A Day at Toledo Zoo

Well despite the rain we had another great day at Toledo Zoo. We're really getting our monies worth out of this family membership LOL. Enjoy the photo's!

I love the Animal Planet show "Meerkat Manor" so we always visit our local meerkat family....

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The zoo has wonderful statues for the kids to climb all over (with padded ladding areas)....Mikey and Beth had a great time!...

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Toledo Zoo was very blessed to have both their female Polar Bears mate with the resident male Polar Bear this year. There were only 5 cubs born in all of North America this past winter...three of them reside at the zoo here so it's a huge deal. All three were unproven breeders so the arrival of 3 cubs was more than anyone expected! Nan had a single male cub (Nikita), Crystal had twin female cubs (Aurora and Anana - as far as we know the only twins born in captivity this past season). This is Crystal and her daughters.

Crystal relaxing on her rock watching the cubs swim below her.....
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Crystal and one of her girls....
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She's a big momma bear!.....
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One of the cubs seemed to have fun doing a few under water charges at my Beth and startling the wits out of her LOL....
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Then she showed off to Beth with a big flip and a show of her baby teeth....quite the "polar bear experience".....
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My favorite shot of the day!.....
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Of course we visited the Reptile House....really pleased to see they have gotten some new snake species in (including this Aruba Island Rattlesnake and a young anaconda *sorry no shots, it was way under water and hiding*)...

A gorgeous Aruba Island Rattlesnake....
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Angolan Python...I think I'm in love!....
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The Bushmaster finally came out to say hello....
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My best Gaboon Viper shot ever!...I couldn't believe their amazing faces were so close to the glass...what a truly awe inspiring snake!....

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Been there many times. Great zoo nice pics.

Awww... what cute pics of the kids! I think the butterfly pic is definitely the best!

It looks like you guys had a blast! :D

Well I did have to remind the kids that as my granny used to say "you aren't made of sugar, you won't melt!" when the rain clouds dumped on us but all in all it was our usual fun time. We just adore the Toledo Zoo. The keepers are always willing to chat with visitors and seem very passionate about their charges.

I do giggle every time we attend the "reptile encounter". This week it was a bearded dragon, last time we dropped in it was a cornsnake. Needless to say my kids tend to be a bit less than impressed and want them to haul out the big retic LOL.

Great pictures, Joanna! I agree, the butterfly one is the best picture!

I'd wanna see the retic too! Although, I'm blissfully happy with whatever critter you throw at me. I don't like to share either.... :rolleyes:

How far is the zoo? I miss having one so close. The nearest one is in Birmingham, which is about 2 hours away ... I think.

Isn't funny that the same kids who cringe and moan about rain are the same ones that are dying to splash in the puddles and swim? :rolleyes:

The zoo is about a 10 minute drive from our apartment or a 30 minute bus ride so really nice and close. When we lived up in northern Michigan the closest zoo was Detroit and a 10 hour round trip car ride was NOT going to happen so Mikey had never seen a zoo before we moved here.

Too funny Christie! They were soaking wet from the rain but when it stopped and they could dry out properly, they were busy stomping in every major puddle they could find. That or Beth was racing Mikey through the big puddles in the wagon we always rent at the zoo (a life saver, easy to haul Mikey around when he get tired and we always take a big packpack of snacks and drinks along...great zoo but the food/drinks there are way, way overpriced!)

I'm so glad my Bethie hasn't hit that "I hate my mother and younger sib" stage of teenage development yet. :)

What an awesome trip! I also love the butterfly shot, and the polar bears look amazing!! Close encounters like that will last a lifetime! I think the kids and I will be making several trips to the San Antonio zoo this fall/winter. Right now it's just insanely hot and humid.

