Always love visiting the Denver Zoo, even though B...

Always love visiting the Denver Zoo, even though Bird World is now permanently closed. Last visit was Sept 30. Most of the birds went to other zoos along with the polar bears, and we now only have 1 older grizzly so I imagine we won't get anymore bears unless an abandoned cub or two like in prior years...Would love to keep our emu, pandas, and the few remaining birds and cats which would have to be assimilated into existing exhibits. Construction continues around the feline houses so you can't see most of the animals in the outside exhibits but can go inside some of the feline buildings to see some of the cats, birds and pandas. Construction continues on the north west part of the zoo where the old animal hospital & sheep & monkey & admin buildings used to be at. They are building a bigger state-of-the-art animal hospital, meanwhile the goats & sheep seem to rotate in & out of the remaining visible outdoor habitat. The sheep habitat is still there but I bet the noise and dust bothered the sheep. They have torn down many habitats and cut back back on animals (no more wolf den, asian bears, striped hyenas, etc) to make larger, more natural exhibits for the remaining animals. Some animals can be seen close up behind scratched plexiglass (lions, spotted hyenas, african wild dogs, river & asian clawed otters, fishing cats, gorillas, snow leopards) as well as through wire chain fences or over fencing. Binoculars are definitely not necessary but nice to have on occasion. I don't see many people using the 4-D theatre during normal daytime hours; this is a separate fee and not part of the regular zoo admission. They still have the cute train and carousel rides (additional fee & can be purchased on location), and lots of pretty plants like in a botanic garden. Lots of buildings torn down to make way for a second much needed entrance (remember the one that used to be next to City Park near the lorikeets in the park?) and more restaurants are planned. It's still a fun & beautiful place to visit. The zoo web site lists all their animals.