OAKLAND — The grassy hills reaching behind the Oakland Zoo are now paved by a gravel trail, which begins just a few yards up from where guests taking a gondola from the zoo’s main entrance end up. The trail stretches throughout 56 acres of land and is permeated with lookout areas providing a panoramic view of the San Francisco Bay. On a typical day, one can peak through layers of fog and catch a glimpse of Coit Tower, the Bay Bridge and the Transamerica building.
Most notably, the trail recently became home to 28 furry creatures, with six more in the plans.
Two grizzly bear cubs, two California condors, four bald eagles, three mountain lion cubs, one jaguar, five black bears, two wolves and 14 buffalo will take shelter in the zoo’s new California Trail.
“The goal of the California Trail is to connect our visitors with the past, the present and the future of California,” said Darren Minier, an assistant director at the zoo.
The trail will open to the public July 12, and media were able to tour it Wednesday. Each animal exhibit sits spaced out from the next, ensuring the animals have adequate space and their areas are re-created as authentic wildlife habitats.
Grizzly bears ate fruit treats and chewed on their cores while running through a clear-blue pool; a small waterfall creeps down a series of rocks where the jaguar is set to be stationed; the mountain lions roam through bush resembling a forest; the condors perch atop a large, shaded tree; the buffalo meander through grassy plains; the wolves hide timidly behind trees; and the black bears dowse themselves in a pool. The bald eagles will arrive next week.
But the animals aren’t just there to look cute and attract visitors. Zoo staff hope stories of these animals will inspire guests to advocate for wildlife conservation.
“Our vision is to have you have this wonderful experience gazing at these animals and then give you concrete, doable actions you can take to help them,” said Amy Gotliffe, director of conservation at the zoo. Gotliffe encourages zoo visitors to join wildlife activism groups and ask their legislators to ban chemicals harmful to animals.
While all the incoming species being brought in from across the country are native to California, each has a different “conservation success story,” said Joel Parrott, CEO of Oakland Zoo.
The different animals aim to emphasize the principle that California residents can make an immense difference in the lifespan of an animal species.
“We tried to develop a collection of animals that can really highlight the fact that California has great challenges,” Parrott said.
“Each animal tells a different story, and in the end they’re all conservation success stories where someone has done something to make a difference. As these populations recover, it’s really amazing to tell the story of what people can do to make a difference and to save wildlife,” he said.
Conservationists involved in the zoo’s efforts hope the animals will breed over time.
Buffalo, for example, are on a breeding reintroduction plan to bring more of them back to Montana and Yellowstone National Park.
Though the zoo will only receive a male jaguar this summer, it plans to bring in a female in the fall, in hopes that the two will breed.