Editing Charles Paddock Zoo

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox zoo
|zoo_name=Charles Paddock Zoo
|logo=Charles Paddock Zoo logo.png
|logo_width=187px
|logo_caption=Charles Paddock Zoo logo
|image=Suricata suricatta -Charles Paddock Zoo, Atascadero, California, USA-8a.jpg
|image_width=250px
|image_caption=[[Meerkat]]s at the zoo
|location=[[Atascadero, California]], United States
|coordinates = {{Coord|35|28|00|N|120|40|13|W|type:landmark_scale:1000|display=it}}
|date_opened=1955<ref name="sanluisobispo2"/><br/>1963 (at current location)<ref name="zoo_history"/>
|area={{Convert|5|acre|abbr=on}}<ref name="zoo_history"/>
|num_animals=100+<ref name="americanzoos"/>
|num_species=45<ref name="americanzoos"/>
|annual_visitors=72,000<ref name="americanzoos"/>
|members=[[Association of Zoos and Aquariums|AZA]]<ref name="aza_list"/>
|website={{URL|http://www.charlespaddockzoo.org}}
}}

The '''Charles Paddock Zoo''' is a {{Convert|5|acre|adj=on|spell=in}} community [[zoo]] located in [[San Luis Obispo County, California]], in the [[Atascadero, California|City of Atascadero]] on the [[Central Coast of California|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).<ref name="sanluisobispo1"/>

==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 (California)|State Route 41]], and the new zoo was named '''Atascadero Children's Zoo'''.<ref name="zoo_history"/>

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.<ref name="zoo_history"/>

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.<ref name="sanluisobispo1"/> 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 panda]]s, [[Ptyas mucosa|Asian ratsnakes]], and various birds.<ref>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/</ref>

==Exhibits and animals==

The zoo is home to more than 100 animals representing 45 species.<ref name="americanzoos"/>

;Birds

Birds at the zoo include [[black-necked stilt]], [[Inca tern]], [[Mandarin duck]], [[rose-ringed parakeet|ring-necked parakeet]], [[ringed teal]], [[roseate spoonbill]], [[scarlet ibis]], [[Sulawesi ground dove]], and [[white-faced whistling duck]] in the aviary, [[blue-and-yellow macaw|blue and gold macaw]], [[yellow-headed amazon|double yellow-headed amazon parrot]], [[salmon-crested cockatoo]], and [[scarlet macaw]] at the Parrot Pond, as well as [[burrowing owl]], [[American flamingo|Caribbean flamingo]], [[emu]], [[great horned owl]], and [[helmeted guineafowl]].<ref name="zoo_birds"/>

;Mammals

Mammals at the zoo include [[Jacob (sheep)|Jacob's sheep]] in the barnyard, [[white-eared titi|titi monkey]] in the South American exhibit, and [[crested porcupine|African crested porcupine]], [[red-necked wallaby|Bennett's wallaby]], [[Geoffroy's spider monkey|black-handed spider monkey]], [[Channel Island fox]], [[Fossa (animal)|fossa]], [[Malayan tiger]], [[Mara (mammal)|mara]] (Patagonia cavy), [[prehensile-tailed porcupine]], [[Prevost's squirrel]], [[red river hog]], [[red ruffed lemur]], [[Meerkat|slender-tailed meerkat]], and [[white-fronted marmoset]].<ref name="zoo_mammals"/>

;Reptiles and amphibians
Reptiles and amphibians at the zoo include [[Aldabra giant tortoise]], [[Burmese python]], [[Morelia spilota|carpet python]], [[desert tortoise]], [[European pond turtle]], giant Asian hill tortoise, [[Gila monster]], South American [[red-footed tortoise]], and [[African bullfrog]] (burrowing frog).<ref name="zoo_reptiles"/><ref name="zoo_amphibians"/>

==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."<ref name="zoo_society"/>

==Projects==

Plans for the future include a new [[Fisher (animal)|fisher]] exhibit<ref name="sanluisobispo2"/> and a new Indo-Burma exhibit to include a [[tiger]], [[red panda]]s, and a reptile house for [[Komodo dragon]]s.<ref name="sanluisobispo1"/>

