Who’s Who at the San Diego Zoo: My Favorite Animals
The world isn’t actually getting smaller, but people dust off the cliché to illustrate how technology and other forces make it more connected. If there was a place that took the phrase literally, however, it would be the San Diego Zoo: 100 acres along the southern edge of California featuring animals from every corner of the globe.
I spent a day in this wonderland and met some of the coolest residents of Planet Earth. While there wasn’t a single exhibit that disappointed me, I will confess to having a few favorites out of the nearly 4,000 critters on display. Now, almost a year after my visit, I’ve finally settled on the top five animals that call the zoo their home.
5: Red Pandas
How did the San Diego Zoo manage to squeeze $60 out of me? Aside from the recommendations of my family and friends, I visited for the promise of pandas. These bears have the power to influence foreign policy owing to their rarity and legendary cuteness, and I wanted to get in on the craze. Alas, at the time of my trip, the zoo had exactly zero pandas in residence. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. While the zoo didn’t have giant pandas, their collection did feature red pandas.
Although they share a name, the two species aren’t very closely related: Giant pandas can grow up to six feet in length, whereas red pandas are closer in size and shape to housecats. Both types of panda, however, are adorable. The red fellows I got to meet spent their day lounging about in a tree just like it would in the wild. It was a hot day in Southern California, and the red panda tried its best to beat the heat by sitting under a mist sprayer that had been installed in its enclosure. Sitting by yourself trying to stay out of the sun? Now there’s my spirit animal.
4: Lions
I’m a cat person, so this pick is hardly surprising. In fact, I call one of my kitties at home my tiny lion; it started as a joke, but seeing these big cats up close illustrated how well the pet name fits. Everything about these rulers of the jungle, from how they licked their paws and cleaned themselves down to the way they bared all their teeth as they yawned, felt familiar. Where had I seen this before?
It dawned on me that the legendary predators before my eyes were really just scaled-up versions of my cats back home. While I didn’t suddenly feel the urge to reach out and scratch them behind the ears, seeing the similarities between lions and my own felines filled me with a sense of restored connection, like I was meeting an old friend for the first time in ages. Perhaps there’s a lesson in how the things we think are exotic aren’t so foreign after all.
The lions are also one of the more dangerous exhibits at the San Diego Zoo. There’s no risk that a guest might fall into the enclosure and become a snack or that the lions might escape, but a sign warns against standing too close to them. Move within seven to ten feet of the lions at your own risk, because if you do, you’re in the splash zone.
3: Giraffes
I feel a strong kinship with giraffes. Like them, I’m a tall, spindly mammal that looks awkward no matter what posture I adopt.
The giraffes were some of the more energetic animals I saw during my visit and thus some of the most fun to watch. Their first order of business was meandering about their pen to determine the best spot to sit in the sun and relax. Once they crossed that off the to-do list, they rose to their feet and checked their elevated troughs for leftovers from breakfast. The last item on their agenda was burning off a few of those calories with exercise.
Giraffes are apparently big fans of aerobics since their workout consisted entirely of short sprints around their enclosure. Two giraffes would occasionally try to race each other, leading them to slam their necks together in what may have been an attempt to trip up the other guy or a form of competitive hugging—but either way, it made for a great spectator sport.
2: Meerkats
The philosophy of hakuna matata was but a distant memory for the meerkats of the zoo. I made it to their enclosure just in time to hear the meerkats’ keeper give a talk to the assembled guests about these little batteries with legs, and she explained that the mob (which is the actual name for a group of meerkats!) were in the midst of choosing a new matriarch.
The time-honored selection process consisted of having the candidates battle it, out tooth and claw, day after day, until one lionhearted rodent stood above the rest. Would one aspiring ruler attempt to hold the high ground and seize power from a place of tactical superiority? Might another propose marriage with her rivals to establish a truce and use the festivities as an opportunity to massacre her unsuspecting foes? Only time would tell.
Still, it was hard to imagine such acts of cruelty coming from these critters. They were a hyperactive bunch, running across their enclosure and sniffing at anything they deemed curious. While many of the meerkats played, the keeper pointed out that one would always stand apart from the mob, keeping watch against any potential predators that might get too close. I thought it was fascinating that they retained such a group dynamic despite their infighting.
Also, have you ever seen a meerkat chase bubbles?
1: Koalas
You hope that most of the animals you visit at the zoo will put on a show. Will the gorillas swing from vine to vine? Will the hippos cannonball into their pool? The koalas, on the other hand, did nothing but hang out—literally—and yet they were the stars that made my entire visit worth it
Koalafornia, the San Diego Zoo’s koala exhibit, is the largest koala colony outside of Australia. The pun alone could’ve won these would-be bears my undying affection. However, I had the good fortune of stumbling upon them at feeding time, otherwise known as pretty much the only time of day when the koalas aren’t sleeping.
In the wild, koalas live high up in the branches of trees, and their exhibit included replicas where they could plant themselves and get comfortable. I spent about 20 minutes just watching these little guys napping, and I thought that there was nothing more adorable than a dreaming koala. Then, as if to prove me wrong, the keepers started stuffing bushels of eucalyptus up in the trees with them. The aroma wafted through the air and roused the koalas to action, or, at least, what qualifies as action for these marsupials.
One rascal didn’t even open his eyes to eat; he just opened his mouth and nibbled at the air until he found the leafy goodness he craved. Some of the more athletic members of the delegation actually crawled for a few inches and reached out their paws to grab some breakfast, which filled me with a warmth that I probably won’t experience again unless I have kids.
I expected to be awestruck by the animals I encountered. Instead, I was lovestruck, and that was definitely the better outcome.
To learn more about the San Diego Zoo, visit their website.