Zoos are usually discussed in the context of “where to go with children.” Although, to be honest, looking at wild “animals” is interesting not only for children, but also for adults. After all, communication with living nature brings us sparkling childish joy, no matter how old we are. Zoos, at least big and good ones, are not just an attraction for bored tourists, but an important tool for preserving biodiversity, without which we would have lost some species a long time ago. It’s precisely to such large and good zoos, where animals do not suffer in cramped cages, but are kept in conditions as close as possible to natural ones, and it is worth going for this purest joy. Fortunately, they are on all continents. Well, except for Antarctica.
Toronto Zoo
www.torontozoo.com
Perhaps there are more not just large, but huge zoos in North America. There, in Toronto, Canada
is the largest zoological park in the world. Its area is 287 hectares, that is, 410 football fields. It seems that such expanses cannot be walked around in many days, but “only” 10 km of trails have been laid there for people, and throughout the rest of the territory representatives of more than 500 species of animals run, fly, crawl and swim, from Komodo dragons to polar wolves. There are only about 5,000 individuals, which willingly breed and reproduce in these free conditions: in 2015, the first pair of giant panda cubs, four rare white lion cubs and a polar bear cub named Juno were born at the Toronto Zoo.
And in 2016, the Indian rhinoceros Nandu was born. The animal babies have a special schedule of visits so that they don’t get overtired. For human children, the zoo has a special play area where you can climb, ride slides and run among the jets of many fountains, which is especially important in the summer heat.
Many US zoos also deserve attention. For example, Colombus Zoo & Aquarium in Ohio, which is slightly less than Canada’s – 234 hectares, or California’s San Diego Zoo. But… there’s a zoo from every continent!
Temaiken Biopark
www.temaiken.org.ar
South America has smaller zoos than its northern neighbors, but that doesn’t mean nature lovers have nowhere to go other than the Amazon rainforest. You can immerse yourself in the world of wild nature, for example, at the Argentine Zoo Temaiken. It is located in the town of Belem de Escobar, 50 km from
Buenos Aires, and occupies 34 hectares. This, of course, cannot be compared with the Canadian expanses, but it is larger than the territory of our Moscow Zoo (21.5 hectares),
one of the largest and most visited in Europe. Temaiken is divided into four zones: the first is inhabited by representatives of the local fauna, from capybaras to pumas, the second and third are reserved for animals of Africa and Asia, and the fourth is the Aquarium. In addition to the opportunity to watch animals, and some of them (domestic ones) to pet and feed, there is also entertainment for two-legged people who are not ready to tear themselves away from the benefits of civilization even for a day – a 360° cinema, where they play popular science videos about nature.
National Zoological Garden of South Africa
www.nzg.ac.za
In Africa, as you know, there are sharks, in Africa there are gorillas, in Africa there are big angry crocodiles. And all these beautiful creatures (as well as many others: elephants, rhinoceroses, lions, antelopes, vultures…) can be seen without the slightest risk to life at the Pretoria Zoo, the largest in South Africa, receiving about 600,000 visitors annually. Founded in 1899, the park also boasts a unique collection of tropical plants. There are 6 km of hiking trails on an area of 85 hectares; approximately half of this land is plain, the second part is upland, where the funicular goes. The zoo can be visited not only during the day, but also at night, as part of special tours.
Prague Zoo
www.zoopraha.cz
Photo: zoopraha.cz
Choosing one of the many European zoos is not an easy task. The zoos of Berlin, Vienna, London, and some non-capital cities such as Kosice in Slovakia are worth visiting. And yet we are not talking about them, but about the Prague Zoo, which occupies more than 50 hectares on the outskirts of the Czech capital and is one of the first places on the list of its main attractions. Curious lemurs sit at arm’s length from startled visitors; zebras, giraffes and elephants walk importantly around the spacious savannah enclosure against the backdrop of “gingerbread” houses visible in the distance; mountain goats dashingly jump up and down the almost vertical smooth rocks… Here you can happily spend the whole day with the whole family, including, by the way, your beloved dog. Yes, yes, you can bring your dog to Zoo Praha!
Singapore Zoo
www.zoo.com.sg
Still, the rule “one continent, one zoo” is not suitable for Eurasia; we will have to break it for the sake of the Singapore Zoo, which is listed in almost all the top zoological parks in the world. Its 28 hectares are home to representatives of more than 300 species, 16% of which are threatened with extinction. About 1.7 million people visit the park annually, attracted not only by rare animals and lush tropical greenery, but also by special programs such as “Breakfast in the Jungle” or night safari. There is also a river safari, a kind of two-in-one entertainment – a ride on a water attraction, during which you get acquainted with the fauna of the Amazon jungle.
Steve Irwin Australia Zoo
www.australiazoo.com.au
Australia has several large zoos, public and private, and each is good in its own way. The one in Melbourne is the oldest in the country, opened in 1862. Taronga Zoo has panoramic views of Sydney Harbour, home to more than 4,000 animals of various species. Well, Australia Zoo in Queensland, named after naturalist Steve Irwin, who died in 2006 while filming a television program about marine animals from a stingray, is famous for its unique crocodiles show and the fact that it was here that the elephant tortoise Harietta lived out his life, which caught Darwin’s grandfather himself . The naturalist brought the still young tortoise to England from the Galapagos Islands in 1835, and a few years later she moved to Australia, where she lived happily until… the same 2006.
