During our stay in Palm Desert, we decided to visit the Living Desert. A truly unique and interesting place. This location feels like a cross between a zoo and a wild animal park. The acreage this destination has allows you to witness, up close, animals in large chunks of what appear to be like their native environments. (I was only 8 feet away from a cheetah at one point). Plus, where else in Southern California can you spend the night in teepees, in the middle of a park that feels like you are in the plains of Africa?
The Location
The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens is located at 47-900 Portola Avenue in Palm Desert, California 92260. Their direct line is 760-346-5694. They are a non-profit organization and offer annual memberships. This membership includes free admission for a year, discounts at their gift shops and nursery, special events and programs, and their “Foxpaws” newsletter.
The Sites and Animals
Small Animals Exhibit
Our first stop upon entering was the Small Animals Exhibit, an enclosed room, very dimly lit, featuring mostly nocturnal animals behind walls of glass. Here we examined a variety of rattle snakes, an owl (really cute by the way), a tarantula, a turtle, lizards, mice, a black widow spider and other interesting little creatures.
Wildlife Wonders Show at the Tennity Ampitheater
Next, we meandered down the lane tothe Tennity Ampitheater where a live animal show was about to begin. (Due to the nature of this show, no admission is allowed once the show has begun, so as not to frighten or distract the animals). We sat in the shade one long bench seats near the front. We saw hawks fly in from the sky and do a variety of biddings, parrots do the same, a marmoset, a serval (a wild cat that looks like a small cheetah),
and a porcupine (contrary to popular myth, no, they cannot actually shoot their quills). We learned about each animal and got to see them, up close. Really neat. As I was sitting there I thought…I will bring my children here, when I have them.
Butterflies Alive Butterfly Garden
After the show we passed by the impressively large model train display headed towards the enclosed Butterflies Alive display. 
This butterfly garden was made possible by donations from Dorothy Weber, and it was magical. After passing through a gift shop with really neat and varied butterfly items, you enter through 2 sets of doors into a butterfly paradise. They are everywhere. The environment was stunning with plants and water sources everywhere. There were even garden paths and benches around so you could meander and sit to watch these little beauties.
There were too many butterfly types to remember them all, but, I believe it was a Spicebush Swallowtail we saw mating, 
and a Monarch perching, and it was definitely a Queen perching on the purple flowers, and a Zebra Heliconian on a green leaf. I think we spotted a Giant Swallowtail butterfly on the red flowers and an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail flapping its wings on a fern. This exhibit was one of my favorites, hands down. Not only was it such a magical and happy setting, it was educational. They had brochures and books available to leaf through to learn about the butterflies and which types you were spotting. I would definitely visit this exhibit again.
Giraffes
This exhibit was quite impressive. We spotted this giraffe at the top of the hill. It looked and felt like we were in Africa! He didn’t move much, and was a great photo subject! On our way to the giraffe area, we spotted a Road Runner running down the walk. We would spot several more of these little guys on our adventure through the Living Desert.
Warthogs
These guys look mean, but, actually seem quite calm. When we first came upon this exhibit, we found a warthog hiding in a large burrow in the ground. He did meander out, slowly, and walk across the area to chew on some grass not 5 feet from us!
The Petting Kraal in Village WaTuTu
This was a fun hands on experience. The Village WaTuTu is a recreation of a traditional village of the Africa savanna complete with huts, an elders grove, and animal petting kraal 
complete with native plants and animals. Upon entering the petting area, we were greeted by a friendly and curious black goat. Many of his kin were sitting around here and there, some chewing, some sleeping, and some, it appeared, we just sunning themselves. We pet several, all were friendly or indifferent. Behind a gate we could see sheep. Behind several more gates we saw a type of cow with huge horns. We hit the hand sanitizer station on the way out (thank goodness they had one!)
More Animals in Village WaTuTu
After the petting Kraal we walked around the village and spotted camels, turtles, and….a cheetah! We were just feet from the cheetah, behind a thick plastic wall. He examined us with curiosity and came closer to look at us. After that excitement we headed off to see the zebras.
Big Horn Sheep on a Hill
The Big Horn Sheep exhibit was one of the best. The photo says it all. There was a huge area for them to roam and explore the rocky mountainsides. It felt like we were watching them in the wild!
Meerkats on Patrol
The meerkat display was so interesting and they are so cute! This was one of my favorite sites there. There were 5-6 meerkats in the exhibit, with one on “guard duty”. The guard’s job was to “stand guard” while the others foraged (foraging looked like “throwing around sand” to us). This guard stood up straight and alert and a high point, looked around, and continuously shot a 
glance at you, looking you in the eye, as if to say “I see you.” We actually got to see the “changing of the guard!” The current guard stepped down off his tree branch, the others approached, there was some squabbling and sounds made, the old guard walked away from the post, relieved himself, then laid down flat on his belly. For a minute or so, there was no guard, then, a meerkat that had been scratching his claws on a tree came up to the tree branch post and assumed position. He then looked around and shot glances at us. It was so cute!!
The Madagascar Garden – A Well Kept Secret
We meandered over to the Madagascar Garden right as the park was about to close. 
This was great! There were tons of paths winding through unique and fascinating vegetation, with animal exhibits sprinkled throughout. No one but us was in this area. We dubbed it “the best kept secret”. There were inspiring places to sit and neat things to see. The plants alone were fascinating. Many of them had spikes, unique shapes, and were brightly colored. It was here that we stumbled upon the vulture exhibit. These animals are so large, it is a wonder they can fly.
Our Experience
We left the Living Desert that day feeling a sense of wonder and contentment. We had seen so many unusual and wondrous things, so close up, and had learned a great deal. We will definitely visit this unique park again, especially since it appears that they change their displays and exhibits. And, when I have kids, I will bring them there. One day, we might even try one of their “Starry Safaris” – an overnight adventure where we can encounter the sights and sounds of the desert at night. Groups can do this, or families or couples. This experience offers a Wildlife Wonders presentation, a hearty dinner, a guided nighttime walk, tall tales told around the campfire, continental breakfast and park admission for the next day. What a package!
Some Tips:
– Bring some snacks with you (we did eat at the Meerkat Cafe, it was decent)
– Bring water with you, you will get thirsty
– Wear good walking shoes!!!
– Wear a hat or sunscreen
– Bring a camera
– Go with a great group of fun people!