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.

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