Columbus Zoo

Kodiak Rider Recon

Here we are. Three zoos in three days. Columbus, Ohio. I know I was starting to feel the miles. But this zoo was just voted the number 1 zoo in America (that's right. Ahead of San Diego) by the USA travel guide. If you can't get pumped up for that then what can you?

Let me get the bear picture out of the way right now. These guys were just laying around but they at least were nice enough to be close so we could get a good look at them. I have one picture of the front claws of this guy's buddy - yikes. You are not supposed to run when you see a grizzly bear but after seeing those claws I might have something running down my leg.

This zoo was really good for getting close to the animals. Twice we got to pet snakes. This is a black rat snake - it is named as such because it is black and it eats rats. Lots of imagination in the scientific crowd. There were also goats, a bunny, a box turtle and a monitor lizard. The last three were right near the exit as we were leaving. What a great parting gift. The box turtle is unique because he has hinges on the underside of his shell so that he can crawl inside and fold up his shell for complete security.

This guy put on a nice and close personal show. He walked back and forth right in front of us. Literally we were inches away. We learned there are three subspecies of tiger that are extinct. I wouldn't doubt more are on the way. They even changed the name of the Siberian Tiger to Amur Tiger because there are no longer any of them in Siberia. They are gorgeous.</div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VCXZ99pjl9Y/SoDwSHVKf1I/AAAAAAAAADE/M8uJhhNbS9w/s1600-h/P1030937.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368554949821759314" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VCXZ99pjl9Y/SoDwSHVKf1I/AAAAAAAAADE/M8uJhhNbS9w/s200/P1030937.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div> </div><div>This zoo also has manatees. It was a bigger tank with lots of fish. One of the manatees -Stubby - lost most of her tail when she was hit by a motorboat. Propellers are the biggest obstacle right now. They are in Florida and the not-so-funny joke is that 9 out of 10 manatees have propeller scars on their backs. Great creatures.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VCXZ99pjl9Y/SoDw8q7U0fI/AAAAAAAAADM/d2EkMnONsDQ/s1600-h/P1030951.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368555680931566066" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VCXZ99pjl9Y/SoDw8q7U0fI/AAAAAAAAADM/d2EkMnONsDQ/s200/P1030951.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div> </div><div>It was really cool to see a Koala. Not technically a bear but still looks super cuddly. My most cherished stuffed animal is a Koala from when I was a little kid. These guys didn't move while we were watching - they are pretty much doped up from the eucalyptus - but it was cool. We also learned that they don't drink because they get all the water they need from the leaves.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VCXZ99pjl9Y/SoDsy5rqsrI/AAAAAAAAACc/OjjbWOIy3qM/s1600-h/P1030860.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368551115047219890" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VCXZ99pjl9Y/SoDsy5rqsrI/AAAAAAAAACc/OjjbWOIy3qM/s200/P1030860.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div>One of the big highlights was seeing this guy. A 4 1/2 month old Asian Elephant. He was super cute. He was almost black - I guess Asian Elephants are darker - and looked so small next to his mom. He weighs a robust 600 pounds. He was shorter than <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Dayne</span> (and maybe Evan). That is really packing it on. We almost missed him. He goes off exhibit at 2pm since he is so young. It would have been a real bummer. </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VCXZ99pjl9Y/SoDtrQLAckI/AAAAAAAAACs/Rss4ETQ4R6I/s1600-h/P1030970.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368552083156922946" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VCXZ99pjl9Y/SoDtrQLAckI/AAAAAAAAACs/Rss4ETQ4R6I/s200/P1030970.JPG" border="0" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VCXZ99pjl9Y/SoDw8q7U0fI/AAAAAAAAADM/d2EkMnONsDQ/s1600-h/P1030951.JPG"></a></div><div> </div><div>Here is my stinky girl. I say that because the flower she is in - the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Rafflesia</span> plant - really gets to three feet in diameter and is really stinky. She is so cute though.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VCXZ99pjl9Y/SoDtPoUeTBI/AAAAAAAAACk/erzfgC_kQCo/s1600-h/P1030905.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368551608602741778" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VCXZ99pjl9Y/SoDtPoUeTBI/AAAAAAAAACk/erzfgC_kQCo/s200/P1030905.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div> </div><div>And this is what that super cute girl loves so much. We are 3 for 3 with flamingos on this trip. She is in heaven. These guys were nice and close. The pink color actually comes from the food they eat. I got that nugget from watching the Tour De France and not from the zoo (thanks Phil). </div><div><br /> </div><div><br /><p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyCpCycYtTG3STHLOaYNEKtE2F8pOSjNf5uIl5B8g1_8JCiDl1Xe8lSgDgIYn-634QfzORRPZD5AefCuh2KPA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0' />And finally, this is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Dayne</span> and Evan - I mean a pair of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Langurs</span>. They put on a good show. In the next exhibit over there was a baby. The baby is really cute because he is orange. Easy to spot but not so easy to get a picture of. They were hiding in a dark corner and always moving around.</p><p>Tomorrow we are having a fun day - as if this whole trip isn't fun. We are staying in Columbus and going to the water park.</p></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheKodiakRider/~4/zmP-pM4I-fM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>