I went on an adventurous assignment to the Fort Worth Zoo earlier in May. I had never been to a zoo before. It was a warm day and we had packed our lunch with peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches, ginger ale and some fruit and a package of Oreo cookies. I was hungry as soon as we arrived, but I’m always hungry. This zoo was founded in 1909 and when it opened it had a lion, 2 bear cubs, a peacock, an alligator, a rabbit and a coyote. It now has 435 species and does conservation work and is listed as a top zoo in the USA. It spans 64 acres.
Once we found the Africa entrance (which was my favorite region in the zoo), we took a photo of me. Upon further walking, we entered an open area that looked like the Savannah. There were no cages! The giraffes and the zebras and the ostriches were roaming freely together on an open plain! This giraffe came over to me. He left an area where children were feeding him to come say hi to me. I guess he had never met a teddy bear before. I waved at him and got to pet his head. He was very friendly (& curious). There was a little hut nearby where we could purchase lettuce leaves for him to munch, but it looked like the line was so long he may not have been hungry for more. And besides, he was more interested in talking to me than food that was already being offered. I was hungry though and I told him. He said there were some food stalls throughout the park. I kept my button eyes on alert for them.
Here you can see more photos of the giraffe, the ostriches and the zebras. On the other side of the “Savannah”, there were some pelicans. Elle loves to watch pelicans when we go the sea shore. This pelican was telling the zoo keeper he was hungry. The zookeeper had a bucket of fish and the pelican was wanting some. She’d throw a few fish into the water pond and the pelican would scoop it up and eat. This was making me hungrier. I love to eat fish. The ostriches were lazy. I think they had just eaten and were letting their digestion settle. I’m not sure, but they didn’t really want to move (like me, after I eat). The zebras were walking about. I guess maybe they were like me, hungry, but wondering around looking at all the interesting folks.
Rasha is the elephant who lives in the Fort Worth zoo and she’s an artist. The zookeeper gives her a paint brush and sets out buckets of paint and a canvas. He pats her gently and she takes the brush and dips it in the bucket of paint and applies it to the canvas. She looks happy painting. Painting makes me happy too. I’m glad she has a hobby. You can purchase her paintings in the gift shop for about $150. I wish they would make post cards of her artwork, but I guess she would have to sign a release for that and she may not can sign her name.
We left the African area of the zoo and meandered through “Asia”, “Australia”, and “South America”. It was here where we saw a Brazilian Spectacled Owl. He gets his name from the white “spectacles” that from his eyes. They say he’s most vocal on moonlit nights. Heehee… I like moonlit nights too. We also found a vending machine! I’ve seen vending machines that have water and soda pops and chips, but this one had CANDY and there were buttons to select the candy instead of a glass front to see inside. I, of course, had to get a picture of me by the tasty treat vending machine. I didn’t have any coins, so we had to keep walking. No snackies.
We found the “Great Barrier Reef” aquarium and a penguin house. The smell of fish was really making me more and more hungry. Here are some photos of some fishies and an Emperor Penguin
We finally ate our picnic. It was a warm day and by the time we finished our meal, we noticed the other animals must’ve finished theirs too because they were all relaxing.
The Fort Worth Zoo even has a “Texas” area where I rode a stagecoach and saw an exhibit about where I live: The Plains and Grasslands.
All in all, it was a very fun time at the Fort Worth Zoo and I do hope to go back and visit again. If you are ever in the Dallas- Fort Worth area of Texas, please visit this zoo.
Love, Hope
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