Continuing through the main body of the Oakland Zoo, the majority of the exhibit space is given over to the African Savanna exhibits.
Like California Trail, this area tends to be skewed to the megafauna (but what zoo African area isn't?), though with the inclusion of a few smaller species as well. Fauna doesn't come much more mega than African elephants, which inhabit one large (six acre) yard. Since my visit I believe I'd heard that there was going to be something of a shuffling of elephants, with some older animals being sent out to a sanctuary, with the possibility of a breeding herd being established. I'll have to see what transpires. Next to the elephants is a very attractive hillside yard for lions, and well as an open paddock for giraffe, and side exhibits for warthog, spotted hyena, and plains zebra. Part of the region has an African village motif, with one hut housing a small collection of African reptiles, with meerkats scurrying outside another. A meshed-in enclosure holds a troop of delightful red-tailed monkeys, one of the most handsome of African primates, while two aviaries hold a variety of African birds (including Madagascar sacred ibis, a first for me).
One African exhibit is worthy of a little extra attention because of its curious story. Separated a little bit from the other displays is a habitat of hamadryas, a desert-dwelling baboon from North Africa and the Middle East, with a spacious grassy yard sprawling out in front of a rocky cliff face. At the dawn of this millennium, Oakland was on track to try and obtain that most beloved of zoo animals, the giant panda, and this exhibit was built to be the panda exhibit. Pandas never came, alas, and so the baboons moved in. Few if any animals match the star power of giant pandas, it is true, but I will say, I think a social group of active, engaged primates makes a better display than a perpetually sleeping (unless its snacking) black and white bear. So in my mind it all worked out for the best.
As one might expect, the Wayne and Gladys Valley Children's Zoo is largely made up of domestic species, with petting opportunity for kids to interact with goats and sheep. If domestics aren't your area of interest, however, I'd still recommend swinging through - there are enough "zoo" animals to make it worth your while as well. A cliffside habitat houses a troop of lemurs, while North American river otters twirl about in front of underwater viewing windows. There is a surprisingly diverse invertebrate collection in the House of Bugs. A small collection of reptiles and amphibians can be seen in excellent terrariums in one building, with larger species - American alligators (with a giant mock-fossil croc skeleton nearby) and Aldabra tortoises - seen in outdoor enclosures. Perhaps the most surprising - and exciting - feature of the children's zoo, however, is the bat exhibit. A large colony of flying fox bats occupies a towering outdoor flight cage. Visitors aren't able to walk in with the bats as they are in some indoor rainforest exhibits, but it's still extraordinary to see the large bats out and active in the sun. (Not part of the children's zoo, but kids will probably want to take a trip to the rides area, located near the gondola station that leads to the California Trail).
The final area is Tropical Rainforest, which I found to be the most uneven of the exhibit areas. It features fairly standard island habitats for white-handed gibbons and siamangs, a few small aviaries for rainforest birds and small primates, and a fairly ugly, over-engineered chimpanzee exhibit. There is also a tiger exhibit which, while nice enough, pales compared to the lion and jaguar exhibits elsewhere in the zoo. The last exhibit I saw in this region, however, was the real showstopper.
Once a common species in US zoos, sun bears are now increasingly rare, being phased out to make room for the other tropical bear species, which seem to be more sustainable in numbers. Most of the sun bear exhibits I've seen have been fairly meh. Oakland's was gorgeous - huge and lushly planted, viewed from an elevated pavilion that provided a treetop view of the enclosure. I almost didn't see the bear, the exhibit was so big and dense - it was, in true sun bear fashion, clinging to a tree, mostly obscured by the trunk, and resting completely at ease. Sun bears are fading out of the US fairly quickly now, with most of the remaining animals being quite old. I wonder what will happen to this beautiful exhibit when it is emptied - a different tropical bear species, a primate, who knows?
Oakland Zoo is yet another example of a zoo that, in a surprisingly short amount of time, has managed to turn itself around from atrocious to quite good. Many of its exhibits are of a stellar quality - particularly those of California Trail - and it doesn't have any that I would really call poor (though certainly some that I would tinker with, given the chance). I'd also love to see smaller animals get as much attention as the larger ones - the bird and herp collections are fairly small. Still, it was a beautiful zoo with an interesting collection that was well-cared for in appropriate exhibits. The commitments to conservation and animal welfare were highlighted throughout the facility. I was glad to have visited - though I still need to go back to continue my sweep of the Bay Area facilities.
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