zoo:  defined in classic dictionaries as, “a place where live animals are kept, studied, bred and exhibited to the public.”

To me a zoo is so much more than that, or at least should be so much more.  Zoos have an amazing effect on animal lovers, nature lovers or even the curious at heart.  Zoos help to provide a link between people and nature, and are often for some young children living in cities, their first contact with nature.  We can not  understand these animals, nor their habitats by watching television documentaries or researching them on the internet, we must see them in person to ultimately experience them and connect.

Over 600 million people visit zoos throughout the world.  I am definitely one of those eager visitors to my local zoo, but I also travel the world visiting zoos wherever I go.  And this friday I’ll be heading south to the USA, on a week-long road trip to visit some of the most visited, oldest and most renowned zoos.

Along the road I plan on blogging about my experiences at each of the zoos I visit and hope to learn as well as educate others on the remarkable life of zoos!