sbrobert
By Robert Bernstein
Zoo Lights at the Santa Barbara Zoo is a wonderfully creative and beautiful art project. Hundreds of animals and plants crafted in fabric and illuminated with many thousands of colorful lights. Here are my many photos
Since I am a big fan of frogs, my wife took this photo of me with one of the two huge frogs near the entrance. Frogs are very delicate creatures, doing most of their respiration through their fragile skin. If we can make the world safe for frogs, it will be a good world for us, too.
The Zoo officially closes for an hour before Zoo Lights opens at 4:30PM. This is a bit frustrating and confusing. But we did get to see some actual Zoo animals doing some interesting things. Including this flamingo feeding its big baby.
They were competing with some very flamboyant (literally) Zoo Lights flamingos!
These birds posing with my wife were so realistic, you had to do a double take to realize they were works of art.
Perhaps the most amazing scene was on the upper level with this Safari array of animals. This definitely needs a video to capture it all, including the movements.
Not all the animals are actual Zoo animals or even beasts that exist in our plane of reality. This was my favorite.
Nearby was this psychedelic Kaleidoscope Room that put me in a wonderful trance.
Heading out toward the lions was this arcade of flowers. Something out of “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.” As I walked down the arcade, a maintenance worker stepped out in front of me. He was replacing lights. This was when I realized he was from China and did not speak English.
I would love to know more about this Chinese organization that created this project. And what will happen to it when this event ends?
Speaking of the lions, Ralph the lion was staring intently at the nearby giraffes. Perhaps he was imagining how tasty they would be?
Past the lions, these condors and eagles were slowly flapping their wings.
Looking up, these apes swung from the trees above.
These butterflies offered another psychedelic opportunity.
Back in the center of the upper area I watched as a child stepped on a switch pad to ignite a “fuse” to set off this cannon.
Nearby were two elephants. One of the usual variety and one of the psychedelic variety!
On the main path on the way out I stopped to watch these birds in a tree. And these axolotl salamanders and a smoke bubble generator nearby.
Now that it was fully dark this Rainbow Frog looked quite glorious.
Did I mention there are hundreds of these individual works of art? This article is just an invitation to see more. Unfortunately, it all ends on January 15. Check it out while you can!
