Fort Worth Zoo

I haven't posted in a long time, but I have so many great pictures from the zoo, I really need to do a blog post. We went up to Fort Worth for my 10 year reunion. I'm actually really glad that I went. I might do a post about that.

Yesterday we went to the zoo. It was a beautiful day, and I read online that they had lion cubs and I wanted to see them. We got to see lion cubs, jaguar cubs, and 2 year old elephants. It was a great day at the zoo.

This is the male lion cub. There were also two females. One was hiding, only peeking up from behind a rock. I took tons of photos. Apparently they like to play with dad's mane, but he wasn't out yesterday.

I love how my camera has super zoom. I can zoom in between the links of chain link fence and get super close up shots. My camera is awesome, but I need to learn more about how to use all the features. When we first got to the zoo I was having a lot of trouble with the view finder--everything looked blurry, but the shots came out crisp. Luckily Ross and I worked out that the camera has a thing where you can change what the view finder looks like--I guess so that it is clear if you are looking through it without your glasses.

That is a coyote.

The two year old elephants were so adorable. They weigh 1700 and 2000 pounds! They are aunt and nephew, born only 28 days apart. The male has tiny little tusks. I wanted to hug the  (not so) little elephants.

We spent a really long time at the jaguar exhibit. The cubs were playful--with each other and their mother. So as we were standing there watching them, and I desperately tried to get the camera to focus past the chain link fence--a lot of folks passed by. A bunch of people kept calling them Jag-wires. That makes no sense to me. It was odd, and annoying. The other thing was that people kept calling them all sorts of things--cheetahs, leopards, tigers, lions. Well, it was little kids calling them tigers and lions, but the parents didn't say anything. What? Tell the kids it is a jaguar (not jagwire)! Spend more than two seconds looking at them as you pass by. Oh well, Ross and I enjoyed watching them.

Here's a shot of me being cheesy. I have the wingspan of a turkey vulture.

A long time ago, when we still lived in Fort Worth, we went to the zoo and Ross pet an armadillo named Digger. He talks about it all the time. He says he wants a pet armadillo. He wants his own Digger. When we got to the petting zoo area Ross asked the zoo keeper if Digger was still there. The zoo keeper was nice enough to go pick her up and let us pet her. Ross was over the moon. Digger is now 12 years old. That's a lot older than armadillos live in the wild.

One more video: The elephants playing.

Las Vegas 2015: Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden

We arrived pretty early in Las Vegas, and after some breakfast we decided to take a walk. We ended up at the Mirage, where we visted Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden. It's an odd combination of Dolphins and Big Cats. It was a nice getaway from the hustle and bustle of the strip.

We saw the dolphins during a training session. They have an underwater viewing area where you can see the dolphins swimming by. That was really cool.

 This dolphin was posing for photos. It was neat to watch the dolphins. Some of them were playing with toys. Like typical kids one dolphin wanted to play with all the toys at once and didn't want to share.

Most of the cats were asleep. One of the handlers tried to wake up the female lions, but they weren't having it. I took a zoomed in photo of the male white lion's paw. It was so huge.

The black jaguar was awake, but this one was passed out. I enjoyed this place. Outdoors (warm), quiet, peaceful, and I got to see animals.

Austin Zoo

On Sunday we went to the Austin Zoo. I really wanted to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. The Austin Zoo isn't a major zoo in any shape or form, but it has some big cats, and that makes me happy.

We spotted this tiger napping in the sun. I got a great photo with my real camera.

Unlike most of the other animals, the bear cubs were super active. They chased each other around  the enclosure and climbed the fence walls.

It was such a great day to spend outside, checking out the animals.

Animal World and Snake Farm Zoo--Again

Yeah, I've been a total slacker about posting this month. I'm going to try and catch up over the next week.

So my parents came to visit and we went to New Braunfels to see the Animal World and Snake Farm Zoo. My favorite part this time was feeding two cavies by hand.

This is a cavy. I imagine that the billybumbler in Stephen King's Dark Tower series looks something like this.

And here is one of the lions. The lions have really grown since we last saw them in February.

It was a hot day, and most of the animals were laying around, conserving energy. Ross spent a long time talking with the owner. He has some really big plans for the place. They are getting a wolf cub, and servals. And I think maybe another kind of big cat too. I can't remember. Update on Princess: she was sent away to a breeding program, and was supposed to come back. Well, Princess found a boyfriend. (She was only supposed to encourage another female to mate with the male.)  So she's moved in with her boyfriend and won't be back. I'll miss her, but I'm glad she found love.

Baby Elephant Video

Here is a short video of Duncan scratching his back and bumbling around.

Houston Zoo

Rain prevented our visit to the Houston Zoo during year of the zoo. Yesterday's weather was perfect for a zoo visit.

Ross's favorite was Duncan, the baby elephant. He just kind of bumbled around, exuding cuteness that triggered everyone's oxytocins to flow.

You know me, I love the big cats. People kept commenting that this clouded snow leopard looked dead because of the way he was asleep on the log.

We paid to feed the Neema, the giraffe. Boy, giraffes have long tongues.

