Taking a Virtual Tour of the Wild Kingdom

The Internet offers plenty of opportunities to explore both real and virtual animal kingdoms. NeoPets and the San Diego Zoo allow kids to get up close and personal with a variety of cute critters.

NeoPets.com

NeoPets.com at https://www.neopets.com is a friendly site where children create and care for cyber pets and are encouraged to treat them with the same concern as real animals. Users start by selecting an age group and then choosing a pet species. The creatures resemble Pokemon characters more than puppies or kittens. Kids name their cyber pals and select characteristics such as color, environment and preferences. There also is a tutorial explaining the basics of navigating the world of Neopia and attending to the animals that reside there.

Feeding new pets is the first priority in Neopia. Food can be purchased at shops with Neopoints, the site’s virtual currency. Each player starts with a stash of Neopoints, which can be added to by playing games, finding prizes, participating in the NeoPets stock market or setting up shops. An Explore section takes kids to five new worlds such as Winter Wonderland, where they can play games, enter contests and buy drinks for their pets.

There are about 40 games scattered throughout the site plus special pet home pages, e-mail and message boards as well as screen savers and a very good help section. There is also a pet pound and adoption center. Aside from a few ornery creatures, there is little danger for pets in Neopia.

But they can’t simply be deleted from the program once children tire of them and they have been given up for adoption. In an effort to find good virtual homes for these orphans, NeoPets offers special Neopoint bonus incentives to encourage new users to pick from the pound rather then create new pets.

San Diego Zoo

The Zoological Society of San Diego describes itself as a “conservation, education and recreation organization dedicated to the reproduction, protection and exhibition of animals, plants and habitats.” The Web site, found at https://www.sandiegozoo.org, not only fully supports that mission statement but also provides informative viewing for children and parents alike.

The site is organized into several sections, starting with the San Diego Zoo itself. Kids can grab a large collection of information--including pictures, virtual guides to the exhibits and events and a section on the new Ituri Forest exhibit. Visitors can go on cyber-safari through the Wild Animal Park exploring animals, gardens and the Heart of Africa.

The area devoted to the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species explains how technology is helping conservation. Users can adopt a condor for the holidays through the end of the year. There also is a Kid Section, found under the Wild Ideas tab, that includes games such as Build Your Own Animal and Untamed Trivia, animal profiles, zoo crafts and science experiments.

Every zoo needs a star, and Hua Mei, the 16-month-old giant panda, is the current favorite. At Panda Central, users can watch the Panda Cam, which provides streaming video of Hua Mei in her environment plus access to all the panda facts and FAQs they care to absorb. For example, an adult Panda consumes nearly 35 pounds of cut bamboo a day. A must for all visitors is the Hua Mei Baby Photo Tour, which shows her progression from 4 ounces at birth through her first 7 months.

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Karen Jones is a freelance writer specializing in children’s interactive media.

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Kids’ Web Sites

NeoPets.com

https://www.neopets.com

Friendly site crawling with cyber pets

San Diego Zoo

https://www.sandiegozoo.org Lots of serious and whimsical activities