Cincinnati Zoo Trip

Jane feeds a Giraffe.

As a last Summer hurrah, Carson, Jane and I accompanied Nana (my Mom) to the Cincinnati Zoo yesterday.  I've always loved going to the zoo (seriously considered studying zoology before I decided on getting an art degree, and to this day I wonder if I might have been better suited to take care of animals than teach art to kids...), and the Cincinnati Zoo is really fabulous.   Not only do they have an amazing selection of animals, but their conservation programs and their desire to educate the public, especially children, is outstanding.  They are also, technically a "botanical gardens", and the flora throughout the zoo is breathtaking...with everything from tropical flowers to bamboo forests, you really do feel transported to the ends of the earth. 

The Zoo is so large, and with so much to see, it took us 8 hours to explore the entire park...that's a lot of walking.  When we left, Jane fell asleep in the car not 3 minutes after we fastened her seat belt.  The exhaustion was worth it.  She fed a cracker to a Giraffe, got to brush the goats, feed Lorakeets, rode a train, learned about endangered and threatened species, explored habitats, etc., etc., etc.  I'm going to now bombard you with a gazillion photos of our trip.  I might make a few comments here and there, but other than that, it's just going to be a visual display of our day.  You've been warned...there are many.  But, I do hope that you will be inspired to locate a zoo or wildlife preserve near you.  They are doing so much to help preserve our beautiful earth, and they deserve to be patronized.

Austrailian penguins.

I loved the 'old' look on this tiny little goat's face.

Jane had to brush every goat before we could leave...she didn't want any to feel left out.

Feeding the Lorakeets.

I loved feeding the lorakeets...and they loved me.  One special little sweety liked my hair...or rather the bobby-pins in my hair.

The sea lions were adorable.

It was fun to watch the polar bears eat....they were inches away, with only a thick sheet of glass between.

A train ride around the zoo.

Jane called this the 'bird with the funny hair.'

There's something so beautifully graceful and yet awkward about giraffes...

The elephant house was built in 1907 and is a national historic landmark.

We actually got dangerously close to being in the middle of a peacock fight...it was rather scary.

The beautiful bamboo forest.

Jane meets a dragon.

They have several rather impressive indoor exhibits at the Cincinnati Zoo.  The nocturnal exhibits, inparticular, were stunning.  Of course, they were difficult to capture on film, but none-the-less, they were cool.  Yes...this is a REAL owl.

And yes...these are REAL birds.

Stunning.

Seriously felt like I was in India here...

The manitees were rescued from nearly tragic accidents involving boats in Florida.  They've come here to recover.  You can see the white scars on their bellies and tails.

The penguins were nesting.

Thank you for joining us on this zoo journey!