Jacksonville Zoo

First of all, I love our zoo because not only is it beautiful, but Jackson the chimp is the best. He will come up to the glass & check you out & perform for you. He also looooves hands & fingers so put them up to the glass & he’ll come & just stare at them. I’m super bummed because soon they will be removing all the chimpanzees, including Jackson, and making room for Bonobo’s, a more endangered species. Although I understand this action, I will really miss silly Jackson.

Second…I loved Ben the gorilla. He was the first gorilla ever @ the Jacksonville Zoo. He was always at the glass looking & all the kids, but he seemed a little sad most of the time & in his own world. Sadly, about a week ago Ben passed away. He was being chased by another gorilla & fell into the moat. The water was chest high but from what I heard, Ben didn’t even put up a fight for his life. By the time rescue made it to him, they could not revive him. He was an amazing guy. RIP Ben!

Wear shorts and a tank, bring water, a lot of water, and be careful about buying the food (in the general concession stand). I felt sick after eating some nachos.

Sadly, for as big as Jax is the zoo leaves a lot to be desired. Cleveland Zoo, Brookfield Zoo, Columbus Zoo, and San Diego zoo are incredible places and blow Jax Zoo out of the water—even the Alligator Farm is a better place. I couldnt get into the Jax zoo—it was small, the enclosures were out dated and the rats were over taking the animals. It’s was very pathetic especially for the price of admission. With this SuperBowl city something should be done as far as improvements, although I realize that the city is in the red big time and wehen making cuts the zoo is near the top of the list.

Fun!