Going to the Zoo – Woodland Park and Pt. Defiance

I’ve always enjoyed going to the zoo and went many times to Woodland Park when I was growing up in Seattle; back then it was free and animals were segregated in drab concrete enclosures.

Today it’s beautifully landscaped, and animals live in areas designed like their natural habitats.  Buildings are mostly hidden and walkways connect the areas in a style known as ‘landscape immersion’ first pioneered here in the late 1970’s with the gorilla exhibit. It has now become the industry standard.

In 1975, ” David Hancocks, the then-director of the Woodland Park Zoo, redesigned the zoo’s gorilla exhibit to form what became referred to as landscape immersion exhibits, in which animals would become immersed in landscapes that represented their natural habitats as closely as possible, while visitors would also be immersed in the same replicated habitat. The habitat was designed with natural plants and rockwork, with special consideration being put towards the acoustic treatment of the exhibit to make the environment soft and quiet.” Wikipedia

I especially love visiting the Orangutans in the Trail of Vines, where they spend most of their time in the trees. These beautiful creatures, natives of Borneo and Sumatra, are critically endangered.

We love Woodland Park, but now that we live further south, we go to the Pt. Defiance Zoo in Tacoma more often. It’s smaller and less crowded and surrounded by forest and gardens.

The otters are always a top attraction for me.

And it also has an excellent aquarium where the jellies are my favorites.

Neither of these two zoos have elephants. For that you’ll have to go further south to the Oregon Zoo in Portland; we visited last year.

And while I love elephants, I have mixed feelings seeing them in captivity. Elephants in the wild live much longer, and need much more space to thrive. I would rather see them in sanctuaries, and I think that’s the trend.

And that will do for today.

Sharing with Sunday Stills, Zoo Animals.

~ Susanne