Visiting the San Diego Zoo
I am on a business trip to California and today (Saturday) I took the day to visit the San Diego zoo. I have been wanting to visit the zoo for years and I must say, it was impressive. Overall, I am sorry there have to be zoos to protect these animals – many from extinction due to the fact that we are encroaching on (or ruining) their habitats. As an animal lover, this makes me quite sad.
On the other hand, the San Diego zoo really is trying hard to make the animal’s lives as good a quality as they can. The zoo is filled with ferns and trees, waterfalls and pathways. Though space is a little lmited of course, the animals do have room to stretch out and play. They have lot of things to keep them occupied. There was a sun bear playing with a burlap bag, for example. Overall they seemed fairly happy. The zoo says that the fertility rate is quite good, which indicates that the animals are decently at ease and well adapted to their environment.
We made a point of seeing the baby Giant Panda, and the orangutans. Both of these species connect so well with the humans; we love their looks and manner. The orangutans seem so human like that I can hardly believe that they are hunted and hurt. You have to wonder what kind of monsters would do harm to them.
The polar bear exhibit was packed. There were two bears who lounged in the sun and then played in the water with their toys. What lovely creatures. I hope we are soon able to stop the destruction of their natural habitat. Without these wonderful animals, the world will not be the same.
I was able to take a decent video with my little Canon SD 800 pocket camera. Technology is amazing. Sit back and watch a polar bear play….
Hey J9 – very cute vid. Years ago we went to the San Diego Zoo and I have to say I came away slightly unimpressed. I totally agree that the habitats are wonderful. I think my lack of awe was due to the fact that we have the National Zoo right down the street and it’s FREE! I’ve been there numerous times on field trips and family outings thinking that it was a ‘nice’ zoo. While visiting San Diego, we were excited to see the world reknowned zoo. It made me appreciate what a gem our completely free and open National Zoo is!
We also visited the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park for a program called ‘Snore and Roar’. What a delightful time we had. The park is very, very large with huge, open enclosures. An example would be the ‘East Africa’ enclosure where they have giraffes, lions, hippos, etc all in a huge area separated by cleverly disguised walls. You can look down from a ridgetop and really feel as though you are on a safari in Africa seeing all the animals there together naturally. We listened to stories around the campfire in the evening, slept in tents overlooking the East Africa enclosure listening to all the animal sounds (awesome) then had a campfire breakfast. It was one of our favorite vacations.
We also checked out the Arco Olympic Training facility about 1 hour out of SD. That’s worth a try when you are out there sometime if you like the Olympics.
Geez, now thinking about it, another spectacular day was sea kayaking off the coast in La Jolla! Seals just popped up beside the kayak to breath with their cute little eyes closed then they would open their eyes and be startled that we were right there and dash away. We kayaked through a coastal cave and were almost trapped when the tip of the kayak got hung up on the wall and a wave rushed into the cave lifting the water level by about 10 feet!
Then of course there is the fabulous old Del Mar Race Track.
Yikes – I need to go back – what a great place San Diego is!!