Of course in addition to seeing the pandas I did walk around the rest of the Smithsonian National Zoo on my 2 days there and I think I just about saw everything! The Africa Trail section was closed while work was ongoing, but otherwise the zoo was actually just like I remembered it from my 2018 trip, although I don’t remember seeing the Bird House previously, well it turns out it was under renovation last time, so that was something new to see. I also don’t remember the Claws&Paw Pathway so I’m thinking maybe that was also not open when I was last there.
In my first visit post there is information included on getting to the zoo – this hasn’t changed at all, but definitely check the zoo website to confirm opening hours. On this trip, the zoo is still free to enter, but you needed a reservation QR code to enter – I got these in advance of my visits but there were links to sign up at the entrance, and it was efficient at the entrance so there weren’t any lines to have your QR code scanned, super quick to get in.
Upper Zoo ~ Asia Trail + Bird House
The Bird House did indeed look very new, and it has similar vibes to the World of Birds in Zoo Berlin except that it was more open and many areas had no fencing between you and the birds which I definitely like the feel of, and also reminded me of some of the spaces at Bird Paradise in Singapore. I have to admit, I thought I took more pictures of the birds than I have – and there are apparently over 80 species to see here, so I think I must have missed a section somewhere! I’d definitely come back here again.
I have to admit, I didn’t spend a lot of time in the Asia Trail other than to see the pandas – I was really hoping to see both the clouded leopard and the fishing cat, always more elusive species and luckily I did see both of them. The clouded leopard was running around and I couldn’t get any photos, but was happy to see it, and I stopped by the fishing cat several times before getting lucky near the end of the day and seeing one very close up. The Trail also has otters, red pandas and sloth bears – I only caught a small glimpse of a sloth bear, unfortunately the glass viewing window here isn’t great for photos with a lot of reflections, and I didn’t see either the otters or the red pandas (the red pandas live on the path from the giant panda outdoor to indoor living spaces).
Mid Zoo ~ Elephants, America Trail, Andean Bears + Small Mammal House
The elephants are great because they’re an animal you’re always going to see in the zoo, and this time I managed to catch a procedure too – one of the elephants was having a nail file and there were staff members around to talk people through what was happening and answering questions, this was very interesting and I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this anywhere previously. I really like the elephant yards here, they’re huge, I love the pools, and there are so many different viewing options as well.
The America Trail is one of my favourite sections because I really like sea lions and I was happy to spot them on this trip too, it was funny to see one of them chilling and enjoying the sun next to it’s pelican friends! I also tried hard to see the beavers, this is a species I’ve been attempting to see for a long time, but this occasion wasn’t my lucky day. They had both an outdoor space and an indoor den, and I think they were inside but the glass was super muddy so you couldn’t see through at all. One day I’ll see a beaver! Quite literally the final animal I saw at the end of my second day was an Andean bear, I went past here a few times and didn’t see one until the last visit, what cute bears^ This one was enjoying a shady spot and having a good wash, it was really nice because it was very quiet at this time, such a peaceful environment to enjoy some animal viewing.
The Small Mammal House has quite a range of species so I didn’t see all of them, but enjoyed seeing fennec foxes again. If I’d had a little more time I would have stopped in here more often however when I was there they were operating a queueing system and a few times when I went past the line to get in was quite long so I opted not to wait – I was there on a weekend in August, so can understand that it was a busy time and there’s limited space in inside houses.
Lower Zoo ~ Great Cats, Great Apes, Kids Farm + Claws&Paws Pathway
I remember the big cat area very well from my first visit and was happy to see more of the tigers this time, I did only see one lion out on one of the days though but he was very popular with the visitors.
They have a very good great ape exhibit, with a connecting bridge system between two habitats in the zoo which are quite some distance from each other. I didn’t see anyone going across the bridges, however one of the orangutans was sitting at one end of the climbing structure on one day, and possibly the same individual was at the other end on the second day! Orangutans are definitely my favourite of the ape species.
I also enjoyed walking through the Kids Farm area, which has the typical ‘petting zoo’ type animals. I especially enjoyed seeing the alpacas, donkeys and Kunekune pigs (super cute – but they didn’t have the best yard for people to view so I didn’t see a lot of them). And the goats had a very fun looking yard with lots of play and climbing options. Have to say there weren’t a huge amount of kids actually here looking at the animals when I went past on both days, but I sure had a good time.
And the final section which was also new since my first visit, the Claws&Paws Pathway, and I really loved this section, some really nice species to see here. The prairie dogs were fun to try and spot, they blended in well to their habitat and kept popping in and out of their burrows. The American porcupines were absolutely adorable, and I happened to catch one of the keeper feeding sessions with them where both porcupines were down and super close and the keepers was answering questions and doing some training exercises with them. I really liked this and the porcupines were very adorable holding and nibbling their fruit! There were also binturong, which I’ve seen a lot in other zoos but felt like a fitting addition here – interestingly it didn’t smell super popcorn-y around them but that might have been because the space is a bit more open here. These two were enjoying a sunbathe on high branches in their yard. I didn’t manage to catch a glimpse of the Pallas’ cat, but I did see the bobcats, and I’m thinking this might be the first time I’ve seen the species?! There were two or three living here, but always two of them were curled up together, and mostly with backs to the viewing area – it took a few trips here to see one facing me!
