DAY 3: Monday, July 3rd
I failed to mention in yesterday’s post that I actually pulled off the highway on a couple of occasions to marvel at the rugged, somewhat menacing California coastline. Many folks have experienced the southern California beaches, with their babes, bikinis, and lovely atmosphere. Up in the northern part of the state the beaches have many rocky outcrops, crashing waves, few swimmers other than brave surfers, and the sense that danger lurks just offshore. Many beachfront properties are highly coveted, but if one was to purchase a home near the beach then it would look a lot like many houses that I passed on my journey: weathered, slightly eroded, windswept and damaged by the onslaught of sand and the cool breezes that wash in from the Pacific Ocean. The beauty of the landscape is bewitching but I would never purchase a home in such an area. The highlight of my stops was seeing 200+ pinnipeds in a single bay, with many kayakers paddling extremely close to the engaging animals. I even took a photo that shows approximately 80 animals and I was too far away to tell what species it was but I’m fairly certain that they were all Harbour Seals.
Anyway, I digress from what you really want to read about: zoo reviews!
Zoo/Aquarium #4: Safari West
This establishment is located in Santa Rosa, California, and in the heart of wine country. Nearby are vast mansions and tons of estates with expensive wineries that many tourists flock to like moths to a flame. It is the most expensive zoo that I’ve ever visited, costing $100 US ($135 Canadian) for a 3-hour guided tour. Tickets must be reserved and purchased far in advance and there is a high-end appearance in terms of catering to folks with deep wallets. Many of the people on my tour spent the night, paying $350-400 US for a single evening sleeping in a luxury tent. There are cottages for $400 US (for 4 people), private night-time safaris that include gourmet meals that are more than $1,000 Canadian (for 8 guests) and a big push for a $20 Canadian BBQ lunch after the safari as a representative called my cellphone a week before my visit to confirm whether I wanted the meal. I politely declined as I had already forked over a vast sum, and I promptly hit the nearest Taco Bell for my $5 meal on the way to my next zoo.
So what is there that entices a packed audience on a Sunday morning? Well, during my visit there was a total of 5 safari jeeps and a dozen people per jeep, meaning that 60 guests were out exploring part of the 400 acres of Safari West. I asked and the afternoon safaris were sold out as well, as word has obviously gotten around that this facility has an African experience that is like no other in North America. After a bit of a bungled job organizing all of the various 5 tour groups (I was placed in 3 different groups as one young employee kept mixing and matching the numbers) we were off and my tour guide was an older gentleman with a massive grey/white beard and a very long ponytail. I thought it was zoo designer Jon Coe at first! Anyway, the man was very knowledgeable and for the most part a great guide, incorporating basic information (“giraffes have 7 vertebrae in their necks”; “a giraffe can decapitate a lion with a well-aimed kick”) with funny asides (“African Crested Porcupines are the John Holmes of the animal kingdom”; “Johnny Weissmuller made a great Tarzan”) that showed his age. I felt all of my 41 years when I laughed at those comments alongside the seniors in our group.
We went off on a 45-minute walking tour and passed a number of enclosures and every single exhibit had zero signage as the emphasis was on the guide presenting a vast amount of information. A beautiful walk-in aviary is splendid, even with territorial Demoiselle Cranes actually pecking a poor member of the tour. There are at least 25 species in the aviary and the zoo’s website does a great job of listing all of them. Elsewhere are exhibits for these species: Cheetah, Serval, Fennec Fox, Patas Monkey, DeBrazza’s Monkey, Colobus Monkey, Red Ruffed Lemur, Black and White Ruffed Lemur, Ring-Tailed Lemur, Blue Duiker, Kookaburra, Trumpeter Hornbill, Caribbean Flamingo, African Greater Flamingo, Violet-Crested Turaco and African Spurred Tortoise. Vulturine Guineafowl are rampant and free roaming in all directions. If you book a special behind-the-scenes tour then it is possible to see Secretary Birds (although I saw two of them from a distance), Hooded Vultures and have opportunities to visit with the Cheetahs in a closer capacity. To be honest many of the exhibits are merely adequate and if anything several are much too small for their inhabitants. Also, the lack of any signs is downright annoying.
