December 30, 2013

Another cold morning at the zoo!  So cold, the Northern Trail was closed.  I asked if there is a certain temperature cut-off for closing the trail (like we do with the playground at work).  Apparently, if the air is at 0 degrees or -10 with the windchill, they are likely to close this trail.  They usually make the decision at about 8:30 a.m., so you can call ahead to find out.

Despite the cold, it was incredibly busy at the zoo.  There were at least three buses and many rows of cars in the parking lot when we arrived.




Watching this tortoise eat made both Allie and me giggle.



I loved the way this little longhorn cowfish swims across the surface.








Here are a couple of the cool birds we saw on the Tropics Trail.

While not a great angle, it was fun to see the baby porcupine out.

We spent some time wondering what this duck thinks about living on the heated beaver pond!














Allie and I had planned to take our selfie from the visit in front of the sleeping brown bears. To our surprise, one of the bears was groggily awake.

After being in the cold air throughout the Minnesota Trail and Russia's Grizzly Coast, warm food was in order!  The kid's cheeseburger meal, from the Call of the Wild Food Court, hit the spot.

December 21, 2013

With my two older girls home from college, I have extra options for zoo companions! Emma volunteered to travel to Apple Valley with me today.

We started in Discovery Bay, where we came across this little bat ray seemingly trying to get out of the pond.

Today on the Tropics Trail, this black and white colobus monkey reminded me of a woman reclining in an impressionist painting ... a little like Edouard Manet's Le Repose (Portrait of Berthe Morisot).

We were lucky in catching the random movements of the white-cheeked gibbons.

Emma and I grabbed our obligatory selfie with this red ruffed lemur.

Things were loud on the Minnesota Trail.  Listen to this gray wolf (and others) howl!

 

December 15, 2013

Once again Allie joined me for a trip to the zoo. It was also another chilly morning.  It was 0 degrees in Plymouth when we left home at 8:45 am.  We started out inside, Discovery Bay and Tropics Trail, hoping it would warm up before we hit the outside exhibits, but no such luck. (It had only warmed to 2 degrees at home by mid-afternoon.)

We discovered something most zoo-goers probably already know.  It periodically rains over the exhibit where the white-cheeked gibbons and flamingos live. Some exhibit residents seemed to love it,







some seemed to dislike it,

while others seemed ambivalent (but this was after both gibbons had traveled to the center of the exhibit where it wasn't raining).  

FUN FACT OF THE DAY:  Tortoises bob their heads like this to greet one another!

Selfie Sunday was celebrated with these dozing pumas!

The Northern Trail and Russia's Grizzly Coast did not disappoint.  Two tigers were alternately grooming and resting when we went by.  One dhole leaped in greeting as we approached his exhibit. The camels were right next to the walking path, once again trying to manage a nibble of something outside their exhibit.  But we had the most fun at the last exhibit we walked past -- the sea otters.  One otter kept locating ice blocks containing food, and then swam, resting them on his chest.  As he swam by, he would pound it on the the Plexiglas to try and get the treats out.  While I didn't get organized to take some video soon enough, you can imagine it with this clip.

December 8, 2013

After collecting and putting on everything I thought I'd need to keep warm, I FORGOT MY CAMERA! It might have been just as well, though, as it was hard to keep my hands warm, even while just grabbing a few pictures on my phone. (I am looking for mittens big enough to accommodate my thin gloves, but haven't found the right thing yet.)

I started on Russia's Grizzly Coast today.  With me as the only spectator, this sea otter was very interested in me.  He or she even followed me to the next part of the tank when I was moving to leave.

When I got to the wild boar exhibit, there were five or more trainers working with the animals.  They train them, with positive reinforcement, to do a number of behaviors so zoo staff can keep them healthy (examine them, draw blood, treat them) without causing the animals a lot of stress.  It was interesting to watch (and I thought I should do the same with our dog... or maybe our kids).
FUN FACT OF THE DAY:  All of the wild boars currently in this exhibit are brothers and sisters.


I have never visited the Minnesota Zoo in the winter.  I now realize it's a great time to see many of the animals on the Grizzly Coast, Northern Trail, and Minnesota Trail.  Several dholes (Asian wild dogs) ran up to the viewing area as I approached.  They then ran to the corner of the exhibit as they heard the crunching of the snow that marked more people coming. They even leaped in the air, seemingly to get a better look at their next visitors.




On the Minnesota Trail the grey wolves and coyotes were also very active.  I loved the close shot, though, that I could get of the dozing puma today.










I grabbed this week's selfie on the Tropics trail. Here I am with a black and white colobus monkey.  (This selfie required a lot of concentration!)









My video for the day came from Discovery Bay.  I tried to get a video of this during my last visit, but it turned out terrible (maybe my phone works better for this application).  Here is the Cassiopea, or upside-down jelly fish.  Like the small movements seen in the coral tank, these creatures can be relaxing to watch.

