HELPING ENDANGERED SPECIES: Posh Zoos Part Two

A great place for rhinos and wonderful for bugs of all sorts, the Cincinnati Zoo also offers a red panda and much else. Their Butterfly Aviary and Insect World show you why "bugs" make up the majority of the world's species. The leaf-cutter ants and honeybee exhibits are must-see and you will learn more than you may want to know about butterfly feeding with sugared water via an eyedropper. The zoo has done a dandy job breading tigers and gorillas and, in particular, black rhinos. The botanical side of things is well signed and focused on American and other temperate species.

NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK:

While a lot of the very important breeding programs go on at Front Royal Virginia that's not open to the public, there is enough here to justify a two day visit. Try to arrive early because the zoo opens at eight in the summer. Then run, do not walk, to the panda Hsing-Hsing or his successor panda have not done well in American zoos. His mate, Ling-Ling died in 1992 here.

The highlight here, as elsewhere is a jungle exhibit. The NZP's covers the Amazon ecosystem. World wide, rain forests have lost 40% their trees in 20 years and could lose the rest in another 50. The Amazonia Gallery offers a close up look at what we would miss.

BROOKFIELD ZOO:

Chicago's zoo ranks in the top five-higher if you share my love for snow leopards. The nocturnal cats exhibit-many cats are just that-rates as the best in the US. A three section Tropic World shows off South American, Asian and African delights such as two-toed sloth or colobus monkeys. A highlight of any visit is 800,000-gallon "dolphinarium" with its 2,000 seats. You get a better view through the underwater viewing windows even as it's not certain whether you, or the dolphins, are most entertained. Exhibits for children like "Be A Bird" are better than usual. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago is a close runner up to our three as well.

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