Dickerson Park Zoo (Visit this link)
Upon entering the zoo, a walkway leads to the South American exhibits, beginning with a rhea yard adjacent to a Chilean flamingo exhibit. Across the walk from the flamingos are maned wolves, known for their skunk-like musk scent. As you turn the corner from the maned wolf exhibit, you see a mixed exhibit with colorful sun conures and golden headed tamarins. Cross the boardwalk overlooking Hamlin Lake, a lagoon home to a variety of waterfowl, leading you to the Patagonian cavy exhibit. Two species of macaws, a pair of toucans, squirrel monkeys and tamarins are on display across from a spacious ocelot exhibit.
After viewing the exhibits of South American animals, visitors enter the Australian area, which presently exhibits red kangaroos, emus, wallabies and black swans. The Outback Corral petting zoo provides zoo visitors of all ages the opportunity to feed and touch a variety of domestic and exotic animals in a protected-contact setting.
An uphill walk leads visitors to the Missouri Habitats area, a hilly, forested example of Missouri wilderness. This cooperative effort between Dickerson Park Zoo and the Missouri Department of Conservation features a boardwalk with overlooks into a black bear/coyote yard complete with a pool and artificial rock formations, a red fox exhibit and the white-tail deer/wild turkey yard. Other favorites in Missouri Habitats include exhibits of bobcats and raccoons and the North American river otter pool, with its multiple viewing windows, including underwater viewing.
After doubling back for a second look at the black bear exhibit, visitors encounter the African-themed exhibits beginning with Cheetah Country, home to Dickerson Park Zoo's successful breeding work with this endangered species. A raised pavilion offers visitors panoramic views of the cheetahs and the neighboring African Plains yard. From the pavilion, visitors have exceptional views of greater kudu and other African antelopes, European white storks, East African crowned cranes and ostriches. In the background, visitors also see their first look at giraffes and educations. From the pavilion, a walkway skirts the African Plains exhibit allowing for continued observation of this spacious mixed-species exhibit.
Adjoining the African Plains is the Asian elephant exhibit. Visitors have an unobstructed view of the elephants in the yard and indoor viewing in the building shared with giraffes. Dickerson Park Zoo’s elephant calf Haji was born on November 28, 1999. He is the first elephant calf to be conceived by artificial insemination.
The giraffe yard is followed by a modern lion exhibit with an overlook and glass viewing windows. The next walkway brings visitors close to more antelope and gives them a closer look at zebras, previously seen at a distance.
From the African exhibits, visitors come to the remodeled Baby Animal Nursery, now home to the American alligators, muntjac and a variety of birds in outdoor flight cages. The next stop is the Aldabra tortoises, one of two species of giant tortoise.
The walkway leads you to the American bald eagle exhibit and the front doors of the Hearld and Marge Ambler Diversity of Life exhibits, opened in April 2001 and home to the zoo’s popular reptile and amphibian collection. Here visitors experience the diversity of three habitats: Deserts and Dry Places, Rainforest Life and The Ozarks. See fierce rattlesnakes and a monocled cobra, colorful rainforest frogs, Burmese pythons measuring more than 10 feet in length and our own native Missouri species. Visitors will marvel at the diversity of animals on exhibit – 35 exhibits include more than 50 different species.
The observation deck of the Ambler Diversity of Life building provides a wonderful panorama of Dickerson Lake and two islands with a variety of lemur species. In the distance, visitors see a third island home to white-handed gibbons.
Along the lakeshore, free-roaming waterfowl, peafowl and Guinea fowl congregate for feeding by visitors. A pavilion over Dickerson Lake gives optimum viewing of the white-handed gibbons. The hippopotamus pool, the last of the African exhibits, is across from the lake and completes the loop of Dickerson Park Zoo's approximate 40 acres of exhibits.
http://www.dickersonparkzoo.org