My Morning at the Zoo...

This our little gem, the Sacramento Zoo. It is small in comparison to a lot of zoos set on only 14 acres and home to about 400 animals. The zoo was built in 1927 by the City of Sacramento and was named Sacramento William Land Zoo as it is nestled in William Land Park.

The entrance looks very much the same as when I was a child, with Fairy Tale Town right across the street. I love this little zoo and look forward to wandering around it every time I get a chance. It has an amazing volunteer group of docents that educate visitors and give the history of the animals it houses and the zoo it's self. I always enjoy a chat with one of them when I visit...

This is our female lion, she is a little on the grumpy side. They would like to breed her so they brought this handsome fella in from another zoo. She doesn't like him, he "LOVES" her... They are hoping she changes her mind, but I have to tell ya by what I see she is never going to change her mind. Can you see the wrinkles in this girls forehead? He just plain annoys her...

Can a lion get more handsome than this boy... His main is getting darker and darker and he is just plain a majestic boy. You should hear this guy roar, it is one of the greatest sounds...

She is pretty...

ROAR.... Right after this he ran and tackled the grumpy gal! That could be why she thinks he's so annoying....

We are lucky to have Orangutan at our zoo. They are my most favorite :) This gal is the mother of the other Orang you will see. The Orangutans are so soulful and beautiful in nature. When I sit and watch these animals I can only imagine what it must be like in the wild of nature for them. Apes have always been an amazingly beautiful animal to me...

This is our goofy 9 year old boy. He is a mamas boy and very manipulative. The keepers hide food around the enclosure and he lets his mother find it, have a taste and then begs for it until she gives it to him. He is a lot like a 3 or 4 year old human in maturity and about as adorable as he gets.

The strength of this boy is amazing! He can hang by just his toes and stretch out in the most amusing yoga poses. And his love for his mother is beautiful... (oh those eyes, no wonder she can't say no)

I love this girl...

Zebra hide, isn't it amazing! Look at that pattern! Just beautiful...

 

Yes I have a thing for flamingo, partly because of the vibrant color and mostly because they just stand there and let me take as many pictures as I want!

My second favorite at the zoo are our giraffes. We two types of giraffes, this boy is a Masai which is darker and doesn't have the same vibrant auburn spots as the Reticulated, his are much more brown in color. He is our youngest giraffe and he was licking his lips yesterday like he was just given honey. 

Below is one of our Red River Hogs, we have 4 of them and they remind me of Pumba on the Lion King. They have fancy long ears and rolly polly bodes. They are fun to watch and snort just like any pig...

Happy Day Everyone, Shann