This place is the Santa Barbara Zoo, that is. For our 5th anniversary, Kyle surprised me with a "Zoo Keeper for a Day" event at the Santa Barbara Zoo. It was so fun! After a little TB test (required by the zoo), I got to follow Michele and Denise around the zoo to see how they care for the animals. My first stop was the giraffe barn, above. Mom, Dad, and baby giraffe all hang out here. I got to see where they visit the vet, visit their open habitat, and feed them all the giraffe cookies they could eat. These giraffes had super long tongues, and they would much rather wrap their tongues around your hand to scrape out the cookies than have you feed them one cookie at a time. Needless to say, my hands got a quick exfoliation, and then it was off to another animal's habitat.
These lemurs weren't on the tour, but they were snuggling, so I took a picture. This is called "tobogganing", and is how the three lemurs keep warm on cool days. I think it's a good way to snuggle.
Next up was the gorilla enclosure. The two gorillas at the zoo are brothers, and are about 18 years old. I got to put together their "enrichment" for the day, which was a burlap sack filled with hay, straw, and a coconut! They only get coconuts a few times a year since the coconuts are so fatty. The gorillas knew exactly what to do with the coconuts, and within a few smacks of the coconut on the rocks, they had them perfectly opened, drinking their milk, and eating the coconut meat inside. They are very careful to watch each other while they eat, to make sure one doesn't steal from the other.
Next up was the meerkat habitat! This is Mrs. Meerkat. She was very excited to see us arrive with our bucket of superworms, and barked at us until we gave her some to eat. Her husband did not come out right away. Frankly, I think he is a bit scared of the Mrs., especially after watching her fight him for the worms! I did not have the want nor the opportunity to pet the meerkats (they have sharp little teeth), but I did get to touch all the worms I wanted. hee hee. And yes, they are just as cute in person as they are on Meerkat Manor.
My final stop was in the Channel Island Fox enclosure. Up above on the right, you see Mr. and Mrs. Fox, and on the left and down below you see their son, Finnigan. Mrs. Fox was having cancer treatments when Finn was born, so he was hand raised, and now is so used to people he makes a good ambassador for when children come to visit the zoo. Although they didn't know it, the brand new fox exhibit was set to open the week after I visited the zoo. One more reason for me to have to go back and visit.
All in all, I had a blast at the zoo! The time went by so fast and there were so many more things I would have loved to have seen and done. Big thanks to Michele and Denise for showing me around, and helping me feed the animals and get their habitats and enrichments ready for the night. I really appreciate you letting me tag along. I cannot wait to go back to the zoo!
