The Zoo Thread

[tuttle]

Went to the zoo for the first time in nearly 3 years. We'd let our zoo pass expire and then covid nanny regulations kept us away.

So I don't know if it's a case of absence makes the heart grow fonder but I realized that, man, I really, really love going to the zoo. Probably more than my kids.

Our local zoo is The Kansas City Zoo, which used to be pretty meh when I was a kid, has grown to over 200 acres and seems to add some sort of new animal or exhibit every few years now, from polar bears to penguins. And at some point this summer they'll finish up a new alligator exhibit. They have the oldest African elephant on the entire N. American continent. The best and worst part of the zoo is how big it is. It's great for return visits because you can break it up and linger longer in specific areas. It's bad if you want to check it out for just one day. You'll probably die if you try.

And they have smoking areas if you wanna bring a pipe and it's really easy to sneak in beer.

I've been to zoos in Omaha, St. Louis, and Animal Kingdom in Disney.

I also have thoughts about Christianity and zoos and conservation. I think it's a ripe field for thought and discussion and action, but I've touched on that a bit in the last forum.

Do you like the zoo? Why? Why not? And tell us good zoo stories.

[FredS]

We buy annual passes for our KC kids (and grands) every year. That way they can pop over for a couple hours and not feel like it's a waste of money if they don't stay all day. I don't know if it's still the case, but those passes used to be good for Science City and the Omaha Zoo too.

The Deanna Rose farm was always a big hit too, but to me, it seems like it's just a goat farm conning other people into paying to feed their goats. I don't hate goats as much as coco does, but still, it feels like a ripoff.

[FredS]

Oh yeah, when an urban zoo which is basically in da hood has a "free day", stay the hell away from the place.

[tuttle]

We buy annual passes for our KC kids (and grands) every year. That way they can pop over for a couple hours and not feel like it's a waste of money if they don't stay all day. I don't know if it's still the case, but those passes used to be good for Science City and the Omaha Zoo too.

The Deanna Rose farm was always a big hit too, but to me, it seems like it's just a goat farm conning other people into paying to feed their goats. I don't hate goats as much as coco does, but still, it feels like a ripoff.

Great gift gramps!

A pass really is a fantastic value. With my gaggle of kids a pass more than pays for itself if we visit the zoo just twice. And I think you're right, there are other zoos and places that get some sort of discount with the pass.

I think Deanna Rose is free on certain days.

They're building what looks to be an enormous aquarium, which I imagine will put the (way overpriced) aquarium at Crown Center out of business.

[Bloodhound]

We are lucky to have a nice Zoo here in Denver. We go every other year or so. We have also enjoyed the Colorado Springs Zoo, but it is more of an up and down hike as its set at the foot of Cheyanne Mountain. Couple of years ago we took the Grand daughters to the San Diago Zoo and the Wild Animal Park...big fun there...and got to see the Pandas before they got shipped back to China.

[Del]

Madison has a small zoo. I haven't been there in many years, but visiting a zoo is a fun thing to do. I should go back.

Madison also has a botanical garden. Their ginormous Corpse Flower bloomed last week (May the Fourth); first time in about 12 years. It only blooms for a few days.

https://www.nbc15.com/2022/05/06/corpse ... l-gardens/

[Bloodhound]

Saw that the flower bloomed on the national news...kept watching to see if there was a guy in a kilt in any of the footage....

[sweetandsour]

Houston has a nice zoo. I can watch the sea lions for hours. We got sprayed with elephant snot once, when an elephant near a viewing area objected to someone using a flash when taking a pic.
Don't know if parking is better now - I hope so. Lots of people like the zoo and the adjacent park.

[JimVH]

In high school a buddy and I took Child Development thinking being the only guys in a class full of girls would help our odds. It didn't. Anyway, as part of a class project we took a bunch of kids he babysat for to the Houston Zoo on a field trip. One of the kids squeezed into the giraffe enclosure somehow and it turned into a whole thing. Zoo people get really worked-up over things like that.

[Del]

In high school a buddy and I took Child Development thinking being the only guys in a class full of girls would help our odds. It didn't. Anyway, as part of a class project we took a bunch of kids he babysat for to the Houston Zoo on a field trip. One of the kids squeezed into the giraffe enclosure somehow and it turned into a whole thing. Zoo people get really worked-up over things like that.

Monkeys in the giraffe enclosure is a no-no.