After the 45-minute walking tour the guide gave us a 10-minute break to purchase a drink and go to the washroom and then we commenced on our 2-hour driving safari. There are no washrooms and no buildings as the entire 2 hours we are inside a jeep and slowly cruising over extremely rough terrain. The initial climb after we entered the first gate was very scary for many passengers, as we stopped to admire a herd of about 10 Wildebeest and the jeep was on a very steep incline. From there we went along a dry, dusty ledge with zero barriers stopping us from hurtling downwards to our death…and probably being gored a few times by an errant Wildebeest along the way. There was a vast herd of Aoudad that quickly disappeared into a canyon upon our rattling, rumbling arrival, but the real stars of the show within the huge main paddock that is countless acres in size are the Cape Buffalo. The guide thought that Safari West possibly has the largest herd outside of Africa as there are at least 40 Cape Buffalo at the establishment and it was pretty cool to get very close to several of them. It is a breeding group with several youngsters and whenever they crashed through the undergrowth the Wildebeest scattered like flies.
There were a few more gates and various other species (Nyala, Common Eland, Impala, unseen Watusi Cattle, Sable Antelopes in a side exhibit separated from the rest) but one downside for some passengers is that there was a good 20-minute spell where we didn’t see a single living creature. The jeep lurched from precipitous drop to deep forest and since I visited in the peak of summer much of the initial hour was spent driving through a dust bowl with zero water in sight except for the occasional drinking trough for the various herds. There was a magical moment, after our 20-minute sabbatical from animal viewing, when 3-4 Gemsbok came skittering down an embankment from deep in the forest. Then a herd of perhaps 8 Plains Zebra emerged from a hillside and those two species met in a dry gully and the tour guide pointed out that what we had just experienced was a like a slice of Africa. Many dull minutes with nothing but the heat pounding down upon our sweaty brows, then in a flash a dazzle of zebras and even a few Gemsbok to lighten our mood.
The final part of the Safari Tour emerged into bright sunshine as we cast the forest behind us. A pair of Southern White Rhinos lounged in their paddock, surprisingly small considering that many ungulates have vast territories at this park. Side exhibits for Saddle-Billed Storks, Blue Cranes, Red River Hogs, Scimitar-Horned Oryx and Ostriches were all a delight, and it is kind of ironic that the final half-hour of the Safari Tour encompassed an area that was very much “zoo-like” in appearance with various hoofstock mingling in a main paddock or in adjacent, fenced exhibits. Here are many additional ungulates: Reticulated Giraffe, Greater Kudu, Bontebok, Addax, Roan Antelope, Addra Gazelle, Nile Lechwe, Grant’s Gazelle, Eastern Bongo and even a Bongo/Kudu mix (a somewhat odd-looking individual) that the zoo admits was a mistake.
So what is my final assessment of Safari West? The facility clearly offers up a fairly authentic experience and having educated, informative guides allows visitors to learn a great deal about the captive wildlife at the park. The 3-hour tour is conducted at a leisurely pace, whether it is walking or driving, and the guides memorize a tremendous number of facts and can answer any questions posed to them. Other than the multi-acre, gargantuan safari tour habitats, many of the zoo’s exhibits are merely adequate with a great number of basic fencing and well-furnished cages for smaller animals. I felt as if the morning was a clear success but due to the exorbitant price and manner in which the animals were seen I wouldn’t hurry back any time soon. I much prefer to walk around zoos, meaning that I genuinely avoid all modes of transportation other than my own two legs. Safari West is not even comparable to America’s world-class zoos like San Diego, Omaha, Saint Louis, Columbus and the Bronx, as I have a desire to see thousands of animals in beautiful exhibits (along with Reptile Houses and various buildings) while going at my own pace. Being forced to mingle and bump up against strangers (particularly because I was alone on the tour) was a bit awkward as everyone else there was a couple or with their extended families. Give me a regular zoo any day of the week. If I was forced to choose between the 3 hours of excellence of Safari West or even puttering around a mid-sized, 3-hour zoo like Point Defiance/Cameron Park/Indianapolis…I’d choose the mid-sized zoo every single time. If Safari West cost the exact same as the 3 zoos that I mentioned, I would still choose the mid-sized, regular zoos. I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to visit Safari West and there is much to recommend about the place and thus I would urge every single zoo enthusiast to visit at least once to see what all the fuss is about.
