Journeys›Photograph

Afternoon at the Wild Animal Park

·San Diego, California·#spring#San Diego#zoo#animals#wild animal park
Hoofed animals graze in a grassy field with palm trees, a pond, and rocky mountains under a clear sky.

The drive northeast to Escondido leads into the San Pasqual Valley, where the San Diego Zoo keeps its 2,000-acre sister park. The signage changed a few years back, but an afternoon at the Wild Animal Park is still what people call it.

Because of the scale of the property, the habitats stretch out toward the dry hillsides rather than feeling fenced in. A few kudus stood by a pond in the lower brush. We walked the paths out to the giraffe plains, where a handful of them clustered under the tall palms while another sat folded up in the sand.

Down at the elephant enclosure, a calf trailed the adults past the artificial rock formations. They paced the dirt, staying clear of the long holding building with the rusted roof at the back of the lot.

A savanna-like landscape with palm trees, a pond, mountains, and several antelopes and other large animals grazing.Several giraffes among numerous palm trees in a sandy, hilly landscape under a clear blue sky.Several giraffes roam a sandy and grassy landscape dotted with numerous tall palm trees under a clear blue sky.Several giraffes roam a vast, sunny landscape with dry ground, green hills, and distant mountains under a blue sky.Several giraffes graze in a dry, grassy field with palm trees and hills under a clear blue sky.Several elephants, including a baby, are in a large outdoor enclosure with sand, rock formations, trees, and a blue sky.Elephants and calves are in a large dirt enclosure with rock formations, fences, and trees under a clear sky.Several elephants, including juveniles, stand on sandy ground in a zoo enclosure with trees and rock formations under a clear sky.

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