Petting a Penguin

While having dinner with Santa, I got to pet a penguin. Her name was Grady. The penguin's fur felt like a polar bear. The penguin's fur was soft. Penguins are my favorite animal. Penguins are nice to people.

My Dinner with Santa

I had dinner with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the zoo. We think that Santa Claus has Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. Santa gave me a candy cane. When I was there, we were in a line to pet a penguin. I had pizza, hot chocolate, and a red cookie. It was yummy!

Hammerhead Shark

Hammerhead sharks swimming around. Hammerheads have funny heads like a hammer. It helps them judge distances in the water. We saw this hammerhead at the zoo and it looks purple. Me and my dad called it a purple hammerhead shark. They have teeth.

Zombie at the Zoo!

Here I am at the zoo on trick-or-treat day. I got lots of candy and saw some really cool costumes. I got to see all the animals and get candy. I went into Kingdoms of the Night, and all the animals were scared me because they thought I was a real zombie.

Shark Laying Down

Sharks have a lot of fins on their backs. They have fins that can stick out. They have strong tails that move side to side to make them swim fast. We saw sharks in the aquarium. Last time at the zoo, he moved before I could take a picture, but this time he stayed still.

Ostrich Standing Right There

Ostriches have two long legs that kind of look like carnotaur legs. Ostriches are the biggest birds in the world. They have feathers. They have good eyes and can run almost as fast as cheetahs. They have an orange beak and a long white neck.

Jellyfish Swimming Around

Jellyfish have tentacles. You never want to touch their tentacles because they will sting you. The top doesn't sting, but the bottom does sting. We saw the jellyfish in the aquarium. There are momma ones and baby ones. There's a lot of jellyfish in the aquarium.

Big Ray Flat on the Ground

We saw this big ray in the aquarium at the zoo. Rays are very flat. Some are big, and some are small. This one is big. Rays are friendly. They have eyes on the top of their body and their mouth is on the bottom of their body. Their mouths are on the bottom so they can eat food off the ground. They live with the sharks in the aquarium.

Tapirs Laying Down

This is a mommy and baby tapir. They live in the jungle. They have big noses to help them smell. They can walk slow but swim fast. Baby tapirs are white, but mommy tapirs are grey.

Rhino Walking

Rhinos have two horns on the front of their face. They can run faster than an elephant. They have small tails, and have tiny ears like Shrek. They are almost like elephants. They have good noses and eyes. They can hunt for other animals.

Eagle Standing on the Tree

Today we went to the zoo. Eagles like their home. They like it when it's windy, and it was very windy today. Eagles have pointy beaks. They have very good eyes. Their body is brown and their head is white. They have very sharp claws on their talons.

Elephant Looking at the Camera

Elephants have long trunks and big ears, and are the biggest land animals in the world. This elephant has metal at the end of his tusks to protect them. There are two elephants at the zoo. They can run fast, but not as fast as rhinos. They have short tails.

Sea Lion Resting in the Sun

I love to see the sea lions at the zoo. When they are in the water, they look black, but when they are resting out in the sun, they look brown. They are very good swimmer, and eat lots of fish. They like to rest on rocks and can jump high in the water like dolphins. They can swim fast, but not as fast as sharks. Dolphins can swim even faster than sharks. Sea lions can swim fast, but they can't walk fast.

Baby Alligator

The baby alligator is really small, and their mother's stay right by them to protect them. When this baby alligator gets bigger, he'll move into the home of the other alligators. When he gets older, he can meet up with the other alligators that grew up in this tank.

Me at the Zoo

Me at the zoo on Sunday, October 9, 2005. Daddy and I had a great time at the zoo, but it was a little chilly so we didn't stay very long. I hope it's warmer next Sunday!

You can click on any of the pictures you see here to see the full-size version.

Squawking Parrot

The parrots at the zoo are very colorful. This one was a little too loud and gave me a headache.

Did you know...

Parrot is the common name for members of the order Psittaciformes, comprising 315 species of colorful birds, pantropical in distribution, including the parakeet . Parrots have large heads and short necks, strong feet with two toes in front and two in back (facilitating climbing and grasping), and strong, thick bills, with the larger hooked upper mandible hinged to the bones of the head. They are arboreal, feeding on seeds and fruits—except the kea ( Nestor notabilis ) of New Zealand, which is a scavenger in winter. Although they belong to a different order, parrots have certain affinities to pigeons and cuckoos; like them, they feed their young by regurgitation, and they have swellings (ceres) at the base of the nostrils. Usually their voices are harsh, but the thick, fleshy tongue and special voice apparatus permit a wide range of articulations, and some species can be taught to imitate the human voice.

Riding the Rhino

Don't let the sunny day fool you... it was cold today!

Did you know...

Today there are 5 species and 11 subspecies of rhinos surviving on earth. Two species (Black & White) occur in Africa. Three species (Indian, Javan, and Sumatran) occur in Asia. Thousands and especially millions of years ago, rhinos were more diverse (many species), widespread and abundant. Rhinos occurred in North America and Europe as well as in Africa and Asia. The surviving rhinos are precious representatives of the glorious heritage and history of the rhino family on our planet.

Polar Bear

Here's one guy who loved the chilly weather today.

Did you know...

Polar bears live along shores and on sea ice in the icy cold Arctic. When sea ice forms over the ocean in cold weather, many polar bears, except pregnant females, head out onto the ice to hunt seals. Polar bears have been spotted on sea ice hundreds of miles from shore. When the warm weather causes the sea ice to melt, polar bears move back toward shore.

In fall pregnant polar bears make dens in earth and snowbanks, where they’ll stay through the winter and give birth to one to three cubs. In spring the mother emerges from her den followed by her cubs. Generally, she will nurse them for two and a half years. During that time she will protect them and teach them how to hunt.

Tiger Relaxing in the Sun

Here is another picture from the zoo today. You can click the pictures to see him close up!

Did you know...

The male Siberian or Amur Tiger, with a total body length in excess of 10 ft and weighing up to 300 kg is by far the largest and most powerful member of the cat family. - however overall body size varies considerably throughout the five sub-species - the female Sumatran being almost 3 ft smaller. With exception of the Lion the tiger is probably the most easily recognised of all wild cats - its fur which ranges from orange to brownish yellow with a white chest and belly is covered with broken vertical black/dark brown stripes. The length of the fur is longer in the Amur tiger which inhabits the colder forested regions of eastern Russia and northern China. However, seasonal variation occurs throughout the species, with the winter markings often being paler and less well defined in the longer winter coat. Males of all sub-species also exhibit longer fur in the form of a ‘ruff’ around the back of the head, this is specially pronounced in the Sumatran male.