A few days ago, we took our first trip to the Moroccan National Zoo a little outside Rabat. First off, it is so green and beautiful right now. It's been a very rainy winter, but then these days of amazing sunshine and nearly 70 degree weather come out and all else is forgotten. Our trip to the zoo was one of these full of sunshine days. We got there around 10:30 or so and not a person in sight. The ticket vendor was hanging out in his car and slowly got out and wandered to the ticket booth when he saw us. Once we got inside we did see a few families and in a way, the less crowded pathways were nice. We saw monkeys, tigers, lions, panthers, flamingos, elephants and more. The zoo is actually a lot nicer than how I remembered it when I last lived in Morocco and they are currently expanding it to twice the size so better things to come. I had memories of totally depressed, lethargic tigers in these cement boxes. There's still a bit of that, but it seems like the animals are being better cared for and they just looked healthier.
It's interesting seeing the gates, which are not much compared to American zoos. Not much of a barrier separating you from those lions and tigers. It's also very clear that the animals are used to being fed by visitors. Pretty much every animal would instantly come greet us at the front of their living area and wait a few minutes to see if we had a treat, then when they got nothing, seemed to give us the cold shoulder and move on. Especially this one elephant who came slowly walking to the front, lifted its trunk waved it around for a few minutes then wandered off back to the others. We also couldn't help but laugh at the image of massive construction behind the elephants. Goal of this zoo is not to hide the city life happening around it.
My favorite part was the little lake with beautiful birds. The color of the water was amazing and perfect place for a picnic. Oh and by the way, if you go to the zoo, don't expect to eat at the cafe/restaurant. Not currently open:)
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