“So what was your favorite state in terms of wildlife?” This was a complicated one for us… When we thought of wildlife, lots of places stood out for us but a few did eventually rise to the top. The most notable places that entered our minds when considering wildlife were Disney’s Animal Kingdom (Orlando, FL), the Columbus Zoo (Columbus, OH), the Smithsonian National Zoo (Washington D.C.), the Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta, GA), and when it comes to seeing animals in their true natural environment… Alaska!
First and foremost, the Disney company tends to go above and beyond with everything that they put their name on, so expect nothing less than a first-class experience when visiting any of their theme parks. That is the one thing we wanted to point out when adding Disney’s Animal Kingdom to our list… It is indeed a theme park, complete with all sorts of rides, shows and other attractions besides the wildlife. The main attraction there (in our opinion) is the Kilimanjaro Safari Expedition. This is about as close as you can get to going on a real-life African Safari without traveling overseas. It’s an unbelievable 22-minute ride that does not disappoint! You ride in open-air safari trucks that provide the widest possible field of vision and hold up to 36 passengers. If you want, you can even go on a private safari with their “Savor the Savanna” program (of course that costs extra). That includes a two-hour safari with up-close interactions with the animals, African-inspired foods, drinks and a souvenir.
If you’re not interested in a theme park and just looking at Zoo’s, then the Columbus Zoo (Columbus, OH) and the Smithsonian National Zoo (Washington D.C.) are two of the best that we’ve experienced. They’re both great in different ways. First, the Columbus Zoo offers a wide variety of land and marine animals in their 580-acre park. This zoo was put on the map by its former director Jack Hannah (now retired). He became famous for his Saturday morning show Jack Hannah’s Animal Adventures and there is a nice statue of him and his wife Suzi located there as well. They have over 10,000 animals in dozens of themed exhibits! From the Asia Quest to the Congo Expedition, you’ll find every ecosystem in the world represented here. The polar bears were our personal favorite, but the brown bears, jaguars, elephants and orangutans were all pretty incredible as well!
The Smithsonian National Zoo was pretty amazing in its own right. This nationally-renowned zoo features some of the most incredible creatures from around the world, including lions, pythons, tortoises, gorillas and even Komodo Dragons! If you’re ever visiting Washington D.C., don’t just limit your time to the monuments and museums… give the Smithsonian National Zoo a visit and check out over 2,100 unique and rare forms of wildlife that live there! Also remember that all of the Smithsonian Museums (including the zoo) have free entry!
If you’re thinking of marine life and looking for an aquarium to visit, then we give the Georgia Aquarium our highest recommendation! We’ve been to a total of 23 different wildlife parks on our travels (including 11 aquariums), and the Georgia Aquarium stands at the top of our aquarium list! The Georgia Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the United States, with over 100,000 creatures and 500 underwater species. It’s also the only aquarium in America that houses whale sharks (the largest sharks on earth). Only 5 aquariums worldwide house these amazing creatures! They also have separate dolphin and sea lion shows that are no extra cost!
Lastly, if you have a strong desire to see a diverse array of wildlife in their natural environment, we think a trip to Alaska must go on your list! We recommend taking guided tours while visiting Alaska… This is the best way to safely see and learn about the wildlife here on The Last Frontier. We did the Kenai Fjords and Resurrection Bay Wildlife Cruise and loved every minute of it! On this cruise we visited Kenai Fjords National Park and got to see Seals, Puffins, Sea Lions and Humpback Whales! We had been on a couple of whale watches in the past, however, on one of those excursions we did not see any whales at all, and on the other, the whales we saw were more like dolphins (in terms of size) so we really were hoping to see some large whales on this trip… and we sure did! We even followed a humpback whale for a while and saw it breach! A truly unforgettable moment! Besides the wildlife, we also saw Exit Glacier and many many Fjords on this cruise!
While on this trip we also visited the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center… this is a 200 acre sanctuary dedicated to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through conservation, education, research and quality care. This place was huge, and while there we got to see… Moose, Musk Ox, Reindeer, Caribou, Brown Bear, Grizzly Bear, Black Bear, Wood Bison, Black-tailed Deer, Elk, Porcupine, Lynx, and Bald Eagles! Alaska truly is The Last Frontier… it’s one of those “you’ve got to see it with your own eyes” type of places to truly feel its beauty!
Quest for 50 states 