Zoo Time

Last week we went to the Montgomery, AL, zoo. I have to say it was a very nice zoo and I enjoyed it more than the other few zoos I have been to (that I can remember). Who knew right? After having trouble finding our way there--people apparently are very bad at giving directions here--we were able to enjoy all the traditional zoo animals, most of them very up close. At many zoos you can't even see most of the animals because they are resting out of sight. And I we got to see lots of different kinds of animals, the ones you hope to see at a zoo. Since everyone knows what they look like, I won't post lots of pictures of the animals here. Just some of my faves.The giraffes were very close and so beautiful. After watching them I decided my next bag will be a giraffe print bag. ;)
We also got to see the little Dik Diks. They were some of my fave! For those who don't know, they're from Africa and look like mini deer. I had seen so many stuffed ones in a wildlife animal museum but this is the first time I remember seeing any live ones. So cute!Here's a cougar we enticed out of it's resting place to come closer by singing the BYU Fight Song! Yes, we sang it, and yes, it came much closer.This was one of my favorite animals to see. A jaguar! It was pacing back and forth in front of the wire like this the whole time; that's probably why I liked it so much because it was so close. It was sort of scary see it so close and think the only thing separating us from this killer cat and it's skull piercing jaws was this hedge and row of wires. One interesting thing we learned: There is no such thing as a panther. In the past people called these panthers thinking they were cousins of the spotted jaguar. But later scientists found out these black ones were jaguars too, just darker. It was true, when this jaguar stepped into the direct sun, you could see faintly his spots. Cool!
We are not sure what Cameron thought of it all. He saw the animals but he is just now becoming aware of animals in general so I am sure a cheeta makes no different impression on him than a house cat. But it was still good to take him. You want to feel like you're showing your children the neat things the world has to offer. But we're pretty sure Cameron's found his favorite exhibit right before we left:the sprinklers! We had to finally yank him away! He was so down with getting sprinkled. I guess it probably did feel good.