The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo is excellent for its size, but Indy is a bigger city. No wonder it seems as though the Indianapolis Zoo is a step up - and we had a great experience visiting it this week.
One measure of a zoo is the display of the larger species. The Indy Zoo does not disappoint. I'm not ashamed to say I love the exhibits of the African elephants (perhaps my favorite animal) and the highly endangered white rhinos. Make sure you don't miss the new baby elephant if you make the trip this year. The rhinos were taking mud baths on this 90-degree day and didn't look all that happy, but who or what would be? But what am I thinking - a charging rhinoceros in a zoo wouldn't be a good idea anyway.
It's easy to get a good photo op in this zoo, and that's what so many people are all about these days. Clean, clear plexiglas and glass cage fronts - you can pose your kids and grand kids in front of the tigers, walrus, sea lions, penquins, dolphins, and more. One can find lots of opportunities to make memories to keep forever.
There are lots of good hands-on experiences in this zoo. There's a huge shark touch tank with tons of room for people to stand around and get close to the sharks. The walls are nice and low, and yes, you can reach in and touch the backs of these gentle, small sharks as they cruise by. They have huge eyes and aren't aggressive, although it appears it takes a while for many of the smaller children to work up the courage to give it a try.
The kids (maybe grown ups too) will also love a hands-on experience feeding birds. There's an aviary with budgies for which one can purchase a 'food stick'. There is another aviary for which you can procure a cup of lorikeet food. If hungry enough, the birds will alight on you hand, arm or shoulder for an up-close feeding experience.
To have a great time at this zoo, I would recommend buying the unlimited ride pass bracelet. $10 for adults, $6 for kids - you can ride the roller coaster or train as many times as you wish, see the 4-D Ice Age movie without charge, and feed the animals (not the giraffes though). We definitely got our money's worth out of that purchase.
The shows are good at this zoo also. The dolphin show was entertaining, not too long, with opportunites for audience interaction. The dolphins can play beach ball with the audience, dance(?) yes! and can catapult out of the water to touch buoys suspended from the ceiling.
The dog show was good too. The different breeds of dogs were hurdling over high jumps, among other tricks they did. I got a kick out of it, and being dogs, they didn't look 'forced'; you knew they were having fun.
I talked about the big animals, but sometimes it's the little things that mean the most in life. A close-up encounter with a meerkat, such as the one in the photo above, can be a life-changing experience. After a moment commiserating together, you begin to think feelings, emotions, a ponderance of the world and our place in it is not a human-only experience. To see a giant bat, so scary and suspended from a ceiling, looking like a vampire - and then to watch it unfold into a flying fox, big-eyed and curious, crawling towards a piece of fruit - these moments can be transcendent.
Indianapolis Zoo: parking $6. Ages 2 - 12: $10 online price, $12 at the gate. Adults: $15 online, $17 at the gate. 62+ reduced fee. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Thursday. 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Friday - Sunday. 1200 W. Washington, Indianapolis, IN 46222. Food & drink is pricy: be prepared with cash or credit cards, or bring your own to eat in the picnic areas outside.
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