Most people flood the zoo when the sun is out, the weather is hot and it is a perfect day for humans to go out. But that is not the best time for animals to go out. When the weather is extremely hot the animals do not like going out. They get lazy, lay around, will go inside if they can and you will not see them.
You see when the sun is bearing down it is a great time for the animals to lay down and rest, so that is what you see when you visit the zoo and it is really hot.
When the animals get the most active is when it is a cool and overcast day and often times when it is a little bit rainy. My wife and I decided one day to take out kids to the zoo even though it was a little rainy outside. I will tell you what, that was the best time we have ever been to the zoo.
It seemed like all the animals were coming out just for us. They were all very active and extremely fun to watch. We got to see 3 one year old snow leopards fighting and playing with each other for about 20 minutes. Mom leopard was just sitting there watching her three little cubs play like little children.
The grizzly bears were out running around, playing in the water, eating apples, and having a great time. The lion came right up to the glass and even growled. What a deep intimidating sound that was to hear, but it was an incredible experience.
I have seen lions in the wild of Africa before but I have never had the chance to hear one talk. Even the smaller animals like the otters were wildly playing. The giraffes were out and so were the elephants. The cool air brought all the animals out into the open and we got to see almost every animal in the zoo that day.
You know when you head to the zoo and all the animals are being lame and most of them are inside. That is no fun. It was much better to have a little rain and see all the animals than to go to the zoo and see no animals at all.
And the other great thing about it is that there were not that many other people there either. You see the rain brings out the animals but scares away the humans. So we just went to any and every exhibit we wanted to and we were pretty much by ourselves.
In fact we had lunch in the bear cave and watched the bears while we ate. We were completely alone in there for more than 30 minutes. Our daughters were playing like crazy and having a wonderful time.
So if you think about going to the zoo but the weather is just not that nice, you should go. It could be the best zoo trip you have ever had. A little rain cannot keep you away.