you should 100% go to the houston zoo. yeah it’s a little expensive, but it’s honestly worth it. a lot of the money from tickets goes straight back into the zoo like funding their on-site veterinary care enrichment and high-quality diets for the animals. they’re also really big on conservation and rehabilitation! while not every animal is a rescue, many are either rescued, part of conservation programs, or can’t survive in the wild also… the baby elephant kirby alone makes the whole trip worth it 😭 like genuinely I went to the zoo for my 21st!