Hello! We're back to do another review but instead of reviewing a product we're going spice things up and review a place. The World Famous San Diego Zoo! If you know us at all, you'll know that we LOVE zoos, especially the SD Zoo. We're members and we go all the time, so it seemed fitting to be our first location review.
The San Diego Zoo is a 100 acre animal oasis in Balboa Park, San Diego, which features over 4,000 animals representing 800 species. Among those is the Giant Panda, a rare find in zoos across the globe. Since its beginning in 1922, the San Diego Zoo has been extremely active and commited with the preservation of endangered species. As well as having a vast array of animals they are also a collector of rare plant life.
The zoo is divided roughly into habitational regions. Here's a quick run through of some key areas. If you head straight out from the entrance you run into Monkey Trails. Monkey trails consists of, you guessed it, a lot of monkeys. As you travel along the elevated walkways you also see some pigs and colorful birds, all representing the tropical rainforest. Also in the tropical rainforest region, you'll find the winding walkways of the Tiger River. With its lu
sh plant life it's almost hard to remember to watch for Tapirs, crocodiles, an assortment of birds and, Jason's all time favorite, Tigers(which are near impossible to see but the picture to the right is from a rare spotting during which Jason nearly died from the excitment)! At the end of the rainforest is the Hippo exhibit, which if you catch it at the right time is super entertaining.
Heading off to the right from the entrance you'll find another popular area of the zoo that is an African/Outback jumble, which I'm convinced is the junk drawer of the zoo. Right off the bat you'll find the Koala exhibit, with the largest number of Koalas outside of Australia, and they are stinking adorable even though they're perpetually asleep. Across from the Koalas is the African part of this jumble. Here you'll find Rhinos and Lex's favs the Giraffes. On some days you can feed the giraffes little dog biscuits for a small fee. Around the corner to the left is Bear Canyon which houses lots of big bears! Around the corner to the right you'll find Kangaroos, Camels, and Llamas.
If you continue toward the Kangaroos you'll run into Cat canyon, which has more than just cats, in fact, there are only like 3 cats there! Not only will you find Leopards and Mountain Lions, you'll also find Warthogs, Hyenas - cooler than you would think, and Hornbills (think Toucan Sam but HUGE!). At the end of this trail is the famous Giant Panda Research Center. You have to wait in line to enter this enclosed exhibit and it's a quiet zone, so if you sneeze they basically feed you to the pandas. If you decide that's too much stress you can head up the escalator to Elephant Odyssey!
Elephant Odyssey is the newe
st, and frankly most impressive, area of the zoo. This expansion is meant to compare animals of today to animals that would have been found in Southern California 12,000 years ago. Clearly, the Elephants live here and they have an ENORMOUS enclosure that runs down the middle of this area. They have state of the art facilities including an Elephant Care Center and a swimming pool, complete with waterfall. Divas! Intermixed between life sized statues of their prehistoric ancestors are, Jaguars, Lions and Sloths. Other residents include, Capybaras, Tapirs, Guanacos (which in my opinion are llamas), Rattlesnakes, Horses, Pronghorns, and a very popular family of Dung Beetles. Newcomers to the SD Zoo are California Condors, which have recently begun to come back from the brink of extinction. These birds have an incredible wingspan and are certainly a sight to see. Last time we were there we witnessed them dining on what everyone else thought was a rabbit. Lex thought it was a cat and to this day is convinced some old lady is very lonely.
In the far corner of the zoo is the Polar Bear Plunge and what was formerly called Horn and Hoof Mesa but now seems to be nameless. If you catch them at the right time of day, morning or mid afternoon, and can elbow your way through the crowd to a good vantage point, you'll be in for a treat! These bears are so much fun to watch when they're awake. If you don't catch them goofing off, you'll find them asleep, in this case you'll get a better view since they usually sleep close to the glass and less people are there, though more than you might expect since the bears are just laying there and could be dead for all that we know or all that Lex knows since she thinks every sleeping animal is dead. In this Tundra-y region you can also see a Pallas' Cat which is super cool if you can spot it, and an aviary of Arctic birds, which are all ducks. The Zoo Map claims there are reindeer here ... I have never seen a reindeer in this area. I have seen a reindeer exhibit complete with fake antlers screwed into a tree, but I have seen no trace of an actual reindeer.
Horn and Hoof Mesa (possibly named something else) has animals with horns and hooves (have you noticed a pattern in region names?). Zebras, various gazelle-type animals, some pigs, general hooved creatures, which may or may not have horns, live here. Please note that if you choose to traverse the entirety of Horn and Hoof Mesa, you will come upon a gigantic hill that will make you want die. Just something you should know.
The final direction you can head from the Entrance is left. This will take you to both the Children's Zoo and, what Jason has dubbed, the Reptile Corner, but what is actually called Reptile Mesa. The first thing you'll see is the Reptile house. This is the only completely enclosed exhibit in the zoo, meaning each enclosure has a ceiling on it. Inside there are all sorts of snakes and lizards and frogs and on the outside you can see the Komodo Dragon that bit Sharon Stone's ex husband's toe during a behind the scenes tour clearly leading to their divorce. Behind the Reptile House is an assortment of Tortoises, Lizards, and Crocodiles. A must see is the Galapagos Tortoise exhibit which houses the oldest animals in the park, some of which are older than the zoo itself!
Back up past the Reptile House is the Children's Zoo. Inside this mecca of miniature people there are some real gems. They have the obligatory petting zoo (goats and sheep), a brand new Fisher Price Playground, and an insect house. Despite this being a Children's section, there are some really cool animals here. River otters are always fun to watch, visit the zoo's nursery, and see an Ocelot which is gorgeous, although it seems like an odd placement considering the warning signs to stay back for fear of being peed on. (What I wouldn't pay to know how many kids got a golden shower from that little cat.) The rest of the Children's zoo has educational exhibits and is a lot of fun. Most exhibits have child friendly viewing areas so it's perfect for tinys.
And that's an, almost, complete overview of the zoo. I would like to mention that when we began this overview it was supposed to be a "quick run through " it has now become a guided tour of the zoo. We just saved you money on a bus tour. Since we think this has a lot of good info and fun commentary, we've decided to make this review a 2 parter. So, until tomorrow ... Stay Classy
