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| Animals found! |
Today we visited
Caldwell Zoo which is in Tyler, Texas, a little less than an hour from us. We met up there with my new friend Jenn and her two kids and spent a productive few hours socializing and discovering certain animals from different parts of the world. Jenn's kids have just finished a biology unit on animals and she'd made up a animal scavenger hunt which my kids were able to join in on. Great excitement on all sides.
The Caldwell Zoo isn't a big city zoo, but it's pretty and well-kept and the right size for a few hours. I that a good selection of animals, especially birds. Their macaws are magnificent as well as chatty.
Sadly, the elephant exhibit was under construction so we didn't get to enjoy those pachyderms, but their two black bears and white tiger were impressive. I loved the Texas Longhorns, but the kids' favorite place was an enclosure filled with small birds, primarily parakeets and cockatoos, where you're given a little stick coated in bird seed and the birds flock to you to get some.
There's something so refreshing about a nice zoo. Animals are always interesting and great for conversation. Even alligators lounging in the shallows and a rat snake muscling its way up a wall are worth taking the time to watch. And, I don't know, but maybe a parakeet is the pet we should get...or maybe a squirrel monkey :) . Think Kraig might go for it?
I have mixed feelings on zoos. I like the opportunity to observe the animals up close, but with the multitude of TV shows and video of animals living in the wild, do we really need to keep them in zoos? I am sure that it was an educational visit for your kids, but on my last few trips to zoos it was so disappointing how many adults couldn't tell the difference between a penguin and a flamingo - and wouldn't read the signage to learn. I know that many zoos that participate in breeding programs and research and even funnel admission costs into programs to ensure the survival of species - but I feel bad for the animal that will live out its entire life in an enclosure. I prefer sanctuaries, which take animals would otherwise not survive in the wild. I need to find a list of all of sanctuaries across the states so that we can visit them on our travels.
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