We learned first hand over the weekend the zoo was not quite up to par when we took Clara this past weekend. Unknowingly, Tom and I built her excitement level up with talks of lions,tigers, giraffes, and elephants. We couldn't wait to get her in the doors to hear her squeals of delight when the animals from her books came to life in in front of her.
Too bad that never happened...the zoo was severely lacking in...animals. No lions, bears, giraffes, elephants or other giant animals. But what did we see, you ask??
There were two lathergic tigers laying around which was kind of cool. 10:30 am must be their nap time...
We saw a cage full of monkeys which was good. They were eating oranges, playing in a cardboard box, hanging on the fencing. Clara was pretty interested in those.
There were a couple peacocks wandering around.
The biggest attraction was the sea lions...although that was pretty funny too. There were two sea lions, both in their upper 20s which is pushing it for these creatures. One was completely blind and had to feel around for the fish the trainer was throwing at it. We overheard one boy enthusiastically ask one of the trainers, 'What happened to Lucy? That sea lion was really cool!!'. The trainer bluntly replied 'Oh, that one died'. The kid looked a little crushed.
The zoo does not have a lot of funding. It was evident in the lack of large scale animals, the habitats, and the donation boxes everywhere asking us to give 'anything we have'. Folks, even the petting zoo was pitiful. One chicken, a donkey, and a couple little ponies.
In the end though, Clara really didn't care or notice. She enjoyed running around, being chased by her friend Carter (six months younger and not quite able to catch her), and hanging out with mom and dad.
