The Wid Animal Park in Escondido, California

The Wild Animal Park is located in Escondido, California and is the sister park to the famous San Diego Zoo. It's been around since the 70's and has since become one of the world's best known zoos in the world!

Here are some quick facts about the Wild Animal Park:

It's twice the size of the zoo!

A large area of land was burned by the San Diego Wildfires in October 2007. (However, no animals were hurt and the land is growing back to its healthy self).

Admission is free one day in the months of May and October!

During the summer, the WAP hosts a "Lion Camp" event in which you actually camp over night at the park!

They also have seasonal events (such as Lion Camp) throughout the year. Personally, I enjoy the butterfly exhibition during early spring. This exhibition consists of hundreds of butterflies in an enormous room with exotic plants that one can enter. These butterflies really are social in the case that they love to sit on the visitors.

Another popular event they have during the summer is the "Park at dark". Throughout the year, the park closes in the afternoon at five, but the "Park at dark" event lets visitors stay until nine at night. The Park at Dark season consists of sleepovers and special shows only available for that time.

What's another reason to come to the Wild Animal Park? Their animal shows! Many visitors' favorite is the Frequent Flyers Show in which birds show off their talent and skills. Animal encounters are scheduled throughout the day when the trainers take out various animals for showing. With a lot of caution, visitors can usually get near the animal while the trainer explains more about it. This lasts about twenty minutes and at the end, they allow questions and sometimes even allow the visitors to get close enough to the animals to take a picture. They also have their own tour in which you go down into the "Heart of Africa" and get to have a good view of giraffes, rhinos, zebras, and more!

The Wild Animal Park also has many snack stands, restaurants, and gift shops. Foods range from ice cream, to nachos, to sandwiches, to Italian! They sure do have a lot of variety. And if you're over twenty one, you can always have a glass of beer. And you'll definitely find something nice from the gift shops. They include toys, clothes, and books for children. Adults might be interested in the handmade, imported goods from Africa and a few Wild Animal t-shirts as well. The gift shops have unique gifts for everyone such as rare instruments and their popular "poo poo paper" made from Elephant droppings. And surprisingly... it doesn't smell.

So it's pretty obvious how much the Wild Animal Park has to offer. It's a non profit organization, a learning experience, and fun for all ages!

The Wild Animal Park is located at:

15500 San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, California 92027

For information: (760)747-8702

For more information on guests services and ticket prices, go to:

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wap/admission_prices.html