Our most recent family fun at the National Zoo in DC was about two months prior to the government shutdown. The nearby Reston Zoo visits were amusing to our 5-year old but she wanted more and that triggered off a visit to the National Zoo in DC in the first place. It was truly an entertaining and thought-provoking experience to all of us though.
It took us more than half a day just to be amazed at three sections of the Zoo prompting us to save the rest for another visit later. Apart from Kid's farm section, Of all the 4000+ animals and 500+ species housed in the Zoo, what first captured our attention was Amazonia, the largest and most complex exhibit ever built in the park http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/Amazonia/Exhibit/ followed by "The Great Cats" section where the "King of the Jungle" was taking his afternoon nap during our visit and so was the other great cat - the Tiger, blissfully ignorant of the fact that their population in the world's forest has been dwindling steadily from the estimated 100,000 in the beginning of the century to only 3500 now which is alarming for a few concerned groups.
Good news is that due to serious efforts such as "Project Tiger" in India, about 1500 tigers have been saved from the brink of extinction and this is about half of the entire tiger population of the world, according to Worldwide relief fund (WWF), an organization with a meaningful mission to build a future in which people live in harmony with nature.
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With a broad mission to demonstrate leadership in animal care, science and sustainability, no wonder National Zoo has been drawing visits from people across the world as one of the top tourist destination. Another interesting fact is that the 163-acre park has been set in the heart of Washington, D.C. I can think of just one other huge Zoological park right in the middle of a busy City in Chennai where India's first Zoological Park was established in the year 1855 that got moved to the Vandalur-Chennai area in the recent decades and this Zoo boasts of 1500 wild species and 46 endangered species. The option to ride bikes within the Zoo has been great as noted by one of the nature lover there.
The vibration that each and every species bring to our planet and the intricate balancing connections among species including all humans has been evident to many and I salute today the folks at "Project Tiger", the WWF, the National Zoo in DC and the Vandalur Zoo in Chennai for their meaningful work.