Zoo/Aquarium #5: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is a 135-acre theme park in the same vein as Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. I found out that the name comes from the fact that there have been six different “countries” that have governed Texas at one time or another in the past. There are more than 20 theme parks and waterparks owned by the Six Flags corporation and the one in Vallejo, California, has had at least 4 previous names. While there are 8 rollercoasters and an endless number of smaller rides, there are some animals amongst the chaos. I won’t go into any detail in regards to the amusement park setting and the plethora of eating outlets and gift shops, but I will mention the fact that there are likely 100 or more loudspeakers blasting music on every conceivable acre of ground in this huge establishment. Walking into Six Flags means hitting a cacophony of noise, screaming (from the coasters) and loud, belligerent individuals who just want to guzzle their sodas, snort up their M&M’s and jump onto the next crashing ride. It is bedlam inside, as all theme parks are to a certain extent, and not for the faint of heart. To top it off the layout is haphazard, mildly confusing and there are pathways and plazas in all directions.
Looking at the park’s map, it is easy to see that many of the aquatic attractions are along the left-hand side of the grounds. There is Shark Experience with its large building and single tank inside. Visitors are immediately transported into a short and slightly unremarkable tunnel and then there are views of the tank from large windows at the end of the tunnel. Shark Experience contains species such as Zebra Shark, Nurse Shark, Sandbar Shark, Spotted Wobbegong, Southern Stingray and 11 smaller species of fish. There is Jocko’s Walrus Experience, with a couple of Pacific Walruses that seemed to be displaying severe stereotypy in their repetitive swimming patterns within their 160,000-gallon pool. The annoyingly spelled Sting Ray Bay (basic touch tank), Penguin Passage (mediocre African Penguin exhibit) and Seal Cove (a number of Harbour Seals and a single rescued male California Sea Lion) round out an area that resembles SeaWorld in many respects except that SeaWorld’s level of exhibit quality is actually much better. I don’t know when the walrus complex was built but the exterior cement walls reek of “1970’s brutalism” (similar to areas at Seattle Aquarium and New England Aquarium) and the rest of the aquatic zones are nothing special whatsoever.
There are approximately a dozen stadiums throughout the sprawling acreage of Six Flags, including a Sea Lion Stadium with its California Sea Lions, Harbour Seals and at least one or two Small-Clawed Otters. I peered through a closed fence and I could see the small, chain-link fenced holding pens for all of those species and I’m curious as to whether they spend 90% of their lives in such close confines. There is Toyota Stadium, the biggest show in the park, and I actually sat for 20 minutes and watched the Common Bottlenose Dolphins perform to pounding, pulsating music. The dolphins soaked everyone in the front seats and since the performance was called “Drench!” there was no doubt that the crowd loved what they saw and there was very much an emphasis on entertainment with very little educational or conservational input from the presentation. I personally have little time for shows but it gave me a moment to rest my weary limbs from my day’s exertions.
