Asheboro, North Carolina (April 7, 2024) Debra and I were in Charlotte to visit David and Sarah—our son and his girlfriend. We hadn't planned each day of our week-long stay in advance...but we did this one: a road trip to Asheboro to explore the North Carolina Zoo, ranked third among USA Today’s Top 10 Zoos in the United States.
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At the North Carolina Zoo, we celebrate nature. Being the world’s largest natural habitat zoo means the animals here have plenty of room to roam. Our dedicated team of experts provide exceptional, compassionate care to the more than 1,700 animals that call our Park home.
~ North Carolina Zoo
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(From left to right: cougar, Arctic fox, and giraffes. Click on photos to enlarge image.)
The weather could not have been better—the temperature was in the upper-60s, the sky was mostly sunny, and there was a slight breeze that kept us cool and comfortable as we meandered past enclosures and exhibits along five miles of easy-to-walk trails.
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(Elephants, wapiti, and bison)
This year marked the 50th anniversary of the North Carolina Zoo, which opened on August 13, 1974—a milestone anniversary that wasn't lost on Debra and me, as we celebrated our 50th anniversary this year, too!
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(Unknown birds, brown bear, and North American sea otter)
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The zoo has two regions—North America and Africa—and a global Desert that spanned more than 500 developed acres. We didn't see all the animals this day, but, as my photos attest to, we saw many as we journeyed overland on a photo-safari through these two great continents.
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Each of us had our favorite animal—“I love elephants!” Sarah exclaimed when we reached their expansive enclosure—but of all the animals we saw, my fav was Mosuba, a silverback gorilla who led a band of four males and two females.
Mosuba was a twin—another rarity amongst gorillas—to his brother Macombo. He was born on October 26, 1983, at the Columbus Zoo, which meant Mosuba was only a handful of days younger than David!
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The name 'Mosuba' was given to him to honor the three volunteers who had taken great care of the twins during their first months – Molly, Sue, and Barb.
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Mosuba exhibited a unique behavior—unique, that is, among the animals we saw this day. He stood off to the left of the viewing glass for a time and then, without warning, darted towards the glass that separated him from us and pounded it several times before he ran away. I was startled but not surprised, as I was certain this aggressive and intimidating act was a defensive mechanism of male gorillas in the wild.
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(Crocodile, zebras, and black bear)
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We passed a storyboard as we left North America on our way to Africa. In part, it read, “Asia is closer than you think.”
(It didn’t seem so when daughter Jill and I traveled to Southeast Asia this past February!) In 2022, the Zoo broke ground on a new 10-acre ‘Asian continent,’ which is expected to open in 2026—the zoo’s third region, and its first expansion project. Can Oceania or Antarctica be far behind, I wondered. Asia will house a handful of current animals, including tigers and Komodo dragons (photo at left), as well as others the zoo will acquire. |
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A word about the center photo above: “Could you walk under a giraffe?” the storyboard asked. Well, Debra could, as her not-quite-five-foot stature meant she was knee-high to a giraffe!
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Here we are, with big smiles, on the tram that transported us late afternoon from Africa to North America, where we had parked to begin our escapade. Why the smiles? Because we had a great time on our safari-like adventure.
It was a delight to see so many animals in natural habitats, and the storyboards along the way enhanced our understanding of the lives of these animals and their natural environment. |
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Without a doubt, the North Carolina Zoo was grand!