Zoo Fun

Last Friday, for Ben's birthday, we took a fun family field trip to the Columbus Zoo. The day was perfect - bright and sunny and unseasonably warm!

When we arrived, we raced through the parking lot to get in line to see the new baby elephant, born at the end of March. We waited for about 40 minutes, which was a bit rough for the kids, but members of the zoo's education department stood at various points in the line with animals for the kids to see and touch - an armadillo, a tortoise, and even a flamingo! When we finally reached the viewing area, the wait was definitely worth it! It was the tiniest elephant I have ever seen!

We swung through the Asian exhibits before heading across the zoo for a late lunch. The tiger, who frequently hides out of sight, must have been enjoying the warmer temperature as well. He walked across the hill, jumped down to the lower area, and then walked around roaring for a while. The kids loved it! They had never heard a tiger roar before.

We ate in the African section of the zoo, claiming one of the only empty tables, next to a window. While we were eating, we watched a few grackles and a mallard duck wander past the window. Then, suddenly, Hannah screamed, "Look! It's a chinchilla!" Raising my eyebrows a bit, I looked out the window and saw a tiny brown mouse scurrying back and forth in the dirt. I explained that it was just a mouse, but the kids sat with their faces pressed against the glass for quite a while just watching the mouse.

When I asked Hannah at the end of the day which animal was her favorite, she replied, "The baby elephant... and the mouse!"

After lunch, we visited the African animals.

Gorillas, one of which sat and made this face the whole time we were there:

Bonobos, which are related to chimpanzees, I believe:

And okapis, strange animals that look like a cross between a giraffe, a donkey, and a zebra:

We headed to the aquarium next, where a stingray instantly swam over to us and began following Hannah's finger on the glass. He almost looked like he enjoyed visitors.

The manatees are amazing creatures as well:

Finally, we ended the day by swinging through the reptile house so Becca could see a snake. When we told her we were going to the zoo that day, she exclaimed that she wanted to see dinosaurs. We had to explain that she could not see those, so she settled on snakes as the next best thing. She's a girl after her mama's heart!