ZOOS

We might not have much time left to view arctic animals in their natural climate, which makes this small Anchorage zoo a standout among the country’s parks. Populated by animals who have evolved to thrive in frigid conditions—think snow leopards, Canadian lynx, reindeer and muskoxen—the zoo is a snowy wonderland that also serves as a rescue facility for injured, abandoned or orphaned polar bear cubs

In the ‘80s and ‘90s, frequent late night television guest Jack Hanna brought a lot of attention to this midwest zoo, of which he was the director. The park remains one of the country’s best, with a world renowned aquarium 100,000-gallon coral reef tank teeming with bright tropical fish and a Congo habitat populated by gorillas, bonobos and mandrills. Kids will love the zoo’s Animal Encounter Village, where zookeepers facilitate up-close-and-personal visits with zoo residents, including hedgehogs and wallabies.

As we all learned from Planet Earth, deserts, often regarded as lifeless expanses of dry sand, actually teem with highly specialized species of plants and animals. Check out more than 1,400 of them at this desert-themed zoo in southern California, where giraffes, gazelles, cheetahs and camels roam the sands

Sprawled over 265 acres, New York’s beloved Bronx Zoo is one of the largest metropolitan zoos in the world. It’s renowned among animal lovers for its painstakingly reproduced habitats, of which the Congo Gorilla Forest—populated with western lowland gorillas, mandrills and okapis—is among its most-visited. The zoo boasts more than 6,000 animals belonging to more than 600 species and offers a variety of unique visitor experiences including Treetop Adventure, a brand-new aerial adventure park where guests can climb and zipline through the trees above the park.

Spanning 90 acres within The Gateway City’s massive Forest Park, the St. Louis Zoo is home to more than 600 species of animals. Of all its residents, Kali, an 850-pound polar bear, is the most popular; visitors flock to his brand-new, $16 million, 40,000-square-foot habitat. Other must-visits include a detailed recreation of the African savannah populated by zebras, giraffes and gazelles; rare red pandas in the zoo’s “Wild” zone; and daily sea lion shows.

Second only to New York City’s Bronx Zoo in number of awards won for a North American zoo, Seattle’s Woodland Park strenuously recreates its animals’ natural habitats. Check out African lions, giraffes and zebras roaming the “African savannah;” brown bears, gray wolves and snowy owls populating the “Northern Trail;” and red pandas and Kunekune pigs in the “Temperate Forest.”

This Midwest zoo attracts visitors from all over the region looking for one particularly special experience: the opportunity to swim with dolphins. Additionally, observe about 1,400 animals and 31,000 plants grouped together in meticulous habitats including deserts, forests and plains.

Renowned across the country and even around the world, San Diego’s zoo, founded in 1916, is home to around 3,700 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies. Among them are three giant pandas; Asian and African elephants; and bonobo apes.