San Diego Zoo
2929 Zoo Drive,
San Diego –
(619) 231-1515
Website: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/zoo
Type of Museum: Living
Animal science, conserving wild life, mammals, fish, orcas, plants, school field trip
About the Zoo:
The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, is one of the largest and most progressive zoos in the world, with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species. It is also one of the few zoos in the world that houses the giant panda.
It is privately operated by the nonprofit Zoological Society of San Diego on 107 acres (0.43 km2) of parkland leased from the City of San Diego, and ownership of all animals, equipment and other assets rests with the City of San Diego.
The San Diego Zoo has been a pioneer in building “cageless” exhibits. Dr. Wegeforth was determined to create moated exhibits from the start, and the first lion area at the San Diego Zoo without enclosing wires opened in 1922. Until the 1960s, admission for children under 16 was free regardless of whether they were accompanied by a paying adult.
Exhibits are often designed around a particular habitat. The same exhibit features many different animals that can be found side-by-side in the wild, along with native plant life. Exhibits range from an African rain forest (featuring gorillas) to the Arctic taiga and tundra in the summertime (featuring polar bears). Some of the largest free-flight aviaries in existence are here. Many exhibits are “natural” with invisible wires and darkened blinds (to view birds), and pools and open-air moats (for large mammals).
The zoo offers a guided tour bus that traverses 75% of the park. There is an overhead gondola lift called the Skyfari, providing an aerial view of the zoo. The Skyfari was built in 1969 by the Von Roll tramway company of Bern, Switzerland. The San Diego Zoo Skyfari is a Von Roll type 101.
Visiting the Zoo:
San Diego zoo has many exhibits that kids and adults will love, along with special events and experience planned. Whole day can be passed there easily as zoo is fairly expansive.
Here are some of top exhibits currently at the zoo
- Urban Jungle
- Polar Rim
- Elephant Odyssey
- Africa Rocks
- Outback
- Discovery Post
- Lost Forest
- Asian Passage
- Panda Canyon
In addition to these exhibits zoo also has special events at the various time of the year an special experience with animals up, close and personal.
Special experiences at Zoo:
- Tours and Special interaction with animals
- Educational Programs
- Sleepovers
- Group events for school/business
To find current planned events at the zoo: Click here
San Diego Zoo In Media:
- The shots of the private zoo at Xanadu in Orson Welles’ 1941 film Citizen Kane were filmed at the San Diego Zoo.
- The San Diego Zoo was the filming location for the long-running documentary television series Zoorama.
- The San Diego Zoo, along with the St. Louis Zoo, were frequently mentioned in the Yogi Bear series of media as possible destinations Ranger Smith may ship Yogi to if he caused too much trouble at Jellystone Park. In the 1964 film Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear!, Yogi was actually shipped to the San Diego Zoo, and his escape from being shipped off forms the plot of the film.
- In addition to its normal publicity efforts, and web page, the zoo also produced a short TV program for a number of years with Joan Embery. Joan Embery brought various animals to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and more recently, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The zoo loaned the animals.
- The zoo was featured prominently in the 2004 movie Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, though filming was done at the old Los Angeles Zoo, not at the San Diego Zoo.[10]
- In the Dreamworks feature film Madagascar, the animals from Central Park Zoo think they are in the San Diego Zoo when they land in Madagascar, due to the pristine white beaches and “extensive habitats”. In the sequel Madagascar 2, they also guess that they crash-landed in the San Diego Zoo when they see a reservation with a beautiful lake and lots of animals.
- The Beach Boys’ 1966 album Pet Sounds has a cover and various album photography from the San Diego Zoo.
- The 6ths have a song called “San Diego Zoo”, which features comprehensive directions on how to get there.
- The zoo is talked about, though not actually shown, in the film The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
- (Source: Wikipedia)