Recently, my family and I went to the Washington, D.C. National Zoo. I hadn't been there in about a decade, and I was astonished at the woeful condition it was in. I've always loved visiting the zoo, but noticed even in the past how large sections of it seemed to be in a perpetual state of construction. Since the late 1970s or so, visitors have been detoured around various parts of the sprawling grounds due to continuous "upgrades" that never seem to transpire.
This time, however, the entire place seemed like a construction site. I felt like I needed a hard hat. Apparently, they are in the midst of building a new elephant exhibit, but this has resulted in the elephant house-once the highlight of the place-being left nearly deserted. There were no giraffes, no rhinos and one pathetic hippo. I love hippos, so that really irked me. Then today, I read news stories about how that lone hippo had been transferred to a zoo in Milwaukee. So now there are no hippos there, either. The rest of the place wasn't much better; a single female lion and a single tiger. I didn't even ask about the bears; they've been scarce there for years.
I decided to surf around the net and see if anyone else agreed with my bleak assessment of our National Zoo. I wasn't too surprised to find mostly positive reviews; after all, people who rate things on the internet seem to adore awful movies, trite books, pretentious restaurants, etc. There were a few insightful souls, however, who shared my disdain for this place, which is a blight upon the Smithsonian name.
The National Zoo has been plagued by scandals in recent years. Clearly, the mismanagement of the place continues and is visible everywhere. It should be a shining source of pride, like other historical Washington, D.C. landmarks. Instead, it's a national embarrassment with little indication its flaws will be addressed in the immediate future. Spruce up the place. Ventilate the buildings-especially the odious ape house. At long last, complete construction and finally allow access everywhere. First and foremost, add more animals. Visitors will want to see giraffes, rhinos and hippos. They will expect more than a single depressed lion or tiger. But at least, as those who gave the zoo an inexplicable great review online pointed out (without mentioning the $20 parking fee), admission is free.
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