The San Antonio Zoo is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to the care and protection of animals and inspiring people to love and engage with the animals and learn about their education and conservation of the places where they live. Operated by the San Antonio Zoological Society, the Zoo is open year-round. It welcomes well over a million visitors every year, which includes 80,000 school children on field trips. The mission is to have guests as well as the crew become passionate advocates for the future of wildlife. The San Antonio Zoo began as a collection of a pair of lions, elk, buffalo, monkeys, deer, and four bears on land owned by leading citizen Colonel George W. Brackenridge, which he deeded over to the city and which became Brackenridge Park. A wide variety of the current 8,500 animals represents 750 species on 56 acres. See giraffes, tigers, elephants, hippos, zebras, monkeys, jaguars, ostr
iches, cranes, storks, antelopes, armadillos, fish, reptiles, crocodiles, an anteater, dwarf mongooses, and many others. Also, the bird collection is one of the largest in the world. Exhibits and educational displays feature animals from all around the globe, the interactive activities are for kids and also adults, and daily presentations are given regarding some of the zoo’s most popular animals. Sections of the Zoo include Africa Live where you look through viewing windows underwater and watch crocodiles, hippos, and African fish in the water. There is the African Plains, The Amazonia exhibit, the Cranes Of The World display, the American southwest, the jungles of Asia, a South American rain forest with small and large cats and a number of different monkeys aquarium displays, the zoorasic exhibits with dinosaurs, monkey exhibits, birds in the Hixon Bird House, and more. The enclosures have great views of the animals and their activities. The zoo personnel are all top notch and are very friendly, helpful, courteous, and extremely informative. They add much to the zoo experience with their attention to the guests and their ability to answer so many questions and give details about the various animals. Additional fun in what is one of the best family activities includes a carousel with colorful Texas animals and a 20-minute train ride around the beautifully landscaped grounds on a little tour of the local area. Watching the hippos swimming and feeding some of t
he animals is delightful, and there are other children’s activities. You can also feed birds with cups of nectar and feed giraffes with lettuce leaves. The Fun Day ticket includes admission to the zoo, the train, the carousel, and the butterfly garden. The Zoo’s 2017 Annual Report showed a generation of close to $33 million in revenue, $11 million in grants and contributions, and having an impact on the economy of the City of San Antonio and Bexar County of $108.6 million. The community and the visitors have shown tremendous support for the Zoo. This is definitely a “must-do” for a family visit to San Antonio. Next up, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Read more, Read more,
