's The Calgary Zoo
(Image Gallery Below)
For all you animal lovers, the zoo is the perfect place for you to spend the day visiting exotic animals from across the globe! Visit the famous painting elephant, Kamala or the beautiful and unique butterflies in the Conservatory that fly freely around you. If you're lucky enough, you may even get a butterfly to land and walk on your hand. Although don't be surprised if they end up on your head without you noticing giving anyone behind you a great snapshot opportunity!
The Calgary Zoological Society was founded in 1929 and the zoo opened with 78 birds, 36 mammals and 6 black squirrels donated by the Toronto Parks Department. In 1937 'Dinny' the first dinosaur introduced the Calgarians to the new Natural History Park aka the Prehistoric Park, which would eventually allow people to experience taking a nice stroll outdoors in what would be considered the time of the dinosaurs... or as close as one can. Just recently the Prehistoric Park was renovated to include dinosaur models made with animatronics; giving visitors a more real experience with dinosaurs that move and make sounds. A great and fun experience no matter how old you are!
Now the Calgary Zoo is the second largest zoo in Canada holding over 1000 animals with over 200 different kinds of species. Interestingly enough, many of the animals from the Canadian Wild section were donated from the Banff zoo when it shut down in the late 1930's.
Make sure you give yourself a full day to check out all 8 destinations of the Calgary Zoo. These include the following;
- Destination Africa
- Canadian Wilds
- Australia (Creatures of the Night)
- Arctic Shores and Antarctic Landing
- Eurasia
- South America
- Botanical Gardens and Dorthy Harvie Conservatory
- Prehistoric Park
Each destination holds unique species specific to certain continents and creates a unique atmosphere allowing you to feel as if you were travelling the world all in one day. After seeing the adorable red pandas, the ferocious but cuddly Canadians bears, the spider monkeys, the lazy but entertaining gorillas, and all the other wondrous and cute animals, you'll leave wanting to take them all home! Well except for maybe the humongous, fat, dirty hippos...
The Calgary Zoo also caters to all sorts of events all year round such as the popular zoo lights during the Christmas season; all listed and kept up to date on their website.
For up-to-date information and current pricing, check out the Calgary Zoo's official website.
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