Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium
Ruston, WA 98407
Phone: (253) 591-5337
- Cross Street:
- N Park Way
- Hours:
- Jan-Mar: 9:30am-4pm, Apr: 9:30am-5pm, May 1-24: Sun-Thu 9:30am-5pm, Fri-Sat 9:30am-6pm, May 25-Sep 2: 9:30am-7pm, Sep 3-30: 9:30am-5pm, , Oct-Dec: 9:30am-4pm
Editorial Review for Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium – by Citysearch Editors
Facts
This zoo is an intimate little place specializing in animals of the Pacific Rim. All the exhibits, though small in size and number, are well organized and informative. Many, like the shark exhibit, are hands-on, asking visitors to answer questions, open boxes, and flip through informative placards. (We're thankful that "hands-on" doesn't extend to the actual sharks.)
Features
In 1969, the Point Defiance Zoo began saving the endangered red wolf from extinction by breeding the last 14 of them, building a population that today numbers about 300. Though these red-tinted wolves and their pups remain a big attraction, they've been eclipsed by more recent additions like the Asian elephants, Alaskan polar bears and a petting farm.
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User Reviews for Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium
10/16/2004 Posted by acertain
We live 5 minutes from the Seattle zoo, and out 3-year is obsessed with animals, so we go there several times a month. We decided to check out the Point Defiance Zoo. While it's much smaller than the Seattle zoo, we really enjoyed it. One nice thing is that it's an aquarium too, and our son loved the sea otters, Beluga whales and the mammoth walrus. He especially enjoyed watching the sea otters smash their food on the rocks (the Seattle aquarium has the sea otters in concrete tanks with nothing to smash food on). In the zoo part, they have many animals that the Seattle zoo does (and, of course, vice-versa), like polar bears. It doesn't replace the Seattle zoo, but we'll be back.
Pros: Interesting animals, Zoo and aquarium
08/17/2003 Posted by mgratzer
I missed the park, and the beach, and the gardens. I didn't know there was more since I didn't see any signs or information about it. The seahorse exhibit is fascinating, but everything else is small and showing signs of age. The downstairs of the aquarium is dank and some exhibits were missing. The displays and signs were old and some of the lettering was worn off. The zoo itself is very small and rather uninteresting. I didn't find any more information about the animals themselves than I would in any other normal zoo. We were in and out in 2 hours, at least I had a buy 1 get 1 free coupon. There are better zoos and aquariums the puget sound.
Pros: inexpensive, seahorses
Cons: small, old
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