San Diego Zoo

There comes a day when even the most popular of shows has to close. "Oklahoma!," "Cats," even "The Lion King" -- each dazzled Broadway for years and then departed. And so the elephant show at the Wild Animal Park, an attraction at Tembo Stadium since 1977, the most popular show in park history, will close Sunday. The puppet and bird shows will remain, but the five Asian elephants who star in the elephant show are off to a new gig.

If San Diego figures into your plans, here's an online-only special that could double your fun without doing the same to your budget. The deal: Buy a one-day admission to, say, the San Diego Zoo and get a second day free. Regular adult admission is $34 a day at the zoo, and children 3 to 11 get in for $24. By booking online, tickets fall to $31 for adults and $22 for kids. The price also includes unlimited use of the guided bus tour, the express bus and the Skyfari aerial tram.

Our mission -- beyond celebrating our 22nd wedding anniversary -- was to spend a weekend in San Diego in as eco-friendly a manner as we could, given two realities. One: Southern California's transportation system was designed by car salesmen. Two: We're really cheap. Both realities landed the trip in the "nice try" category, and I'm sure there's a polar bear somewhere grousing about us.

The tourists at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park were staring at the giraffes. More important, the giraffes were staring back. "I thought one was trying to tell me something," said Mary Sullivan, visiting San Diego from Portland, Ore., with her carpenter husband and their two young sons. "We were a lot closer than we expected." The family Sullivan was aboard the park's latest attraction, the African Express, as it meandered 2.5 miles through ersatz African terrain.

An African elephant born last month at the San Diego Zoo has been named Impunga, zoo officials said Tuesday. His name (pronounced im-POON-gah) means "experienced advisor" in Swati, the official language of Swaziland. Impunga was born March 11, the third birth for a herd of seven African elephants rescued in Swaziland and brought to the zoo in 2003.

Stop the presses! Alert the bloggers! The two adult giant pandas at the San Diego Zoo mated Tuesday, zoo officials announced, raising hopes of an offspring this summer. So far, Bai Yun and Gao Gao are two for two during their stay at the zoo under a loan from the Chinese government. The pair mated in 2003 and the male Mei Sheng was born that August. They mated again in 2005 and female Su Lin was born that August.

Carol, an Asian elephant who gained national acclaim by appearing on the "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," has been euthanized by veterinarians at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park, zoo officials announced Tuesday. The 40-year-old elephant had been suffering from a painful degenerative joint disease. Zoo officials say they tried for years to help Carol with therapy, a specialized diet and exercise. They also installed a padded floor in the elephant barn.

In their songs, the Maasai tribesmen of East Africa have long celebrated the killing of lions as a test of their manhood. But now the Maasai that live in the Mbirikani Group Ranch in southeastern Kenya are trying to change their traditional antipathy toward the majestic-looking beasts.

Aloud bird-like squawk breaks the night silence. Then the unmistakable sound of a lion's roar. An angry lion. The lion sounds close by but not as close as the snoring from the tent next door. The first thing to know about the appropriately named "Roar and Snore" sleepover program at San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park is that very little sleeping occurs. But the morning vista from the door of our tent more than makes up for the sleepless night.

The male panda Mei Sheng will be shipped to China, probably in October, zoo officials announced Tuesday. The 3-year-old panda was born at the San Diego Zoo but, under the terms of a loan agreement with the Chinese government, must be sent to China.