The top right-hand corner of the park is where the zoo animals are, and here we have the following: Alligator Isle, Butterfly Garden (walk-through mini-jungle), Odin’s White Tiger Exhibit (literally built directly next to a large, loud rollercoaster), Odin’s Temple of the Tiger (for daily shows with the big cats), Reptile Discovery (a very tiny building with maybe 6 average-sized terrariums – with an active Taiwan Beauty Snake being the highlight), Giraffe Encounter (boring paddock for 3 Reticulated Giraffes), Cougar Rocks, Wolf’s Den, Lion’s Lair and Tiger Island (adequate enclosure with an impressive pool and underwater viewing). I was struck by what wasn’t there: a Bald Eagle exhibit was small, dull and thankfully unoccupied; several small animal enclosures were all empty; the Bactrian Camels are long gone; the Bottlenose Dolphin pool that is for public interactions was full of water but with a “exhibit closed” sign on it; and the infamous Elephant Trail area was permanently closed. Is the park downsizing?
Six Flags had elephants for decades but in February of 2015 it sent its two remaining elephants away to Wildlife Safari in Oregon. Before then the park had always had elephants, ever since the 1968 founding, and it was a big decision to send the animals elsewhere. Somewhat controversially, in 2016 Six Flags still had a couple of elephants on-site as they rented out a pair from Have Trunk Will Travel, a notorious elephant training company that is profiled in many online videos showing absolutely disgusting abuse of elephants. Six Flags cut all ties with Have Trunk Will Travel in 2016 and now the elephant zone sits bereft of pachdyerms and it looks rather forlorn. The good news is that Six Flags now has the space to build yet another rollercoaster or insanely loud attraction to entice the masses to come back for another season.
Today was yet another case of me visiting a zoo for the first and last time. Seeing Pacific Walruses is always a thrill as they are almost extinct in American zoological collections, and it is always exciting to visit a new zoo that I’ve never seen before. However, there is no lure for me to return and while I’m not a huge fan of either SeaWorld or Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, at least both of those establishments have some terrific sections that really are wonderful. All Six Flags has is a couple of Johnny Rockets restaurants (burgers, shakes and fries) because one wouldn’t be enough amidst the dozen or more eateries, right? We all know that we each want to pay $60 admission and $25 parking so that we can eat, shop and go deaf from screeching speakers and rockin’ coasters.
I failed to mention in yesterday’s post that I actually pulled off the highway on a couple of occasions to marvel at the rugged, somewhat menacing California coastline. Many folks have experienced the southern California beaches, with their babes, bikinis, and lovely atmosphere. Up in the northern part of the state the beaches have many rocky outcrops, crashing waves, few swimmers other than brave surfers, and the sense that danger lurks just offshore. Many beachfront properties are highly coveted, but if one was to purchase a home near the beach then it would look a lot like many houses that I passed on my journey: weathered, slightly eroded, windswept and damaged by the onslaught of sand and the cool breezes that wash in from the Pacific Ocean. The beauty of the landscape is bewitching but I would never purchase a home in such an area. The highlight of my stops was seeing 200+ pinnipeds in a single bay, with many kayakers paddling extremely close to the engaging animals. I even took a photo that shows approximately 80 animals and I was too far away to tell what species it was but I’m fairly certain that they were all Harbour Seals.
Anyway, I digress from what you really want to read about: zoo reviews!
Zoo/Aquarium #4: Safari West
This establishment is located in Santa Rosa, California, and in the heart of wine country. Nearby are vast mansions and tons of estates with expensive wineries that many tourists flock to like moths to a flame. It is the most expensive zoo that I’ve ever visited, costing $100 US ($135 Canadian) for a 3-hour guided tour. Tickets must be reserved and purchased far in advance and there is a high-end appearance in terms of catering to folks with deep wallets. Many of the people on my tour spent the night, paying $350-400 US for a single evening sleeping in a luxury tent. There are cottages for $400 US (for 4 people), private night-time safaris that include gourmet meals that are more than $1,000 Canadian (for 8 guests) and a big push for a $20 Canadian BBQ lunch after the safari as a representative called my cellphone a week before my visit to confirm whether I wanted the meal. I politely declined as I had already forked over a vast sum, and I promptly hit the nearest Taco Bell for my $5 meal on the way to my next zoo.
