Zoo animals

Here are some of the animals we saw at the zoo...

Mommy gorilla and her baby

Gorilla fact: Social grooming can relax a gorilla to the point that it will go into a trance...(you are getting verrrrrry sleeeeeeeepy...)

Sumatran Tiger

Tiger fact: Tigers fail at least 90% of the time in catching prey during hunts

Grizzly bears nuzzling each other

Bear fact: A brown bear can eat 25-35 pounds of food per day, about 2% of their body weight

This picture was actually taken through the glass in the viewing area. My camera is so good, you would think I was standing right next to him!

Bear fact: The claws of a brown bear can reach almost 5 inches long


The bears can smell their treats are coming!

Bear fact: The bear's sense of smell is much more acute than its hearing and sight

An Easter basket for the bears, full of peeps and carrots and of course a chocolate bunny!

PEEPS fact: It would take over 172 million PEEPS bunnies end-to-end to circle the moon

The bear is running to get his basket of goodies

Bear fact: A bear can run at bursts of speed of up to 30 miles per hour

Yummy....he loves his PEEPS!

Bear fact: "...is that they can be sweet as honey, sometimes you'll find they might be just plain funny..."

Kaylyn loves the new "mingo" exhibit.

Flamingo fact: Their pink or reddish color comes from the rich sources of carotenoid pigments (like the pigments of carrots) in the algae and small crustaceans that the birds eat

This beautiful peacock loved showing off his feathers!

Peacock fact: Peacocks prefer peace and harmony and will try to avoid commotion




Zebra fact: While several attempts have been made over the last two centuries, zebras have never been successfully domesticated

Open wide and say "AAAHHHH!!!"

Hippo fact: Hippos can open their mouths up to 150 degrees wide




The coolest thing about this picture is that this is taken THROUGH the fence. Have I mentioned how much I love my camera?

Giraffe fact: Giraffes have the largest eyes of any land mammal





Lion fact: A single lion needs approximately 10-20 large animals per year to sustain it




Hmmmm...I wonder if this is "tasty"?!

Elephant fact: A trunk weighs about 400 pounds, can hold up to 2.5 gallons of water, contains at least 40,000 muscles (possibly up to 100,000) and is so dexterous that it can pick up a grain of rice



Siamang (SEE-uh-mang) monkey

Siamang fact: Siamangs have the loudest call of all gibbon species


Orangutan sitting with his blanky

Orangutan fact: An orangutan can make a mask of small branches to protect its face while raiding honey bee nests

And finally...the emu for Julie!

Emu fact: The Emu has a prominent place in Aboriginal mythology including a creation myth of the Yuwaalaraay who say that the sun was made by throwing an Emu's egg into the sky