A Few Random Thoughts: A Trip to the Zoo

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

A Trip to the Zoo

I promised a six-year-old a trip to the zoo, and when you make a promise, especially to a six-year-old, you keep it! It was a fun day, and Isabella is a great kid. Yes, it is August, and very hot, but our Knoxville Zoo has lots of trees and shade. The animals, however, were not fooled. They sensed the heat and took the chance to nap and relax.

The sleeping female lions.

Rhinos relaxing in the shade.

This is as close as we got to a lion!

The elephants were actually inside when we arrived.

Since it was so hot, we took a break and cooled off with a Slush Puppie, strawberry kiwi flavor.

The giant tortoise

One of the zebras had his butt facing us, and Isabella didn't want to take a photo with a zebra butt! :)

Isabella loved petting the goats. She told me in advance about picking out the brush to use.

Funny and slightly scary story about the gorilla. As we entered the cave area to view the gorillas through a window, there was a man close to the glass. I guess he was sort of taunting the gorilla and trying to get him to turn around for a photo. Well, the gorilla was not pleased with the man's behavior, so he turned around and loudly slapped the window with his giant hand and grunted. Everyone was startled to say the least and jumped back. Isabella ran out of the cave but quickly came back. She said the gorilla liked us since he didn't mind us taking a photo of him.

Here is an adult giraffe. When they are born, baby giraffes are already six feet tall!

The zoo has lots of birds as well. Isn't that a cute owl!

The red pandas weren't there the last time I visited the zoo, so it was nice to see them.

The zoo has a great kids area where Isabella loved playing. They have an egg and nest area that makes for great photos! In fact, we bought a photo frame and had the photo below printed for it.