November 24, 2013

After spending a week singing songs about turkeys with toddlers and their parents, the first image I was compelled to capture was this one. As most of the rest of the Minnesota Trail was quiet, I started across the bridge to the Northern Trail.






The first thing that caught my attention was the way leaves were skating across the newly-formed ice on the lake. It lost a little something when viewed on a small scale.
 

The noise of a woodpecker (in the open, not in the MN Trail exhibit) was the next thing I noticed.

Like the female moose we saw a few weeks earlier, a stray caribou was near the front of the exhibit.











When he/she noticed my presence, however, he/she quickly re-joined the other caribou.
FUN FACT OF THE DAY:  Caribou have a tendon that clicks when they walk.  They use the sound to keep track of each other.

  I have been on a mission to catch the Asian small clawed otters awake (I had heard a dad commiserate with his child a week or so earler: "They're always asleep!"). A volunteer suggested arriving early when they were checking out their fresh water, etc., so I was not hopeful having had a late start. A wonderful surprise -- they were awake, and later, on the move.

I would've taken more pictures at the farm had I known that it would be closed in December. The goats were watchful, hoping I would stop to get some food from the dispensers.

"Selfie Sunday" was observed with this picture of a bird on the Tropics Trail (hopefully I'll be able to supply his name soon).

November 17, 2013

I finally remembered to bring a few quarters in case I wanted to use any of the coin-operated binoculars at the zoo (or buy food for the goats at the Wells Fargo Family Farm).

The brown bears in the Russia's Grizzly Coast exhibit were fun to watch today (although not as fun as when they were play-fighting in the water during our first summer visit). I believe all three bears were fishing and that this one, hard to see through the glare, was eating his catch. FUN (OR MAYBE DANGEROUS) FACT OF THE DAY: A brown bear can easily outrun a person. Its movements may look ponderous and slow, but a single gallop can cover the distance an adult human travels in four steps.

This image of one of the takins (in my opinion an under-rated animal on the Northern Trail), was my favorite picture I took that day.

The goitered gazelles seem to frequently be hidden from view. I thought that was the case today, and almost missed them blending in with the long, dry grass.

I had arrived very shortly after the zoo opened, and it was apparently too early for any prairie dog shenanigans.

To celebrate "Selfie Sunday," a thing made up by my son and a buddy, I got this picture of me and the lionfish.

November 10, 2013

My daughter Allie joined me for this zoo trip. This is a picture of us with a leafy sea dragon (one of my favorite creatures at the zoo) in the background.

While still only manned with my phone for taking pictures, we captured images of three notable things. First, two zoo staff members wading in the large Tropics pond. As a result, the flamingos were swimming! That was something neither of us had ever seen at the zoo. We waited around to see what the zookeepers were going to do, but to us it looked like the task that had brought them into the pond (they were carrying nets behind their backs) either no longer needed doing, or could be done later.

Another thing that surprised us that day, was seeing the beaver outside of his lodge. While not a great photo, it was a treat to see him at all.

We had one last nice surprise. The female moose was very near the front of the exhibit. We lingered a long time to watch this magnificent animal amble around nibbling at the ground.

FUN FACT OF THE DAY:  Moose have no top front teeth.  They grab their food with their upper lip.

November 3, 2013

My favorite image of the day (again, just from my phone), was the wolverine sprawled out on his back.















This gray wolf was taking it easy.














I loved the coloring on this goat that was eagerly eating with his barnmates.

The baby tapir is losing its markings that remind some of a watermelon.

September 26, 2013

After visiting the zoo with my kids in August, I realized how much I enjoyed being there, and wondered if walking the grounds during regular visits could be a way to supplement my exercise efforts.

I went to the zoo and purchased a household membership (in case one of my kids or my husband want to join me once in awhile), so I could make frequent visits.

I didn't have my camera with me, but I did grab a quick photo of the snow monkeys to share with my daughter, since they seemed like they were up to mischief.





Since I was focusing on the walking, I started wondering how far you walk when you make a complete trip around the zoo. While sitting in the eating area, I thought about bringing a pedometer the next I visited, but then thought there's probably an app I could use. After downloading Runtastic pedometer, I re-walked the Northern trail and the Grizzly Coast (but skipped the farm) to test it out. My new app thought I took 2363 steps to cover a little more than a mile.

On that visit I also found information about the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch app and downloaded that.

August 30, 2013

I took my two youngest kids (14 and 16 years old) to the Minnesota Zoo. I spent much of the day trying to recreate a photo I had taken of my two oldest kids at the zoo when they were young, which proved more confusing than I expected (is it me, or are there more wolf and or wild dog sculptures than there used to be?).

The zoo had an African exhibit for this first time in quite a few years so we had the chance to see giraffes,

and ostriches!

Possibly our biggest treat was seeing the new tapir calf. FUN FACT: The calf was later named Amirah -- meaning "princess," through a public naming contest.