Return Trip : Wild Animal Park Still Has Things to Teach, Learn

Like most young families, mine embraced the abundance of activities available in San Diego County when we first arrived 16 years ago. We purchased annual passes to Sea World and family memberships to the San Diego Zoo, and regularly took advantage of these remarkable facilities.

So frequent were our visits, that on one occasion I noted that our 5-year-old daughter knew, by memory, most of the script of the “Shamu, the Yankee Doodle Whale” in the park’s bicentennial tribute in 1976. Over the years, like acclimated families, our visits have been less habitual.

When the youngest of our children heard of the San Diego Wild Animal Park’s “From Dinos to Rhinos” exhibit, he suggested a visit. Our trip gave me an opportunity to revisit the park, now 20 years old, with a new perspective. Although the park remains a wonderful destination, and the one I am quickest to recommend to out-of-town visitors, I found myself wanting to see little annoyances in the operation addressed for the benefit of both at-home and from-a-distance guests.

We arrived at 9 a.m. to enjoy the park before the onset of the June heat. There was only one ticket window open with a long line to get tickets for entrance. We waited nearly 15 minutes and were not even near the front of the line when I realized I could go to a window inside and renew my membership. Out-of-town families were not afforded this luxury.

I wished for park administrators the experience of being at a standstill in the admission line with three anxious preschoolers in-hand after driving for more than an hour to the park, anticipating a day of adventure. Perhaps employing more ticket-sellers at the window during peak periods would be made a higher priority.

Despite the slow start, the moment one enters the Wild Animal Park there is the immediate thrill of being transported to another continent.

We headed straight to the Wgasa Bushline (monorail) to observe the animals before the heat of the day limited their movement. It is a remarkable educational experience for young children to encounter these creatures in a near-natural environment as viewed from the monorail. However, families should know--perhaps be advised by park personnel as they board the monorail--that fewer sightings will be noted to the left, and most animals discussed and in view during the 50-minute trip will be to the right. A small child in the far left-hand seat will miss much of what there is to see.

The dialogue for the monorail is, as always, a blend of educational commentary for all ages. These experienced guides incorporate clever means of illustrating facts so that by the end of the journey children know not just that the ostrich egg is the largest of all bird eggs, but that its contents are the equivalent of 36 chicken eggs.

On the monorail, a family with two preschoolers in the row in front of us spoke Spanish. Having spent the year in a Spanish program at UC San Diego, and being keenly aware of the frustration of understanding a lecture in another language, I was curious as to why the park has not addressed the question of different languages on the monorail, the most central of experiences within the park. Why not consider offering certain scheduled monorails or designated cars for Spanish- and Japanese-speaking visitors? Or headsets with a recorded language program in other languages? With a recorded program, the spontaneity of discussing an animal’s immediate activity would be lost, but how much more interesting the ride would have been for the young boy and girl in front of us had they been able to glean some knowledge of the animals they were seeing.

In a park committed to a healthy exchange of animals with other countries, why does this spirit of cultural exchange not extend to visitors not fluent in English?

After our monorail ride, we headed for a family favorite--the gorilla exhibit. Like wise mammals, they were seeking shade and minimizing their antics in the near 100-degree temperature.

I was enchanted by the description of the Lowland Gorillas that paralleled a friend’s portrait of her adolescent children: “. . . the troop spends the day grooming, feeding, traveling, resting and playing.”

Molds of the foot and handprints of the gorilla Trib offer humans the opportunity to compare their foot and hand shape and size. The footprint, however, should be on the ground as several little children struggled to get their foot up high enough to make the comparison.

On a smaller scale, but just as intriguing, was the “Walk Across America” program at the Rare and Wild America Show, which discussed the behavior of a raccoon, turkey and opossum. My son, and every child and adult in the audience, was entranced by the discussion and demonstration of these familiar creatures.

Next, we headed for the “Dinos to Rhinos” show and paid an additional $2 charge for admission (the charge is included in regular admission tickets, but not with memberships). If you are pushing a stroller, or a wheelchair, as the park notes at the onset, the terrain is not easily managed.

The walk-through exhibit--although most young children race through--is a collection of robotic creatures by Dinamation. After many years as a parent and teacher, I am still overwhelmed at the enthusiasm generated by dinosaurs--mechanical or otherwise.

After trips to the animal-care center and petting kraal, we headed for the bird show. There we met Sandy Osterberg from Carlsbad, who was visiting with her three sons, Ian, 6, Trevor, 4, and Daniel, 2, and another child, Houston, 18 months.

“We come here just about every other month since I have a membership to the zoo,” Sandy said. She is clearly in-tune with the attention span of preschoolers: “Today, we’ll just see the bird show and go to the petting kraal.”

Time has not diminished the appeal of my favorite bird, Lolita, her new friend, Bruce, and Pancho, who sings “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” The positive reward system used to train the animals was discussed and, as always, I reflected as to how I might have more effectively incorporated this system in managing children.

Following the bird show, the opportunity to learn more about birds is offered in a presentation entitled Hawk Talk outside the amphitheater. My son was extremely interested in the presentation, but we both grew weary standing for the talk in the midday heat. Why not invite those interested in Hawk Talk at the conclusion of the bird show to move closer to the stage where they may sit and enjoy it in the comfort of the overhead shading?

After stopping for one more juice drink, we headed for the exit. As always, we walked away a little wiser. I couldn’t help thinking that just as there are always new things visitors--whether on their first or umpteenth trip--can learn at the Wild Animal Park, there are things the park can still learn from its visitors.