"it's all happening at the zoo"

Sam and I decided to go to zoo on Labor Day. It was free so we went early to try to beat the crowds. That plan didn't really work, but we had a GREAT time anyway. We started out in the aquarium and I was amazed to see something of everything-- which proved to be true throughout the whole zoo. We really liked the flourescently-lit jellyfish tank. It was purple in the zoo but looks blue in the picture.


We then moved on to the birds, and then went to the Children's Zoo. They had a great fountain play area where shoots of water from the ground would turn on and off unexpectedly. Many mothers had to keep their kids from sticking their mouths over the water, but it was clear that the kids LOVED it, and it was great fun to watch them get so excited.

While there, we watched a group of fruit and nectar bats being fed. They hung the fruit on big chains, and the bats would fly up, grab on, and start munching away. It was surprisingly interesting to watch as they grappled for territory and used the claws on the tips of their wings to dig out fruit.

I liked seeing all the babies. We saw a baby antelope, giraffe, orangutan, and elephant.

Who doesn't think of Henry Mancini when they see a little guy like this?





Sam and I also really enjoyed the monkeys. These were at the entrance to the primate section:



Even from outside the primate exhibit, we could hear some really loud whooping from two monkeys calling back and forth to each other, so I'm sad to say that less exciting primates got glossed over as we wove our way through the exhibit along with everyone else in search of the loud and hilarious noise. We took a couple videos, and though this one doesn't show the monkey that well, you can hear them calling back and forth to each other. One would whoop and the other would whoop back and then the first would come back quicker and the exchange would go faster and faster until they couldn't keep up their screaming pace and then it'd cool down again. It's like at sporting events when you start chanting and it just gets faster and faster until breaks down. So here is Susie (the instigator as the nearby volunteer informed us) and her friend.

Here is one that better shows the monkey. Notice the big bulbous throat area. That inflates as they make the low whoop before the high shriek.





We finished our day at the zoo in the air conditioned reptile and amphibian house where we saw this leucistic croc...

...and then we went to the car to get lunch. We had just finished our sandwiches at a nearby picnic table when it started raining huge heavy Texas raindrops. We gathered up our food lickety-split and ran to the car, only getting mildly soaked, and it rained for the rest of the day. Perfect timing!

Now you know, that when you come to visit us here in our really nice apartment in Houston, you will have a FABULOUS zoo to go visit as well!