WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN LATELY ??: DAY TRIP ~ BROOKEFIELD ZOO

Well, took my daughter on a day trip to an area zoo. Had a very nice time, just the two of us. we saw the Tiger.

Here he's getting ready to lay in the 'pool' area. It was kinda hot that day. (We all know how the heat has plagued the US this summer)

And Snow Leopards. Here in the outdoor area they have a fence that separates the males and females. Don't want any hanky panky going on I guess LOL

She was getting ready to jump up and hang out on a ledge here. At this spot all that separates the leopard and us is a plexi-glass window. Nice and close up !

This is where they hold the Dolphin shows. Had 2 groups. Males and females.

During the show.

This is a huge fountain in the middle of the zoo. It's dedicated to President T. Roosevelt.

This is a bronze statue of a Gorilla that used to live at the zoo. His name was Samson. This is a life sized statue. That's the kid next to him.

They said that the gold color areas are from people touching it all the time. I guess kids have a need to touch the nose and mouth for whatever reason. The brow area is from people getting on his back for photos.

This is one of the areas that are set up for several species of animals. They are all from Africa and would be found together in the wild. There are several types of Monkeys, hippos and various birds.

One of the Monkeys way up in the tree.

The Gorilla's have their own area. Here one of the youngsters is going through wood shavings 'looking' for carrots.

At another exhibit, we of course had to visit the Penguins.

These are real cuties.

Then on to my fav, the Wolves. They have a small pack (5) of Mexican Gray Wolf.

The Zoo has a large man-made lake that you can walk around. Takes about 25 mins or so and is very peaceful. The lake is home is many truly wild waterfowl. Here you see the resident Swan and her kids.

Was very surprised when these 2 came so close. My daughter kept saying "Just take the picture. The mom is looking 'mean' at me". Momma called them back quickly and we moved on.

Here is an Okapi. Kinda of a mixed up animal. It has a longer neck like it's nearest relative the giraffe (not as long though). It has stripes on the back end and legs like a Zebra and the body is like a horse. Brookefileld Zoo was the first Zoo to have a young born at a zoo in the US, back in 1959. They are found in the Congo and not much is known because they live in remote areas. So much of what is known is what is learned from those in zoos.