News and Stories

FREE Travel information sessions offered March 3 and March 10

CINCINNATI – (November 30, 2015)  If you have a passion for travel, exotic destinations, or wildlife, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s 2016 Travel Series has the perfect adventure for you!  With three unique locations and experiences being offered in 2016, all led by seasoned and knowledgeable Cincinnati Zoo staff, the complimentary Travel Evenings are a great way to find out which trip is right for you.

The first 2016 complimentary Travel Evening will take place on March 3, 2016, from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. and will highlight the upcoming safaris to Botswana and the excursion to Kenya.  To learn about travel packages to Madagascar, attend the March 10, 2016 Travel Evening, which begins at 6:00 p.m.
2016 Trip Details

Botswana, April 23

Led by Doug Feist, Cincinnati Zoo Education Program Manager

Guests will experience a classic safari in one of the most remote and unspoiled places on the African continent, where the abundance of herbivores and their prey is perfectly complemented by lush green landscapes, floral displays and beautiful skies. During this time of year, these verdant flatlands are alive with aggregations of gemsbok, springbok and blue wildebeest.  Wild dog and leopard are seen on occasion and black-backed jackal, bat-eared fox also occur. Other mammal-sighting possibilities include southern giraffe, steenbok, red hartebeest, the charismatic ground squirrels and meerkats.

Kenya, June 19.
Led by Director of Animal Collections, Bob Lessnau

See giraffes, rhinos, elephants, baboons, zebras, lions, ostriches and more!  This safari has been carefully designed to treat travelers to the best Kenya has to offer. Begin your exploration of this magnificent country driving on rugged roads through rich farmland. Visit Daphne Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage, a nursery and rehab center for infant elephants that have lost their families, at the edge of Nairobi National Park. Explore the spectacular landscapes of the African savannah on this breathtaking adventure.

Madagascar, October 26
Led by the Zoo’s Native Plant Program Manager, Brian Jorg
Madagascar’s rich culture and landscape come to life on this incredible journey. Madagascar is legendary for its proliferation of wildlife and plant life, 80% of which evolved on and is unique to this single island. Isolated from continental landmasses for more than 160 million years, Madagascar has followed its own unique evolutionary path. Today Madagascar’s forests are a naturalist’s dream: a shimmering, seething mass of a trillion stems, dripping leaves and slithering, jumping, quirky beasts out of nature’s bag of tricks. Numerous species of lemurs, chameleons, geckoes and baobabs, aloes, octopus trees and some of the world’s most unusual birds and frogs are found nowhere else on earth.

Information regarding itineraries, costs and other details for each travel option will be available at the information sessions. To RSVP for the complimentary presentations or for additional information on travel opportunities provided by the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, please contact Christina Anderson at 513-487-3318.  Travel sessions will take place at the Frisch’s Theater in the Harold C. Schott Education Building at the Cincinnati Zoo. Parking for the events will be in the Education Parking Lot, for FREE.