The boulders are said to be 540 million years old, but nothing could be newer than the San Diego Zoo’s first of six Africa Rocks areas.
The Cape Fynbos penguin habitat opened to the public Saturday with hundreds poised to dash down to the former Dog and Cat Canyon when the bells rang at 9 a.m.
One staffer said the crowd was the largest at a zoo opening in a long time.
The first phase of the $68 million Africa Rocks features a cobblestone beach surface, penguin nesting areas and rockwork that mimics the granite boulders found at Boulders Beach in South Africa.
The exhibit also includes 20 African penguins and a dozen leopard sharks swimming in a 200,000-gallon seawater pool. (These sharks don’t eat penguins.)
The eight-acre project stemmed from an $11 million gift from the since-deceased San Diego philanthropist Conrad Prebys, which inspired more than 4,700 other donors to contribute.
San Diego businessman Ernest Rady added $10 million, and Dan and Vi McKinney provided $5 million.
“We cannot wait to share Conrad Prebys Africa Rocks with our zoo members and guests,” said Douglas Myers, president and CEO of San Diego Zoo Global. “Not only is Africa Rocks an incredible new exhibit allowing us to connect people to fascinating African wildlife, but it adds another dimension to San Diego Zoo Global’s efforts to save endangered species such as the featured African penguins and lemurs.”
Still to come:
- MADAGASCAR FOREST, with Coquerel’s Sifaka, ring-tailed and other lemurs, honey badger and an Elepehant Tree.
- ETHIOPIAN HIGHLANDS, with Hamadryas baboon, Gelada, Nubian Ibex and Red-hot Poker Tree.
- WEST AFRICAN FOREST, with West African dwarf crocodile and floating fig tree.
- ACACIA WOODLAND, with leopards, vervet monkeys, bee-eater, black-headed Weaver camel and Thorn Acacia.
- And KOPJE, with meerkats, rock Hyrax, Klipspringer, Bateleur Eagle, Dwarf Mongoose and Red-leaved Rock Fig Tree
— City News Service contributed to this report.
