Slumber Party at the Zoo

As my group carried out our tour of The Wilds (I was mixed in with a general tour group, rather than for anything ostensibly work-related), our guide made sure more than once to mention the possibility of spending a night at the facility next time we were traveling through.  She took the time to point of some of the accommodations and to describe their varied amenities.  All of which got me wondering, of course, about spending the night at the zoo.

I've spent the night at more than one zoo, though hardly in glamping situations.  Sometimes it was to stay close by for a sick animal than needed treatment, or a youngster who needed feedings and was not able to be sent home with keepers.  One at least one occasion, I've crashed in the hospital of a zoo, spending the night there during an animal transport.  And, of course, I once lived in a zoo for a few months, which initially seemed like a great way to not have to pay rent, but at the same time proved to be a sneaky way for my boss to get me to double my workday, since I ended up doing so many other little jobs after hours, seeing a I was already there.

None of these were especially comfortable or enjoyable experiences.  But what if they were tailor-made to be fun and exciting?

A few years back, I did a post about a polar-themed hotel in China, complete with a polar bear exhibit (which seemed awful), as well as the overnight accommodations in Belgium's Pairi Daiza, which seems pretty awesome.  An evening zoo experience could be quite spectacular - evening tours around grounds to see animals when they're more active, maybe a dinner on a balcony overlooking the savannah, or in the midst of a walk-through rainforest, evening programs with animal ambassadors (many of which tend to be nocturnal species naturally), and going to sleep to the sounds of animals.  In the case of a very large zoo, such as San Diego, it might encourage visitors to stay longer.  It's an especially attractive idea for facilities which also offer other activities, such as The Wilds, what with the ropes course and horse-riding and what have you.

Of course, those experiences that do exist already do come with a bit of a price tag.  That's why, at least for now, all of the sleeping over that I'm doing in the zoo these days is happening during our monthly staff meetings.