National Zoo!

The National Zoo in DC was, by far, one of the most amazing zoos I have ever seen.

And it was FREE!

For one thing, this zoo has pandas. Instantly remarkable.

Secondly, two litters of lion cubs were born at the zoo late last year! It was adorable watching little children talking about the "big happy lion family. Daddy and mommy and so many babies."

Truly though, there were two main aspects of The National Zoo (DC) that made it stand out from most others I have seen.

1.) Animal Enrichment Exercises. The zoo workers were very actively attempting to stimulate the minds of the smarter animals at the zoo. The workers informed me that they put so much effort into enriching the minds of the animals in order to encourage natural behaviors and also to keep the animals as happy as possible. The enrichment activities are scheduled and publicized, so that families may come watch the animals when they are at their most active. I was personally lucky enough to witness the giant octopus enrichment game, which that day consisted of a clear box with a hole in it. There was a large shrimp inside the box. The box sank slowly to the bottom of the cage (due to the placement of the hole in the box), and the crowd watched in amazement as the octopus began to sense the box and react to it. It suctioned around the box and played with it, to the enjoyment of the entire crowd.

2.) Free Range Orangutans! No joke, there are 3-4 orangutan houses throughout the park, all connected by a series of poles and high wires that look quite a bit like telephone poles. There are no cages surrounding the wires, they just hang high above the park walkways. You look up, and there are orangutans above you! Just climbing along, back and forth between their many houses across the park. It was an absolutely amazing sight. And it was wonderful to know that these apes were living with so much space in which to climb and move around.

I highly recommend the National Zoo (DC) as a day trip for everyone!

Rachel