Zoos are complicated, especially when you know how abusive and dangerous some can be to the animals in captivity. I did my research on this zoo before deciding to visit and understood the situations behind the animals that have died here from accidents or neglect. However, this being an AZA-accredited zoo dedicated to conservation, and with only a handful of animal deaths, made me decide to visit. I'm quite glad I did, and am hopeful that in future this zoo will better be able to care for its animals.

As with most zoos, many of the exhibit spaces seemed small for the animals they housed, tho there were some that my pal and I agreed were quite large. The bald eagles, for example, seemed frightened and were glued to a branch in their small, dark enclosure. But the otter nearby was busy swimming around, nosing thru the plants, and generally seeming to have a delightful time. The seals and sea lions were also quite active and seemed happy to circle around and splash in their enclosure. The tortoises had a relatively large space compared to their needs.

My absolute favorite animal, and one of the reasons I was so excited to visit, were the two stunning, massive cinereous vultures housed in a large enclosure with some monkeys. It was a joy to watch the vultures hop around, spread their large wings, and observe us visitors. I was extremely disappointed, however, that there was no signage about them anywhere! Vultures are such vital parts of ecosystems, and are extremely misunderstood birds. People ought to be educated about them instead of viewing them and mistaking them for eagles. I ended up educating some other visitors about vultures, and at one point someone asked if I worked for the zoo!

There were some other areas of signage that were lacking as well, but the vultures was the most disappointing. Many vulture species are endangered or threatened, and zoos should be spaces to educate people on all animals and how interconnected ecosystems are, rather than only highlighting the charismatic animals. I wish the website also had a complete list of the animals here, instead of highlighting the popular ones like giraffes and tortoises. "Ugly" guys need some love and attention, too!

Lightning round: The train ride was lovely, tho the usage of a native american face as a train logo on most of the cars is cringe. It's 2023; indigeneous people are not mascots. Stroller and wheelchair accessibility is decent, tho there are some areas where there are only stairs to access a space (such as a viewing station by the giraffes). The vending machine near the train station wasn't working. None of the gift shop animals included vultures or "non-cute" animals. Signage for the virtual map QR code was unclear, and I wish that the online map was interactive or at the very least oriented so north is at the top. And since there are still some people without phones, having a small stack of paper maps and/or having some large, standing "you are here"-style board maps would be helpful.