Woodland Park Zoo Map 2009

Looking for things to do in Seattle, Washington? Pictured here is a map of the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle from 2009. Although I’ve never been there I enjoy looking at zoo maps and examining how they are laid out and are organized. Also pictured is a rendering of the Humbolt Penguin exhibit.

Image(s) of the Week: Grizzly Bears

We visited the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (again) a couple of weeks ago and the grizzly bears but on quite a show! Brutus and Buckeye were wrestling each other in the water. Amazing to watch but I wouldn’t want to be caught in the middle of it!

Bald Eagles at Highbanks Metropark

Looking for something else to do near Columbus, Ohio? That is, of course, after you've visited the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. For your next wildlife and animal adventure be sure to head over to Highbanks Metropark for a chance to see real live bald eagles nesting in the wild. I visited a couple weeks ago and although we didn't get a good shot of the eagles I did snap a few pictures of the gigantic nest high above the banks of the Olentangy River.

The Metropark's staff has setup a web site with a live feed of the eagle's nest. I took a few screen grabs and if you look closely you can see the eagle pretty well!

Aerial Antics: Overhead pictures of the Columbus Zoo

Aerial Antics: Overhead pictures of the Columbus Zoo 

Welcome to the latest addition of our new feature, Aerial Antics. Today, we're going to be flying over my home zoo, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. These aerial images were taken from Bing maps bird's eye view feature. 

This first picture is an overhead view of the North America region of the park. North America is the largest and oldest section of the zoo. As you can see, these satellite images are not completely up-to-date as the Polar Frontier area is still under construction on the right hand side of the image. The big green pasture in the middle is for the bison and pronghorn antelopes. The big, red petting zoo farm building is at the bottom of the photo above the parking lot. Can you trace the railroad tracks for the train ride? 

The next aerial photograph primarily shows Asia Quest , which opened in two phases in 2006.  The large building at the bottom is the indoor facility for the rhinos and elephants. It's the largest indoor exhibit of its kind in North America and the second in the world, with the capacity to house 10–12 elephants and 3–4 rhinos simultaneously. It really is a big building! 

This last picture actually shows an overhead view of the entire western half of the zoo. Which lies aon the banks of the Scioto River. The first region is called Shores and comprised tManatee Coast and the Coral Reef.  The Manatee exhbiti is particularly interesting because this habitat is one of only two outside of Florida to keep manatees, as wekk as the retractable roof, which creates an outdoor environment for up to five manatees during warm weather. 

There are two important round buildings: one is the reptile house and the other is a restored 1914 Mangels-Illions carousel (which used to reside at the neighboring Wyandot Lake). Can you spot Islands of Southeast Asia region opened in 2003 features a relaxing boat ride?