This is a Swift Fox. Totally adorable. I don't think I've ever seen one before.

Overall the Houston Zoo was great. It had the best bat exhibit I've ever seen. They had a blue light instead of a red light, so it was easier to see the bats. It was also feeding time, so we saw the bats get food (fruit) and eat it while hanging upside down. They had a children's area, with a petting zoo. The children's area also has Liberty, a bald eagle. She is in an open enclosure (no glass or fence between us and her) because she can't fly. Why can't she fly? 'Cause some jerk shot her.

I'm glad we got to go to the zoo without extreme heat or rain. We had a good time.

Another Visit to the Snake Farm and Animal Zoo

We met Monica and Richard at the Snake Farm and Animal Zoo and had a grand old time.

Unlike the camel, the buffalo couldn't stick his head through the bars, so to touch I had to reach out my hand and he reached out his tongue. It was slick.

If Benjamin Franklin had had his way, the turkey would have been our national symbol. This guy kept puffing up and gobbling. He was fun, but that red stuff on his nose/neck is creepy/icky/gross.

There was only one peacock, and maybe 6 peahens. This was the most flamboyant peacock I have ever seen. He kept spreading his feathers and shakin' em as he approached the ladies. I got my best peacock pictures ever today. He just kept showing off.

Princess, the lesser anteater (or Tamandua), is off at a breeding program while they are remodeling. The zoo now has two white lion cubs. So adorable! And one of them was growling/roaring--it was too cute! The lion cubs were definitely the best part today.

One of the cubs (the female we think) was very spunky and interactive. She would run back and forth in her pen chasing Ross.

I was doing the football shuffle and it became unclear who was running who. She wore me out!

After spending two and a half hours at the zoo we had late lunch/early dinner at the tea house in Gruene. The food was delicious and afterward we were stuffed. We walked around town...they were having a little art festival/sale thingy (Guene Market Days.) Both the Zoo and Gruene were totally different from when we last went in September. In September both were empty. Today both were really bustling--the goats in the petting area weren't really interested in being fed. I had a great weekend and can't wait to go back. The lion cubs are currently 4 months old and weigh 45 pounds each. The keeper said they are gaining half a pound a day. I am looking forward to watching them grow up.

Snake Farm and Animal Zoo

Every time I pass the Snake Farm and Animal Zoo in New Braunfels I think "I want to go there!"  After seeing the place on Mike Rowe's Dirty Jobs, I really wanted to go.  I bought discount tickets online and we finally went.

The inside part is FULL of snakes.  I'm not weirded out by snakes.  I liked looking at the different colors, patterns, and shapes of the snakes.  Yeah--all snakes aren't just round like a water hose.

 This was the King Cobra.

This Sahara Sand Viper freaked Ross out.  He didn't like how it was hiding in the sand.  In the bottom left corner you can see its eye sticking out of the sand.

I liked the coloring of this White Lipped Python.

In addition to snakes they had a couple of tarantulas, a hissing cockroach, a gecko or two, skinks, bearded dragons, and you could see some crocodiles, ring tailed lemurs, and such.

Outside they had lots and lots of animals.  We bought a small bag of feed and told we were allowed to feed everything but the primates and the sea otters.  We saw a camel, bison, longhorns, zebras, mountain lions, peacocks, peahens, chick peas, chickens, chicks, ducks, lemurs, monkeys, emus, ostriches, coatimundi, warthogs, owls, macaws, parrots, turtles, tortoises, wolves, a hyena, fennec foxes, an african porcupine, ponies, and more.

Our favorite animal was the lesser anteater, also known as the tamandua.  She was super friendly.  She tried to hard to reach her nose out to us.  She stretched so much her ears popped through the fence and she got a little stuck.  She was the cutest thing ever!  Her little palms looked so pink and so human.

Here is  a short video of Princess.  I was too busy marvelling at her to take many photos or videos.

Here I am feeding the lama.  I hugged the lama.  I hugged a baby goat.  They were just so cute and soft. The petting zoo area really was the best part.  It is off season, so the goats were practically attacking us for the food.

Year of the Zoo: San Antonio Zoo

Fish nibbling stuff off the butt of a hippo.

The grey fuzzies are flamingo chicks--and check out the egg on the mound.

We saw an ocelot chillin' in the heat and I got an ocelot stamp on my hand from the zoo staff.

I managed to snap a photo when the tiger looked up at me.

Zebra eel. It was mesmerizing.

We got to catch up with Monica and Richard while we were at the zoo.

Year of the Zoo:The National Zoo

After trapeze yesterday we took the Metro to visit the National Zoo. We didn't see everything because it was hot and I didn't want to stand in line to get into some of the exhibit buildings. Ross's favorite was Pandora, the octopus. My favorite was the lionesses, who were very active and playful.

Year of the Zoo: Philadelphia Zoo

Yesterday we tagged along with the Lusters to the oldest zoo in the United States: The Philadelphia Zoo. Again, the big cats were my favorite. 

 Two anacondas knotted together under water and around a bunny

 Black-footed cats.

 Jaguars fighting before getting it on.

 His tail is so poofy!

The tigers put on quite the show with roaring and fighting.