During the next trip to the USA, I managed to visit the San Diego Zoo. It was not possible to see it normally, but it was possible to form some impression of it. As a result, as they say, I recommend to visit.
You can buy a ticket at the box office or self-service kiosk 
And you can order online, which we did. Then they came to the cashier with a printout and exchanged the paper for a ticket. 
What I want to note is the scale of the zoo. It is not for nothing that the cartoon characters Madagascar, once on the island, considered themselves resettled in the San Diego Zoo. The park is divided into several zones with different "climate" and habitats for animals. A cable car passes through the zoo, on which you can take a ride on it from a bird's eye view. And although November is not the season and there were not so many people, we had to stand in line for 10-15 minutes to ride it. 
Then we realized that we made a mistake during the visit - first of all, we had to go on a bus tour. It lasts about 30-40 minutes, without disembarking "passengers", but it gives a very clear idea where and why to go. Excursions are held on such "double deckers". 
Of course, maps that you can take at the entrance are very helpful, but when you drive and look, it is much easier to navigate. 
What else I really liked about the San Diego Zoo was its "interactivity", namely the availability not only to gawk at the animals, but also to learn something new and interesting about them. Zoo employees, at certain times, conduct "master classes" on caring for animals, talk about them, demonstrating some features. Of course, problems with the English language reduce many stories to almost nothing, but sign language and "showing from nature" is available in any language)))) 
There is also a small "department" of prehistoric animals in the zoo. Here are "fragments" of excavations, "skulls" and "remains" of saber-toothed tigers and other animals that lived in those parts 20-30 million years ago. 
They will be happy to tell you and demonstrate all this in comparison with modern animals, so that you can imagine the differences in size. They will explain how excavations are carried out, why it is necessary, etc. 
But my English does not allow me to fully absorb knowledge and experience, let alone translate it to my daughter. Therefore, we went just to contemplate the presented animals.
We immediately excluded the polar sector, because it is, and we have only one day to visit the zoo. 
Seeing elephants 
giraffes 
rhino 
zebra 
The daughter, a lover of cats, did not remain indifferent to the "big cat path". Although not all "cats" are represented there, for example, a lion 
and the jaguar met us in the "lost forest" 
Walking along the path with the "cats" you could watch the sleeping lioness 
and snowy bass, whose gaze was very impressive. 
Another distinguishing feature of the San Diego Zoo, at least from Russian ones, is aviation. Many exotic animal species live in certain climates. This also applies to birds. So, in San Diego, special "climatic zones" have been created for them, with the necessary temperature, vegetation and ... freedom of flight. Relative of course. In order to look at these birds, you need to go inside the cage. It turns out a kind of immersion in the wild world of nature, where birds do not sit in whips, but fly side by side. 
And flamingos walk in the open area 
And the swans are coming 
In addition to the general impression of the zoo, we wanted to see such exotic animals as pandas and koalas. These funny "teddy bears" arouse the interest of not only children, but also adults. First in line was kung fu panda. But we weren't the only ones who wanted to take a look at them, and the queue was decent.
In general, there are several types of pandas. One of them is a red panda 
And of course the classic Chinese panda. True, she (or he) was so tired of the visitors that when we approached, she lazily greeted us with her paw 
And when asked if it was possible to take a picture, she answered viciously: "nooo")))) 
Koalas turned out to be friendlier, perhaps this is due to the fact that we came to them at sleep hour 
It is hardly possible to go around the entire San Diego Zoo in a day, and you should probably not rush. Our day flew by unnoticed, and when we walked to the exit, one of the monkeys looked sadly after the passers-by, and maybe saw off familiar visitors. 
This is how I remember my brief visit to the flourishing San Diego Zoo. 
Read more about tourist and not very "promoted" places in our country here.
