CuriOdyssey San Mateo is a very popular place for school groups and families at Coyote Point, just a few miles south of San Francisco International Airport on Highway 101.
It’s located in a lovely wooded area next to San Francisco Bay. As a solo adult, I felt a little conspicuous. But I had accepted Jade of Vagabond3’s challenge to “Travel your own city: Week 6” and observe local animals in their habitats, so I was determined to enjoy the visit. There are dozens of animal habitats, an aviary, gardens, picnic areas, classrooms and a wildlife theater. CuriOddyssey’s mission is to “educate and inspire people to take care of the earth wisely”.
As promised, birds and bees. I liked watching the honeybees in action. Zoom in on the photo for a closer look.
I was there just in time for the feeding of the river otters, but there were a lot of children gathered right up front. I didn’t think it would be a good idea to barge through and assert my seniority. But I did get a few pictures after the feeding. Those guys are a little hard to capture on camera, but I did my best.
Snakes are not my favorite creatures, but I felt safe enough on the other side of the glass.
It seemed like a lazy time of day for most of the animals, who were sleeping or hiding somewhere in their habitats. The coyote and the bobcat were enjoying a nap in the sun, but were at least in view. The raccoon and the fox were not showing themselves at all.
This is a Ring-tailed Cocomistle (I’d never heard of this animal before) who appeared to be sleeping quite comfortably.
My favorite thing about Coyote Point is actually its location with views of San Francisco, bridges crossing the bay, the nearby marina and planes making their approaches to SFO.
For more information, visit the CuriOdyssey website.
This challenge is throwing up a lot of previously unknowns for me!
It’s been fun to have Jade select topics and then report back on my findings in these posts.
Looks like a fun day out. It seems that as adults, many of us never get to places like this unless we have children with us, even though we do enjoy it when we go.
I’m not someone who is a real zoo/animal park enthusiast, but do enjoy them when I go. It didn’t occur to me until I was at CuriOdyssey and got the eye of a few parents that you don’t usually see solo adults at these kinds of places.
These are great photos!
We lived in San Francisco for a year (and the south bay during our undergrad) and never knew about this place. Thanks for sharing it. 🙂
Thanks, Christy! It’s in San Mateo and used to be known as Coyote Point, but they changed the name recently.
This looks like a great spot to relax, minus the snake, yikes!
I’m with you about snakes! The area around CuriOdyssey would be a great place to have a picnic — I’ll have to try that sometime.
Oh wow, looks like a pretty place Cathy. The owl looks really creepy though.
It’s a very pretty place. I wish I had gotten a good pic of all of the trees around — next time.
They look so cute, I love watching any animal in action, I just like being constantly amazed by how overwhelming and perfectly organized nature can be.
You said it — nature’s organization is amazing.
The animals are really cute, I just wish they had been a little more active while I was there. But we all need our rest!
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