I have been a member of the Wildlife World Zoo for seven years. It has been one of my favorite charities. I go there weekly to deliberately purchase items and food in order that the zoo gets the proceeds.

On March 5, 2008, I went to the Wildlife World Zoo in Phoenix and saw school children aggressively chasing a swan. The bird was nearing exhaustion and ready to fall. I told the teacher of the group to not allow this behavior.

Later I reported the incident at the front gate. I was meet with hostility on the part of an older, male zoo staff member who stated that I had no right to intervene and ask that the children stop.

I find it very sad that zoo employees care so little about the treatment and welfare of the animals. In addition to that it seems to me that it is not in the children's best interest to be encouraged to engage in animal abuse.

I plan to discontinue my membership at this zoo.

Having been to San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, I don’t usually go to zoos. After all, I had visited a park where you drove hardtop vehicles to keep the animals from getting too close. Much to my surprise, I was there nearly four hours.

General Information:

Paying the full adult price of $18 was a mistake. Discounts up to 2-1 are offered by the entertainer, AAA and visitor center. Although, it was nice to see free parking for a change, it was merely dirt. The park is open seven days a week from 9am until 5pm.

There is a boat ride through the Australia section, a train ride across the African section, and a sky ride with a complete overview. Another journal entry was required to cover the rides.

During the warmer months, it isn’t such a good idea to get there around noon. The animals are livelier in the morning, we were informed. The walkways are wide, but dirt. Hence, it is wheelchair accessible, but it is dusty and quite warm.

A schedule is provided with the wildlife shows conducted at various times in the amphitheater. Feeding birds or getting educated about reptiles are a couple examples of the entertainment.

It’s located on the west side of Phoenix, technically in Litchfield on the corner of 165 Ave & Northern. (623) 935-9453
www.Wildlifeworld.Com

Exhibits

The penguin exhibit was the only one I wasn’t impressed with. Maybe it was because there were only four penguins in a small building that I viewed through a window. A nice outdoor pool and waterfall was accessible via a doorway, but it was probably too hot. Needless to say I couldn’t get up close and personal.

There were plenty of cages with a variety of monkeys, but I like the island within a lake. The monkeys were in a natural habitat and cared for by people that had to use a rowboat to reach them. The surrounding lake was filled with ducks and a gorgeous family of Australian Black Swans.

African walk-through Aviary

There is something special about birds walking so close to me and perching in trees within arms reach that feels like I am actually in the wild on a true animal safari. Even in the midst of a desert on a warm day the lush, densely-planted foliage provided an oasis to a variety of tropical birds.

Kangaroo walk-about

Walk across a bridge over the river to kangaroo walk-about. The red kangaroo, which are large and can be dangerous, are caged but gentle wallabies lounge in the grass and almost seem to poise when you pull out your camera.

Reptile Exhibit

While not a fan of snakes, I was fascinated by the variety of lizards: small monitors (vicious, I understand), and iguanas. The large python and constrictor would have been terrifying at any size, but these were longer than my height.

In the same building were deer mice and a cool hairless guinea!

Seeing White
This park has the dubious distinction of having a few white animals whose natural color is anything but. One such is example is the Bengal tiger that gave birth to two cubs. One is typical orange, but the other is white. It’s amazing how eye-catching the cubs were.

While "cute" is not a definition applicable to a rhino, "weird" is. You’ve heard the term "white elephant", but here they have an actual white rhino.

The albino alligator was downright strange. Looking through a glass window, until I saw movement, I thought there was a rubber reptile just to make the pond look tropical. I would no more wish to accidentally run into this one in the wild than a camouflaged one.

Petting Zoo

I know this a favorite with children, but I’m inclined to muscle my way to get to the llamas. I just want to wrap my arms around their fuzzy necks. Of course the look of sheer panic when the goats jump up on some unsuspecting little one does elicit a few giggles out of me.

Okay, so we're children at heart. But I am going to claim experiencing the rides was for sake of people who are considering taking their children to the zoo

Sky Ride

This $4, 15-minute round trip ride begins in the southwest end of the grounds near the white rhino. As you first ascend, you’ll see zebras and gazelles on the right and young spotted fawn on the left. Directly below you’ll pass the giraffe feeding station and dromedary camel. The molting these camels were doing was unbelievable. Obviously the Phoenix sun wasn’t much cooler than their homeland.

Just beyond the camels, leaving me with a parched throat, we cruised over the Australian boat tour and waterfall and made a u-turn above the penguin exhibit. Just the other side of the exhibit is the playground and petting zoo.

Boat

Another 10-minute trip, for $2 this time, cruised in a circle around the Australian Kangaroo outback. The guide described some of the inhabitants such as the kangaroo, wallabies, and emus. You can also walk across a bridge over the river to get near the wallabies without the obstruction of a fence.

Train

This 10-15 minute trip begins near the children’s playground and sets you back $3. The train travels through fields with automatic opening gates that you can’t walk through. The beautiful gazelle with 48" long horns and white rumps warrant the engineer stopping for visitor’s Kodak moments.

Giraffe Feeding Station

Don't miss the giraffe feeding station. Those darlings may be off in the far corner, but arrive at the platform, put 50¢ in the machine and you'll have a long black tongue reaching for your hand in no time. Almost with the strength of a suction cup this sort of wet sandpaper tongue wraps around your hand for the small treat. Absolutely worth repeating and they will wait patiently for another morsel.

I've been to this zoo twice now. Both times I went because they had babies to see. Last year, 3 baby white tigers were out for us to admire. They were adorable! When I went back this year, they still had 1 of them--all grown up! There was supposed to be a baby leopard, but we never saw him. Turns out he was in a small cage near the large leopard, but there was no sign to tell us to look for him there. We were disappointed to miss it. The giraffe feeding dock can be fun. One time the giraffes were hungry and came eagerly to hold out their enormously long tongues so we could pour some food onto them. This time, they didn't even come near us. The rhino is big and beautiful. The primates have an island with trees, ropes & bridges to play on. This zoo is small, so the animals are rarely hiding so deeply you can't see them. The animals seem to be content. I didn't notice any nervous behavior. There is a wildlife encounter show that is great. This zoo is not crowded, so you can see the show up close. We had no problem sitting on the front row for this show. There is a kangaroo "walkabout" where you can see the kangas up close. They may even cross the path in front of you! The huge male is kept behind a separate fenced area, however. He looks very powerful and I was grateful he was securely away from people. There is a new playground for the kids, a petting zoo with goats, pigs and deer, a train ride (separate admission) around the property, and a carousel. This zoo is planned so that you can get pretty close to the animals and get a great appreciation for their beauty!