To me, the elephant, giraffe, gorilla, and big cat...

To me, the elephant, giraffe, gorilla, and big cat exhibits are the stars of the show, but there are so many different animals and exhibits to look at. The zoo continually updates itself with habitats and exhibits of animals from around the world as well as here in the local area. The children's area is a lot of fun for young kids with it's own playground and petting zoo area. Staff and keepers are friendly and share information about the animals and there are all kinds of scheduled encounters with different animals. There's plenty of shade with large oak trees, bamboo groves, and beautiful landscaping, but it does still get hot and steamy walking around in the summer. Thankfully, there are cooling zones and enclosed habitats that offer air conditioning to cool off. I recommend getting to the zoo when it opens. Parking is hard to come by if you're getting there near noon and into the afternoon.