So what is there that entices a packed audience on a Sunday morning? Well, during my visit there was a total of 5 safari jeeps and a dozen people per jeep, meaning that 60 guests were out exploring part of the 400 acres of Safari West. I asked and the afternoon safaris were sold out as well, as word has obviously gotten around that this facility has an African experience that is like no other in North America. After a bit of a bungled job organizing all of the various 5 tour groups (I was placed in 3 different groups as one young employee kept mixing and matching the numbers) we were off and my tour guide was an older gentleman with a massive grey/white beard and a very long ponytail. I thought it was zoo designer Jon Coe at first! Anyway, the man was very knowledgeable and for the most part a great guide, incorporating basic information (“giraffes have 7 vertebrae in their necks”; “a giraffe can decapitate a lion with a well-aimed kick”) with funny asides (“African Crested Porcupines are the John Holmes of the animal kingdom”; “Johnny Weissmuller made a great Tarzan”) that showed his age. I felt all of my 41 years when I laughed at those comments alongside the seniors in our group.
We went off on a 45-minute walking tour and passed a number of enclosures and every single exhibit had zero signage as the emphasis was on the guide presenting a vast amount of information. A beautiful walk-in aviary is splendid, even with territorial Demoiselle Cranes actually pecking a poor member of the tour. There are at least 25 species in the aviary and the zoo’s website does a great job of listing all of them. Elsewhere are exhibits for these species: Cheetah, Serval, Fennec Fox, Patas Monkey, DeBrazza’s Monkey, Colobus Monkey, Red Ruffed Lemur, Black and White Ruffed Lemur, Ring-Tailed Lemur, Blue Duiker, Kookaburra, Trumpeter Hornbill, Caribbean Flamingo, African Greater Flamingo, Violet-Crested Turaco and African Spurred Tortoise. Vulturine Guineafowl are rampant and free roaming in all directions. If you book a special behind-the-scenes tour then it is possible to see Secretary Birds (although I saw two of them from a distance), Hooded Vultures and have opportunities to visit with the Cheetahs in a closer capacity. To be honest many of the exhibits are merely adequate and if anything several are much too small for their inhabitants. Also, the lack of any signs is downright annoying.
After the 45-minute walking tour the guide gave us a 10-minute break to purchase a drink and go to the washroom and then we commenced on our 2-hour driving safari. There are no washrooms and no buildings as the entire 2 hours we are inside a jeep and slowly cruising over extremely rough terrain. The initial climb after we entered the first gate was very scary for many passengers, as we stopped to admire a herd of about 10 Wildebeest and the jeep was on a very steep incline. From there we went along a dry, dusty ledge with zero barriers stopping us from hurtling downwards to our death…and probably being gored a few times by an errant Wildebeest along the way. There was a vast herd of Aoudad that quickly disappeared into a canyon upon our rattling, rumbling arrival, but the real stars of the show within the huge main paddock that is countless acres in size are the Cape Buffalo. The guide thought that Safari West possibly has the largest herd outside of Africa as there are at least 40 Cape Buffalo at the establishment and it was pretty cool to get very close to several of them. It is a breeding group with several youngsters and whenever they crashed through the undergrowth the Wildebeest scattered like flies.
There were a few more gates and various other species (Nyala, Common Eland, Impala, unseen Watusi Cattle, Sable Antelopes in a side exhibit separated from the rest) but one downside for some passengers is that there was a good 20-minute spell where we didn’t see a single living creature. The jeep lurched from precipitous drop to deep forest and since I visited in the peak of summer much of the initial hour was spent driving through a dust bowl with zero water in sight except for the occasional drinking trough for the various herds. There was a magical moment, after our 20-minute sabbatical from animal viewing, when 3-4 Gemsbok came skittering down an embankment from deep in the forest. Then a herd of perhaps 8 Plains Zebra emerged from a hillside and those two species met in a dry gully and the tour guide pointed out that what we had just experienced was a like a slice of Africa. Many dull minutes with nothing but the heat pounding down upon our sweaty brows, then in a flash a dazzle of zebras and even a few Gemsbok to lighten our mood.
