The mere topic of zoos can be a touchy one, particularly when brought up in liberal company. On the surface, zoos are often seen as little more than a glorified wildlife spectacle at the expense of nature's freedom. But when it comes right down to it, despite the slight hint of sadness in the male lion's eyes as he stares out at the crowds from his cage, zoos are a great place of education and experience.

If not for the local zoo, the thousands of school children who visit daily would perhaps never get a chance to see and learn about the numerous different animals on display. For endangered species, even, zoos are likely to be the only place where they can survive and breed. In a perfect world, perhaps zoos would be obsolete and unnecessary. But in our world, they're still a wonderful place to spend a day.

I particularly enjoy all the great photo opportunities with the various animals. We got there on Friday just as the school field trips were winding down and heading home. The result was that we had much of the place to ourselves for the afternoon. The new monkey house was packed with kids, as always, but most of the animals were able to wander about quietly.

The tiger was particularly active, swimming laps in his enclosure then climbing up high on the rocks to dive back in for more laps. With every lap, he would pause at the top of his little hill, shake himself off, and slowly scan the crowd, posing for pictures before scrambling back down and pleasing the crowd with another bellyflop.

For all the animals in the zoo, if I have to choose a favorite, I'd have to go with the giraffe. There's just nothing else like a giraffe. Their's is a beauty that must be seen close up and live to be fully appreciated.

Standing there watching the giraffes, realizing that without a place like the Philly Zoo I could never have been able to appreciate their unique beauty, the purpose of the zoo suddenly becomes clear.