Whether you are visiting Washington, DC or you live here, the National Zoo is one of the city's favorite attractions for children of all ages.
The zoo opened in 1889, and a year later it became part of the Smithsonian. The oldest building now standing is the old monkey house (recently renovated and reopened as The Think Tank). Today, the zoo is home to about 2000 animals, not counting a large population of mice who hang out in the gorilla cages.
The best time of day to visit the zoo is in the morning. The animals are pretty lively then, and for most of them, it's mealtime. In the morning, you'll find the cheetahs racing around their area after a white rag on a pulley - they think it's a rabbit. When they're exhausted from their run, the caretakers throw meat at them - sort of like the chase in the wild!
If you show up late in the afternoon like I did today. most of the animals are taking their nap time. But I gotta say, I've never ever been to the zoo when the pandas have been awake! All they do is snooze!
A highlight of any trip to the zoo is a visit to the elephants and the hippos. They are in the process of building a huge elephant run in the middle of the park. Today, there was a lone elephant out in the yard. And the hippo spent most of the time under the water, finally opening his big mouth to the excitement of the crowd of people with their photos.
You can reach the zoo by Metro, getting off at the Woodley Park stop, and when you've walked your feet off, and need a rest at the end of the day, drop in at the Zoo Bar, where the food is good though greasy and the beer is cheap.
Pat the Pandas are either sleeping or eating such a life. Oh wait isn't that what Congress does too?
We're so fortunate to live close enough to visit this amazing place at will. And what a beautiful day you had for today's visit.
We made our first visit to the National Zoo a year ago. The pandas were my favorite. I swear that they hammed it up when the cameras came out.
Who doesn't love a zoo....?.....whenever I travel I make sure I go see the city zoo........funny eh?....
Patricia,
Ya just gotta love Hippos...so graceful in their clunkiness!!! Thanks, Fran
Hi Pat,
The day after you hosted the AR gathering during the May NAR meetings, I spent much of the morning exploring the National Zoo. What a delight!
IPOD in my ears, it was almost like I had the whole place to myself. It is a national treasure to be sure.
Thanks for the reminder of a fun day.