Omaha - Part 4

Our final day in Omaha we decided that we just had to go back to the zoo. We had seen everything else on our "must do" list and realized that we missed a couple of awesome attractions at the zoo that we thought would be worth paying another $12 to go again (seriously - cheaper than the Phoenix Zoo and 10 million times cooler)

Like I said before, this zoo is AWESOME. Seriously, this cannot be overstated. If you like animals or have kids who like animals... skip the San Diego Zoo and Seaworld and go here instead. Here's why:

#1 - The zoo is GORGEOUS. All of the landscaping is beautiful and they have really gone out of their way to create a wonderful atmosphere. My mother-in-law called it the Disneyland of zoo's, and that is a perfect description. No detail was missed.

#2 - There are so many animals. 6 cheetas, 30 large cats (lions and tigers), 20 gorillas, 4 different species of bears...etc. Every exhibit is FULL of animals and they are all so close you are rarely left wondering where they are hiding or what they are doing.

#3 - The animals are all VERY close and in natural looking habitats. I literally could have touched a tiger if I was dumb enough to try.

#4 - Special exhibits. They have an aquarium that I thought was way cooler than Seaworld, which includes a touch tank, and a giant aquarium with a tunnel you walk through.

There is also a butterfly pavillion which is basically a greenhouse that you can walk through with THOUSANDS of butterflies and hummingbirds fluttering around.

There is a "Desert Dome" which includes animals from all of the worlds greatest deserts as well as an underground area called "Kingdoms of the Night" which houses an artificial cavern complete with stalactites and stalagmites, underground waterfalls and bats (in cages of course) and a "swamp" area where you can view alligators, crocodiles, and beavers from a couple of feet away (literally)

There is an indoor jungle which is indescribable. It is full of monkeys, rivers, waterfalls, otters, hippos, wild birds, sloths etc. all barely out of arms reach.

There is also a giant aviary, a "Madagascar" exhibit and a children's aviary where they can old and feed small birds. All of these special exhibits are in addition to the regular zoo exhibits of rhino's, giraffes, zebra's etc. 

Everyone who worked at the zoo was kind, friendly and knowledgeable and we all had a great time. I was amazed at how much Abby loved the zoo. She howled at the monkeys and animals all day, LOVED the jungle vines and couldn't get enough of the jellyfish. 

By the end of the day though, we were exhausted and ready to head back to sleep in our own beds.