Zoos- OH, PA or IN?

[catawhat75]

Heres the deal, my boyfriend and I want to take the girls to the zoo. Problem is the two of us are bored to death with the Columbus zoo (you can only see the same animals over and over again). So... we are looking to go to another zoo somewhere for a day trip. We have already been to Cincy and Cleveland so those are out, looking at maybe Indy, Pittsburgh or Toledo. Can anyone tell me about them if they have been to those, is it worth a 3 hour drive each way?
TIA

[frankykeno]

Well you could always come to Toledo and be my guest at our lovely zoo. Our family has a membership there with guest privileges.

Here's the link for the Toledo Zoo.

http://www.toledozoo.org/

Some of the highlights our family enjoys would be the cheetah cubs and the polar bear cubs. Only 5 cubs were born this year in U.S. zoos...3 of those 5 are here in Toledo. Toledo has the only twins...a lovely pair of females. Check out my various threads on the Toledo zoo for pictures. The zoo also has on loan from the Seigfried and Roy collection, three gorgeous male white lions (all brothers). The meerkats are fun to see and if you're lucky you might get to see the 36 year old male Organutan use his computer to ask for a certain snack.

The zoo is very interactive, lots of stuff for kids to touch, it's kept very clean and well laid out, lots of nice bathrooms, a very nice playground and picnic area. The flower gardens are a gorgeous and peaceful part of the zoo. Personally I think the food in the zoo is over priced so I always pack a lunch, rent a wagon ($5.00) and just treat for icecream there.

If there's any particular animal you especially want to see, let me know and I'll try to describe what they have in their collection that might be worth the drive.

[catawhat75]

Reptiles are the hands down favorite of course, but I love big cats as well. Do you know if there is a Mountain Lion there? I have heard great things about the Toledo Zoo, so it right now is the front runner.

[frankykeno]

Nope no mountain lions. For big cats there are 3 tigers, 3 lions, 3 cheetahs plus the new baby cheetahs, and 2 snow leopards (one was off display last week due to a new enclosure being built - they were housed together but started fighting). All the cats are housed in nice natural displays so you won't see any of that awful pacing back and forth like in some zoo big cats.

As far as reptiles they have a nice display...not a massive one but quite nice. Gaboon vipers, a new young anaconda, a huge retic, a nice variety of other "hots", a gorgeous big komodo dragon and various other lizards and snakes. The aquarium is a family favorite with our kids, especially if it's feeding time.

[nixer]

you should just make the trip a weekend in chicago they have 2 zoos (lincoln park and brookfield)and 2 great museums (field museum and science and industry) both are great time for kids and its maybe a 10-12 hour drive.
p.s. all of these would could take all day to see so i wouldnt try just seeing all of them

[catawhat75]

you should just make the trip a weekend in chicago they have 2 zoos (lincoln park and brookfield)and 2 great museums (field museum and science and industry) both are great time for kids and its maybe a 10-12 hour drive.
p.s. all of these would could take all day to see so i wouldnt try just seeing all of them

Grrr I hate when my post gets eaten :cens0r:
I grew up with family in Chicago, so we would go a couple times a year. I remember how much I loved watching the dolphin show, the miniture doll house stuff, and most of all the pizza, lol. My mom still has my aunt ship frozen pizza on occasion. Another reason I am dying to go back (other than the Tinley show) is for the Shedd's Aquarium, I haven't been since they redid it.