January 19, 2014
10:44 a.m.
29 degrees

Allie and I headed to the zoo after her two older sisters left to go back to college.  It was warm enough that it wasn't hard to head out to the outdoor trails and exhibits first.

On the Northern Trail we were lucky to get another close-up of the female moose.  It might be fun to read If You Give a Moose a Muffin, by Laura Numeroff,  before or after your next zoo trip. It'd be fun to think about whether this moose would do all off the things in that book!  (Can you see this moose putting on a cardigan?)

Another benefit of the warmer weather?  There was work being done on the carousel scheduled to open next summer!















The dholes were inactive, but it was a good day to get a look at the beautiful color of their fur! Also, a smart dad chose the dhole viewing hut as a place to stop for a snack.  It's certainly a clever way to get away from some of the more crowded areas, particularly in the winter.

It was a treat to see two of the goitered gazelles out near the front of their exhibit.

Once we got to the Russia's Grizzly Coast gexhibits, we saw one of the amur leopards dozing on this branch instead of one of the rock ledges. I loved the way his or her tail and paw dangled down!

I could appreciate the lazy Sunday morning this black and white colobus monkey was having on the Tropics Trail!











Allie and I tried to get our selfie with one of the leopards, but we couldn't manage the glare on the exhibit glass very well.  We got this one with this fish on the Tropics Trail instead.







When we came to the Asian small clawed otter exhibit, our first treat was seeing the otters up and about.  Here two of them were rooting around under their bedding.



After seeing them active, Allie declared she was going to camp out until she saw one of them swim in the water (a goal both of us thought was unrealistic).  Yet a little while later we got to see at least two different otters make their way through their pond and waterfall.

Allie has felt a connection to the goral this winter.  We both love the exhibits that feature more than one animal!









While Allie has a connection with the sweet goral, her favorite exhibit, she revealed, is the snow monkeys. This video catches two things we noticed:  the monkeys eating snow, and what we believe is a pregnant snow monkey!  I loved the way a mom near us was extending the experience for her young son.  Together they counted the monkeys in the exhibit and then began reciting "No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed!" (actually, you can hear her in the background of the video)









When we got to the Minnesota Trail, we had fun seeing this fisher peeking out from this log. When you see the fisher at the zoo, you might want to ask your kids, "how do you think this animal got the name 'fisher'?"