It’s not every day you get to pet a rhino.  Or feed a giraffe.  

But I got to do both at the Living Desert Zoo & Botanical Gardens, and you can, too.

The Living Desert Zoo & Botanical Gardens is an unheralded gem in Palm Springs.  Palm Springs is known for its many golf resorts, great dining, unique shopping, but rhinos & giraffes?  

Nope, probably not even your list of top 100 things you think about when you go to Palm Springs.

But it should be in your Top Five.

So let me tell you why the Desert Zoo is so amazing.

Rhino Encounter

Let’s start with Nia and Jaali (pronounced Ny-a and Jolly), the 2 black rhinos.  Black Rhinos are endangered.  Nia and Jaali are part of the SSP, species survival plan.  

Nia, the female, is 4 years old, a teen in Rhino years.  Jaali, the male, is 3 years old, also a teen.  Nia and Jaali are expected to mate in a few years and produce little black rhino babies, but for now, they’re enjoying adolescent freedom.

Rhino Encounter is an extraordinary program to help fund their rhino conservation efforts, by allowing ordinary people, like you and me, to get up close & personal with one of the rhinos.  For $50, you can be part of a small group that gets exclusive access to the rhino animal care area, with guides offering fascinating insights into the species’ natural biology, what it takes to care for these massive mammals, and an insider’s perspective about their individual personalities

The group is limited to 10 people.  The day I went, there were only 3 of us, and our encounter was with Nia.

Black rhinos’ vision isn’t very good, so they are easily spooked.  Our guide instructed us not to make any sudden moves, and he demonstrated what a sudden move would look like. 

This short video clip shows Nia reacting.  Although the guide’s instructions were to us, he had inadvertently done the very thing he was warning us not to do.

Nia’s handler was able to get her calmed down, so we could continue with the encounter.

We were given food to feed Nia.  Each of us walked slowly towards her, making sure she could see us. Then we held out the branches of food to feed her. Her upper lip is almost like a finger, grasping the food and putting it in her mouth.

For the second part of the encounter, we petted her.  Again, we had to approach her slowly. Her hide feels as rough and thick as it looks.

Nia was behind a fence with steel cables between large concrete posts. Our instructions were to make sure that we kept our arms within the two steel cables and not to pet her below the steel cable. You can see from this video that I obviously didn’t. But the reason is because if Nia spooks, she could press her body against the fence, pinning your arm against the steel cable. Yikes! No sudden moves, guys!

In the last part of the encounter, the guide took photos of us with Nia.  For these photos, we had to stand away from her — never turn your back on a rhino when you are in feeding or petting distance.

This experience was well worth the additional fee, and knowing that this fee was going towards helping this species survive – it was a no-brainer.  

Rhino Savanna

If the Rhino Encounter is not your thing, then you can visit Rhino Savanna, open to all zoo guests with your regular zoo admission.  

Rhino Savanna is 4 acres of an African, multi-species habitat.

It has expansive look-out points and picturesque views to see Nya and Jaali, or some of the other African species, like waterbuck, springbok (two types of antelope), pelicans and some fascinating subterranean animals such as the naked mole-rat.  

Feeding Giraffes

I didn’t think anything could top the Rhino Encounter, but feeding the giraffes came pretty close.

The living zoo has several acres devoted to a heard of 10 giraffes.  For $8.00 per person, you can buy some lettuce to feed them.

After getting your lettuce, you go to a tall giraffe stand and wave your lettuce in the air.  I’ll be honest, it was hilarious to see people waving lettuce in the air!  It’s not a sight you’re likely to ever see outside of the zoo.

Anyway, the lettuce waving gets the attention of the giraffes, who amble over.  They reach their long, black tongues out, and take the lettuce from your fingers.  

When you’re out of lettuce, the giraffe has no use for you any longer, and they turn and amble away.

Being used & discarded that quickly … it was soooo cool!

This is How We Zoo It

This tour is $15.00.  It is a behind-the-scenes, shuttle tour with a knowledgeable guide.  You see some of the places that aren’t open to the public – areas where injured animals are recovering, the land where trees are growing for food, the backs of the enclosures where the animals are fed, and much more.

The Model Train

After the shuttle tour, I started wandering around the park.  My goal was to head to the Australian Adventure.

On my way, I discovered a large, model train village.  It’s three-quarters of an acre, with over 3,000 feet of tracks running 19 trains at any one time.

I’m not really  a model train person, but this was impressive.  So many towns, train types, tunnels, waterfalls – again, impressive.

The Australian Adventure

I arrived at the Australian Adventure in the afternoon, when (I suspect) the wallabies were siesta-ing.  It was hot, they looked tired, and they were just sitting under a tree.

What was inspiring about this exhibit is that there were no fences around the wallaby.  We, humans, had to stay on the concrete walkway.

The wallabies could, if they wanted, wander right up to us, then go back to the cool ground under the tree, while we were restricted to the hot asphalt in the sun.

I’m not sure what the proper protocol is for a close-wallaby encounter.  Can you pet them?  Do they bite?  Would they kick me?  

I suppose it was for the best that I was on the sidewalk and they were under the tree.  But the next time I visit, I will go there earlier in the day to see if they really interact with us humans.

Aviaries

The bird flu has shut down most of the aviaries.  Birds have been separated to try to stop the spread.

And where you could once walk in the aviaries, they are currently closed, until the transmission of bird flu has waned.

Hiking

The zoo started as a desert botanical garden to protect the desert ecosystem in the midst of massive development.

Although the conservation efforts have expanded to include wildlife, three hiking trails take you through the pristine, beauty of the Colorado desert.  

The Discovery Loop is a short, one-quarter mile hike that anyone can enjoy.

The Adventure Loop is a one-mile hike that will take you to an interpretive exhibit of the San Andreas Fault.  From here, you will get an impressive view of the fault.

The Wilderness Loop is 3.5 – 5 miles long, depending on how far you want to go.  This narrow trail has an elevation of 1,000 feet, and the views from the elevation are spectacular.  This trail takes you through various Sonoran Desert biological communities and habitats, where you will have many wildlife viewing opportunities.

These trails are only open from October through May.  The summer months are simply too hot.

Other Zoo Features

There were so many other animals to see – camels, zebras, jaguars, leopards, coyotes, antelope, mountain goats, snakes, turtles, geckos – a single visit is not going to be enough.

There are restaurants, a carousel, and a free, petting zoo in Village WaTuTu.

Of the five days I spent in Palm Springs, this was one of the most memorable days I had.  

The Deets

The Living Zoo and Botanical Gardens are located at 47900 Portola Ave in Palm Desert.

Prices are $29.95 for adults, and discounted prices for seniors & children.

Plan to spend the day – you won’t be bored, and you won’t see everything either.

Their web site is here:  https://www.livingdesert.org/

If you’d like to see more of my adventure at the Living Desert, you can watch my video here.