If your zoo is close Judy check into their family memberships. They are usually a great deal and you get all sorts of side benefits usually. With our family membership we get discounted entrance/free parking type things at 125 other zoo and animal parks around the States, free parking, early entrance to special events, etc. For only $65.00 for Mike and I and the kids, you just can't beat that kind of cost for such fun family entertainment! :)

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

If your zoo is close Judy check into their family memberships. They are usually a great deal and you get all sorts of side benefits usually. With our family membership we get discounted entrance/free parking type things at 125 other zoo and animal parks around the States, free parking, early entrance to special events, etc. For only $65.00 for Mike and I and the kids, you just can't beat that kind of cost for such fun family entertainment! :)

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Definitely a good deal! We had a family membership last time we lived here as well. So we'll for sure go that route again. :D

Too funny Jude. Just checked my list and your zoo is on my list as a 50% discounted admission fees reciprocal zoo! :)

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Too funny Jude. Just checked my list and your zoo is on my list as a 50% discounted admission fees reciprocal zoo! :)

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Hehe! Well there ya go! The perfect excuse to fly the family down to San Antonio for a visit! I'll even let y'all bunk down at my place and give ya a tour of the city's best spots! (Can't miss the Snake Farm, ya know!!)

Well it looks like my daughter Kate will be moving to Amarillo, TX in about a year so I'll be down that way on visits. I did mapquest it...wow Texas is a freaking BIG state! LOL

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Well it looks like my daughter Kate will be moving to Amarillo, TX in about a year so I'll be down that way on visits. I did mapquest it...wow Texas is a freaking BIG state! LOL

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LOL....no doubt! Amarillo may as well be in another country as far as its relation to San Antonio goes. But you might be able to get a really cheap SouthWest flight to pop down here for a visit! :D

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

The zoo is about a 10 minute drive from our apartment or a 30 minute bus ride so really nice and close. When we lived up in northern Michigan the closest zoo was Detroit and a 10 hour round trip car ride was NOT going to happen so Mikey had never seen a zoo before we moved here.

Too funny Christie! They were soaking wet from the rain but when it stopped and they could dry out properly, they were busy stomping in every major puddle they could find. That or Beth was racing Mikey through the big puddles in the wagon we always rent at the zoo (a life saver, easy to haul Mikey around when he get tired and we always take a big packpack of snacks and drinks along...great zoo but the food/drinks there are way, way overpriced!)

I'm so glad my Bethie hasn't hit that "I hate my mother and younger sib" stage of teenage development yet. :)

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Ack! To live to so close to a zoo would be a dream. I'd volunteer all the time! Maybe I could have my own little exhibit too! :D

I know what you mean about the food/drink prices. OUCH. I'm still reeling from the bloodletting I had to endure in order to feed our family of 4 at the Georgia Aquarium. :doh:

Hopefully Bethie will allow you to enjoy her for as long as possible before that stage kicks in. I know the time will fly by so fast though. How is Luke doing?

Oh I refuse to pay ridiculous amounts for food at the zoo...and it's not even tasty food! Blech! We always bring our own snacks and just happily munch our way through the zoo. :) We do buy icecream there though. They have really nice soft serve.

Luke's doing wonderfully well Christie, thanks for asking. He turned 16 recently and I'm just a little amazed my first son is becoming a man! His best friend from Michigan is down this week so it's all about paintball wars in his father's back field (which is heavily wooded so perfect for this stuff). Hopefully before school goes back in after Labor Day weekend I'll get Luke out for a day trip to the zoo as well. I find it's better to take Luke and Beth seperately as they tend to bug at each other (what 16 year old guy can stand his 13 year old little sister...right LOL).

The Toledo zoo has one of the top 10 reptile houses in the country!

The Croc Monitors are really nice. I wanted the smaller one a few years back lol. They also have some really nice Wagleri.

As soon as it warms up, we will be going. Maybe we will get lucky and hit a warm patch next month. (Please please please hurry spring, I am so sick of the cold!) I will bring the Rex's for you then Jo, and a Siamese or two if you want :D

It's our favorite part of the zoo (go figure LOL). Though it was really funny when they did a "snake encounter" and brought out an itty bitty cornsnake. Cute snake but my kids were like..."hey can you bring out the Retic!". Too funny!

They've added quite a few snakes this year. The Aruba is new, a new Anaconda, etc. and they keep them in lovely enclosures.

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Originally Posted by catawhat75

As soon as it warms up, we will be going. Maybe we will get lucky and hit a warm patch next month. (Please please please hurry spring, I am so sick of the cold!) I will bring the Rex's for you then Jo, and a Siamese or two if you want :D

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Well you let me know when you want to go. I have a membership with guest privileges so I'd be happy to host your day at the zoo. Pleased to get some new rat blood too for my colony and you can come meet my snakes if you like. :)