Zoos in Arizona

Valentinoamor

Valentinoamor

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
My family would like to take a trip down to Arizona, so I was wondering what you guys would consider being the best zoo down there to visit. I know Arizona Zoo and the Wildlife World Zoo are down there, but I don't know too much about them.
 
EsserWarrior said:
My family would like to take a trip down to Arizona, so I was wondering what you guys would consider being the best zoo down there to visit. I know Arizona Zoo and the Wildlife World Zoo are down there, but I don't know too much about them.
Click to expand...
Where is Arizona Zoo?
 
EsserWarrior said:
Whoops, I meant Pheonix Zoo! :p
Click to expand...
Phoenix is three hours from Tuscon with the fabled Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. In the north are a few zoos and wildlife parks
In Phoenix area there is a Sea Life Center, Butterfly Wonderland, and the OdySea Aquarium. I don't know if Dolphinaris still exists.
 
drill said:
Phoenix is three hours from Tuscon with the fabled Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. In the north are a few zoos and wildlife parks
In Phoenix area there is a Sea Life Center, Butterfly Wonderland, and the OdySea Aquarium. I don't know if Dolphinaris still exists.
Click to expand...

Interesting! Between Pheonix Zoo and Wildlife World Zoo, what would you say is the better zoo?
 
EsserWarrior said:
Interesting! Between Pheonix Zoo and Wildlife World Zoo, what would you say is the better zoo?
Click to expand...
Depends what you want.
Pros for Phoenix
1. Cheaper (especially if you have a membership card for another zoo)
2. Rare animals
3. I think they have a walk-through Squirrel monkey exhibit
4. Probably closer on your route
Cons
1. Wildlife World seems to have a greater collection
Pros for Wildlife World
1. Wonderful ungulate (Phoenix as well) and marsupial collection
2. Has non- zoo entertainments for children like rides.
Cons
1. Very, very, very expensive ( I think 50 per person and not much less for children)
2. Bigger than Phoenix (looks like far bigger)
 
drill said:
Depends what you want.
Pros for Phoenix
1. Cheaper (especially if you have a membership card for another zoo)
2. Rare animals
3. I think they have a walk-through Squirrel monkey exhibit
4. Probably closer on your route
Cons
1. Wildlife World seems to have a greater collection
Pros for Wildlife World
1. Wonderful ungulate (Phoenix as well) and marsupial collection
2. Has non- zoo entertainments for children like rides.
Cons
1. Very, very, very expensive ( I think 50 per person and not much less for children)
2. Bigger than Phoenix (looks like far bigger)
Click to expand...

You'd say that Pheonix has species that are more rare than ones at Wildlife World?
 
drill said:
The website does not appear to list them. However Gerenuk, Arabian oryx, and Spotted-neck otter are. The hours are strange, being 7-2.
Click to expand...
It’s so people don’t literally melt in the afternoon.
 
drill said:
Phoenix is three hours from Tuscon with the fabled Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. In the north are a few zoos and wildlife parks
In Phoenix area there is a Sea Life Center, Butterfly Wonderland, and the OdySea Aquarium. I don't know if Dolphinaris still exists.
Click to expand...
Dolphinaris has closed, and has no plans to reopen with dolphins.
 
Phoenix, Tucson and the Desert Museum (yes there is another zoo in Tuscon besides the Desert Museum are all solid zoos. I have not been to World Wildlife. At 50 bucks that puts it at
one of the most expensive zoos anywhere. The Sonora Desert is pretty uncompromising in the summer if you are not used to it- so take extra precautions if you go then.
 
Personally, I would never visit Arizona without making sure I could visit the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. If your definition of a good zoo is one with as large a collection as possible of exotic mammals, then possibly it is not for you. However if you want to visit a zoo that since it's founding 67 years ago has redefined what is possible for a zoo, is acclaimed throughout the professional zoo world and continues to excel at its mission then the Desert Museum is for you. Sorry, I have not visited any other zoos in Arizona.
 
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is the only Arizona zoo I've been to (I was able to convince my mom to take us as a road-trip pit-stop) and I personally highly recommend it. It's a lovely zoo but just fair warning with the heat (some portions are quite out in the open with no shade). I believe @Arizona Docent would be a good person to answer this question.
 
Last edited:
I'd recommend the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum as the #1 animal attraction in the state. Tucson's Reid Park Zoo is a small zoo (24 acres) but has decent selection of ABC animals, and a really nice elephant exhibit. Also, both Reid Park and the Phoenix Zoo exhibit African spotted-necked otters, so if you've never seen that species, be sure to visit either one.
 
List of collections in Arizona
The Camel Farm (Yuma)
Wildlife World Zoo
Liberty Wildlife (closed to the public this August
SEA LIFE Arizona Aquarium
Phoenix Zoo
Superstition Serpentarium
OdySea Aquarium
Butterfly Wonderland
Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center
Phoenix Herpetological Society Sanctuary
Keepers of the Wild Nature Park
Bearizona Wildlife Park
Grand Canyon Deer Farm
The Arboretum At Flagstaff
Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary
Out of Africa Wildlife Park
Navajo Zoological Park
Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Reid Park Zoo
Tucson Wildlife Center
The Oasis Sanctuary
 
Oh, forgot to mention, the Phoenix Zoo has a pleasant little Easter egg nearby the Komodo dragon exhibit (I call it an Easter egg because it's not marked on the zoo map): an exhibit of a Chinese alligator. So if you've never seen that species, be sure to pay Phoenix a visit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top