I didn't expect so few signs you could hardly find the place. I didn't think I'd have to bounce down a rutted, unpaved road to get there.

If this zoo were any harder to get to, you would be seeing animals in their natural habitats.

There are signs on Capital Boulevard for the zoo, but they are temporary (and easy to miss), and they are only out on weekends. The town of Wake Forest will not let the zoo put the signs up all week long.

Zoo spokesman Steve Thanhauser complains that zoo visitors dropped sharply after the town began limiting signs to weekends only. He blames the decline for a revenue shortfall that has prevented the zoo from paving the road leading into it.

The numbers are picking up again, Thanhauser said, but not enough. And without more visitors, the zoo cannot afford to pave the road, he added.

Wake Forest Mayor Vivian Jones makes no apologies. The zoo falls under an ordinance that limits signs on public rights of way, she said.

"If we made an exception for them, we'd have to make an exception for everybody," she said. "If every business in town wanted to put up one of those kind of signs on the highway so everybody would know where they are, it would be very unattractive."

But there is good news, sign-wise: The state Department of Transportation has approved a permanent sign for Route 1A. It should be up sometime next month, according to the DOT.

But the agency will not approve a permanent sign for Capital Boulevard until the zoo improves its facilities and can handle larger crowds. High on the list of needed improvements, said DOT engineer Susan Kunz, are restrooms. Now, the zoo uses portable bathrooms .

The zoo's permanent restrooms were destroyed by a fire several years ago, Thanhauser said. They plan to replace them by early next year at the latest.

Let me give the zoo some help if I can: If you want to schedule a school or group activity such as a birthday party, call 562-8899 .