The final part of the Safari Tour emerged into bright sunshine as we cast the forest behind us. A pair of Southern White Rhinos lounged in their paddock, surprisingly small considering that many ungulates have vast territories at this park. Side exhibits for Saddle-Billed Storks, Blue Cranes, Red River Hogs, Scimitar-Horned Oryx and Ostriches were all a delight, and it is kind of ironic that the final half-hour of the Safari Tour encompassed an area that was very much “zoo-like” in appearance with various hoofstock mingling in a main paddock or in adjacent, fenced exhibits. Here are many additional ungulates: Reticulated Giraffe, Greater Kudu, Bontebok, Addax, Roan Antelope, Addra Gazelle, Nile Lechwe, Grant’s Gazelle, Eastern Bongo and even a Bongo/Kudu mix (a somewhat odd-looking individual) that the zoo admits was a mistake.
So what is my final assessment of Safari West? The facility clearly offers up a fairly authentic experience and having educated, informative guides allows visitors to learn a great deal about the captive wildlife at the park. The 3-hour tour is conducted at a leisurely pace, whether it is walking or driving, and the guides memorize a tremendous number of facts and can answer any questions posed to them. Other than the multi-acre, gargantuan safari tour habitats, many of the zoo’s exhibits are merely adequate with a great number of basic fencing and well-furnished cages for smaller animals. I felt as if the morning was a clear success but due to the exorbitant price and manner in which the animals were seen I wouldn’t hurry back any time soon. I much prefer to walk around zoos, meaning that I genuinely avoid all modes of transportation other than my own two legs. Safari West is not even comparable to America’s world-class zoos like San Diego, Omaha, Saint Louis, Columbus and the Bronx, as I have a desire to see thousands of animals in beautiful exhibits (along with Reptile Houses and various buildings) while going at my own pace. Being forced to mingle and bump up against strangers (particularly because I was alone on the tour) was a bit awkward as everyone else there was a couple or with their extended families. Give me a regular zoo any day of the week. If I was forced to choose between the 3 hours of excellence of Safari West or even puttering around a mid-sized, 3-hour zoo like Point Defiance/Cameron Park/Indianapolis…I’d choose the mid-sized zoo every single time. If Safari West cost the exact same as the 3 zoos that I mentioned, I would still choose the mid-sized, regular zoos. I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to visit Safari West and there is much to recommend about the place and thus I would urge every single zoo enthusiast to visit at least once to see what all the fuss is about.
Zoo/Aquarium #5: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is a 135-acre theme park in the same vein as Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. I found out that the name comes from the fact that there have been six different “countries” that have governed Texas at one time or another in the past. There are more than 20 theme parks and waterparks owned by the Six Flags corporation and the one in Vallejo, California, has had at least 4 previous names. While there are 8 rollercoasters and an endless number of smaller rides, there are some animals amongst the chaos. I won’t go into any detail in regards to the amusement park setting and the plethora of eating outlets and gift shops, but I will mention the fact that there are likely 100 or more loudspeakers blasting music on every conceivable acre of ground in this huge establishment. Walking into Six Flags means hitting a cacophony of noise, screaming (from the coasters) and loud, belligerent individuals who just want to guzzle their sodas, snort up their M&M’s and jump onto the next crashing ride. It is bedlam inside, as all theme parks are to a certain extent, and not for the faint of heart. To top it off the layout is haphazard, mildly confusing and there are pathways and plazas in all directions.
