Zoo Visit (3/30)

I haven't taken the time to write this up. On my day off (use-lose at the end of the week), I decided to go to the zoo. My Mom and Pete went with me. We got to the metro in good time and circled a LOT until the magical 10:00am time came and we could use the reserved spaces (guaranteed parking is only until 10:00am).

Downtown we went. We stopped at a bakery for a snack (nice place) and headed south. We spent the majority of our time there watching the baby cheetahs. When we first got there, there was a heap of cheetah cubs in one corner with mama watching them. Eventually she decided they need to be up and about. It took a little while for them all to wake up again but they did. With bushes of bamboo to hide in, downed trees to climb and 3 sibs (plus Mama) for each of them to play with, there was a lot for them to do. I loved it when one took off like a shot across the area with the 3 others following and mama just loping along behind them (dum-de-dum-de-dum and closing in on them). Lots of wrestling by cubs.

We also went down to see the pandas (Tien was sleeping, Mei was pacing) but didn't stay too long there (due to construction there was a bit of a bottle neck and we've seen them enough.

So, off to the elephant house. They were bringing in the giraffes and doing some clicker training with them. The patience of the handlers was wonderful and the animals are magnificent. They also brought in Shanti and Kandula. They wanted to do a blood draw on him so needed him in a specific pen and her in a separate pen. Lots of shuffling of elephants. He was very good about the draw and just lay there. After they were done with that, they moved her outside (to the old yard), half-closed the doors and ran him through them (with them half-closed, she couldn't come back through). He just trotted along on his side of the fence like a good boy.

The pigmy hippo was cute. The canabary was weird looking (to me). The full sized hippo put on a serious show (spinning on the long axis in the water makes LOTS of waves ... so does belly-flopping.

Then we went outside and watched Kandula and Shanti. She wanted lunch. He played with a tire swing, played with a large tire, stood on a chained down HUGE tire, nursed, explored, and was basically a busy body.

Pete went to the gift shop and Mom and I went and saw the maned wolf (looks like a red fox with a black mane standing on stilts). He had a large bag as a toy and was moving it around and trying to chew it up. We also watched the two zebras paying a long game of 'bitey face' (rearing up, nipping at each other) until the little one had HAD ENOUGH and made a point (ok a pair of hoof points) to the other. Wandered through the cheetah area some more (saw 3 other cheetahs, mama and babies were inside).

Back to the metro and heading towards dinner and Mom's cell phone rang. It was madbodger and fizzygeek so we went to dinner and ice-cream with them. Java got some leftovers.

All in all a good day.