San Diego Zoo

I loved the San Diego Zoo.

It would be easy to compare it to SeaWorld, and give the zoo all the credit.

There are some points to that, but other comparisons may be more to the point.

I do believe it is possible for animals in captivity to have good lives, and for it to be done ethically.

One thing I appreciated from both the tour and from listening to various keepers is the affection you hear for the animals. They are invested and excited, and that seems good.

That is not enough though. The animals also need the kind of social relationships that work for them, as well as sufficient space.

I noticed that the enclosures were not only large, generally, but also had ways of escaping viewers. Despite that, we were able to see a lot.

That includes the bus tour, which was informative and gave a good view of many of the animals.

We took that first, thinking it would help give us a feel for the layout, allowing us to navigate better.

That part did not work out. The zoo is enormous, and it is not always easy to maintain a sense of direction.

This is where I may have my most important piece of advice: if you are determined to see the entire zoo, give yourself two days.

If you only have one day, pick the things the animals that you like most, or the experiences that sound the most interesting, and go with that choice.

And I do really recommend the bus tour.

A little serendipity doesn't hurt. We ended up repeating one area because we took a turnoff that led to food, and did not realize we were near an animal we wanted to see.

However, that put us at the right place and time for the only aardvark presentation, and that was really cool.

Back when we were trying to get to the Santa Ana Zoo, I remember being surprised, because why would you go there when you have the Los Angeles Zoo?

But then when we did go to the Los Angeles Zoo, we were frustrated by the size, and how hard it was to see anything, even from the tram.

San Diego handles its size really well. That doesn't mean that it can't be overwhelming, but it is still really good, and not something to take for granted.

It may not be the best place for great photos with a dinky camera (there were some people with serious lenses there).

It was a great place for looking. We saw wrestling bear cubs and young koala chewing leaves; actually, there were a lot of baby animals.

But (from one point of view) aren't they all kind of babies?

We saw some great things, and would love to see more.

COVID: Almost everything was outdoors. We were also there on a weekday, which helped with distancing, though I expect there will always be school field trips.

Accessibility: Navigation seemed to be good, though it is easy to get tired out. There are rentals available as well. There were accessible bathrooms and bus access.

I would go back. And spend another two days.

https://sandiegozoowildlifealliance.org/