Day Two: The Detroit Zoo in Photos

My wife and I had not been to the Detroit Zoo in probably 25 years. Yesterday, we took our two daughters to the Detroit Zoo for the first time. My youngest is a year old, so she will have no memories of this (but she did love waiving at the black bear and giraffes and saying, “Hi!” to them). My older daughter is 5 and frequently visits the National Zoo in DC (if you ever go to DC, it’s a free zoo because it is part of the Smithsonian, and it is excellent too). My wife was born in San Diego, and the San Diego Zoo is her gold standard, and to be honest, it probably is the benchmark for all zoos.

With two zoo experts to impress, I was a little nervous that they would be uninspired by my zoo. Luckily, the zoo was a huge success, mostly due to the polar bear exhibit, but that was not the only thing we enjoyed. They both loved the Detroit Zoo, and my San Diego-born wife, really wants to visit again.

Here are the photos of our trip. Please click on each photo for a larger view:

The zoo was decorated for Zoo Boo, and the most impressive decorations were the animals made of pumpkins and other gourds. Here is a tribute to the Lions, Tigers and Red Wings:

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil Monkeys:

Most of the pictures with my phone did not come out, but I did capture these giraffes:

The Australian Outback trail was very impressive. You can walk through as kangaroos hop around you. This kangaroo was tired from all the hopping and dug a hole to rest in while catching some rays:

This kangaroo was a little more active:

The Arctic Ring of Life Exhibit

This is by far the best zoo exhibit I have ever seen. The Detroit Zoo's polar bear exhibit is the largest polar bear exhibit in North America with a large outdoor area for the bears to roam and a swimming area that you can walk under in a glass-enclosed walkway. My wife's photos of the polar bear swimming capture how amazing it is to have a giant bear swimming right at you and above you.

I captured this bear standing up with my phone:

The seals were amazing on their own:

But nothing topped this polar bear:

Just amazing. Still in awe. I cannot wait to get back to the Detroit Zoo.