Zoo-per Zoo!

On Saturday morning, Mommy and I thought we'd take advantage of our awesome LA Zoo membership and attend a special membership morning at the zoo. We got there at 8:30 a.m. when the doors opened. I look a little sleepy in this first picture. Good thing I fueled up on some fruit snacks and crackers, huh?
We decided to go around to the right and over the hill today. Good idea, Mommy. It was quieter over there and we saw lots of animals with very few people around.

Our first photo of the day was of this lovely tortoise. OK, so it's the backside of the tortoise. Mommy was so excited that we actually caught one of them on the move that by the time she whipped out her camera, all we got was turtle bum. Oh well.

Here I am checking out some wonderful zoo animals.

Like this hippo. He was a biggin'!

And this beautiful black bear was taking in a morning snooze on the very top of the rock. That's when we started to hear the very loud monkeys screeching off in the distance. It was our mission to find them.

Here I am checking out some Francois' langurs (that's cute little black monkeys to you). We didn't get a good photo, though, because the reflection off the glass got in the way. They were pretty quiet so these were definitely not the screechers.

Then we saw this great rhino. He lost his horn but the sign said it will grow back like your finger nails and hair. Thank goodness! Still no loud monkeys, though.

Finally we found them. These howlers were very loud and very silly. Some of us kiddos got kinda scared. The docent standing near the exhibit said that they are only this verbal in the morning. Lucky us!

Then it was off to my favorite exhibit: the chimpanzees! I could sit and watch these guys all day. I call them "big monkeys."

Look at this guy, will ya! What a brute!

Then Mommy and I got a good look at the giraffes. This little one was so cute!

Then it started to get a bit hot. So I made sure to stay hydrated.

This gorilla had the right idea: a morning nap in the shade. Hee, hee.

Then we made our way to the zebras. I love these guys, too. So cool!

Here I am watching the zebras. I think I might like to ride one some day.

One of our best finds of the day was this lovely Komodo dragon. Usually they are hiding but not today. We saw this one just sitting on a rock. I kept saying "big lizard" and a little girl near us kept correcting me saying "it's a dragon." Whatever, missy.

By the way, all you pachyderm lovers out there will be happy to know that the new elephant sanctuary is almost done. We got a good shot of it from the aviary. I've never seen the elephants so it will be a treat when it finally opens. The zoo is also building a new reptile and bug house. Mommy's skin was crawling just thinking about it.

On our way to the Children's Zoo, we caught this awesome meerkat sitting on the top of the rock. What a beauty!

Don't you just love these little antelopes. They get up on their hind legs to reach for the leaves on the top branches. They always fascinate me.

By the way, I got to touch this gopher snake while walking around in the Children's Zoo. I thought it would be slimy but it was cool and smooth. I was shy at first but I loved it.

Then it was time for lunch. Mommy and I found a very quiet Mexican stand in the South America area and some comfy seats and had a nice break before heading home for the day.

By the way, we got to collect stickers all morning by stopping at specific exhibits. And I got all five! Neato!

So zoo membership sure does pay. It was so cool to be there so early and be done for the day by lunch. Good thing, too. It was super hot by the time we left. Whew!