While the Jerusalem zoo may be a half the size of the zoos I've frequented, I think they make up for their smaller size, with their unique collection of animals. The 62 acre zoo contains more than 140 species of animals that are either mentioned in the Bible, or an endangered species from around the world.
The mission of the Biblical Zoo was to establish a collection of rare and endangered animals. With an emphasis on animals from the Land of Israel, they also wanted to place special emphasis on animal species mentioned in the Bible. Sort of a modern day Noah's Ark.
As a matter of fact, their visitors center has been fashioned in the image of Noah's Ark. It's quite large, with an auditorium, computer stations, a souvenir shop, and even a cafeteria. There is even an outdoor deck, which offers fabulous views of the zoo's grounds and Jerusalem in the background.
Knowing that kids like to have special zoo areas to run and play, there is a sculpture garden, built especially with the youngest visitors in mind. The garden has almost 25 works of art, created to look like colorful fantasy creatures. Kids are encouraged to climb and play in the sculpture garden.
This sounds like a fun place to visit. I love that the Biblical Zoo is working hard to fulfill Noah's mission of conserving all the wonderful animals that are on our the planet. Looks like the only thing missing from the zoo is unicorns!
