Como Zoo

A few days ago I took the boys to Como Zoo.  Como Zoo has been a St. Paul institution for more than a hundred years, and is (along with the rest of Como Park) probably the city's most popular family destination.  Rightly so, too.  The park is probably the largest in the city, has a large new municipal pool, lake, golf course, carousel, amusement park, zoo, conservatory, sports fields, music pavilion, and more.  It is a pretty wonderful city park and one of the treasures of the city.

When I was in elementary school, I certainly didn't see it that way though.  We lived only a couple miles away in married student housing just of the St. Paul campus of the U of M.  Not having much extra money laying around, we made Como Park and the zoo a regular destination since (nearly) everything there was free.  I distinctly remember being really bored with the park.  There are only so many times ten year old kid will be entertained seeing the palm trees in the conservatory or the gorillas at the zoo.  Fortunately, for all involved, I am no longer ten and I also enjoy every visit to the park.  Just don't try to go there for a picnic on the first nice weekend of the spring.  I speak from experience.

James is at the age that the Zoo is a pretty wonderful place.  It's not a large zoo by any measure, but it is just about right for walking around with a James and a Thomas.  One thing that is nice about the Zoo is that they are expanding and improving.

On the right is the Marjorie McNeeely Conservatory.  It is 98 years old, and a paradise on cold winter days.  Inside is warm, humid, and green.  On the left is the new visitor center and tropical encounters building.  It is part zoo, part conservatory and is always our first destination.

Big fish, and big (ugly) turtles are fun to see.  After the fish and turtles is a rather large anaconda that James thinks is great.  Sarah would disagree.  Probably the most famous animal in the tropical encounters exhibit is the sloth.  It is usually just a hairy lump sleeping in the crook of a "tree", but this day he was moving around and actually moving around fast enough that a couple of my pictures were blurry.

There are some things about this zoo that hasn't changed in decades.  The flamingo/duck pond is exactly the same as it was when I visited with my family more than twenty years ago.  After we leave the visitor center, though, this is the first stop.  James is pretty interested in all of the birds... to be honest, James is interested in any animal.  They could put in an area full of squirrels and cats, and he would be thrilled.

Then off to the primate building.

James monkey.

James and Thomas are indifferent to the gorilla butt only a few feet away.  

The area outside the window there is part of the new gorilla enclosure and credit should really be given to Como for improving their facilities for their animals.  The gorilla area only just opened, and the zoo opened their new polar bear exhibit a couple years ago.  Both of these places are much nicer than their earlier facilities.  In general I am conflicted about zoos.  Animal captivity isn't something I'm particularly fond of, but I will hope that exposure to animals will lead to education and appreciation for the natural world around us.  The next couple pictures will show some of the changes that the zoo has gone through.

I remember seeing animals in these cages when we visited Como Zoo back in the early '80s when we still lived in Fargo.  

Part of the new gorilla enclosure

A small portion of the much larger and more appealing polar bear enclosure.

Any time we go to Como Zoo, James wants to go to the Sparky Show, or as he called it, "Sparky the Show".  Sparky 7.0 (or some such) is the latest in a long line of sea lions to do little performances at Como.  Like zoos in general, I am not so sure just how I feel about performing animals.  It isn't something that is going to stop happening just because I disapprove and at the same time, it is a way to educate and the kids go nuts for it.  On a sunny day you have to show up at least 30 minutes early (for a ten minute show) in order to get a spot in the shade.

So we tend to have our picnic sitting in the shade before the show.

 During the show, James dances along with Sparky to Abba.  Maybe some day I'll be as good of a dancer as he is.

Some day Thomas will have a clue that something is going on.

After the show, we walk around to see some of the other animals.  Thomas taunts the giraffes.

Generally about two hours is enough for us here.  It's not a bad way to spend a morning before coming home for quiet time.  We'll probably be making regular trips here for years to come.