The Orange County Zoo
If you’re looking to get your zoo fix but are short on time and money, the Orange County Zoo would be the perfect place to visit, provided that you’re already in the Irvine area, that is. I say this because it’s not a zoo I recommend visiting from afar as it’s a very small zoo and the zoo grounds can easily be visited in it’s entirety in less than an hour. The good thing about this zoo, though is that it’s not very well known and thus not very crowded, even on a weekend.
You’d think with it being less well known, parking would be a breeze, right? Well, it’s not that much of a breeze since the zoo’s parking lot is located on the grounds of the Irvine Park. Translation: You’ll have to pay to get into the Irvine Park (this is basically a parking admission fee) and you’ll have to compete with another zoo goer or park visitor for an ideal parking spot.
Parking dilemma aside, the zoo was worth the visit at $2 per person. Do not expect to eat, pee/poop or withdraw money inside the zoo, though. If you need to do any of these things, do it before or after visiting the zoo. (I believe you can also get your hand stamped if you need to leave the zoo mid-visit to use the restroom, though.) The first creature you see upon entering the zoo is either a bird or a super creepy crawler (something the boys would want to see) and no, I’m not talking about a snake.
Talking about snakes, there were a lot of different snakes to be seen not far from the creepy crawler. If you must know, I skipped out on viewing the creepy crawler because there were too many boys trying to view it and more importantly, I just didn’t want to view it. *shivers*
Cooler than being able to view a yellow rattlesnake, though was being able to see a mountain lion. Although the mountain lions were perched all the way in the back of its “habitat” and somewhat hard to see, it was still nonetheless pretty cool to watch them watching us zoo visitors. (Creepy, if you think about it.)
Anyway, I hadn’t come to the Orange County Zoo to see mountain lions; I had come hoping to see an ocelot or two. The funny thing is that I ended up not seeing an ocelot as I actually forgot about looking for it. I want to say I passed it’s habitat, though. Hm.
Well, at least I got to see bears, goats, wild pigs, donkeys, prairie dogs, hawks, coyotes and more. The prairie dogs were cute. The coyotes were intriguing especially this one coyote that kept on doing laps in its habitat. Of all the animals I saw at the zoo, my most favorite would have to be the fox located at the very end of the zoo grounds. Most people didn’t see it as it was tiny and hiding, somewhere. When it eventually came out of hiding, I was able to see the tiny fox walking around with one bad leg.
And the fox wasn’t the only animal I saw that didn’t look “healthy” but then again, what do I know as I’m not a veterinarian, right? But seriously, there were quite a lot of animals that appeared sick on the zoo grounds. I honestly don’t know if they were actually sick or if they were just not feeling the weather. (It was 100 degrees Fahrenheit the day I went. And no, I do not know why I went to the zoo on such a hot day. I admit I was nuts but apparently wasn’t the only nut hanging out at the zoo.) If they’re “sick”, I’m glad my $2 (zoo admission price) went towards an animal(s) that needs it.
At $2, you’ll have to set your standards low. For example, don’t expect to see animals in spacious habitats and don’t expect the zoo to give you a feeling of being on a safari because it’s just not going to happen at this zoo. I will admit that I kind of cringed after seeing how small some of the animals’ habitats were but felt a tad bit better after telling myself that at least they had a home? (I know some people can argue that their real home is out there in the wild but honestly, if the animal isn’t fit enough for “survival of the fittest”, the zoo is probably a better home for it.)
A nice feature of the zoo is actually a petting area where visitors can feed and touch goats. I recommend this if you want to get interactive as some goats are quite pushy when it comes to food. While I only sticked to petting, one particular goat sneezed/spit on me and that was flat out gross. So, if you don’t want to get spit on or bit (who knows what insects are on the goats), stick to just watching the goats and/or don’t wear a light colored shirt to the petting area.
In addition to the petting area, the Orange County Zoo had an educational area where employees showcased a snake and skin/fur of various animals. Keep in mind that they don’t offer educational showings every day that they’re open so you might miss out on it the day you decide to visit the zoo.
As for the skin/fur I mentioned, there’s no need for you to worry that it was obtained through inhumane manners.
I was in awe of the bobcat’s (or was it a mountain lion’s?) paw and blame my intrigue of it’s paw for forgetting all about the ocelot I had come to see. Boo. Oh well.
So, was the Orange County Zoo worth the visit? For $2, yes. Just make sure you don’t come to the Irvine Park for the zoo alone. Make the trip worth it by visiting the Nature Exhibit, going on a hike and more.
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