Akron Zoo vs. Cleveland Zoo

We visited the Akron zoo on our vacation last week and couldn't help comparing it to the Cleveland zoo. We had a nice time and it was a gorgeous day, very comfortable!  The first difference we noticed between the two was that we had to pay $2 for parking; the Cleveland zoo is free parking.

Most of the Akron zoo exhibits have glass so it's harder to get good pictures of the animals than at the Cleveland zoo.  The animal of the day was the sloth bear who stood on its hind legs right in front of us face-to-face with only the glass separating us.  I couldn't get a picture because it happened so fast and then the bear went back inside.  It just came out to greet us, I guess.

Small Penguins

Peek-a-boo

The penguin exhibit was the first one as you come in.  Although there was glass all along the front of it, we were able to climb some steps up to a platform so was able to get a nice picture of them from above.

The penguins and the Red Panda were a couple animals I was able to get, but the red panda was pretty much hidden in the leaves.  It was a very bright day too so was hard to see what we were shooting. 

The Akron zoo is not as big as the Cleveland zoo and many exhibits are grouped close together so it doesn't take as long to see everything.  There is a lot more shade at the Akron zoo but the concession stands were closed when we went.  There was only one building that had a cafeteria which was open.  The landscaping at both zoos is very nice.

otter exhibit

One of the things I like most about the Akron zoo is all the interactive attractions they have for young children which are spread out all through the zoo.  There is a carousel with carved animals, a scale that is big enough for a group to get on to see if they can weigh as much as some of the animals, there was a frontier town for children to just play in, but my favorite was the tube slide going through the otter exhibit.  The Cleveland zoo also had a lot of fun things for the children so I would say they tie on this issue.

Grizzly Ridge

Grizzly Ridge was a newer area and I loved the big wood carving of the bear at the entrance to this area!  The two grizzly bears there were from our Cleveland zoo and I must say, they looked happier at our zoo, but perhaps because they were just cubs then and had two others to play with as well. 

Lehner Family zoo gardens

It was different for us going to the zoo where we didn't know where everything was!  Way at the opposite end from the entrance was a beautiful garden.  Both Gerard and I like gardens so we wanted to make sure we saw it.  Here are a couple photos I took of it.

Lehner Family Zoo Gardens

 

We recommend visiting a zoo!

The only animals the Akron zoo has that the Cleveland zoo doesn't are the penguins and the Alpaca.  The Cleveland zoo has many more animals.  The Rainforest alone takes an hour to go through if you actually take time to look at everything.  We like our Cleveland zoo better, but had a wonderful time and didn't get lost! 

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