Zoo Day

Our good friends the Oliva’s came with us to the Zoo. We decided since we haven’t been in a while that we would take our time and see all the exhibits.
The lions…A lions roar can be heard up to 5 miles away. A lion can run for short distances at 50 mph and leap as far as 36 feet. It sleeps up to 20 hours a day. Male lions defend the pride's territory while the females do most of the hunting. The males eat first. A good gauge of a male lion's age is the darkness of his mane. The darker the mane, the older the lion.




Monkeys….

Elephants…
Did you know that Elephants are the largest land animals in the world. The live up to 70 years, They have poor eyesight and amazing sense of smell. The average weight of an elephant heart is 27 to 46 pounds. The tusk has 40,000 muscles in it.


This was your favorite part watching the mother elephant dig a hole in the dirt with her trunk  scooping water out and sprayed it .

Rhinos….
Did you know that the name rhinoceros means ‘nose horn’ and is often shortened to rhino.
Rhinos have thick sensitive skin. They are fast and can run up to 30-40 miles per hour. 

Eagle…
Did you know female bald eagles are 25% larger than males. They can reach up to 100 miles per hour in a dive. They build the biggest tree nest then any other bird. On average they weigh up to 10 lbs.
Pretending like are baby bald Eagles.

Otters…
Otters are very playful and intelligent. They can remain under water for 4 mins and can up to 300 feet to search for food. They have the thickest fur of any mammal .
Spencer was captivated by the otters swimming around.

Our friends Nicole, Benji and Natalie.

The sea lions were a riot to watch as they zoomed by. Did you know that sea lions can swim up to 22 miles per hour? They can walk on their flippers. The sea lion sleeps on land. The mother sea lion is pregnant for 12 months and the baby don't know how to swim right away it takes a couple of weeks for them to learn.

The Polar Bear... Did you know theyuse ice platforms to hunt seals that make up of it's diet. They spend most of their time in the sea. They keep warm with nearly 10 cm of blubber under the skin.
We all felt bad for this Polar Bear that did not seem happy in his cage. He paced back and forth for quite some time. This is one of my favorite bears they are so majestic.

The Brown Bears on the other hand loved where they live. They were out and playing around. Did you know that they are  omnivores, which means they eat just about anything. They sleep in caves that they dug out and tin the winter they give birth to 2 cubs. The cubs stay with mama bear for about 2 years.

Spencer took these pictures and said, “I am going to get a medal for these pictures in my next photo contest.” He did an amazing job.
Snow Leopard… Did you know they come in different v vary in color from cream to a pale yellow, light tan or light grey color. They have rose-like shaped spots and like humans no two leopards have the same rosettes pattern. They can jump up to 50 feet. Snow leopards cannot roar but they make other sounds such as growling, chuffing, hissing or meowing.
This is your dad’s favorite animal. It must have been nap time because he was out and his paw was
twitching.


We found the original Lion drinking fountain. I drank from this fountain when I was a kid.

Zebras…. Did you know they run from side by side to being chased by a predator.  They have excellent eyesight and hearing. They stand up while sleeping. Zebras eat mostly grass and it's ears show it's mood.

The Gorilla….They are shy animals, they are not aggressive. A Gorilla can be 6 feet tall and weigh 500 pounds. They vegetation. Mornings and evenings are designated as feeding time. In the middle of the day, gorillas take a nap, play with other gorillas or groom one another. At night the gorillas settle down in beds, made from twigs and leaves.  

At 3pm we went and watched the bird show and afterwords the kids rode the carousel. Spencer choose a bald eagle and you chose a grasshopper. Silly kids.