Lions and Tigers and . . . No Bears!
Here’s the photo recap of yesterday’s visit to the Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium about 60 miles north of here.
Getting into the park the first thing we saw were these beautiful Black Swans. I’ve heard of them but I think this is the first time I’ve actually seen them.
They seem to be a bit smaller than their white cousins.
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Spider Monkey
Jan and I almost bought a spider monkey early in our marriage, but in hindsight it’s probably better we didn’t. Though it might have been easier than raising two kids.
This is a Prevost’s Squirrel. Very colorful.
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Jan and I were both impressed with the very nice habitat areas for the animals,
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A very colorful Saddle-Backed Stork.
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And of course, the Lions and
Tigers and . . .
Ocelots? Nope, not a Bear in sight here.
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But they did have this beautiful Black Leopard.
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Next up was Dragon World, one of the reptile exhibits.
This is a Monitor Lizard,
and this is a Green Iguana.
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And this is Jan’s encounter with one in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They will bite, but this one’s mouth is taped shut with clear tape, though I don’t think she knew that at the time.
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These guys are Uromastyx.
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This is an Albino Alligator or White Alligator. These are pure albino with no color pigment whatsoever.
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In our travels, we’ve also seen Leucistic White Alligators. They are not albinos, but have a little pigment on their mouths, and also piercing bright blue eyes.
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These three frogs are Poison Dart Frogs.
Natives in South America used their secretions to coat the tip of their poison darts, hence the name.
Very colorful, but very poisonous.
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This is a Veiled Chameleon. I kept waiting for him to change color, but he never did. I was hoping for plaid.
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This big guy is a Reticulated Python. He’s about 8 feet long.
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Jan’s not real partial to big snakes but our granddaughter Piper is crazy about them. Here she is with one in New York.
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And here she is with one in New Braunfels, TX.
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After a lunch of Chili Cheese Dogs, we took the Skyride up over the park.
A nice view.
A beautiful Military Macaw.
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A White Rhino.
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And these are Warthogs.
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And this is also a Warthog, but the flying version.
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Oryx. A few years back we were surprised to find that hundreds of these are roaming all over White Sands Missile Range and the White Sands Monument.
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Zebras, including a baby born a few months ago.
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Baby, Mommy, and Daddy Giraffes.
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Everyone’s favorite mongoose (besides Rikki Tikki Tavi), the Meerkat.
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These are Scimitar Horned Oryx.
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We took the train ride around the park, and once while we were stopped, this ostrich got closer than any one wanted.
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The Flamingo Pond
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Finishing up with the Zoo, we headed over to the aquarium area.
This is a Pipe Fish.
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They did have some very nice display tanks.
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This is a Amazonian Red Tail Catfish. Really pretty.
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A Ridley’s Sea Turtle that’s missing part of his front flipper.
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They also had a number of colorful Sea Anemones.
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This is a colorful Cleaner Shrimp.
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A Lionfish.
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These next two are Stone Fish. The bluish one in the center of this photo,
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and the one in the lower right in this one. Very aptly named.
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These next two are Starfish. The top one is wrapped around a mussel prying it open for dinner.
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And these next two are different species of Moray Eels.
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And this guy is the fabled Electric Eel, capable of generating over 600 volts. I’ve always wondered why they don’t short out. They are in saltwater, after all.
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These are ShrimpFish, a relative of the Seahorse below.
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A Red-Bellied Piranha.
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And finally, a Stars & Stripes Puffer Fish.
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Jan and I have visited small zoos all around the country, and we both agreed this was one of the best.
Check it out if you’re in the area.
As far as today, it was pretty quiet. Around 2 pm Jan and I headed back over to the SanTan Village area for some Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart shopping, picking up some salad fixings for tonight’s dinner.
But on the way home while I was stopped at Lowe’s, Nick called with a better dinner offer. So a little later, we were all back at J & M II Chinese Restaurant, our new favorite Chinese place
But as we were finishing up, we got a surprise. A gentleman and his wife walked up and that he enjoyed both our blogs.
Huh?
It turned out to be Jim and Norma Miget, blog readers who had recognized us and came over to say Hi. It’s always nice to meet our blog readers.
After Jim and Norma left, I ask Nick if this meant we were famous or infamous?
He said, “Yes”.
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Thought for the Day:
“The closer you get to Canada, the more things there are that’ll eat your horse” – Old Cowboy Saying.
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