The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is sixth in the top 10 family-friendly zoos, according to Child magazine. The honor came partly because of the zoo's reputation as home to the largest venomous snake in the New World, the bushmaster.
The magazine reports in its June/July issue the results of its five-month project to find the top zoos for kids. More than 150 members of the American Zoo & Aquarium Association were surveyed and ranked based on interactive features, education programs, security and safety, among other criteria.
"One trend we noticed was the use of interactive features - from puppet shows and plays to question-and-answer sessions with veterinarians - aimed at providing children with a memorable experience," Child editor in chief Miriam Around, told the Associated Press.
The top 10 in the magazine:
1. Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa, Fla. Children can ride a camel caravan, pet fish in the koi pond, and have lorikeets land on their fingers.
2. San Diego Zoo. It's the only American zoo to successfully breed, birth, and rear healthy giant pandas.
3. Oklahoma City Zoological Park & Botanical Garden. The zoo puts its 539 animal species in enchanting settings.
4. Brookfield Zoo, Brookfield, Ill. It was the first U.S. zoo to exhibit animals in a barless setting and to breed black rhinoceroses.
5. Phoenix Zoo. It launched a conservation program that saved the Arabian oryx (an antelope) from extinction.
6. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
7. Bronx Zoo, Bronx, N.Y. The "Tiger Mountain" exhibit is a 3-acre re-creation of Amur Valley on the border of Russia and China with views of Siberian tigers.
8. Toledo Zoo. A new 5-acre African exhibit replicates the plains of the continent and features free-roaming African animals.
9. Fort Wayne (Ind.) Children's Zoo. It boasts the only Tasmanian devil outside of Australia.
10. Columbus (Ohio) Zoo & Aquarium. The Stings, Wings, 'N Playthings is an insect-theme playground with a giant monarch climb and millipede slide.
To read more, www.child.com
