Lions, tigers, and bears... oh my!
Okay so I took quite a bit of pictures when I went to the zoo on Saturday. It was so hot. 100 degrees of pure hotness. Let's just say we all took showers when we got home. But it was worth it. I hadn't been to the zoo in a while... probably 10 years actually and it's changed so much. They have this new exhibit called "The Wilds of Africa" and "Giants of the Savana" and those two were by far the best part of the zoo. I'm just going to go in order of what we saw.
You know you're at the zoo when you see this statue. It's the tallest one in Texas. The statue of Sam Houston in Houston was the tallest but then they added the tongue to the giraffe and well I'm sure you can guess the result. I can't tell you how excited I got just seeing this. It was a bit sad tbh.
So we get into the zoo... so expensive but surprisingly less money than the Dallas World Aquarium, which we went to on Sunday. This is what we're greeted with. I have to say Macaws are some of the prettiest birds I've seen. I just think their colors are so vibrant.
Anyway, they tell us that if we want to do the monorail "Wilds of Africa" tour we should do it as soon as possible because they shut it down if it gets too hot. This was so cool. They had it set up with different sections of Africa like the mountain ranges and the desert or the brush and they had the different animals that might inhabit it. The whole thing was only around 20 minutes but it was well worth the wait and the cost.
I can't remember the name of this animal but they said even though it kind of resembles a zebra it's actually related to a giraffe.
There were a lot of birds in this exhibit but that's okay... they're pretty too. I can't remember what they all were but I want to say that these are storks. Whatever they are they're pretty and so white.
Again... don't know what kind it is but look... bird!
And then we moved onto some other terrain where all the antelope were. Don't know the names but there were a lot. I love their antlers.
Then we saw the swampy areas where the croc live. It might be hard to see him because he's under the water but here's there and he was HUGE. I think he's the biggest croc that exists.
And it's a vulture/buzzard... are those the same thing? Well for the purpose of this they are because I can't remember what it is.
Then we came to the meerkats. I love these animals so much. They are adorable and so funny to watch. I think this one was the lookout while the others were digging holes.
I have to say I'm not really fond of the monkeys/apes/gorillas. They've just never caught my interest but they were really cool to see. They had a bunch of these... I don't know what they are though.
Some more birds. I guess they're easier to get and keep because there were a tone. We went on this gorilla walk trail thing and there was an aviary with all these birds just flying around while you were inside. So pretty.
This little guy was my favorite.
Tortoises were next and they were so big. Like the size of small cars... I swear.
It's big papa now. This gorilla was massive. And he was just chillin. Like he didn't have a care in the world.
That's the end of the "Wilds of Africa". After leaving that little area we went straight to "Giants of the Savana" and yes they were giant. This was the best part of the whole zoo.
Giraffes! I love them. That's all I can really say. They're just way too pretty... their coloring and their shape. I adore these creatures much more than I should. And you could feed them! 5 dollars and you could give them two leafs.
Elephants! I'll always think of Dumbo every time I see an elephant. But they really are gorgeous animals. Their floppy ears and their trunks.
Random pics of the whole area. You can see the giraffes and one lonely zebra. Oh... and some antelope. This whole area was just really gorgeous. They did a fabulous job laying it all out.
Sadly we didn't get to see any lions. I don't know where they were. Even in the regular part of the zoo that part wasn't open. But there were cheetahs and these cats are gorgeous. Their spots and puffy fur. How friggin cute.
Wart hogs! These things stunk so bad... isn't that what Timon was in The Lion King? Well he looks a lot better than these do.
Penguins. What can I say about these cute flightless birds? These are African penguins... no cold required. And they were adorable. All swimming and standing right up to the glass.
And this is now where we go to the old part of the zoo. They did have some really pretty animals. The first was the Flamingo Pond. How can these birds be so pretty? With all their pinkness and standing on one leg? I'm constantly reminded of Alice.
Macaws... just because you can't have too many pics of them.
This bird isn't really anything special look wise but he was massive. It's the condor and he was posing. I loved it. There were all these people around him and he had his wings spread and then when we all walked away he closed them and went about his business.
Giant turtle... again. This guy was coming straight for me. And yes... he was very very slow. Wasn't all that menacing.
I think we need this in our backyard. Anteaters are always welcome. This guy was so big. And he just looks so funny with his snout.
I didn't take any pics in the reptile/bug exhibit besides these right here. I'm not fond of bugs and snakes but this animal was so interesting. The Albino aligator... Ghost of the Bayou. It honestly looked like plastic. If you didn't know better you would have thought it was fake.
These were the last animals I took pics of before we left the zoo and they made my visit even better. Otters. I honestly love these animals. I think they are the cutest sea/river creatures ever. They're like foxes of the seas. And they're too cute when they have their food and they're swimming about and eating.
And one last shot of the giraffe statue as we leave the zoo.
There were things bought at the zoo gift shop and a ton of pics taken and all in all it was a great day. I haven't had so much fun in quite a while. It brought back good childhood memories and it was just fun going and seeing the animals. I suggest that if you have a zoo near you you should take a day and go visit it... you won't be sorry. It makes you appreciate so much in life and these animals... from the giraffe to the flamingo to the wart hog are all kind of gorgeous in their own way.