Zoo Fun -- Seriously!

After a fun morning drooling over flora, we switched venues and now wish to be enthralled by fauna and the Dallas Zoo.  Ooooh, look at me using fun words.  Hahahaha.  As we enter Zoo North the first thing we notice is the annihilation of the old cat area.  Sigh.  I totally get that the cats cages needed to be updated and redone.  I approve.  What I don't like is that the cats left to other zoos and this area is being turned into additional event space.  Big Sigh.

As we wander around, the camera stays put until we come to the reptile building.  It's not my favorite part of the zoo, but Mister likes it and the zoo is relatively quiet today so I'll give it a go.  There is a parent/child set of monitors that I catch in motion and they stop me in my tracks.  The motions they make appear as though they are talking to each other and I am mesmerized.  Apparently, I need to enjoy this area more.

Even the tuatara is out today.  What a lucky day.  Hey, speaking of ---- did you see the "It's Okay to be Smart" video about this little guy.  It was even made right here.  Follow this LINK and learn all about this living fossil.

It seems as though this cool day is just perfect for the locals.  Even the otters are playing.

Next stop is the tiger and, dang, we score again as he walks right towards us.  Where are we?  Well, down at the sneaky hidden window once again.  So fun.

I'm not sure if I mentioned before that there are 5 tigers at the Dallas Zoo but only one in the habitat at a time since they are solitary animals.  Hello there big boy.

Once the Zoo North loop is complete, it's through the tunnel and off to the Wilds of Africa.  Arriving just in time for the elephant encounter, we are able to talk with one of the keepers while hanging out for awhile.  I LOVE learning about animals and these moments are perfect for them.

Look at them coming in for treats.

"If I pose pretty and ham it up for the camera, may I have an apple please?"

From the Savanna to the Gorilla Trail --- we are enjoying every step.  Once again, our luck holds and all the male gorillas are out and about.  Additionally, we are able to visit with the keepers for over half an hour and I am super stoked about all we were able to glean from them.

A quick stop at the chimpanzees show just how big the last baby has gotten.  Wow.

Ooooh, the klipspringers are up close and we even catch them grooming each other.  Shhhhh.

Just around the next corner, we arrive at the meerkats just in time for their feeding and I cannot help but giggle through it.  This one merits a video.  They bark!   Hahahahaha.

Well, that's it for this trip.  I can't wait to come back again.  By far, this is one of my favorite places to walk and get the steps in.