The Other Zoo: Oakland Zoo Photos

It had been a while since I'd last visited Oakland Zoo. How long a while is evident by the fact that I was overwhelmed by the improvements the zoo has made in terms of habitat resuscitation. I chatted with a couple whose last foray to Oakland Zoo was in the mid-90s. And they, too, were pleasantly surprised by the more natural enclosures and green space afforded many of the zoo's animals.

I admit -- I'm a tough customer in the zoo department. I've had an ambivalent relationship to zoos, owing to some traumatic early life experiences with horrendous zoo conditions around the world. The prison-style zoos that marked my childhood are -- thankfully -- becoming a relic of the past. But it's a wound that predisposes a person to hyper-sensitivity where the welfare of zoo animals is concerned.

The Oakland Zoo has done a tremendous amount of work to bring its facility into the new age of habitat-conscious venues. I was pleased that at few enclosures, I couldn't even find the animals for the lush greenery affording them some privacy.

The two tigers are actually rescues -- coming from enclosures the size of motorcycle crates. It's hard not to appreciate the sleepy afternoon the two of them had, in an expanse that certainly transcends their previous circus days.

The main down side to the visit was people not observing the posted "quiet" signs around animal enclosures. Your thoughts on why this is so prevalent these days? I witness it everywhere.

The Oakland Zoo makes its home in the Oakland Hills, above I-580 -- about 12 miles from Berkeley. The area is also home to wildlife like deer and wild turkeys. You may see these animals on approach or departure, depending on what time you arrive.

If you haven't been lately, check out this Photo Gallery of Oakland Zoo Animals and read a bit more about the zoo and its inhabitants.

^{Meerkats Frolicking at Oakland Zoo
Photo © Ingrid Taylar}