Trip Report
20160210
The photos below are
what we saw.
We
spotted this colorful macaw near the entrance.
A big
group of Flamingos work the mud of the aviary looking for
insects.
Number
28 is cleaning up after a mud bath.
This
type of duck shares space with the Flamingos.
Next to
the aviary was the Meerkat nest.
We hiked
over to the gorilla enclosure and saw some lazy animals sleeping
it off.
The
largest silver-back in the ape enclosure.
One of
the smaller apes.
Side
profile of the large Silverback gorilla.
A very
strange African Bush Pig surprised us by bolting from a
structure and across one of the amphitheaters.
The pig does tricks
for treats.
It
likely took awhile to train this pig.
This is
one funky beast.
The WAP
has "commercialized" and now offers rides and attractions that
are not part of the regular price. This tethered balloon
is available for $15 per person. The cable underneath is
the tether and is connected to a winch assembly built into the
deck that pulls the balloon back to earth.
The WAP
has a big footprint, many hundreds of acres are within the
park's boundaries. There are a number of ponds as well as
grasslands.
The
rhinos were on lunch break. Note the baby at right-center
of the photo above.
There
were a significant number of giraffes at the park. The
keepers attach fresh greenery to tall poles to keep the giraffes
happy.
Interestingly,
despite the fact that the lushest leaves are at the bottom, they
all eat from the top down. I am guessing that it is easier
for them to reach up than to reach down.
The
giraffes are superbly adapted to eating arboreal vegetation.
The cape buffalo is a
tough customer and one of the most feared animals in Africa.
There were lots of
horned "plains game" wandering around the grasslands.
I believe these are
oryx.
The markings on the
face are called a "war mask".
Nic
Those horns are vicious
weapons. Their water trough has been designed to look
like a hollowed-out tree.
Ah, yes.
Springtime at the zoo. The WAP's breeding program is
considered one of the best in the world and they "export"
young animals of all breeds to other zoos.
We went past the
elephant enclosure and there were 8 or so pachyderms running
around. Mid-day snacks are hay pellets delivered in
boxes that have a small hole in one corner. The
elephants have to work at getting the pellets out through the
holes to be able to eat. Each elephant had their own
approach to the problem. Note the box at the feet of the
baby elephant at the right of the photo above.
This female came over to give us the sniff test. The perimeter wire is electrified so she gave it plenty of clearance.
One of the smaller
members of the herd heads for a snack box.
The snack boxes get
worked over until they don't rattle any more. The bulk
of their diet is regular hay.
An interesting bird
resting on a log.
This deer-like
creature is as small as a dog and is called a dik-dik.
There have
been some improvements at the WAP, but generally these
"improvements" are things like additional rides, the zip lines
and other non-zoo features. But, it is impossible to
escape commercialism doing such endeavors so you have to set you
expectations accordingly. The WAP is a great place and
very well done and surely one of the jewels of the San Diego area.
If you are in the area and have the time, you should plan to see
both the downtown zoo and the WAP.
Copyright Bill Caid 2016. All rights reserved.