Main Entrance - Flamingos at the Gate

Photo: Allie_Caulfield from Germany, CC BY 2.0 (cropped)

A stop on Oakland Zoo: Savanna to California Trail, a free self-guided tour.

Just inside the main entrance, the flamingo lagoon makes a bright welcome. Flamingos are born gray and turn pink from pigments in the algae and tiny shrimp-like animals they eat, which they strain from the water with their upside-down bills.

The zoo itself has traveled. Naturalist Henry A. Snow started it in 1922 in downtown Oakland, and after several moves it settled in 1939 here in Durant Park, later renamed Knowland Park. Today it covers 100 acres and cares for more than 850 animals, and its nonprofit operator, the Conservation Society of California, works with more than 25 conservation partners around the world.

This loop heads first to Wild Australia and the Tropical Rainforest, then the Children's Zoo and African Savanna, before the gondola carries you up to the California Trail.

Getting here: Start just past the admission booths at the main entrance, beside the flamingo lagoon.

Did you know?: Flamingos often rest on one leg, a posture that may help them save body heat and energy.

Photo op: Frame the flock with the lagoon in front; a flamingo standing on one leg is the shot.

For kids: Try standing on one leg like a flamingo. Who in your group can last the longest?

Nearby: Restrooms, first aid and guest services are at the entrance, with Tuskers Cafe close by.

More on Wikipedia: Oakland Zoo · Joseph Knowland State Arboretum and Park · American flamingo

Main Entrance - Flamingos at the Gate

Stops on this tour