Zoos have been one of the favorite activities for Americans for a long time starting with the very first zoo as the Philadelphia Zoo in 1859. Since then, most states have at least one zoological park but there are some that stand above and beyond the rest of them with extra features such as a touch tank, bird houses, safari and water fountains and parks. This article will mention the top 4 zoos in America and the reasons they exceed the others. The ones that made the best of list are the Columbus Zoo, San Diego Zoo, Lion Country Safari and the Phoenix Zoo.

The Columbus Zoo has also {been around|existed| since the late 1800′s making it the second oldest zoo in the US. This had always been a nice zoo, but it completely changed when the famous animal trainer, Jack Hanna became the director of the zoo. He changed many things about it with wonderful improvements and now it houses one of the largest animal collections worldwide with over 7,000 animals at the zoo. Whatever kind of animal you can imagine seeingwant to see, is probably at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio as well as a water park, amusement park and golf resort making it a great place to visit.

The San Diego Zoo has always been rated as one of the best zoos not only in the country but in the world. It is enormous and has a wonderful variety of animals including their rare Giant Panda exhibit. This zoo is also known for their conservation and protection of animal work and is thought to be the most modern of all zoos. They were the first to create cageless exhibits for the animals in an open air type of setting that allowed the animals to live in an area closer to their natural living environment.

The 3rd zoo on the top zoo list is the Lion Country Safari in West Palm Beach, Florida. This is somewhat of a different experience for visitors as you enter the place in your own car and travel along a 5 mile road that takes you by many different animals. Some of the animals such as the lions and chimpanzees are behind fenced areas for their safety and the visitors but other animals such as zebras and giraffes roam freely and at times stop the cars from continuing down the road. After you finish this part of the exhibit, you then enter another part of the park called Safari World.

The fourth best zoo is the Phoenix Zoo in Arizona. This is the biggest non-profit zoo in the country and is over 125 acres large with more than 1200 animals. This zoo has a unusual design with all of the animals exhibits being along four trails and divided up into categories like the native wildlife of Arizona. They also allow rollerblades and bicycles in the zoo and they can be taken on all of the trails to experience the zoo on wheels.