a day at the zoo

I love the days when Snoopy comes around to tell me he has a surprise. Most of the time I figure it out, but I don't tell him! The last surprise adventure we had was a visit to the zoo. I love the zoo. I also think that I have an unusual love for all things animal and thoroughly enjoy the zoo no matter how many times we go through the year. 

Since I was little, we always started all zoo visits with the aquarium. I follow this tradition even today. My favorite part of the aquarium is always, hands down, the green sea turtle in the large exhibit. Every time I see him, he reminds me of the Kemp's Ridley sea turtles that Snoopy used to tell me about while working along the coast. I used to get so excited thinking that one day Snoopy would sneak one of the little guys away just long enough for me to touch it and hold it. He never did, but a girl can still dream!

Walking from the aquarium, we mad went to visit the sea lions and we found that a small monitor was out on the sidewalk. We were all allowed to touch his rough skin and I happily crawled down on my knees to get a picture of his cute face.

Snoopy and I walked over to see the sea lion exhibit, and of course, the sea lions were zooming around their water pen. This time, we got to see short show discussing the differences between sea lions and seals. The keepers also showed us how they use the sea lions training to check them out medically. I have seen these before, but for some reason it didn't matter. I still love watching!

Next up were the birds. These two birds were sitting so still and patient, I had to take a picture of them .

Following the path, we came to the Chilean flamingos. This time, the flamingos seemed sleepy. I still wonder why they stand on one leg all the time.

The Houston Zoo has an exhibit for giant tortoises. When we were little, my mom would tell me that her dad (my grandpa) would tell them about how the tortoises would eat little children who didn't follow instructions. He said he came by once where the keepers only found a shoe! That sounds like a story that my grandpa would make up.



These tortoises always make Snoopy laugh. He always laughs at the one who props up his shell as he moves along. Then he remarks about the Galapagos tortoises and how slowly they eat.

The Houston zoo's primate trail is always exciting. The primates are always doing fun things and moving around. This lemur was watching us watch him!

These little guys move like squirrels. The funny part to me is that they look like little witch doctors with their strange while mane around their little faces. They always seem to be on a mission, whether it be making their way to the top of their enclosure, to finding the best leaves to move around.

hey man, what are you looking at? 

After leaving the primates, it started raining. Snoopy made me decide which animals that I absolutely had to see. How rude! He did have good reasoning. I was hanging on to our good camera and it was raining. Not a good mix! 

We made it over to the lions. When I was in elementary school, I remember when the lion roared. I remember hearing the roar at the entrance of the zoo and being amazed. I never forget the roar and hope that I get to hear it again. Each time I am disappointed to find the lion and his harem of lady lions in a snooze-fest. One day, I will get to hear it again! 

I remember watching an episode of Zoo Confidential on Animal Planet that was up close to the tigers in the zoo. The tigers are Malaysian tigers and are smaller than the more famous Siberian or Bengal tigers. That does not mean that they had less attitude! The brother tiger was shown greeting the cameraman with a snarl, and telling him good-bye also with a snarl.

My mom loves tigers and she could watch them pace around all day long. They were definitely beautiful with their athletic bodies moving gracefully through their enclosure. One time when we were on a field trip, we saw one of the tigers on his hind legs pawing the glass. I remember being scared that he was going to bust through and chase us down! I do often wonder if the tigers get bored.

I learned fairly recently that jaguars have a jaw that can physically crush skulls. Yikes. This allows the jaguar to employ an unusual killing method. It bites directly through the skull to deliver the fatal bite directly through the brain. Of course, this means that armored creatures cannot even hide from them. Here, we just get to see them sleeping about. This time, he was sleeping on a cardboard box. Now why he was on a cardboard box is something I can't explain.


One of my most favorite places to visit is the elephant enclosure. The zoo has even expanded it so that the elephant family can have more room to wander around. I have seen so many shows about elephants and how they respond to others in their family. They have a deep connection with each other that has been observed but never fully understood. Maybe that is why I like them so much. Not to mention, when you look at the adorable baby elephants, how can anyone not like them?

In recent years, the zoo has added a meerkat exhibit. I could probably watch the meerkats all day long because they are so funny.

First of all, they have funny faces. Oddly enough, they make me think of Gunner. Each time that we had gone, we would always see one meerkat braving all odds to watch the sky for predators. This time, all of the meerkats seemed content with sleeping or playing in the dirt.