zoo – C-VILLE Weekly

Day trip: Adventuring with kids in our nation’s capital

Before I tell you all about taking your kids on a day trip to Washington, D.C.—one of the best destinations there is—I’ll admit right upfront that such a trip is exhausting. But here’s my secret for making it exhilarating too: Leave your car outside the city and ride the Metro in. It’ll break up the trip, hugely simplify parking and let the kids escape their car seats. In other words, it makes travel time part of the adventure.

Obviously, an early start is recommended. I do not pretend to fully grok the scope of D.C. rush hour, but I can say this: Leave home early enough to arrive at Franconia-Springfield Metro Station (off I-95, south of the city) around 10:30am, and you should miss the traffic. Or just go on a weekend.

Why Franconia? Well, the drive there—through Gordonsville and Orange—is ultra-scenic, and the parking garage is enormous and cheap ($9 for the day). True, the last 40 miles on I-95 feel tedious; perhaps a surprise audiobook, or just some cookies, would help everybody’s attitude.

On my last trip with my two daughters, as usual, the Metro ride was half the attraction. My country girls, ages 5 and 7, get excited just to ride escalators to the train platform, and the older one enjoyed following the signage in Metro stations and being responsible for her own Metro card. We saw a plane taking off from Reagan National and spotted Canada geese on the Potomac.

While planning the day, we’d decided to skip the multitude of destinations on the National Mall and check out the National Zoo. But we had to stop off first at our favorite place in Chinatown, New Big Wong—a no-frills Chinese joint with tanks of eels and lobsters in the back. My girls love those, and I love that we can all lunch for under 20 bucks.

Another short train ride, and we found ourselves walking to the zoo entrance. I was reminded that for kids, the journey is everything. They got interested in Russian nesting dolls in a store window, the view of Rock Creek Park from the Taft Bridge, the fountain outside the Art-Deco Kennedy-Warren apartment building. …In short, we weren’t in a rush and that was all to the good.

Finally, we walked through the gates. As part of the Smithsonian, the zoo is free and you can stroll right in (as, it seems, many local residents often do). The zoo is laid out along one main walkway, with themed side loops like Asia Trail and America Trail, and there’s no need to consult much with a map; if you go with the flow, you’ll hit all the high points. On the way in we looked at an extensive schedule of daily programs—zookeeper chats and feeding demos and the like—but decided just to keep it simple and look at animals.

At first, that seemed difficult; the sloth bear, clouded leopard and small-clawed otter all proved elusive and the dreaded word “boring” arose once or twice. But then we found the panda exhibit and were entranced to see a panda climbing trees and then rolling over on its back, drawing awwws from a large crowd of humans. Immediately afterward, we spotted elephants, and the zoo began to feel more than worthwhile.

We ended up staying nearly five hours. Highlights included the indoor portion of the elephant exhibit (where workers tossed treats to animals standing not 15 feet away from us), a friendly spoonbill bird in the Amazonia exhibit, underwater views of swimming sea lions and—let’s not forget—a short break for Dippin’ Dots, a snack the girls found both tasty and hilarious.

Every time I suspected we were coming down with zoo fatigue, something rescued us. The zoo path would deliver us to a carousel, or we’d discover an exhibit about elephant dung, and the kids would be revived. Honestly, you’d think the place had been designed for families.

After eating a picnic dinner I’d been hoofing all day in my backpack, it was time to make our exit. There was still more to see (we never even set foot in the Reptile House!), but at some point a parent has to get out in front of the looming energy crash—her kids’ and her own. The reptiles will be there another day.

And so, undoubtedly, will the megachain coffeeshop right across the street from the zoo exit. I slipped in there for a cuppa just before closing, and that’s how we all made it safely home that night.

If You Go

• The Metro rides in this trip cost a total of $11.95 for each rider age 5 and up. Fares vary with time of day. See wmata.com.

• The National Zoo is accessed by the Cleveland Park and Woodley Park-Zoo Metro stops. It’s open daily, 8am to 7pm in summer. Happily, you can bring in your own food and drinks. See national zoo.si.edu.

