Erin Hurley is a journalism senior and Mustang Daily SLO lifestyle columnist.
Okay, for all of you who read my column, I’m about to drop a bomb on you: this week’s column is about a place that isn’t inside the City of San Luis Obispo.
I know, you’re shocked.
But technically this place is only 20 minutes outside San Luis Obispo, so if it’s something that really interests you, it won’t be much of a chore to get there. And I think you’ll be interested. Who doesn’t love a chance to see meerkats?
Yep, I’m talking about the zoo.
The Charles Paddock Zoo has been in Atascadero since 1955. Director Alan Baker said the zoo’s namesake, Charles Paddock, was a county park ranger in the area and took care of injured animals he came across. He started trading and obtaining more animals until he ended up with a pretty unusual collection, Baker said. Eventually the zoo moved to its current location. Then, Atascadero officially became a city in 1979, and it inherited the zoo. After that, it became a more professional institution, Baker said. It has since been accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA).
“The Central Coast is known as a tourist destination,” he said. “Hearst Castle’s down the road, Pismo Beach, Morro Bay — why isn’t the Charles Paddock Zoo in that same group? We think it can be.”
If you’re like me and grew up near a zoo, this is a great reminder of the times you spent as a little kid running around to see all your favorite animals. Or if you’re really like me, it reminds you of the time you spent last year running around to see all your favorite animals.
Since the Charles Paddock Zoo is only five acres, it can’t have everything, and it has to consider several factors before taking on a new animal. Zoo officials try to get animals that are uncommon or endangered and go along with their collection plan, and they have to plan for the future to make sure there will be enough space and resources for any new animals, Baker said.
The zoo’s master plan focuses on five biodiversity “hotspots,” including Madagascar and Indo-Burma, Baker said. Those “hotspots” are ecosystems that are some of the most endangered in the world.
The fact that the zoo is small isn’t always a bad thing. It limits what it can offer, but it also makes the experience more personal.
“San Diego’s a great zoo… (But) it’s kind of like going to Disneyland: you have to run the whole time you’re there,” Baker said. “Here, you can see our zoo if you stop, spend an hour-and-a-half, (and) you get to see all the animals. It’s a much more intimate setting.”
I grew up in the Bay Area not too far from San Francisco, so I’m used to zoos on a larger scale. But this one is pretty impressive for its size. They have a great variety of animals, including really unusual ones like kangaroos and red-flanked duikers, a kind of African antelope.
The zoo has stayed “hugely popular” over the years, Baker said. It gets visitors from Salinas to Santa Maria, Calif., and more than half of its visitors don’t live here. He said in the last few years (with the economic downturn), the community is recognizing what a unique attraction the zoo is for the city.
Well, of course it is.
The employees really like being part of the community at the Charles Paddock Zoo. They hold events like “Zoo Boo” on Halloween for local kids and offer summer camps and workshops. Baker said events such as these are easier for smaller zoos to have.
The zoo is planning to build new exhibits because the original ones were all built in the late ’70s and early ’80s, Baker said, and are getting to the point where they need to be completely redone and they “can’t really wait much longer.” However, he said since the city funds the zoo entirely, there isn’t much money for those plans. The zoo has received some private grants, but still has to look at other options to get more funding. I really hope they get it; I want this place to stick around.
Baker said the employees hope visitors have a good time at the Charles Paddock Zoo, but he also said they’re really about teaching people about animals.
“We’d like people to think that the animal world is incredible; that there are some amazing species that share this planet with us,” Baker said.
See? Still a great place, even though it’s not in San Luis Obispo. I knew you all could handle it.