I have been to many zoos; my frequent favorites remain the Bronx Zoo in NYC (of which I am a member), the National Zoo in DC, and the Baltimore Zoo (now under new management/ownership and called the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore).
I’ve been to the San Diego Zoo and was quite wowed. Definitely a world class zoo in league with the above.
What Exit?, I’m not sure why you didn’t care for the Baltimore Zoo. It’s large and comprehensive, and the Children’s Zoo there is probably the best one I’ve been to. I was kind of disappointed the last time tabout 2 years ago, after it underwent the name change and all; it’s a lot more expensive than it used to be and a lot of the zoo was closed for reconstruction. But I have fond memories of going there often in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Hmm, I see that Wikipedia says it actually closed parts of the zoo as of 2004 due to financial problems, probably the same time the name was changed and it came under new management. Oh well. It also says it used to be small and dingy until the late 1980s, at which point it was considerably expanded. So it seems my opinion of it was formed during its “glory years”.
I’ve only been there once and for the price and size, it just did not wow me at all. Maybe I was unfairly comparing it to the Bronx Zoo & San Diego Zoo.
As far as Aquariums go (since “aquaria” means fishtanks), the Baltimore one is tops, with the ones in Boston, NY and Mystic, CT ranking after it. Though the NY Aquarium gets bonus points for being right at the Coney Island boardwalk – being a member I get to park in the Aquarium parking lot for free, which is handy
The one in Camden, NJ across from Philadelphia used to be OK (if a little run down), but now that it’s been privatized it’s not as fun. It used to have a symbiotic relationship with the Camden Children’s Garden, and now there’s big metal gates in place between the two which were clearly designed to complement one another. And any aquarium that has pamphlets advertising $100 for 15-minute sessions in the shark tank (no kidding) loses serious cred with me – there’s not even a pretense of educational value there.
I like most zoos, but my favorite is the Central Park Zoo in NYC. It’s very small and pretty mundane, but I could walk to it from my apartment and went a lot.
The most fun I ever had at a zoo was taking the riverboat cruise from the French Quarter to the Audubon Zoo. There was a festival at the zoo that day. Nothing beats listening to some cool Zydeco bands, eating a smoked turkey leg and drinking cold beer while checking out the animals.
I don’t really like the Central Park Zoo, but then if I am going up into the city, I want something better. I can see where a short walk would make it much better.
I loved the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans and the Aquarium on the River. I think next year, we are finally returning to New Orleans. We have put off a vacation there twice in the last few years. Once due to Katrina and once as my In-Laws were going to be in Spain that week.
The best thing about the Camden Aquarium is the Fish & Ships deal where you do the Aquarium and the Battleship New Jersey in the same trip. I have effectively done that twice now. Most recently this weekend where we did an overnight Cub scout program on the Jersey and then I took my son through the Aquarium in the late morning.
I hope they enjoy their new home, but on the selfish side it makes me kind of sad. My kids and I loved seeing them.
Reminds me, we loved the Aquarium at Mystic Seaport too.
While zoos are cool to see the more exotic animals, I always prefered either petting zoos or amusement park safaris - what’s cooler than monkeys sitting on your car and having giraffe tongues licking your hands?
I actually loved the DC zoo when I visited there a year ago. I have a child-like fascination with apes/gorillas/chimps and the DC zoo had a whole roomful of them. Not only that, but on your way into the room, they give you directions on gorilla “manners.” Approach the gorillas with your back first, then glance over your shoulder to get a look. I followed the directions, backing into the room and sitting down on a bench next to a silverback gorilla. I sat there for a long time, me glancing at him and him glancing at me. I heard one of the zookeepers explain to a kid that when they sit quietly like that and glance at you, it means they like you, so that made me really happy. The sitting/glancing thing we had going on ended when a screaming kid made the gorilla jump away, but it was so cool while it lasted.
Anyway, that’s my story of why I love the DC zoo :).
Sorry for the second post, but this reminded me of my other zoo story. I was writing an article about elephant-training as part of my journalism major, so I got an interview with the elephant trainer at the Pittsburgh zoo. I’d been there before to see the elephants, but they had always been pretty quiet while I was there (middle of the day, probably after being fed). When the trainer is nearby, though, they get all excited and they talk. Well, talk isn’t quite the right word; it’s this low rumbling sound that fills the room, but it sounds affectionate somehow. It’s hard to describe, and I think I might have forgotten what it actually sounds like. It was easy to see that the elephants loved their trainer, and you could tell he felt that same bond with them.
The only other zoo I’ve been to was in Minneapolis when I was much younger. I don’t remember being particularly impressed by anything, but I do remember a tiger pacing in a circle around his tiny cage. That made me sad.
I’ve only been to two zoos in my entire life, the National Zoo about 20 years ago and Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World. National Zoo was sort of run down and depressing back then, but I hear it’s much nicer now.
Animal Kingdom is really a zoo-themed theme park, but I was very impressed by the animal habitats. The African safari was good too.
I forgot to mention - when I was a kid I went to zoo camp once, and you get to go behind the scenes at one of the exhibits. We saw the tigers. Holy shit, y’all, tigers are big!.
What really impressed itself on my young mind is that, even though we were going in to see giant man-eating predators, we had to wear masks and dip our feet in disinfectant and such. In other words, we might be dangerous to the tigers.