• New Big Wong is at 610 H St. NW, just a few steps from the Friendship Arch (aka the Chinatown Gate). (202) 628-0491.

Zoo investigation: Activists aim to shut it down for good

The July 1 killing of the now-famous lion, Cecil, sparked a global outcry. Even away from Zimbabwe where Cecil was killed, or Minnesota where his killer resides, the rest of the world has followed constant media coverage and taken to social media to mourn or shame or defend Cecil’s killer. A local animal rights controversy hasn’t made headlines like Cecil, but some Virginia activists hope to garner support for an issue that hits a bit closer to home.

Right off Interstate 81 in Natural Bridge, a zoo owned by Karl and Debbie Mogensen has racked up a number of federal citations and fines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, which issues exotic animal exhibition permits, has its own issues with the zoo.

On a recent visit to the zoo, two small deer called muntjacs had visible scratches on their faces and monkeys with balding fur could be heard whimpering like scared dogs. Llamas grazed the gravel outside of their pen, a flightless bird called a double-wattled cassowary had a broken casque on his head, fallow deer had ripped ears and three camels had unkempt, mangy-looking fur that dangled in thin strands. One python was fully submerged in a shallow plastic tub of dirty water while the rest of his cage was scattered with clumps of shedded skin. A nameless bird ingested a piece of flimsy plastic that blew into its cage.

Some animals had grass in their cages—thick and overgrown—and some had only gravel, dirt or cement to walk or lay down on.

“Everybody is dedicated to the animals,” Debbie Mogensen says after teaching a younger staff member how to trim a bird’s overgrown wings. The zoo is family-owned and the staff is well-trained, she says. A vet comes twice a month while another is always on call for emergencies.

According to Mogensen, the trend of animal rights activists relentlessly filing complaints has persisted over the past 10 years and these groups will “file a complaint about anything.” She says they’re against all zoos, not just Natural Bridge Zoo

But at Natural Bridge, the DGIF has suspended its license twice in the past for violating the minimal conditions of its required permit issued by the state—most recently in March with a reinstatement at the end of May. Though the owners say they spent the three months of the zoo’s closure fixing all things the USDA cited and paying federal penalties, it wasn’t long before People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals struck again.

On July 21, PETA filed two new complaints with the USDA for neglect and cruelty and a new investigation is underway at both Natural Bridge Zoo and its non-affiliated Virginia Safari Park, which is owned by the Mogensens’ son, Eric. PETA’s ultimate goal is to have both facilities closed permanently with the animals relocated to a sanctuary, according to Rachel Matthews of PETA’s captive animal law enforcement division.

PETA’s complaints routinely document abuse and neglect at Natural Bridge Zoo with reports and videos of capuchin monkeys languishing with hair loss and skin issues, giraffes and a llama with overgrown hooves, a mandrill ingesting a toy ball and zebras, kudus and other animals confined to filthy enclosures.

Some activists focus solely on retiring the zoo’s only elephant, Asha, who was taken from Africa when she was 1 year old and kept in what activists refer to as “solitary confinement.” Elephants, especially females like Asha, are known for being social animals. In early 2015, an animal welfare group called In Defense of Animals voted Natural Bridge the worst zoo for elephants in America.

“What did they pay for her?” says Mieke Zylstra, a Charlottesville resident and member of a group called “Voices for Asha the Elephant,” which currently has almost 2,000 followers on Facebook. “Can’t we buy her and bring her to the sanctuary?” A petition to have Asha removed from the zoo currently has almost 40,000 signatures on Change.org. Among supporters for retiring Asha to a sanctuary is United Nations Messenger of Peace, Dr. Jane Goodall.

In June, Zylstra was among a group of 25 people, organized by In Defense of Animals and One World Conservation, who traveled from all over Virginia and Washington, D.C. to gather near the zoo and raise awareness of the poor conditions in which Asha lives.

“Drawing from what I have read of the zoo’s conditions, and from what the owners have said in response to criticisms,” Zylstra says, “I don’t believe that they have the means, the knowledge, or most importantly, the will to operate the facility in a way that would provide humane treatment of the animals.”