Philadelphia Zoo 2015...

Over the weekend, Mom and I and some family and friends went to the Philadelphia Zoo. We arrived around 9:20am at the south side of the zoo. The zoo opens at 9:30am, so, we waited near the entrance. It was warm, but, we were sitting on a stone wall in the shade of a large tree. We brought some sandwiches and some bottled water with us in small insulated coolers that we could carry around. Christina and her family brought a big cooler filled with ice, drinks and food. But, since we were going to be walking a lot and it would be really inconvenient to bring that big heavy cooler along, they opted to leave their cooler in their car.

When the gates opened, we ventured inside. This year, as last year, Mom rented a motorized scooter for the day. It was not exactly cheap, but, the convenience of not having to bring our own wheel chair and push Mom around all day was well worth the price. And, the scooter had more than enough power to navigate the steep hills on the south end of the zoo.

We were all very interested in the reaction of Christina's youngest daughter, Jaylee, to the animals at the zoo because Jaylee is afraid of cats. So, we were expecting Jaylee to be absolutely terrified of all the animals and in particular the big kitties. The first stop was to see the Cheetah. At first, all we could see was what appeared to be a log -- then, the log stood up and walked toward us. Jaylee wasn't afraid at all.

We continued north along the main arcing path of the zoo. The next stop was the Colobus monkeys. The monkeys were still in their early morning nap mode, looking much like black and white puffs of fur in the trees, but, it was enough for Jaylee to do her monkey dance. That was priceless. Even some of the other visitors around us were amused.

The next major attraction were the really big kitties. Much to everyone's amazement and joy, the Tigers were up and walking around. My guess is that they were expecting breakfast bright and early. Normally, when we come to the zoo, the Tigers are somewhere in the shade and away from the viewing windows, but, on this visit, one Tiger was pacing back and forth in front of the door where presumably breakfast would be served, while the other Tiger was circling the water hole. The Tiger circling the water hole passed right by the main viewing window and we could see how huge the animal was. We were all very impressed with the sheer size and magnificence of the Tigers.

The Lions were out, but, not as active as the Tigers. The male was in the middle of the enclosure deep under the shade of a tree while the two females were leaning against the side of the enclosure with their backs to us. At one point, one of the females got up, walked over to the male and gave him a greeting nudge with her head.

The Mountain Lion was lying down high up in the rocks and all we could see of the Mountain Lion were the feet. We picked one of the hottest days in the summer to visit and as a respite from the heat, we popped into a small theater where pretty movies of big kitties were playing continuously on big screens. The air-conditioned theater allowed us to cool down a bit before continuing our journey.

After our visit with the big kitties, we headed over to the primate exhibit. Outside the exhibit, there were a couple of small monkeys high up in a large tree, jumping from branch to branch and calling out to anyone who would listen.

Inside the exhibit space, the Orangutans were busy looking for breakfast. The keepers had hidden their breakfast under straw and in cardboard boxes and paper bags. One of the Orangutans, after emptying a large bag, decided to wear the bag.

Meanwhile, some of the Gorillas were likewise, looking for their breakfast. But, the undisputed stars of the exhibit were two of the largest Gorillas who were apparently trying to resolve some sort of dispute between them. They chased each other back and forth and threw objects from their enclosure at the glass. They ran outside and back inside making for quite the entertaining scene. Christina got a nice picture of one of the Gorilla's hind end and emailed it to her family with various snide remarks.

We exited the primate exhibit and wandered over to the the Polar Bears. They were actually not swimming even though it was getting pretty hot outside.

From there we made our way over the bird exhibit. Inside was another air conditioned space that allowed us to cool off a bit. The birds are behind heavy curtains, presumably to keep them from escaping. Behind one curtain we found a handful of birds running on the ground, but, we were separated from them by wire mesh. I did manage to get a nice picture of a bird in a tree with bright blue tail feathers.

From the first curtained area, we moved into a second much larger curtained area. There were all kinds of birds flying around and in various nooks and crannies. This space seemed to provide more of an immersive experience where the birds can fly up next to you if they want. And sure enough, one of the larger birds in the exhibit did decide to get a closer look at us. Anthony and Amanda were so fixated on another bird in a bush that they almost missed the one that was standing behind them. I pointed out the bird for them a they got some nice pictures.

After watching the birds, we decided to stop for lunch. The bird exhibit is on one side of a large pond and one of the main picnic areas are on the other side of the pond. so, we headed over to the far side of the pond and found a handful of tables and chairs under the shade of a large tree. Jaylee was having a ball until the Geese showed up. The Geese were actually fairly benign, bit, having them so close was too much of a distraction for Jaylee.

After lunch, we went over to the reptile exhibit, stopping briefly to look at the Emu as they stood in the shade of a tree. Mom decided to wait outside the reptile exhibit while the rest of us went inside. While we were inside, Mom met a pregnant lady waiting for her boyfriend and his son to come out of the reptile exhibit. The lady is pregnant with the man's child, but, he is married to someone else. She doesn't really like the man, but, his son seems to enjoy her company...

After Mom related her curious encounter, we headed over the Children's Zoo (it's now called Kidz Zoo U). Jaylee enjoyed a brief demonstration on the importance of conserving water. There was a very impressive fish tank where I snapped a picture of a large blue fish. Unfortunately, the motion shot came out a little fuzzy. further along, after the fish tank, are some insect exhibits surrounding a large ant statue and tunnel. Jaylee was not too sure about the tunnel, but, when other children went through ahead of her, she found the courage to go through.

We made our way toward the front of the zoo and passed briefly though the rare mammal exhibit. We didn't stay long as Mom wanted to get to the souvenir shop and head home. So, we headed over to the shop and picked up a few items. The plan was to turn left after the rare mammal exhibit and make our way to the Giraffes, Zebras and Rhinos and from there continue on to the south exit, but, after buying our souvenirs and with the heat really starting to build, we opted to stay in the more shaded main path and skip the last few animals.

Overall, despite the heat, it was a very good day.