Children’s Zoo & Franklin Farm – Every American zoo simply must have a farmyard/barn area and this one is no different as there are chickens, goats, sheep, pigs, horses, barn owls and donkeys in stalls and small enclosures. The children’s zoo is interesting as it contains a black-tailed prairie dog enclosure, a surprisingly nice red panda/Reeves’ muntjac exhibit, a coendou exhibit and even an Amur leopard enclosure. “Little Critters” is a rundown, stinky building that is terribly outdated, and here is the species list in the 17 terrariums: emperor newt, red-tailed boa constrictor, prehensile-tailed skink (two exhibits), grey tree frog, spotted turtle, green-and-black poison dart frog, yellow-banded poison frog, Borneo eared frog, mossy frog, African clawed frog, Madagascar hissing cockroach, Standing’s day gecko, red-footed tortoise, eastern box turtle, coastal rosy boa and Argentine tortoise.
The children’s zoo badly needs updating due to peeling paint, antiquated signage and simple things like dirty, crumpled garbage cans or pads on doors so that they don’t slam and make an awful racket.
