Orange County Zoo

When considering zoos in California the first zoo that most likely pops to mind is the San Diego Zoo.  While San Diego's Zoo is quite impressive, there are several smaller zoos throughout California that are quite enjoyable to visit as well, especially for those on a tight budget.

I recently visited the Orange County Zoo. (http://ocparks.com/zoo/)  It is located in the middle of a very nice park that features many picnic areas, paddle boats, hiking, a railroad, a pony ride, plenty of ducks to feed, and an all around outdoor country feel. 

North American Coots

Mallards

Egyptian Goose (thank you je.rodriguez1121 for this info)

There was a small parking fee to get into the park (I think it was five dollars when I went) and only two dollars a person to get into the zoo!  This zoo was unique because it featured animals that are native to California.  Because they were native animals they were much more active than most animals I've seen at other zoos. 

The animals I found particularly enjoyable to watch were:

•  The Racoons, who were wide awake and very active despite it being daytime.  They were making these really cute sounds and climbing all over everything.
• The Coti, because I don't think I've ever seen these at other zoos so I was quite surprised to see something new.  Plus these guys are super cute.  See the picture below.

Coti

•  The Coyotes were actually highly entertaining because a woman happened to be walking her Shih tzu past their fence while I was viewing them.  One of them got up, ears laid back, and walked right up to fence then stalked that dog until he was out of sight!  The Shih tzu was complete oblivious to the whole thing which I thought was quite funny.  He would have been a quick meal had it not been for the fence.  (No offense to dog owners, I just thought it was amusing the way domesticated dogs have lost a sense of danger around wild animals.)

Coyote

•  I also enjoyed the Porcupines they had two different varieties there.
• The Ocelots were very active as well.
• Even their snakes were quite active which is very uncommon.
• My favorite animals at this zoo were the Mountain Lions.  They had three mountain lions.  One female was very old, 16 years, and as expected was sleeping.  However, they had a pair of 5 year olds, a brother and sister, who were extremely playful and enjoyable to watch.  Since I visited around Thanksgiving time they had given them some small pumpkins to play with and they were batting those pumpkins all around their enclosure and they had quite a difficult time trying to pick them up and carry them around.  I love seeing active big cats at zoos and these two put on quite a show.  They were quite beautiful.    

Mountain Lions

The other nice thing about this zoo is they have a lot of informative presentations throughout the zoo and feeding times posted on some enclosures.  The staff was very friendly and enjoyed answering questions.

I got to pet a little hedgehog, which is not native to California, but was confiscated due to illegal pet trade and given a home at this zoo.

The zoo is rather small, but it's makes a great day get away trip, and when combined with the activities in the park there is plenty to do.  Overall I would highly recommend visiting this zoo.

 Weasel