Fun at the Zoo

On Thursday morning I picked the boys up at about 10:30 and we headed off to the zoo. Though the temperatures were to be reasonably cool, it turned into a very warm day, but at least there was no humidity.

We arrived at the zoo about 11:30. We've been to this zoo before but not for a couple of years.

The first thing we saw was this little guy. Jordan loved him and he seemed to like Jordan very well. We had purchased a bag of grain and one of peanuts when we entered the park and Jordan had the grain. This little guy is smart. He knew who had the good stuff.
The next thing we saw were two zebras. We tried to coax them over to the fence but they were enjoying a meal of hay and no amount of coaxing could make them leave it.
The two beautiful peacocks above strutted there stuff as the people passed by. Did you know that peacocks love peanuts and will actually fight over them. These guys were quick and Brandon enjoyed throwing the peanuts through the fence to them. Then the boys spied this little chipmunk. He was scurrying around in the grass near the capybaras. The boys had fun feeding him peanuts and he loved them. He stuck them in his cheeks and skittered away into the long grass to enjoy them. These beautiful flowers were growing around a fish pond. They are certainly beautiful. We stood and watched the fish while we waited for the show that would start at 12:00.

The first thing they brought out were some reptiles. The yellow and white one above is an African Albino Python. Jordan touched him but Brandon preferred not to.
After the reptiles the staff brought out the furry critters. The lion cub above loves doing the show and came racing out of the enclosure. There were two cubs and he is the largest of the two. We weren't allowed to touch him.
The smaller lion cub is more friendly with humans and we were allowed to touch him. He was soft as silk and had a nice personality.
The larger one stayed with the woman who was telling us all about the animals. See how he hangs onto her leg with his paws. It looks like he's trying to eat off her leg.

Another pose of the larger cub playing with the announcer. He is quite strong even though he is only a cub.

And here he is at the end of the show. He laid quietly and looked directly at us. He was adorable.

Next we got to pet a red fox. These animals live in the wild in this area and they are beautiful with their red coats. They eat mice, birds and other small creatures. Red fox smell kind of like skunk. The smell gives them some protection from predators.

The animal above looks like someone's pet dog, but it is really a wolf. The audience was not allowed to touch it and it dislikes noise, so we were asked to be very quiet as the young girl brought it around for us to see close-up.

This photo is a little blurry because the young lady didn't stop for photos with this guy. He isn't as comfortable around humans as some of the other animals.

Swans are magnificient creatures. So graceful and black swans aren't as plentiful as white swans. There were two of these swans in this area.

The boys have always liked meercats. This is a ring-tailed meercat, according to the sign.

The creature above is another kind of meercat but I don't remember what it was called. He is beautiful.

The monkey in the above photo was screaming his head off and making a terrible fuss. Something had upset him.

Then we came to the white-tailed deer. Remember Jordan had the bag of grain. This one is very interested in him.

Brandon had the bag of peanuts and the deer also enjoyed eating them. The boys love to feed the animals right out of their hands. There's nothing like being up close and personal with wild creatures.

The deer weren't shy at all. Jordan enjoyed feeding them grain. When the herd realized he had it, they all came toward the fence. This one didn't stray far until Jordan moved on.

And...the King of the Jungle. He was basking in the sun and taking a nap. He didn't even open his eyes as we passed.

If you look closely at the photo above, you can see the Koi. This is a pretty area.

As we were leaving the park we came across this African Crowned Crane. We waited around and tried to get him to turn around but he was only showing us his back.

Just before we left the zoo, Jordan fed some grain to this little guy and then gave the last of it to some goats. By this time we were all hot and tired and so we headed home to the AC and a nice cool glass of lemonade.

Take some time this weekend to get into the great outdoors and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. It's balm for the soul. ~Blessings, Mary~