San Diego Zoo & Safari Park
Born to be wild
NOT ONLY IS THE SAN DIEGO ZOO one of the world’s largest, it set the bar for zoos everywhere by pioneering the concept of zoos without cages. More than 3,500 animals living here represent 650 species and subspecies, many of which are nearing extinction in the wild. The zoo’s 100 acres of Balboa Park re-create its denizens’ natural habitats in a botanical garden of 700,000 exotic plants. Perhaps most important, its Institute for Conservation Research contributes its scientific expertise to 100 conservation and species-preservation projects in 45 countries on six continents and has been instrumental in replenishing populations of the California condor, giant panda and Tasmanian devil, among many other species.
Africa Rocks, opened in summer 2017, is the zoo’s newest exhibit, as well as the largest in the zoo’s 100-year history. Its eight acres, including a 65-foot waterfall, are landscaped to make baboons, leopards, lemurs and dwarf crocodiles feel right at home. Endangered African penguins have their own habitat. The Panda Trek, Asian leopard habitat and the Australian Outback, home to koalas mingling with other marsupials and birds, are still among the most popular areas.
Visitors can book special early-morning tours for an extra fee that include private time with favorite felines or joining giant pandas for breakfast. Animals in Action and Inside Look Tours go behind the scenes to watch trainers at work and learn how zoo staff cares for a variety of animals.
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Northeast of San Diego in Escondido, the zoo’s former breeding facility is now an 1,800-acre adjunct park where most of its more than 3,000 animals run free. It concentrates on herd animals such as giraffes, antelopes and rhinos from African and Asian savannahs but houses more than 300 species in all.
To see these creatures up close, just stroll the Tiger Trail, the Lemur Walk or the Cheetah Run, where you can feel the whoosh of the world’s fastest cat speeding past. At the newest habitat, Walkabout Australia, some of Earth’s strangest animals pop up—literally, in the case of kangaroos and wallabies—in the grasslands, billabongs and rain forest (sugar gliders and cassowaries have their own unique forms of locomotion).
For photo ops with herds of giraffes, crashes of rhinos and flocks of exotic birds, board the Africa Tram. For a park overview, join one of the safaris, undertaken by cart, caravan, jungle ropes or zip line. You can even sleep close to the animals on a Roar and Snore Safari. If you’re lucky, you’ll glimpse one of the six white rhinos that live in the Rhino Rescue Center, which is not open to visitors.