Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden
add photos3 Reviews for Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden
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00 families found this helpful
"A little bit depressing...2.5 stars"
I took my son (almost 1) and daughter (3 years) to visit this zoo the other day and, while it was nice to see a few animals that we don't have the opportunity to see elsewhere, I found it to be mostly depressing. The areas for the animals are SO very, very small. Several of the exhibits were closed for one reason or another, the otters weren't available for viewing, nor were the prairie dogs. We saw several empty cages with signs that the animals were sick and getting veterinary care (I'm glad they are getting care, but they probably need better living conditions for a more permanent fix.)
My kids are still very small and are quite easy to please so while there do need to be several improvements they still had a nice time being strolled up and down the very steep hills.
I'd say the highlights for our family were the (2) giraffes (they come up very close to you and they have designated times when you can feed them a piece of lettuce for $2.00) and Amazonia, which is obviously the newest and best kept part of the entire zoo and the home to a very pretty jaguar, some lovely birds, some cute monkeys, and an adorable porcupine. If the rest of the park was kept up as nicely as this area then my rating would be SO MUCH higher.
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0 families found this helpful
"Skip it and drive to Louisville or Indy's zoos"
An older zoo that seemed to evolve organically rather than with any real planning, Mesker Park is a lot of hilly walking and very little enjoyment. The enclosures are outdated and too small while being far apart. The high-points are the Prairie Dog & Otter exhibits, but def not worth the price of admission.
1 family found this helpful
"If you can stomach it . . ."
You know those hard talks you have with your kids about decisions other people make that you have no control over? Depending on your kids' ages, this zoo may spur some of those talks.
What we love about the zoo is that it's the only thing open Sunday mornings and holidays--it's open every single day of the year. And we love to see the animals.
What we hate about the zoo are the cages. Everything here is small. The tiger and lion live in tiny enclosures; he paces, she stares out at the camels just across the path. And despite a new and exciting building called Amazonia (in which a tapir and two capibaras share rainforest-like space with scarlet ibises and spoonbills), it's hard not to want to steal the zookeeper's keys and set everyone free.
Still, our nearly three year old son has consistently enjoyed visiting the zoo since he was one and a half and we started coming every Sunday morning.
Some of the highlights are: the otters, where kids can crawl through a plexiglass tunnel under their water and watch the otters swim over or even come stand on top of the tunnel; the bus/tram that tours the park (kids love this); renting a swan paddle boat and going for a float on Lake Victoria.
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