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St George's Island is home to Calgary's most popular attraction, the Calgary Zoo , Botanical Gardens and Prehistoric Park , all at 1300 Zoo Rd (daily 9am-1 hour before dusk; Prehistoric Park open June-Sept only; May-Sept $10; tel 232-9300). It can be reached from downtown and Fort Calgary by riverside path, by C-Train northeast towards Whitehorn, or by car (take Memorial Drive E to just west of Deerfoot Trail). Founded in 1920, this is now Canada's largest zoo (and one of North America's best), with 850,000 annual visitors and some 1200 animals, 400 species and innovative and exciting displays in which the animals are left as far as possible in their "natural" habitats. There are underwater viewing areas for polar bears and sea creatures, darkened rooms for nocturnal animals, a special Australian section, greenhouses for myriad tropical birds, and any number of pens for the big draws like gorillas, tigers, giraffes and African warthogs. Check out the extended North American and Canadian Wilds, Aspen Woodlands and Rocky Mountains sections for a taste of a variety of fauna. Also worth a look are the Tropical, Arid and Butterfly gardens in the conservatory. There is a fast-food concession, and picnic areas if you want to make a day of it. The Botanical Gardens are dotted throughout the zoo, while the Prehistoric Park annexe - a "recreated Mesozoic landscape" - is accessible by suspension bridge across the Bow River (daily June-Sept; free with general admission). Its nineteen life-size dinosaur models, none too convincing in their incongruous settings, are a poor substitute for the superb museum at Drumheller , and only the fossils in two adjoining buildings are of more than fleeting interest. Natural-history enthusiasts might also want to visit the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary , on the Bow River's forested flats at 9th Avenue and 20A St SE, 3km downstream of the zoo and east of downtown. Some 230 species are present year-round - more during migratory cycles, around 266 species having been recorded across the sanctuary, a portion of land once owned by Colonel James Walker, one of Calgary's original North West Mounted Police. Some of the birds you might see include bald eagles, Swainson's hawks, ring-necked pheasants, warblers, grey partridges and great horned owls. Numerous duck, geese and other waterfowl are also present, and you may also catch sight of muskrats, beavers, white-tailed and mule deer, foxes and long-tailed weasels. A visitor centre (May-Sept daily 9am-5pm; free; tel 269-6688) offers information, details of the year-round walking trails, and occasional natural history courses to guide nonexperts. To get here, follow 9th Avenue SE to Sanctuary Road and follow signs to the parking area on the river's south bank. On weekdays the #14 bus (East) turns off 9th Avenue at 17th Street SE, leaving you just a short walk from the Sanctuary.
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