We visited the zoo last weekend. I'm so proud that we actually have a zoo in such a small city, but the zoo itself is so disappointing. To their credit, they have dire financial difficulties which explains the shortcomings.
The good: Admission is pretty cheap. $5 for adults and children under 3 are free. They have annual memberships that are very cheap. The staff is very friendly.
The not so good: They are woefully lacking in the actual animal department. There were many empty exihibits and many of the animals we did see, we can see in the wild if we drive 20 minutes outside the city.
The sea lions are still fun to watch. The few monkeys were cute. I didn't understand why calves were now inhabiting what used to be the goat's pen in the children's petting zoo. The brown bear looked so depressed. Probably because he knows everyone wishes the polar bear were back in his enclosure insead of him. The overlook where there were supposed to be camels and sopmething else looked barren. The grass wasn't even trampled so I think the camels went back home.
For us adults, it was disappointing. We brought our 1 year old who really didn't care one way or another. There were many other children who looked to be having a blast.
So, take your kids to this zoo. They need your money. Don't expect much for yourself, but it'll be exciting to your kids just the same.
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