Looking at the park’s map, it is easy to see that many of the aquatic attractions are along the left-hand side of the grounds. There is Shark Experience with its large building and single tank inside. Visitors are immediately transported into a short and slightly unremarkable tunnel and then there are views of the tank from large windows at the end of the tunnel. Shark Experience contains species such as Zebra Shark, Nurse Shark, Sandbar Shark, Spotted Wobbegong, Southern Stingray and 11 smaller species of fish. There is Jocko’s Walrus Experience, with a couple of Pacific Walruses that seemed to be displaying severe stereotypy in their repetitive swimming patterns within their 160,000-gallon pool. The annoyingly spelled Sting Ray Bay (basic touch tank), Penguin Passage (mediocre African Penguin exhibit) and Seal Cove (a number of Harbour Seals and a single rescued male California Sea Lion) round out an area that resembles SeaWorld in many respects except that SeaWorld’s level of exhibit quality is actually much better. I don’t know when the walrus complex was built but the exterior cement walls reek of “1970’s brutalism” (similar to areas at Seattle Aquarium and New England Aquarium) and the rest of the aquatic zones are nothing special whatsoever.
There are approximately a dozen stadiums throughout the sprawling acreage of Six Flags, including a Sea Lion Stadium with its California Sea Lions, Harbour Seals and at least one or two Small-Clawed Otters. I peered through a closed fence and I could see the small, chain-link fenced holding pens for all of those species and I’m curious as to whether they spend 90% of their lives in such close confines. There is Toyota Stadium, the biggest show in the park, and I actually sat for 20 minutes and watched the Common Bottlenose Dolphins perform to pounding, pulsating music. The dolphins soaked everyone in the front seats and since the performance was called “Drench!” there was no doubt that the crowd loved what they saw and there was very much an emphasis on entertainment with very little educational or conservational input from the presentation. I personally have little time for shows but it gave me a moment to rest my weary limbs from my day’s exertions.
The top right-hand corner of the park is where the zoo animals are, and here we have the following: Alligator Isle, Butterfly Garden (walk-through mini-jungle), Odin’s White Tiger Exhibit (literally built directly next to a large, loud rollercoaster), Odin’s Temple of the Tiger (for daily shows with the big cats), Reptile Discovery (a very tiny building with maybe 6 average-sized terrariums – with an active Taiwan Beauty Snake being the highlight), Giraffe Encounter (boring paddock for 3 Reticulated Giraffes), Cougar Rocks, Wolf’s Den, Lion’s Lair and Tiger Island (adequate enclosure with an impressive pool and underwater viewing). I was struck by what wasn’t there: a Bald Eagle exhibit was small, dull and thankfully unoccupied; several small animal enclosures were all empty; the Bactrian Camels are long gone; the Bottlenose Dolphin pool that is for public interactions was full of water but with a “exhibit closed” sign on it; and the infamous Elephant Trail area was permanently closed. Is the park downsizing?
Six Flags had elephants for decades but in February of 2015 it sent its two remaining elephants away to Wildlife Safari in Oregon. Before then the park had always had elephants, ever since the 1968 founding, and it was a big decision to send the animals elsewhere. Somewhat controversially, in 2016 Six Flags still had a couple of elephants on-site as they rented out a pair from Have Trunk Will Travel, a notorious elephant training company that is profiled in many online videos showing absolutely disgusting abuse of elephants. Six Flags cut all ties with Have Trunk Will Travel in 2016 and now the elephant zone sits bereft of pachdyerms and it looks rather forlorn. The good news is that Six Flags now has the space to build yet another rollercoaster or insanely loud attraction to entice the masses to come back for another season.
Today was yet another case of me visiting a zoo for the first and last time. Seeing Pacific Walruses is always a thrill as they are almost extinct in American zoological collections, and it is always exciting to visit a new zoo that I’ve never seen before. However, there is no lure for me to return and while I’m not a huge fan of either SeaWorld or Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, at least both of those establishments have some terrific sections that really are wonderful. All Six Flags has is a couple of Johnny Rockets restaurants (burgers, shakes and fries) because one wouldn’t be enough amidst the dozen or more eateries, right? We all know that we each want to pay $60 admission and $25 parking so that we can eat, shop and go deaf from screeching speakers and rockin’ coasters.
Or are you just going to post comparisons in this thread?
