A Day at the Zoo

Over the weekend, hubby got the chance to put together a guest blog about our trip to the zoo.  Enjoy!

For those of you that know me well, you know that I absolutely love zoos.  Some of my favorite childhood memories involve walking through the Bronx Zoo with my family and being exposed to a world of wonderment from all the different animals.  Maybe this fondness of zoos is what has led to my love of nature and respect and admiration for natural beauty.   I’m not sure where this fascination of zoos came from, but it still exists to this day.  Perhaps it is the exotic-ness of the various far away homelands of the animals; perhaps it’s the fascination with nature’s ability to create such amazing creatures that humans (particularly in the developed world) rarely interact with anymore; perhaps it’s the ability to spend time with your family just strolling through the park…I’m not sure what it is, but all I know is that I still love zoos.  Lucky for us, the Fort Worth Zoo is rated as one of the top five zoos in the country!  (Secretly, I wonder if this influenced my decision to relocate here for work…. perhaps).

We decided to skip the car and enjoyed the 1.5 mile walk to the zoo from our apartment.  This was our first time there, so we walked slightly out of the way not knowing exactly where the entrance was, but overall, it was a very pleasant walk, just me and my wife.  Upon arriving at the zoo, two things were made apparent – (1) absolutely loved the logo (notice the elephant’s trunk makes up the FW) and (2) this was the best laid out zoo that I have seen!  See, as a self-professed zoo connoisseur I’ve seen a lot of zoo layouts.  Most of them have no rhyme or reason; they add cheesy little sayings like “Asian Plateau” or “Serengeti Plains” and plop the respective animals in that area.  Like an amusement park, my first reaction is being overwhelmed because I don’t know where to start.   Very rarely, is there a clear path for visitors to take that enables them to see all the animals.  The FW Zoo not only has a clear layout, but it also has a very clear oval path that lets you wander while not being afraid that you’ll miss any specific animals (while still retaining the cheesy location names)!

 Such a great logo!

We began with the primates.  All in all, a great exhibit.  Unlike most other large zoos I’ve been too (looking at you Bronx and Houston) they don’t charge extra money to see what are perhaps the most interesting animals in the zoo.  Chimps, apes, baboons, monkeys...they have them all.  We wandered around the large mammals (elephants, rhinos, giraffes, hippos, etc.), but the highlight was definitely the cheetah.  Even during our trip to Africa, we never saw this elusive cat.  It kind of reminded me of a stretch doll, as it moved around so seamlessly and looked so flexible (hence its speed).  

 

He looks like he's having a great time hanging out.

 

 A stealthy cheetah!

Another aspect of the FW Zoo that makes it so great is the viewing platforms.  Unlike most zoos that give you a viewing perspective on a large path at ground level, the ones in the FW Zoo are elevated.  This enables you to see the animals from an aerial view (which doesn’t scare them as much) and gives you a better perspective of the enclosure.  Too often, the animals are behind rocks or in the grass where you simply can’t see them from the ground.  This enabled us to see not only the cheetah, but also a number of other large cats and animals! 

One of the highlights of the zoo (and a very unique element) is its “raptor area”, where a number of large birds are on display.  I hadn't seen many of these birds, and the way that they were presented was awesome.  Other highlights of the zoo included a unique Asian bear, the flamingos (Ro’s favorite animal), and Australian kangaroos (another animal that I have never seen in person).

This is the lesser bird of paradise, though I'm not sure what could be prettier.

The Asian sloth bear was quite a surprise to see... didn't even know they existed!

 Lounging as they wonder why it's so hot during winter down under.

What made the Fort Worth Zoo really stand out from the rest was their exhibit on wildlife that is native to Texas.  A one-way path takes you into a world of the old West in Texas, with saloons, general stores, and cheesy (but fun) looking old Western paraphernalia.  The exhibit breaks down the different regions of Texas (Northern Plains, East Texas Swampland, Western Deserts, Western Mountains, Gulf, Hill Country, and Southern Plains) and displays the animals unique to each region.  We aren’t talking about seagulls and deer, though they were represented.  They had enormous crocs (East Texas swampland), jaguars (South Texas), coyotes (Northern Plains), Black Bears (Western Mountains) and even horses (Everywhere).  They had an enclosure with  rattlesnakes, bats, and other small critters.  We even saw the famous Texas Horned Frog (the TCU mascot)!

It's like stepping back into the old West!

 This frog is not messing around!

Although, I’d like to have seen one of my favorite animals (and as Ro likes to joke, perhaps my long-ago relative), the polar bear, we were very impressed with the zoo.   Overall, it was a great zoo experience, and we enjoyed it so much that we became members...  Just in time for us to go again and visit the newborn baby rhino that came into the world only a few weeks ago and already weighs 110 pounds! 

Until the next zoo experience,

Hubby