Wildlife World Zoo in Phoenix, AZ

This guy took a momentary break from guard duty to

pose for a picture at the Wildlife World Zoo.

Zoos are magnetic for the kids.  We've been to several since we began our adventure.  While I approach them with some hesitancy, they have been a consistent source of fun and education for the kids.   

I was assured by my friend, Barbara, that the Wildlife World Zoo would be no exception.  In fact, the zoo contributes tens of thousands to support conservation efforts and has many successful stories of conservation and protection of animals. 

The most renown success story is working with the Phoenix Zoo to save the Arabian oryx from extinction.  Soon after the Phoenix Zoo opened in 1962, the zoo took in the last few Arabian oryx in the world.  The Wildlife World Zoo at the time was a breeding zoo and worked in tandem on this project. The last few oryx were used to create the world herd for Operation Oryx.  In time, they were re-introduced into the wild.

Protection and conservation were a theme at the zoo.  

The boys zipped right away to the colony of meerkats.  They are a favorite, and we could have spent the day watching them.  There are, however 6,000 animals at the Wildlife World Zoo, and the boys were intent on seeing the other 5,999.

The enclosures were expansive with barriers that allowed the patrons to easily see and be close without being compromised.  

Up close & personal with a rhino

There were two unique features that stood out to me.  One was an enclosed catwalk that allowed the panther to climb and walk over us in his enclosure to another side.  The other was a bird fly-through allowing the birds greater range of movement without having vast enclosure.  

The Zoo had some fun features that the kids especially enjoyed.

They loved feeding the giraffes.  This little fellow was just big enough to get his head over the railing.  He would wait for someone to drop the food on his outstretched tongue.

They also had the opportunity to pet stingrays.  They loved sliding their hands over the smooth and slippery backs and hearing the suction pop of the stingrays feeding out of people's hands.

The zoo offers a couple of rides.  One is a chair lift ride over the park.  The second is log flume which briefly goes through a circular fish tank.  The kids were thrilled when Barbara treated them to a ride.  

They loved it and got soaked.

We were especially privileged to have Barbara's daughter with us who is a veritable encyclopedia of facts about just about every animal.  If ever we had a question, we just asked her.

Votes for the most unique animals went to this bird, the cassowary.

Cassowary

The bony crest on the top of its head screams dinosaur.  (Look up an image of its foot.  Its claws are lethal and reminiscent of Jurassic Park.)

Rock Fish

This fish also stood out as remarkable.  We looked in the tank for the fish and only discovered them when we saw the almost imperceptible eyes on the rocks.  Truly, what exists in nature is more magnificent and wondrous than anything we could ever produce.

We wound up the day at the petting zoo.  The kids had a blast petting and feeding the llama and deer.  When we finally left, it was reluctantly and only because the zoo was closing. 

The End.