- Founded: March 28, 1929
- Area: 100 acre
- No. of animals: 1000+
- No. of species: 250+
- Timings:
- Monday to Friday: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
- Saturday and Sunday: 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
- Entry fee:
- Adults (ages 15-64): $25.00
- Seniors (ages 65 and over): $20.00
- Children (ages 4-14): $18.00
- Children (ages 3 and under): Free
San Francisco Zoo is California’s best choice for spending the vacation time in a pleasurable way possible. With a collection of 260 animal species, the zoo covers an area of 100 acres. This notable tourist destination is based along the Great Highway of the south western area of San Francisco between the Pacific Ocean and Lake Merced. The primary entryway of the zoo is located off the Great Highway on the western side. America’s famous female gorilla, ‘Koko’, who is known to comprehend 2,000 spoken English words and nearly 1,000 American Sign Language signs was born at the San Francisco Zoo and has spent most of her life in the Woodside town of California.
Attractions of San Francisco Zoo
The San Francisco Zoo acts as an urban oasis that facilitates its visitors with wonderful attractions to make their experience an unforgettable one. Take a look at some of the amazing highlights of the zoo.
Wildlife Theater
The San Francisco Zoo allows both the children and adults to have an exciting experience by delighting into the wildlife displays presented at its well famed Wildlife Theater. The shows usually run from the month of June until September. They may last for 20 to 30 minutes allowing the viewers to get knowledge about the characteristics, behavior, and early histories of the different animal types.
The shows are not only educational but entertaining as well! Children specifically are found enjoying at the theater, as they find an opportunity to get involved in the shows along with the theater staff. They get access to view the animals closely and get themselves educated, as the staff assist them with information and some factual reviews.
The Bear Exhibit
Famous for the collection and display of bears, the San Francisco Zoo provides an exhibit program know as the Bear Exhibit for the visitors. This awesome exhibit permits the visitors to have an unimpeded and clear visuals of the different types of bears available at the zoo. The three prominent species of bear namely spectacled bears, grizzly bears, and polar bears are seen moving about freely at the northern side of the zoo, collateral to the location of the zoo’s Eagle Lake and Little Puffer steam train.
The bears are provided with play toys and treats, so as to keep them engaged and cherished. The visitors love to watch the bears, especially polar bears as they dive and lark about in the pools. It gives an awe-inspiring look to the visitors as the bears bask in the sun.
Insect Zoo
The Insect Zoo has made a permanent mark at the San Francisco Zoo ever since it gave an evidence of its popularity when it was initially planted as a short term exhibit in 1979. The Insect Zoo gives a live demonstration of the different varieties of insects systematically placed in the terrariums. The zoo is famous for exhibiting velvet ants (factually are the forms of wasp), millipedes, tarantulas, centipedes, scorpions, termites, Madagascar hissing cockroaches, and many more.
It is fun to watch the free flying bees which are provided with a well arranged tube to pass through into the beehive. The busy bugs, organized bees involved in the working of the beehive, and harvester ants hunting for food to name a few are good scenes to capture at the zoo. Children belonging to the older and younger age groups will find excellent ways of burning off their excitement at the zoo.
Outside the zoo is provided a gigantic spider web, where the children can climb, roll, and exercise their muscles. Besides, they can relish the zoo videos, informative books, puzzles, and much more to spend their time in an enjoyable way. The children also get an opportunity to explore the insect world by observing the specimens mounted on the microscope and going through the scientific handouts available.
Penguin Island
The Penguin Island houses one of the captivating animal species of the San Francisco Zoo, that is, the Magellanic Penguins. Situated across the Lion House, the Penguin Island consists of 36 burrows, which allow the penguins to lodge and spend time. These flightless species of seabirds give a beautiful appearance to the visitors, as they walk through the waters.
It has a 200 foot long pool for the penguins which has served different purposes over the years. It was initially used as a reflecting pool, which subsequently was utilized as a free space for demonstrating the Humboldt penguins, squirrel monkeys, and even seals.
Meerkats and Prairie Dog Exhibit
The Meerkats and Prairie Dog Exhibit gives its visitors a unique opportunity to get to know some of the interesting and unusual species of the animal kingdom. The exhibit strives to bring out the similarities between meerkats and prairie dogs related to their characteristics, personality traits, and appearance. The exhibit features the interdependence between these two animal species and gives a message that the people in the society are interdependent too.
Planning the Tour
Planning is very important to make your tour to the San Francisco Zoo a successful one. You need to have some prior information about the zoo to make your tour easy and comfortable.
The zoo generally opens at 10 am and closes at 5 pm. The last admission to the zoo will be entertained only up to 4 pm. Children below 14 years of age are required to be attended by adults. San Francisco residents have the privilege to get a free admission in the zoo only on some specific days of the year. However, the residents are needed to provide evidences of their residency in the city of San Francisco.
The zoo provides daily rental wheelchairs, wagons, and jeep strollers for the visitors to travel on a first come first serve basis. Besides, there are some group discounts available for the visitors, provided the group contains 15 or more members and satisfies the minimal ratio of 1 adult per 5 children. You can visit the web to apply for group reservations.
So what are you waiting for? Pack your bags and head towards the most bewitching travel destination of California, the San Francisco Zoo!
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