The Woodland Park Zoo can get kinda old if you’re a member of it and have seen all the exhibits a couple times, and it can get even more stale for the animals themselves. Most animals figure out the routine and spend a lot of time napping, although the otters fortunately have acute ADHD.
This is why you must visit the zoo for “enrichment activities”. The most fun I’ve ever had at the zoo was at Pumpkin Bash- seeing an elephant or hippo eat a pumpkin in one bite is pure awesomeness. So is seeing the smaller animals roll a pumpkin around while figuring out how to extract a treat from the inside.
It’s not Pumpkin Bash, but this Saturday from 10 AM to 3 PM the animals will get Valentine treats. See animals chomp down “herbal bouquets, heart-shaped steaks, heart-shaped ice pops made of fruit juice, honey, strawberries and cranberries, and more”. The schedule is here:
- Golden lion tamarins – 10:00 a.m.
- Snow leopards – 10:30 a.m.
- Otters – 10:30 a.m.
- Jaguar – 11:00 a.m.
- Orangutans – 11:00 a.m.
- Lemurs – 11:15 a.m.
- Willawong Station (birds) – 11:30 a.m.
- Sloth bear – 11:30 a.m.
- Anoa – 11: 45 a.m.
- Penguins – 1:00 p.m.
- Goats – 1:15 p.m.
- Gorillas – 1:20 p.m.
- Meerkats – 1:30 p.m.
- Pigs – 1:30 p.m.
- Kea parrots – 1:30 p.m.
- Lions – 2:00 p.m.
- Elephants – 2:00 p.m.
- Red pandas – 3:00 p.m.
Enjoy!
Hey, speak for yourself regarding the “staleness” of seeing animals more than a couple of times. I adore the zoo and go about once a week just to see whassup.
🙂
Totally agree with scarebaby. The animals change on a daily basis. I just hope that scarebaby has a yearly pass. The zoo has gotten terribly expensive. I remember when it was free…………………..
Wow! Last time it was free was 1977. You get major “native” points. Have you seen the fantastic zoo history pages here?
http://www.zoo.org/about-us/our-history
For me, I’ve seen each exhibit about 20 times over the last 12 years, having raised kids near the zoo and been involved on the advisory board. I now find the enrichment activity days at the zoo make an essential difference for keeping it fresh (speaking only for myself 🙂