We love Como Zoo!

For those of you who aren't somewhat local, Como Zoo is in St Paul. It's open 365 days a year and is affiliated with a large park system and conservatory, plus a small amusement park in the summer. Oh, and it's all free (except for the rides). They ask for a free-will donation when you walk through the doors, but if you have nothing to give you are still allowed in. It's worth every penny you do, or don't, spend and then some.

Como is a rather small zoo. You can walk through the entire thing in about 1-2 hrs without rushing. It has an Ape Building with about 5 different species, including little Tamarins -- which we all love and refer to as the "Little Old Men Monkeys" -- and going up to large Gorillas. There is a large cat building, which houses lions, tigers and leopards, and next to that is an enclosure for 2 grey wolves (which I see plenty at home, thankyouverymuch). There is a nice central building for African hooved animals--giraffes, zebras, various deer--and then an aquatics building with penguins, puffins, lots of fish, seals and sea lions, and polar bears (which will open their new exhibit later this spring). Scattered around the way are also bison, long-horned sheep, caribou, various bird and waterfowl species, and giant tortoises. Attached to the zoo is a large conservatory with tons of exotic flowers, trees and plants. There is also a newer exhibit, the rain forest. In here you are able to walk amongst the tall trees and see some of the rain forest inhabitants, like a huge anaconda snake, tarantula, and 3-toed sloth (Alayna's favorite).

Again, this zoo is not huge, but it's so much fun for the whole family. You don't have to make a huge time commitment to go there, it's not hard on the wallet, and the animals are pretty close and easily visible. We love it. Which is why we went there again this past weekend. We had a prior engagement with our 4H club that was going to be as far south as the cities but just a bit further east. This commitment, while important, was only for about an hour total. We couldn't drive all that way for such a short time, then turn around and come home. See, Como was the perfect choice!

I took some pictures, but they'll look like any other zoo picture. The big cats and wolves were actually out and active, because it was a cool day--usually we're there in summer and it's so warm they're rather lazy. But because it was a cool day, the giraffes and zebras were kept inside their barn, where we were able to see them but it wasn't as great as when they're outside. All the apes were indoors instead of in their outside pens, and the tortoise was nowhere to be found, probably nicely tucked into a warm room.

We go to Como 2-3 times a year, if not more. And if you're in the St Paul area with an hour or two to kill, we totally recommend Como!