==Notes==
{{Reflist |refs=

<ref name="zoo_history">
{{Cite web
|url=http://www.charlespaddockzoo.org/about_the_zoo/history.php
|title=History of the Charles Paddock Zoo
|work=charlespaddockzoo.org
|publisher=Charles Paddock Zoo
|accessdate=20 February 2011
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725160503/http://www.charlespaddockzoo.org/about_the_zoo/history.php
|archivedate=25 July 2011
}}</ref>

<ref name="zoo_society">
{{Cite web
|url=http://www.charlespaddockzoo.org/about_the_zoo/central_coast_zoo_society.php
|title=Central Coast Zoo Society
|work=charlespaddockzoo.org
|publisher=Charles Paddock Zoo
|accessdate=20 February 2011
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725160513/http://www.charlespaddockzoo.org/about_the_zoo/central_coast_zoo_society.php
|archivedate=25 July 2011
}}</ref>

<ref name="zoo_birds">
{{Cite web
|url=http://www.charlespaddockzoo.org/animals/animals.php?animal_category_id=1
|title=Birds
|work=charlespaddockzoo.org
|publisher=Charles Paddock Zoo
|accessdate=20 February 2011
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725160602/http://www.charlespaddockzoo.org/animals/animals.php?animal_category_id=1
|archivedate=25 July 2011
}}</ref>

<ref name="zoo_mammals">
{{Cite web
|url=http://www.charlespaddockzoo.org/animals/animals.php?animal_category_id=7
|title=Mammals
|work=charlespaddockzoo.org
|publisher=Charles Paddock Zoo
|accessdate=20 February 2011
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725160613/http://www.charlespaddockzoo.org/animals/animals.php?animal_category_id=7
|archivedate=25 July 2011
}}</ref>

<ref name="zoo_reptiles">
{{Cite web
|url=http://www.charlespaddockzoo.org/animals/animals.php?animal_category_id=8
|title=Reptiles
|work=charlespaddockzoo.org
|publisher=Charles Paddock Zoo
|accessdate=20 February 2011
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725160618/http://www.charlespaddockzoo.org/animals/animals.php?animal_category_id=8
|archivedate=25 July 2011
}}</ref>

<ref name="zoo_amphibians">
{{Cite web
|url=http://www.charlespaddockzoo.org/animals/animals.php?animal_category_id=9
|title=Amphibians
|work=charlespaddockzoo.org
|publisher=Charles Paddock Zoo
|accessdate=20 February 2011
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725160626/http://www.charlespaddockzoo.org/animals/animals.php?animal_category_id=9
|archivedate=25 July 2011
}}</ref>

<ref name="aza_list">
{{ZooOrg|aza|zoos|accessdate=20 February 2011}}
</ref>

<ref name="sanluisobispo1">
{{Cite web
|url=http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/03/15/1068182/charles-paddock-zoo-on-the-right.html
|title=Charles Paddock Zoo on the right track
|work=sanluisobispo.com
|publisher=The San Luis Obispo Tribune
|date=16 March 2010
|accessdate=20 February 2011
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716004040/http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/03/15/1068182/charles-paddock-zoo-on-the-right.html
|archivedate=16 July 2011
}}</ref>

<ref name="sanluisobispo2">{{Cite web
|url=http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/11/05/1358085/charles-paddock-zoo-upgrade-new.html#storylink=mirelated
|title=Charles Paddock Zoo upgrade: New zoo view
|work=sanluisobispo.com
|publisher=The San Luis Obispo Tribune
|date=6 November 2010
|accessdate=20 February 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110222185041/http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/11/05/1358085/charles-paddock-zoo-upgrade-new.html#storylink=mirelated
|archive-date=22 February 2011
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>

<ref name="americanzoos">{{Cite web
|url=http://www.americanzoos.info/Files/Webpages/USA/States/CA/Atascadero.html
|title=Charles Paddock Zoo
|work=americanzoos.info
|publisher=AmericanZoo
|accessdate=20 February 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721184035/http://www.americanzoos.info/Files/Webpages/USA/States/CA/Atascadero.html
|archive-date=21 July 2011
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>

}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{Official website|http://www.charlespaddockzoo.org}}
*[http://www.atascadero.org/cpz Zoo page on Atascadero City Web site]

{{Zoos of California}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Zoos in California]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in San Luis Obispo County, California]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in San Luis Obispo County, California]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Atascadero, California]]
[[Category:Atascadero, California]]