We ventured to the Atlanta area recently and spent the day at Zoo Atlanta! It was a large and beautiful zoo. We’ve visited several zoos throughout the US and Zoo Atlanta was one of the best! Personally, I was looking very forward to this zoo because they have pandas and I love panda bears!!
I was even more excited to find discounts available to visit Zoo Atlanta and several other attractions in the Atlanta area! City Pass allowed us to save money by paying one fee for several local attractions, such as Zoo Atlanta, The Georgia Aquarium, World of Coke, and several other local attractions! Basically, we paid for the zoo and aquarium and got other attractions included for one price.
I’m super glad we had the opportunity to use City Pass in Georgia. We used it in Chicago in the past and saved a bunch of money and we were able to save just as much money in Atlanta as well!
Let’s begin!
So, our adventure began with viewing the map to see what animals lived there. Of course, I wanted to start (and end) with the pandas, but we were able to see all of the animals during our trip!
And we truly spent the majority of the day at the zoo. I was with my husband and teen son and we still spent that much time wandering around and seeing what all they had to offer!
The map above shows all of the animals at the zoo, but below are some of my favorites!
Orangutans
I think orangutans have such fun personalities and they have a beautiful habitat at Zoo Atlanta!
Such a pretty way to discuss their necessities!
Gorillas
Gorillas are also an animal that I enjoy watching. I think it’s neat how they communicate and live together in families.
They have a great habitat to spend their lives! There were many novel items in their habitat to keep them interested and active!
Big Cats
I’ve always been a fan of cats and I enjoy big one as much as small ones!
This little guy was busy watching us as we were watching him. Just one eye staring at us!
This tiger was enjoying some rest right up against the viewing area! He was all spralled out an so close it felt like we could pet him…if it wasn’t for the very thick glass!
The lions were much further away from visitors and enjoying their time in the sun!
Sun Bears
Sun bears are adorable animals, but they have a very difficult life in some areas of the world. This sign discusses the harsh live they livein some areas of Asia due to their bile being considered very important.
It should be noted that Sun Bears can spend their entire lives in small cages such as this hooked up to tubes. It is a very sad life for them.
Red Pandas
Red Pandas do not live the same sad life that many Sun Bears do thankfully! They are allowed to be free and enjoy the world around them!
They have an adorable habitat at Zoo Atlanta. I love the village-like setting! It is so very cute and gives them places to be outside and under the cover on poor weather days!
I also love the great information they have about Red Pandas! I had no idea they were considered the “original” panda.
And my favorite…PANDAS!
Let’s check out my favorite animal! I absolutely love panda bears and always have!
This one was enjoying rolling and playing on this mat!
Without a doubt, the twins also enjoyed rolling and playing with each other!
They also had plenty of time and area for snacks! Bamboo of course!
African Savanah
One very large section of the zoo was the African section with various animals, such as zebras, elephants, and giraffes!
Elephants
They had an educational center and place for them to live indoors when needed.
There was even artwork outside of the Zambezi Elephant Center! This was such a neat design!!
The elephants have a large outdoor area to enjoy, as well as some shading to keep them cool when they choose to use it!
Giraffes
Giraffes were in the area adjacent to the elephants.
Their outdoor area was similar to that of the elephants.
However, there was an area where you could feed the giraffes if you chose to (and were will to pay $3 for a leaf of lettuce)!
There were also several educational and intersting posting throughout this area! The picture below shows one of the signs describing the giraffes’ adaptation throughout the years!
Another posting discusses conservation and what is needed to help giraffes in their natural environment.
Zebras
Next, we got to see and learn about zebras!
The Zebras were housed in the same area as the giraffes and roamed freely with them.
Here is more great information about zebras! These are some of the ways all of us can help with conservation and helping them and their environment in the wild!
Being in the mental health field professionally, I couldn’t pass these up:
More critters!
There are so many other animals throughout the zoo, too many to list all of them in this article. I have hit some of my favorites so far, but here are a few more!
Turtles
Frogs
Flamingos
Flamingos are just so prety! I love the fact they start out grey and then they turn this amazing pink color with time and their diet of brine shirmp.
Naked Mole Rats
Am I the only person that sees naked mole rats and thinks “call me, beep me, if you want to reach me”??? (That’s a Kim Possible reference if you are uncertain!)
Either way, they are super cute!
How can you pass up one of your own?!?!
Education!
There is also so much factual knowledge and other information shared around Zoo Atlanta! I love it! I love being able to travel and learn and share these experiences with my kids!
Factual information
There was a great deal of factual information around the zoo, such as this below. It’s a great way for children to learn and get a good picture of how life really is!
Conservation
There was also a great deal of information about how to better care for animals and for our planet.
Small Environmental Changes
This sign discussed one simple way we can make the world a better place for animals that live near us! Several of their glass windows had these dots all over them. I had no idea why at first, but when I saw this sign it all finally made sense!
The dots are used for the birds to be able to see the windows and, thus, not fly into them!
More fun zoo activities–Kid Zone!
Last, but not least, Kid Zone!
There are several fun activities in the Kid Zone of the zoo! The petting zoo is one of these fun activities.
There was also an adorable carousel.
Also, last but not least, there was a train! I think all zoos have some sort of train or tram and this was a rather cute little train to ride!!
BONUS:
Bring some of Zoo Atlanta home with you!
Check out some of the at-home activities Zoo Atlanta has to offer on their website!
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