Before I bought the membership I went on cheap Tuesday; everyone gets in for $10.00. I went on the very first one before the news got around of cheap Tuesday so the line up wasn't that busy. I was SUPER disappointed the polar bears weren't swimming at all. No one told me why and I did ask a few of the keepers. Hudson was out but he was napping. That was the only bear we saw. I came to find out later watching the news that the wolves had dug a tunnel under their enclosure and were in the girl polar bear enclosure. So they had to be removed so the keepers could fix the problem.
After you exit the entrance there is not much right there but the butterflies are up the path on the left and Bison's are on the right. I can remember when I was a little girl the last time the Bison Snack Shack was open. They have finally reopened it!
I have been to the zoo three times this year. First time on cheap Tuesday; no bears swimming. Second time was a Monday it was later in the morning about 11:00. No bears were out, only Hudson who likes to sleep near the people. Third time I had the kids up and we were there at 8:30. The zoo doesn't open till 9:00. Yes we sat and waited and it was worth it. The bears were FINALLY swimming! More on that later.
There are a few changes to the zoo nothing really to speak of it's just minor things. Some animals have been changed around some new ones brought in. The zoo says there are 80 acres and close to 200 different species of animals.
They are redoing the Asia cat closure. It's going to be really nice. The tigers are going to have a lot more space. It is a work in progress, slow and steady. Don't get me wrong there is still TONS of improvement that needs to happen, but like everything it takes time and money.
One thing that has improved is there are now lots of bathrooms everywhere. Which is nice to have.
The zoo has what they call an Australian walkabout. They were selling it as a get in and interact with the kangaroos and emus. Over time they have added some rules to this enclosure. You can only walk on the crushed tree path. The kangaroos all hide up in the corner where 1 you can barely see them and 2 there is NO WAY you are interacting with them. Which is fine but make the distance between the 2 smaller so that you can actually see the kangaroos. My kids don't like this exhibit and would rather by pass it. In the year it's been there I have only seen the kangaroos active once and that was this past visit. I saw a mom and her joey walking around.
The Shirley Richardson Butterfly garden is a big hit with my kids. They love to go in an sit and watch all the different kinds of butterflies. The best part is when one lands on you. You're not suppose to pick up the butterflies but everyone does it. I think all the kids have had a butterfly on them at some point. The only problem is they have a gift shop right in the middle of the two gardens. Of course the kids bug me every time, or have to touch everything as we pass from one to the next.
The Kinsmen discovery centre is still there. The one with the hands all over the wall and the catfish used to be in there. I keep missing it because now it's "out of the way". You get caught up in the polar bears you don't think to go over there. The farm yard barn is over there too. They have redone that, they took out the plastic eggs that used to be there for years. The kids loved to sit in there and pretend to be babies. They even have a sloth in there now.
The journey to Churchill is wonderful. It has a lot of open space, but the only thing is that there are places for the animals to hide so they can not be seen.
You can just see the wolves on top of the hill. Which is really the only place I've seen them.
The polar bears girls have a place to swim. They are separate from the boys. I asked one of the keepers and they said that eventually the boys will get to swim as well. The girls names are Aurora and Kaska. They were so frisky that morning. It was awesome. I was so excited to see them in the water. I had seen friends videos of them in the water but to experience it yourself is completely different. My three youngest were not that excited. They were more interested in the games and information around the exhibit then actually seeing the bears.
Hudson likes to sit in front of the interactive gate. He has always been around people; he was raised by people after his mother in the Toronto zoo had rejected him and his 2 brothers.
Storm on the other hand is more likely to sleep or walk around the exhibit. If you are in the Tundra Grill he is the one likely to stand up there and put his paws on the glass. He's super dirty because he rolls around in the mud.
There is a helicopter, canoe, bear trap, and 4 wheelers that the kids can explore. There is also a few inukshuks there and an interactive panel that tells you what each inukshuk means. Some mean people, some mean food and some mean the direction.
It is well worth the money to go and experience this exhibit alone. The other parts of the zoo will catch up. My kids and I highly recommend attending. I would just recommend going on a cooler day. The animals are more active on cool days. I can't wait to go during the fall/winter and spring when it's not so hot out.
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