a pair of lions, and (if she's still around) a serval. They also have three giraffes. Bird-wise, they have several raptors. I have no idea what their current population along those lines is, but I recall they have at least one peregrine falcon and one Harris hawk. They also have (or had) a bunch of lorikeets, several macaws, and an African Gray parrot. Marine mammals: Dolphins, one orca, several sea lions, a walrus, and a couple of otters. Fair warning: I was a 'regular' visitor to that park BEFORE Six Flags (I think of them as "Sick Flags") did their "borg" number on them a few years back. I was also a 'regular' at the park's old location in Belmont (California) for over a decade before that, back when they were still Marine World/Africa USA. I am NOT impressed with the way Six Flags has handled the place, nor with the changes they've made. They went from being a terrific no-frills wildlife park to a Sea World wannabe in just a year or two. This is a lengthy way of telling you that I'm not a good source for an 'unbiased' opinion of the place. My memories from my last visit are still far too unpleasant. Happy travels.
I was at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom this past Saturday (April 4th). I wasn't there too long, but that was primarily because I was fitting in visits to two other zoological parks on the same day. While the exhibits here are not up to the quality of a Sea World or Busch Gardens, they are NOT "terrible". Another point: the purists out there shudder at the thought of mixing animal exhibits alongside noisy roller coasters, I didn't see any coasters that were very close to the animal exhibits. All are at least a couple hundred yards away. Do the animals hear the coasters and screaming kids? Sure, just as they hear highway noises and children in other major zoos. (I noted, on this same trip, that the San Diego Zoo's acclaimed African Kopje exhibit is actually within a few hundred yards of a public soccer yard -- on the other side of the fence.) To answer the initial question, here's the animals I saw: (a) 1 killer whale, "Shouka", in an entertaining show; (b) dolphins and sea lions -- didn't see the shows, but they have quite a few in their "encounter" pools; (c) a couple of big alligators; (d) a small reptile building; (e) at least 5 elephants. They were all in a back yard, which wasn't great, but not bad either. They feature Elephant Shows in a small amphitheater, and (gnash your teeth!) Elephant rides from 1pm to 3pm. My biggest problem with the elephant rides: they charge an extra $10 for these, after paying over $50 to get into the park! (f) lots of bird aviaries; (g) a butterfly aviary; (h) at least 5 or 6 giraffes; (i) an attractive tiger exhibit, with a deep pool for them to swim in; (j) at least 3 lions; (k) at least a couple of cheetahs; (l) a few cougars in probably my least-favorite exhibit; (m) hippos -- I didn't see them! In fact, where they were supposed to be, I saw tigers; (n) flamingos; (o) penguins; (p) Shark Experience -- a short walk-through acrylic tube with some rather large sharks, but not a lot of them; (q) walruses -- they have 3, but only 1 on exhibit at a time; (r) a stingray-petting pool. And maybe more. We can agree-to-disagree on this, but I still think this park was a "niche" in the zoological world. There are just many, many kids out there who simply have no interest in ever going to a regular zoo or aquarium. But because of this park's amazing roller coasters, they WILL come here (or to Busch Gardens). While their intentions may not be to be exposed to the conservation message of zoos and animals, they can be subconsciously affected by it, while sitting there eating their lunch -- within view of the giraffes or other animals.
So what will happen when (as has been widely reported) Six Flags goes belly up and needs to "divest" its biggest money drains (i.e. those pesky live animals and the costly staff who care for them)? Are they still walking tigers around the place in public areas on leashes? How many orcas have died there in the past 10 years? They used to have at least 4. Are the five elephants part of any program to propagate this species that is doomed to disappear from American zoos without redoubled efforts by ALL AZA elephant holders? Or is there just not enough time to bother with this between their public riding duties? I'm sorry Mr. Nyhuis, but I think your efforts to justify/rationalize this place are stretched a little thin. The animals are marginalized and trivialized by the setting and management techniques employed at Discovery Kingdom. So, we CAN agree to disagree--and I do vehemently. I think you were right the first time when you said "this park was a niche in the zoological world"--indeed, its time has come and gone, but unfortunately it's still around. In ten years I bet the place will be condos or a shopping center (just like its previous incarnation on the other side of the Bay).
