Perhaps the sign makes that obvious.
When I say "little", we were able to go through the entire zoo in less than an hour.
There are over 400 animals, but many of them are the tiny residents of the Reptile House (which includes amphibians, as the frog on the sign indicates).
They are currently planning a move that will give them more space and the opportunity for different experiences. It is a nice place to visit now, and conveniently located in Land Park across from Fairytale Town.
I will say that the Eastern exposure was not conducive to good photos, at least for between 9 and 10 AM on a late October morning. I am not a great photographer anyway, but everything seems overexposed, even for me.
I mention that because we had better experiences than are conveyed. We got to watch an orangutan playing with a sheet. They like building new beds every night, so need to have materials like that. This one (though it was morning) pulled a white sheet around himself like a cape and walked away, looking like he was playing ghost. A few days before Halloween, that was surprising and perfect.
Not everything is set up for the easiest viewing, but the animals can get their privacy, and that's important.
The primates were the most likely to be providing views and entertainment.
The okapi snubbed us completely (just showing us their butts), but we got a pretty good look at the zebras.
Feeding the giraffes was the highlight.
For $5 each, we were able to feed one large leaf and one branch. This also gave us some time to talk about the animals with the keepers, and was well worth it.
I must add that staff was generally available, and glad to answer questions or share information about the animals. We had a nice talk about their capybara family.
While it is temporary, the zoo is currently featuring Dino Don's Dinosaur Safari.
Displays are animatronic, with slight movements, and each dinosaur is labeled.
So, when I saw this and thought, Well, dimetrodon is not really a dinosaur, then I saw the sign, "Edaphrosaurus"... though apparently the edaphrosaurus is also a synapsid. I mean, there's more to big, scaly creatures than taxonomy anyway, right?
The carousel was not running while we were there, but there are also climbing attractions and scheduled events with the big cats, so it does not hurt to do some planning for which experiences mean most to you.
We were most determined to feed the giraffes, and that's what we did.
COVID: Everything is pretty outside except for the Reptile House, so I masked in there. It was not at all crowded while we were there, so distancing seemed easy. That may be different at other times. (We arrived right at the 9:00 opening on a Sunday morning.)
Accessibility: The paths were pretty navigable. There were ramps for the giraffe feeding situation. There were some places with steps, but there was always another way up from what I saw. I also appreciated this sign.
The zoo has partnered with KultureCity to help with the experience for those with sensory issues. You can read more about the resources available at https://www.saczoo.org/sensory-inclusive-information/.
It does look like the train would not accommodate wheelchairs, but that if you can do the ride outside of the chair it would be all right, and similar for the carousel.
(The cobwebs were there for Halloween.)
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