We took a day trip to Buffalo Zoo to visit a couple of spots on our way to Niagra. One of my favorite things to do in new cities is visit their zoos – not only do I get to see new species and exhibits, but I feel like its a fairly affordable way to enjoy my photography while supporting conservation efforts.
The Buffalo Zoo was founded in 1875 and began with two deer, a donkey, a raccoon and a handful of birds. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead’s principles of park design, similar to Central Park, using curves and soft edges. The Buffalo Zoo is compact and easily walkable, with different zones for different habitat types, such as rainforest and arctic.
Of course its winter in Buffalo, so not all of the animals were fans of the snow and cold; many were off exhibit, but there were of course other animals, like the snow leopards who seemed to be perfectly content. The red pandas were elated – running and jumping all over their exhibit.
The big cats were also out and about – the tiger made several laps around his exhibit, and interacted through the glass with a zoo keeper cleaning the glass, and then settled in for a midday nap. Next door, the male lions were snoozing but occasionally would call out to their neighbors.
My favorite part of any zoo is an aviary, and while Buffalo’s is small, I still enjoyed taking photos of their resident spoonbills.
This zoo is a great half-day excursion, and definitely worth a visit!
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