I may have missed it, but I've heard nothing about Six Flags going belly up. The entire US economy is definitely struggling, and unfortunately our government has a lot of weird "stimulus" ways of fixing it (which will never work), but are you sure Six Flags is in that bad of shape? The huge crowd I saw there on a weekday didn't signal that to me. (I have heard, however, that the brewers who bought out the Busch parks are trying to divest of their animal parks, including all 3 Sea Worlds.) I saw NO tigers being walked around on a leash. Are you sure that's a common thing? I saw it done once on TV (Jarrod Miller's "Animal Explorations" show), but I assumed that was done simply for his show. Don't know about how many orcas have died there in the past 10 years. How old were they? We have to be careful not to follow the "ambulance-chaser" mentality and tactics of the PETA/IDA wackos. These folks grasp onto every single animal death in any zoo as evidence that all zoos are bad. The fact is, all animals (including us humans) will eventually die of something. When you say "the animals are marginalized and trivialized", I know what you're trying to say, but I strongly disagree with your exact words. SFDK is a "coaster park that includes animals", while Disney's Animal Kingdom and Busch Gardens are the opposite -- they are "animal parks that include roller coasters". So yes, the main focus of SFDK is not the animals, it's the roller coasters. I agree with you on that. But that does NOT mean that the animals are "trivialized", or even "marginalized". The keepers there that I observed obviously care very deeply about their animals, and while the exhibits at SFDK are not up to San Diego/Bronx-quality, I did see at least some effort made to give the animals a decent place to live. We should never forget that this place is AZA-accreditted, and that's no trivial accomplishment. Bottom line: If you want to go to a place where "animals come first, rides are a distant second", then this is not your kind of place. But the reality is, there are millions of people in this nation who would much rather go to a coaster park than a zoo. This place exposes these coaster fans to a few animals along the way -- and in my mind, that's a good thing.
@ANyhuis: It's nice to finally hear something positive about Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, as that establishment usually receives unanimous disdain from zoo fans. What shocked me more than your praise of Six Flags was the fact that you went to 3 zoos in one day. What were the other two, and how long did you spend at each? I hope that you enjoyed your California-Mexico zoo trip, and I'm glad to hear that you made it home in one piece. I've been to Mexico a few times and there are definitely some dodgy areas around the Tijuana-San Diego border What was your overall total of zoos, aquariums and theme parks?
Thanks, SnowLeopard! First, my California-Mexico trip was actually two separate trips. I was home for 6 days in between them. Down in Mexico, I toured 3 zoos, plus some great historical/cultural sites. I avoided the violent border regions of Mexico, flying down to Mexico City and Guadalajara. I was in California for a week, including 3 days at a conference for my day job. While in the Golden State, I toured 5 aquariums, 3 zoos, and 2 aquatic parks. On the day (last Friday) I did my quick look at Six Flags, I also went to the San Francisco Zoo (wanted to see what they've done with the Tiger exhibit, after the tragedy) and the new Steinhardt Aquarium (amazing re-do!). Again, I'm not saying that Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is the best place to see animals. I'm just saying it has "a role" in the zoo world -- exposing coaster park-lovers to animals and their conservation needs. If nothing else, it accomplishes this role.
Did you visit the Oakland Zoo at all? Does anyone know anything about the upcoming California! exhibit at the Oakland Zoo?
Nope. To my understanding "California!" is still a few years off. Whenever Chinese politics are resolved, the next big thing for Oakland will be the addition of giant pandas!
Blackduiker Giant Pandas? Hmmmm. And we're still waiting for the Golden Monkeys here in L.A. we had to settle for. Not that I wouldn't like to see them here, but they were sort of a consolation prize after the mayor's trip to China and their rejection of Giant Pandas being sent here. Seems everyone else that tries, San Diego, Atlanta, Memphis and now Oakland? Have no real problem as long as they're financially able. Is being too close to San Diego really the issue for L.A.'s rejection, as we were told or is it zoo politics? We've been seeking and totally willing to fund them since they were here for the Olympics back in 1984!
Even Omaha--a much higher profile and wealthier zoo than Oakland--has given up in their pursuit of pandas. It's almost always the case that an ambitious local politician believes what he is told in China and claims a deal for pandas has been made, but then the "payoff" is kept out of arms' reach by the Chinese. I will be VERY SURPRISED if Oakland ever actually gets them.
I don't remember what the reasons were that Oakland was granted permission to get pandas, and LA wasn't. It might have something to do with the huge Chinese community in the SF/Oakland area. Also not sure, but the influential Jerry Brown (former Oakland mayor) might have had some influence. As for why Omaha has given up, the political delays are one reason, but the bigger reason is because of the $million/year rent-a-panda fee that China charges was seen as not worth it. I wonder if they might re-think that, now that China has cut that fee in half. That's the only reason that Memphis will continue to display them.
Blackduiker It would seem China is thinking more financial payoffs than conservation benefits when it comes to distributing its wildlife. What if the rest of the world made it as arduous for them to acquire their unique species? They'd only be looking at local fauna in their zoos then. And I understand how delicate the situation with Pandas, but they don't even consider fair exchanges.
