Last Saturday I got to cash in my prize. Sweetie even came out from MN for the tour! I also brought Andrew, JD, Laurie and their kids, Lorna, Stef and Doug. We had to get to the zoo early, but Marie, the elephant manager and our host, met us and brought us up to the Mezzanine.
When we arrived, Kandula was getting his bath.
The ladies, Shanthi and Ambika, were eating in another stall. They also were throwing hay onto their backs – apparently back-hay is very tasty:
Marie answered many of our questions. The kids wanted to ask about the elephant poo – how much do they poo in a day? Turns out, each time they poo, it weighs as much as a 7-year-old boy!
Next up for a bath was Ambika – Marie had to leave us, as she was in charge of bathing Ambika. So, Becky came up to answer our questions and supervise us.
After her bath, Ambika went to the “sandbox” stall, and started flinging sand on her still-wet back. Turns out this is good for their skin, because as the sand dries and falls off, it helps to exfoliate their skin.
We stayed in the barn for an hour and a half! It sure didn’t seem like it. After the tour, we walked around much of the rest of the zoo. We even checked out the elephants again – we just hadn’t gotten enough! Oh, and the keepers were out in the yard, and recognized our group…I’m sure that was a good thing, and not because we were terribly annoying
The National Zoo was blessed this year with two litters of lion cubs, totaling 7 cubs. They started to let them out for public viewing Dec 18 for short periods of time. I dragged Andrew to the Zoo on Christmas Eve so we could see them.
Luckily the cubs are not cute at all…they’d have a hard time being taken seriously if they were cute. You can see for yourself in the pictures I took below:
I primarily wanted to go to see the lights, but there were also a bunch of family-oriented activities going on all evening. Sadly, the marshmallow roasting was cancelled for the evening (not sure why), but they had cookie decorating and several of the buildings were open (small mammals, big apes and reptile discovery).
It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but it was exactly what was advertised, so I wasn’t disappointed. There were bunches of lights displays, all in the shapes of different zoo animals. A few of the displays “moved”, like a soaring eagle landing on a nest and a leaping frog.
Naturally there was also a gift shop open – I found a very cute pair of giraffe slippers for myself (I didn’t have any shopping left to do for anyone else, so naturally I *had* to get something for me).
I’m not sure we’d go every year, but it certainly was fun the one time. Maybe in a couple years we’ll try again…assuming we still live in the area.
It’s 9 AM. You have a free Saturday that you’d like to fill with something fun. It is 25 degrees outside. The high for the day is 35. What’s the first thing you think of?
Why, the zoo, of course. The outdoor zoo.
I’ve been talking about going to the National Zoo for a while. I’ve really wanted to see the baby panda, and I’ve been worrying that it’s too late to see the cute guy as a a cute guy. (Not that pandas aren’t cute all by themselves, but there’s something about baby animals.)
So, we bundled up, hopped the metro, and went to the Zoo. Many of the animals were inside (who can blame them?), but we did get to see some of my favorites – pandas, big cats, and seals.
Tai Shan is still a little cutie – he tumbled around his mom and was just a curious little guy. I have a little video, which may or may not appear below. If not, try this link.
I'm an astronomer, cyclist, scrapbooker, reader, movie-goer, cat-and-dog-lover, wife, gamer, and all-around-wonderful-woman...not necessarily in that order.
