Four of us took an early flight so we could spend an afternoon at the San Diego Zoo. I’d often heard it was the most amazing zoo on the planet, and I’m convinced. The animals seemed healthy. The cages and enclosures were large and attractive with good viewing areas. The entire park was landscaped with exotic plants and flowers in bloom. Although the parking lot was packed and there were many people wandering about, I didn’t feel like I was stuck in a crowd.
Maybe it is because the paths wound around and the landscaping was so thick and healthy that I didn’t get many pictures that give a feel of the zoo itself, but you can see from these photos how close we got to the animals.
We took the “Skyfari” tram ride over the park.
One of the highlights was the Secretary Bird. It’s a bird a prey, related to eagles and falcons, but it stands about three-and-a-half feet tall and spends most of its time on the ground. We watched for several minutes as it made repeated attempts to gain enough speed to get airborne so it could put another stick on its nest. Young California Condors were in the next cage.
The main attraction at the zoo is the Giant Pandas, and this is the only place where we had to stand in line, but it was worth it, as we got great views.
If I ran the zoo…I’d give that Panda a little teeth cleaning. Oh wait, maybe that’s what the stick is for. (You got some great shots. It’s fun to see what other people are doing while we sit indoors and watch the snow melt :)