The main attraction for tourists visiting Alaska is its amazing wildlife. The Alaskan wildlife has animals that cannot be seen in any other part of the world. Tourists even go as far as going to the northern part of Alaska just to have the chance to see a real-life polar bear. Well you no longer have to go through all that trouble just to see the wildlife of Alaska. All you have to do is visit Alaska Zoo located at 4731 O'Malley Road in the city of Anchorage.

Alaska Zoo is in the east portion of the Anchorage Hillside area. This zoo has an area of about 25 acres which is not that big compared to other zoos in the United States. It may be small in size but it is more than capable of giving shelter to 100 different mammals and birds. These animals originate from a part of Alaska called The Last Frontier. Most of them are injured and orphaned animals with no chance of surviving if they are left in the wilderness. The Alaska Zoo provides shelter and rehabilitation for all these poor animals.

Awareness of the condition of the natural wildlife in Alaska is a goal of Alaska Zoo. The zoo gets as much as 200,000 local and foreign visitors annually and if each of them is made aware of the need to preserve the wilderness to increase the animals' survival then it will certainly be of big help in reaching that goal.

Anchorage's Alaska Zoo has a rich history and has been the content of newspapers and books. It started out as Alaska Children's Zoo in March 28, 1968. It aimed to reach out to the younger generation in Anchorage and make them aware of the elephant from Asia named Annabelle. Annabelle came all the way from Asia after a resident of Anchorage picked the elephant as a prize after winning a contest. He had to choose between Annabelle and a cash prize worth $3,000.

When you visit Alaska Zoo you will get to see the animals that are unique to Alaska like the dall sheep, wolverine, reindeer as well as the famous bald eagle. The moose is also an attraction in Alaska Zoo. Visiting tourists flock over to see the moose that is actually a common sight in the streets Alaska's countryside.

There are also some exotic animals exhibited in Alaska Zoo. The exotic animals' exhibit includes an Amur tiger, snow leopard and the Bactrian camel. These animals have been imported from other parts of the world. This gives the locals a chance to see animals that cannot be found in the wilderness of Alaska.

Despite the bad reputation that Alaska Zoo has gained over the years it still proves to be a great place to view the natural wildlife of Alaska. Instead of trekking into the icy wilderness of Alaska to witness the beauty of the great animals in Alaska, you can just visit Alaska Zoo to get the same amazing experience.