The Charles Paddock Zoo is a community

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological g ...

located in

San Luis Obispo County, California San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a County (United States), county on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 282, ...

, in the City of Atascadero on the Central Coast. It is home to an endangered male Malayan tiger named Menderu. Accredited since 1991, the zoo is one of the smallest zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

History

The Charles Paddock Zoo was started by Charles "Chuck" Paddock, a county park ranger, in the county animal shelter in 1955. Paddock would nurse wild animals back to health, and by 1959 his menagerie contained over 125 birds and mammals. In 1963 the animals were moved to the current location adjacent to the Atascadero Lake Park, just off

State Route 41 The following highways are numbered 41: International * AH41, Asian Highway 41 * European route E41 Australia * Olympic Highway * Mid-Western Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 41 * British Columbia Highway 41 * Manitoba Highway 41 * Newfoundlan ...

, and the new zoo was named Atascadero Children's Zoo. In 1979, the City of Atascadero took over management of the zoo after it was incorporated. The name was changed to Charles Paddock Zoo in honor of its founder in 1980. In 2010, while the zoo was under review for re-accreditation, it started a series of renovations and maintenance updates including new roofs, repaving, new public fencing, and a long list of other smaller projects. A new entrance to the zoo was opened on 9 November 2010. In April 2019, the zoo opened the Thelma Vetter Red Panda Experience, home to red pandas, Asian ratsnakes, and various birds.Strickland,T (2019, April 1). Thela Vetter Red Panda Experience opens at Charles Paddock Zoo. Retrieved 2019-05-23 from https://pasomagazine.com/feature/thelma-vetter-red-panda-experience-opens-at-charles-paddock-zoo/

Exhibits and animals

The zoo is home to more than 100 animals representing 45 species. ;Birds Birds at the zoo include

black-necked stilt The black-necked stilt (''Himantopus mexicanus'') is a locally abundant shorebird of American wetlands and coastlines. It is found from the coastal areas of California through much of the interior western United States and along the Gulf of Mexic ...

Inca tern The Inca tern (''Larosterna inca'') is a tern in the family Laridae. It is the only member of the genus ''Larosterna''. This uniquely plumaged bird breeds on the coasts of Peru and Chile, and is restricted to the Humboldt Current. In 2021 a si ...

, Mandarin duck, ring-necked parakeet, ringed teal, roseate spoonbill,

scarlet ibis The scarlet ibis (''Eudocimus ruber'') is a species of ibis in the bird family Threskiornithidae. It inhabits tropical South America and part of the Caribbean. In form, it resembles most of the other twenty-seven extant species of ibis, but its ...

Sulawesi ground dove The Sulawesi ground dove (''Gallicolumba tristigmata'') also known as yellow-breasted ground dove is a medium-sized, approximately 35 cm long, olive-brown ground dove with golden forehead, yellow breast, red legs, iridescent bluish-green cro ...

, and white-faced whistling duck in the aviary,

blue and gold macaw The blue-and-yellow macaw (''Ara ararauna''), also known as the blue-and-gold macaw, is a large South American parrot with mostly blue top parts and light orange underparts, with gradient hues of green on top of its head. It is a member of the la ...

, double yellow-headed amazon parrot, salmon-crested cockatoo, and scarlet macaw at the Parrot Pond, as well as burrowing owl,

Caribbean flamingo The American flamingo (''Phoenicopterus ruber'') is a large species of flamingo closely related to the greater flamingo and Chilean flamingo native to the Neotropics. It was formerly considered conspecific with the greater flamingo, but that trea ...

emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...

, great horned owl, and helmeted guineafowl. ;Mammals Mammals at the zoo include Jacob's sheep in the barnyard, titi monkey in the South American exhibit, and African crested porcupine,

Bennett's wallaby The red-necked wallaby or Bennett's wallaby (''Notamacropus rufogriseus'') is a medium-sized macropod marsupial (wallaby), common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Red-necked wallabies have been ...

, black-handed spider monkey, Channel Island fox,

fossa Fossa may refer to: Animals * Fossa (animal), the common name of a carnivoran mammal of genus ''Cryptoprocta'' endemic to Madagascar * ''Fossa'', the Latin genus name of the Malagasy civet, a related but smaller mammal endemic to Madagascar Pla ...

, Malayan tiger,

mara Mara or MARA may refer to: Animals * Mara (mammal), a species of the cavy family *Mara the Lioness, in the movie ''Born Free'' Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Mara (''Doctor Who''), an evil being in two ''Doctor Who'' serials *Mara, ...

(Patagonia cavy), prehensile-tailed porcupine,

Prevost's squirrel Prevost's squirrel or Asian tri-colored squirrel (''Callosciurus prevostii'') is a colourful species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in forests in the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and nearby smaller islands, with an intro ...

red river hog The red river hog (''Potamochoerus porcus'') or bushpig (a named also used for the '' Potamochoerus larvatus''), is a wild member of the pig family living in Africa, with most of its distribution in the Guinean and Congolian forests. It is rarel ...

red ruffed lemur The red ruffed lemur (''Varecia rubra'') is one of two species in the genus ''Varecia'', the ruffed lemurs; the other is the black-and-white ruffed lemur (''Varecia variegata''). Like all lemurs, it is native to Madagascar. It occurs only in the ...

slender-tailed meerkat MeerKAT, originally the Karoo Array Telescope, is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas in the Meerkat National Park, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. In 2003, South Africa submitted an expression of interest to host the Square Ki ...

, and

white-fronted marmoset The white-headed marmoset (''Callithrix geoffroyi''), also known as the tufted-ear marmoset, Geoffroy's marmoset, or Geoffrey's marmoset, is a marmoset endemic (ecology), endemic to forests in eastern Brazil, where it is native to Bahia, Espírit ...

. ;Reptiles and amphibians Reptiles and amphibians at the zoo include Aldabra giant tortoise,

Burmese python The Burmese python (''Python bivittatus'') is one of the largest species of snakes. It is native to a large area of Southeast Asia and is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Until 2009, it was considered a subspecies of the Indian python ...

carpet python ''Morelia spilota'', commonly referred to as the carpet python, is a large snake of the family Pythonidae found in Australia, New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea), Bismarck Archipelago, and the northern Solomon Islands. Many subspecies are ...

, desert tortoise,

European pond turtle The European pond turtle (''Emys orbicularis''), also called commonly the European pond terrapin and the European pond tortoise, is a species of long-living freshwater turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the Western Palearct ...

, giant Asian hill tortoise, Gila monster, South American red-footed tortoise, and African bullfrog (burrowing frog).

The Central Coast Zoo Society

The Central Coast Zoo Society, originally formed in 1962 as the Children's Zoo Friendship Society, has formed partnerships with both the City of Atascadero and the Zoo Director to "support and promote the Charles Paddock Zoo, its exhibits, the educational and scientific programs, and the conservation and preservation of wildlife."

Projects

Plans for the future include a new

fisher Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia *Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elect ...

exhibit and a new Indo-Burma exhibit to include a

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

, red pandas, and a reptile house for

Komodo dragon The Komodo dragon (''Varanus komodoensis''), also known as the Komodo monitor, is a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. It is the largest extant ...

Notes

External links

*
Zoo page on Atascadero City Web site
{{authority control Zoos in California Tourist attractions in San Luis Obispo County, California Buildings and structures in San Luis Obispo County, California Buildings and structures in Atascadero, California Atascadero, California