Climates Moved to the Animals at San Diego Zoo

When Dr. Harry Wegeforth, an orthopedic surgeon, founded the San Diego Zoo back in 1916, he did what all other zookeepers of the era were doing: He put the cats with the cats, the birds with the birds, and the bears with the bears.

Never mind that the Chinese wolf might enjoy the temperate forest conditions also favored by the Scottish wildcat. Never mind that the giant anteater from South America would be perfectly comfortable in the African savanna that suits the spotted hyena. In The Beginning, that’s just the way it was done.

But today, San Diego’s zoo managers look at the world a little differently, and they’ve embarked on an ambitious program to redevelop the sprawling zoo into 10 zones that organize animals and plants according to the climates in which they thrive.

Not far from the zoo’s main entrance, in a steep, shaded canyon that divides the Reptile House from Primate Mesa, the first major display of that new concept is unfolding.

Called “Tiger River,” the $5.8-million exhibit will be the most costly and challenging construction project ever undertaken by the zoo.

When it opens--scheduled for March 26--its creators say Tiger River will be a full-fledged, three-acre tropical rain forest, typical of those one might encounter in Southeast Asia. Densely enveloped by a startling array of rare plants and trees, Tiger River will feel like the real thing, zoo officials promise.

Misting machines secreted in tree branches will emit a light fog, emulating the dampness that cloaks a rain forest. Leaf imprints on the twisting concrete pathway will give the illusion of a natural jungle floor. Thick vegetation will screen out the bustle and din of the world beyond, insulating the visitor with the Sumatran tigers, black caymans and Malayan tapirs that lurk along the leafy route.

“The goal is to create a multisensory experience,” the zoo’s executive director, Douglas Myers said. “We want you to walk in and become immersed in the tropical rain forest. You might smell the orchids and hear the tigers before you see them. You will feel the mist coming down through the trees. . . . We want you to bring all your senses into play so the experience is accentuated and meaningful.”

Approach Not Exclusive

San Diego is not the only zoo to integrate animals in climatic categories. Ron Forman, president of the American Assn. of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, said zoos in Cincinnati, New Orleans and Seattle have dabbled in climatic exhibitions.

In addition, a state-of-the-art zoo under construction in Indianapolis also will embrace that approach. But Forman said San Diego--blessed with a climate that makes such things possible--is pioneering the experiment on by far the broadest scale.

“San Diego is a leader, no doubt about it,” said Forman, who also is executive director of the Audubon Zoological Garden and Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans. “Everyone is interested in this new technique of displaying a mix of animals in their proper habitat and providing the maximum educational message possible. We’re all watching San Diego to see how it works out.”

The idea of arranging animals according to bioclimates is a logical one, zoo officials say.

Mirrors Life in Wild

Chuck Coburn, chief horticulturist at the San Diego Zoo, said that displaying a range of animals and plants in a common environment gives visitors a better context for appreciating and understanding what they see. The approach also better mirrors life in the wild, although there will be barriers separating the exhibits.

Forman agreed: “In the natural world, you don’t see a row of bears in bear pits and then walk a ways and see birds in an aviary. You see a mix of animals blended with plants.”

The better a zoo can mimic that arrangement, the more convincing and educational its exhibit will be. Myers added that the approach allows the zoo the flexibility to combine its animals with its unparalleled collection of plants.

Three years in the making, Tiger River represents the first significant attempt at implementing the bioclimatic approach. Visitors will be able to experience the exhibit in one of two ways--by bus or on foot. The two routes will be separate and shielded from each other by thick foliage.

Pedestrians will enter the exhibit at the top of a steep canyon and wander down a curving path cut into a 50-foot-high mud cliff and framed by hundreds of plants and trees culled from within the zoo and beyond.

Vegetation Over Barriers

To enhance the sensation of being in the wild, Coburn plans to use vegetation to cover barriers that separate humans from animals.

At the Sumatran tiger exhibit, for example, bamboo and grasses will carpet the fence surrounding the animals, which will romp in a roomy enclosure punctuated by a series of pools connected by waterfalls. Even the concrete retaining walls will be spray-painted in jungle colors.

“Everything is supposed to reinforce the idea that you’re in a natural setting,” Coburn said. “We want you to feel completely isolated from the rest of the zoo.”

As for the animals, they range from mouse deer to Burmese pythons and will be scattered in 10 separate exhibits along the descending path. Many are newcomers to the zoo, including the Sumatran tigers, black caymans (an alligator-like reptile), fishing cats (cats with webbed feet) and the rare Sumatran rhinoceros, a red-haired specimen whose numbers in the wild have dwindled precipitously in recent years. Also, several of the 25 species of birds in the exhibit have been brought from Hawaii and the Philippines.

Bear Canyon Next

Once Tiger River is completed, zoo officials will turn their attention to Bear Canyon--the next on the list of conversions to a climate zone--in this case, the Asian wet and dry tropical rain forest.

The next target will be Primate Mesa II. The total reorganization of the zoo is expected to take about a decade, depending upon fund raising, Myers said.

In the end, the new zoo--or Third Generation Zoo, as it is officially called--will be a far cry from the caged exhibits that held the menagerie assembled by Wegeforth back in 1916. Coburn, for one, is excited about the prospects.

“What we’re hoping to do is immerse man in the animals’ natural environment,” he said. “Man is really one with nature. If we can make him feel that, if we can educate him and make him appreciate the importance of preserving animals in the wild, we will have been successful.”