California species come to life at new exhibit

The Oakland Zoo has high hopes for its new California Trail exhibit opening July 12. The quarter mile loop on a ridge atop the zoo complex looks out over eight separate animal habitats and leads to guest friendly attractions which include a children’s activity zone and a stunning six county Bay Area view from the deck of The Landing Cafe.

The Trail is the brain child of zoo president and CEO Dr. Joel Parrott. He is leading the way for more humane progressive zoo experiences for both the animals and the human guests visiting the environments. Parrott is an unapologetic advocate for the animals and the land which is their home.

“Our mission is to have them be ambassadors of their species but more importantly, ambassadors for nature itself and protecting the environment,” Parrott said.

In the mid-eighties when Parrott took over, the zoo was in decline. He decided to emulate the success of the Oakland Museum of California, making the animals of the zoo’s home state its primary focus. (Don’t worry though — there are giraffes!)

During Parrott’s tenure the zoo has increased in size from 25 acres to more than 100 acres, adding space for more natural animal habitats.

“This is their home. It’s our obligation to give them the quality of life that is exceptional,” Parrott said. “If we can achieve that, it provides a tremendous forum to engage all ages in nature and wildlife and begin to educate the public on a lot of the issues confronting Top left: Grizzly bears go for a swim in their exhibit on the California Trail at the Oakland Zoo. Bottom left: Zoo visitors leave the California Trail Visitor Center. Right: California condors spread their wings on the California Trail at the Oakland Zoo.

the environment today.”

Parrott has been intensely involved with all aspects of the California Trail’s development from animal acquisition to construction of the walkways. The visionary expansion is part of a multi-stage million dollar project, which also includes a new Veterinary Hospital, a Biodiversity Center, the new Kaiser Permanente Visitor Center and a gondola which is only way to

reach the new space.

From the gondola, which carries visitors from the Lower Zoo up to the California Trail, one can see the expansive new separate habitats for wolves, mountain lions and American bison. On the curving boardwalk which makes up the trail itself, we see the spaces for the bald eagles, California condors, grizzly bears and black bears. The grizzly bear pavilion includes

a large swimming pond with a glass wall facing the trail path where visitors can have a rare close up view of bears playing and exercising in the water, which they love doing.

“We’ve been able to provide expanse in the exhibits — they are all species native to California — they evolved here,” Parrott said. “We wanted to break the concept of animals in a zoo, they are actually

animals in a park. It’s their natural habitat.”

The animals were selected for their significance to California even though some had disappeared. The zoo is now actively involved in cultivating and restoring those species while also educating the public on how we can co-exist with the animals.

“The jaguar, the bison, the grizzly bear, and the wolf are