There are currently only four US zoos that exhibit pandas. Atlanta, Memphis, San Diego and The National Zoo in Washington D.C. The panda bears were near the front entrance so it was one of our first stops. They are a favorite animal of ours and we were excited to get to see them in person. They sat carefree chewing away on bamboo shoots and didn't seem to mind posing for pictures. Cutest things ever! We went on to see grizzly bears, elk, meerkats, swans, snow leopards, penguins, and even a red panda. Somewhere around 2800 animals call the Memphis Zoo home.
We loved every minute of feeding the giraffes and they were so friendly! We didn't have a huge wait even though the line was long. They allow several people on deck at a time. There is a 5 dollar fee, though, for the lettuce. Their tongues are long and rough and they don't mind slurping the lettuce right out of your hands. We were having so much fun though, that we didn't even mind the slobber . The kids were disappointed when they realized after 60 seconds, the giraffes had already eaten all the lettuce they had. I'm pretty sure they would have bought all available lettuce if we had allowed it.
On to Stingray Bay! I'm not sure how many zoos offer the experience of touching and interacting with the stingrays but for us, it was an awesome experience. Tickets to this exhibit are an extra 3 dollars but we were not disappointed. Its not everyday that you get to interact with stingrays! Once inside, there was a huge "touch" tank full of stingrays and a few sharks. There is no time limit so we were allowed to stay as long as we wanted. Stingrays were swimming all around the tank and would come right up to us. There was one stingray who was a little feisty and would almost give a scare every time he pounced by.
The kids are animal lovers and avid Animal Planet watchers. Meerkat Manor is one of their favorite shows. They had the opportunity to see a few of these guys along with bush babies, they are another favorite on their animal list. A black panther gave us a show with his "screams." A gorilla sat big and tall staring at us out of the corner of his eye every few seconds. We watched as a river otter ate his lunch and as a grizzly bear stretched himself out on a rock for a nap in the warm sun. The Memphis Zoo did not disappoint! We will definitely be going back!
That sounds like an awesome trip. Here on the east coast of FL we have an exhibit at our Lighthouse in Ponce Inlet and there are stingrays there which we can go look at and touch. They also have a sort of science room where the kids have interactive play and get to look at bones of different ocean life. Oddly enough my grandson loves animals of any kind, most espceially ocean life but he will NOT watch animal planet. go figure. Thanks for the great post. enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pam! My kids would love the science room you mentioned, especially my daughter. She wants to be a vet. With a trip to "see the ocean" on their list, I'll have to look into East Florida coast vacations.
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me know about your blog on my Facebook page. Sounds like a wonderful day for your family! :)
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