Wait, do you mean the small mammal cages that held sand cats and other small carnivores? If so, were the sand cats and black-footed cats on exhibit elsewhere?
Those are what I mean. The chain link cages that used to be across from the Arabian oryx exhibit. There was some sort of construction its place. I wonder if they are building a larger enclosure for one of the animals below. I saw the lone sand cat and hydraxes that used to be in the row in retirement at the animal hospital. I did not see the black footed cats or servals any where else in the park. I assume they are behind the scenes for the time being.
Per my correspondence with zoo... A new exhibit (photo in gallery) between wild dogs and zebras will house bat-eared fox, rock hyrax, sulcatta tortoise. The row of small mammal cages that have been demolished (per above) will be replaced with a seating area for visitors to rest and enjoy the mountain views. "Small cats" (presumably sand cat and black-footed cat) will eventually be part of the upcoming Crossroads of Conservation, which will also include lions and hyenas.
Planning on visiting this place soon since I'll have some free time and it's not super hot there yet... does anyone have any helpful suggestions on when to get there, how long it takes, anything I should be aware of, etc?
Winter or early spring should be a great time to visit this zoo. I think you are about 2-3 hours away from it from where you are, and it makes a great day trip from the LA area. I'd plan on getting there as early as you can and spending the day there. The zoo is set in natural desert habitat and they have a hiking trail through wild desert that is worthwhile spending 30 minutes or an hour on if you want to go birding or just appreciate wild desert. Take water and wear good hiking shoes, as the park is quite large and lots of walking is needed to see everything. The animal part of it is really good. They have one of the best African savanna exhibits I've seen with giraffes, kudu, and ostrich. Good cheetah exhibit. Eagle Canyon is their major North American complex with Mexican wolves, golden eagles, desert bird aviary, mountain lions, and many other species. The zoo has a really good jaguar exhibit and possibly the best desert bighorn exhibit anywhere. Their animal show is very good and recommended. It is educational and very well done. The plant part may be even even better than the animal part (and that is high praise coming from a zoologist). There are desert gardens from North American, Madagascan, and African zones. These are all worth spending time walking through and enjoying. I'd give yourself a couple hours to enjoy this aspect of the park.
Awesome, thanks for the detailed response David. I wasn't quite sure about the size, now that I know that and about the nature trail I will probably leave earlier and plan on spending at least a few hours. And yes, it's about two hours from me with minimal traffic. Another question: what is the likelihood of seeing wild Roadrunners there? They are on my Big Year bucket list and from what I've seen on eBird, they have been spotted with some frequency both on the grounds and in the surrounding area at this time of year.
I think that I have seen wild roadrunners there. The whole zoo is one big wild bird habitat. You might want to ask them on Facebook if they have a good specific place to recommend to see wild roadrunners around the zoo or in nearby habitat?
Births in the last two months: one giraffe three bighorn sheep four sand cat (off exhibit indefinitely) six african wild dog (off exhibit for now) three chacoan peccary
The zoo has been accepted as an official member of IUCN. They are one of only nine AZA facilities with this designation. Living Desert accepted into International Union for the Conservation of Nature
Due to their excellent cat and carnivore collection and photo friendly exhibits (the things that most interest me), this is probably in my top five favorite zoos of the more than one hundred I have visited.
So instead of the smaller expansion which would have included lions and rhinos in smaller habitats at the front of the zoo, the zoo seems to have embarked on an even grander plan. Definitely a great plan for this gem
Thanks for sharing this video, the new expansion looks to be great and I'm glad they're adding Rhinos and Lions in what look to be really nice habitats. I'd highly recommend driving out to Palm Springs and visiting the Living Desert Zoo. The zoo isn't massive- you could see it comfortably in under 3 hours- but the exhibits are really good, there's a nice collection and the environment and desert focus of the zoo is unique and amazing.
