Grady with the African Crested Porcupine
We haven’t been for a “real” visit to the Calgary Zoo in a
while and I knew I needed a monthly blog post before we head off to Montana and
say goodbye to January. And boy are we ready to say goodbye to that cold
weather! Surprisingly though there was almost no one at the zoo the day we
visited and it was a pretty nice day out. I am not complaining it was nice to
not have to wait a turn to see the hippo or tiger up close!
We even had a chance to stop in at the Administration
building to chat with Trish. I know that these posts lately have been much of
the same thing but that is about to change as Trish and I have some great ideas
for content, like Safari Brunch! Plus the Penguins are coming and there are
some sneak previews for members and we will be going at least once!
Actually listening to what the station is saying!
What is that snake up to?
We really wanted to see the lions but they were not outside this day. So Grady helped me get a lion experience anyway:
I never noticed before that there are fish in the ponds on either side of the door as you go into the TransAlta Rainforest.
Checking out the Gorillas from up above.
Close encounters of the Gorilla kind!
One pretty little flower in bloom, a great reason to go to the zoo in January! So you can see some color and life in the plants.
Another treat that day? The elephants were very vocal; in
fact I don’t think I have ever heard the elephants trumpet before! I think the
ladies were a little miffed that Spike got to go out on his own for some
personal attention so they were really letting the keepers know how they felt
about that! As soon as the doors were opened for them? Silence :D Of course they clammed up as soon as I got the video camera out! But it really was quite something!
The best part of the visit was the gorilla and tiger up
close to the glass, as well as getting a chance to see the snow leopards doing
more than just sleeping! Although Grady was more excited about climbing the
retaining wall! I found this trip he was a lot more engaged than previous trips
and had a lot to talk about, he even really listened at the stations rather
than just pretend they were a telephone! I’ve posted more pictures over at
Family Fun Calgary if you want to see more of our close encounters that day.
No mom this retaining wall is far better than a Snow Leopard!
I beg to differ! Look at that beautiful cat.
Red Panda having a snooze
Nose to nose with a Tiger!
And more climbing! At least today Grady was all about posing for photos!
All in all a very nice trip to the Calgary Zoo but we are
definitely looking forward to the arrival of the penguins. It was all over
twitter and Facebook that they are in the city now! Are you going to one of the
previews? Check your email inbox for your invitation and if not get a
membership stat so you can be one of the first to see the 42 penguins! But
don’t go the day we are going because we don’t want to wait too long in line :D
We even stopped for a brief visit to the playground, although I was trying to rush to get to the airport on time to pick up Brian!
Then some fun with shadows! How do you get a preschooler to get moving and stop dawdling? Ask him to catch your shadow!
