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Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (Events and more)
3400 Vine St.
Cincinnati, OH 45220
(800) 944-4776
> www.cincyzoo.org
> Visit the Reptile House
> Area Zoos and Aquarium Guide

Driving distance: 50 miles from downtown Dayton, which should take a little less than an hour if Interstate 75 cooperates.

Hours: Labor Day through Memorial Day, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Memorial Day through Labor Day, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; extended and special hours throughout the year for special events (see www.cincyzoo.org/visitorguide/hours/hours.html for details).

Ticket prices: Adults, $12.95; children 2 to 12, $7.95; seniors 62 and older, $10.95; children younger than 2, free. Parking, $6.50.

Attendance: 1 million annually

Acreage: 75 acres.

Animals: There currently are 700 species being maintained at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Main attraction: Manatee Springs, an indoor exhibit featuring Florida marine life; or possibly Vanishing Giants, an outdoor space for elephants and giraffes donated by the late Marge Schott, who owned the Cincinnati Reds for a time. Others are partial to Lords of the Arctic, where the polar bears are mesmerizing; others enjoy the Sumatran Rhinoceri, cute little black rhinos that you'll want to take home.

Specialties & zoo trivia:

• The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden is the second-oldest zoo in the United States. It opened in 1875, just 14 months after the Philadelphia Zoo on July 1, 1874. The Reptile House is the oldest zoo building in America (opened 1875).

• The zoo was founded on 65 acres in the middle of the city, and since then it has acquired some of the surrounding blocks and several reserves in Cincinnati's outer suburbs. The zoo's urban setting sets it apart from most other American zoos, which are often in suburbia.

• The zoo is sometimes called "The Sexiest Zoo in America" because of its successful breeding programs, especially cheetahs.

• Seven bonobos live at the

Cincinnati Zoo.

• Martha, the last living passenger pigeon, died at the zoo in 1914; the zoo was also home to the last living Carolina parakeet, which died in 1918.

• The annual spring Zoo Blooms is the one of the Midwest's largest collection of tulips.

Insider's view: According to regular patron Margerie Kimbrugh, who lives in Fairfield, the Cincinnati Zoo is well worth the trip at least twice a year: In spring and during the winter holidays.

"The tulips are everywhere and they're just amazing — exactly the right thing to get you ready for the warm weather," she said, "and I believe the animals respond to them, too, though I could be projecting!"

As far as cold-weather zoo-travel goes, the Cincinnati Zoo's annual Festival of Lights must be seen to be appreciated, Kimbrugh said. "It could be cold and snowy, and you're walking around all bundled up thinking about the hot chocolate you'll have, and then an hour later you'll realize you've just been wandering ... It's so beautiful, with all the lights strung up and twinkling.

"Not to take away from the animals — all of which I enjoy — but it's the special events in Cincinnati (at the zoo) that make it special for me."