Zoo Atlanta
Zoo Atlanta is located at 800 Cherokee Avenue SE, Atlanta, 30315, inside of historic Grant Park. While centrally located when the zoo opened in 1889, Grant Park is not the center of Atlanta anymore, and can be hard for some to find. Located off of Boulevard, yes that's right for anyone not from Atlanta the road is just Boulevard, you will find Grant Park on your right shortly after crossing over I-20. You will find plenty of parking immediately when you pull into the park. From there follow the signs that guide you into the zoo, past the old Atlanta Cyclorama building. The zoo is open from 9:30am-5:30pm on weekdays, and 9:30am-6:30pm on the weekends. As of 2016, the price for admission is $26 for adults, and $18 for children, but the prices are cheaper if you buy them online.
Zoo Atlanta is probably most famous for Willie B., a silverback gorilla that lived at the zoo from 1961-2000. Most of the gorillas living at the zoo today are descendants of Willie B., and the gorilla exhibit is one of the finest in the nation. These stunning animals roam a pretty massive area in the park, and the zoo has gone to great lengths to build a habitat fit for these majestic animals. Other animals nearby include the crowd favorite giraffes, lions, tigers, and zebras. One tip is to go early in the morning if you can. Like people, animals are really excited about being out in the Georgia heat, so if you go in the afternoon you may be watching a bunch of animals sleep. Zoo Atlanta recently opened a multimillion dollar reptile and amphibian exhibit called Scaly Slimy Spectacular. The exhibit is located indoors (even if you don't like it, there is air conditioning), and is home to alligators, pythons, and just about any type of scaled animal that exists in the world today. On the far side of the park is a petting zoo for the little children. Most goats, these animals lay around lazily and let the excited children brush their hair and pet their bellies.
The reason we came to the zoo this day was to for a trip every family should take. Zoo Atlanta, like many zoos today, offers patrons the opportunity to feed and pet some of the animals. We went to pet the elephants, Aldabra tortoises, and giant pandas. The most expensive of these three opportunities is the panda, but it is also the longest, and all three are coordinated to be done in a single day. To start the day we had the chance to feed Lun Lun, the mother of the family of pandas living at the zoo today. Visitors are escorted in the research facility for pandas, put through a decontamination process, and instructed on how to pet the panda. While you are not alone with her, and actually not even directly exposed to her, the experience is fun as you get to see how smart these animals truly are. If you really love pandas, and honestly who doesn't, Zoo Atlanta operates Panda Cam, a 24 hour online camera feed to watch them in their habitat. Probably the most shocking news to me that day was the scam the Chinese government pulls on zoos to house these animals. China has somehow named themselves the owners of every panda in the world, even the ones that were not born there like Mei Lun and Mei Huan. Not only do the zoos have to pay all the normal costs associated with keeping an animal, but they also have to pay a rental fee to the Chinese government each year, and then have to send their pandas back to China to help them repopulate their supplies whenever their government wants them. Sorry, the foreign policy rant is over.
From there we headed back to the exhibit to pet the giant tortoises. This activity is much more hands on as you get in their habitat with them, and feed them directly. The three tortoises are Corky, Patches, and Shuffles, although you will learn quickly Patches is the only one that really cares that you are there. These giant creatures range from 200-350 pounds, and come from the remote Aldabra Atoll off the eastern coast of Africa. Patches stood right up when she saw someone she could play with, and very slowly came over to us to let us pet her. She extended her neck inviting us to put her on one of the spots she can't get to herself. You will get a chance to feed her sweet potatoes, which proves she is truly a lady of Atlanta if she loves sweet potatoes.
Our last stop was a chance to pet one of my favorite animals in the world, the African elephant. The two elephants at Zoo Atlanta are Tara and Kelly. Both in their thirties, they are like sisters, and each has her own personality. When we arrived Tara was playing in the water hole in their exhibit and was hopping around while the zoo keepers sprayed her with a hose to cool her off. Kelly, the more reserved one, stood back, and took more than fifteen minutes of coaxing to come enjoy the fun. We had the opportunity to meet Kelly. We were shown around back of the exhibit, and trainers showed how they use food to get Kelly to show them her body so they can check her out. We were then given a chance to pet her, and were able to feed her lettuce, which was surreal as she took it from my hand with her massive trunk and then put it in her mouth. If you really want to take a treat home with you, you can buy paintings, at a reasonable price, each of the elephants has painted with their trunk.
Everyone in your party must be at least 13 years old to participate in these petting opportunities. Even if you don't go for the petting opportunities, Zoo Atlanta is a fun way to spend the day. With Cyclorama moving to the Atlanta History Center, the zoo will soon be expanding into that area of the park, so hopefully it continues to improve. One reminder, if you are not a parent or are not comfortable around little kids, this is NOT the place for you. I am fairly certain roughly 90% of the children under the age of five in the metro Atlanta area were at the zoo that day, but since I love kids I didn't mind at all. Hopefully everyone will find an animal there they love, and will stop back to visit them many times.
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