Adventures in Africa!

On Thursday, July, 10, 2014, Hubs and I got to do something we've been looking forward to doing for months, and it was FABULOUS!  We went to The Columbus Zoo!  

My local readers know that in May the Columbus Zoo opened its newest exhibit, The Heart of Africa.  This region of the zoo is huge and features an African savanna complete with a wide variety of animals native to Africa.  There is a large viewing area for humans to observe the animals in their "native" habitat.  (Ok, it is AS "native" as it can be in central Ohio.)  Here is a list of animals featured in this exhibit:

• Aardvark (or earthpig)
• Warthog
• Grant's zebra
• Giraffe (both Masai and Reticulated)
• Cheetah
• Greater kudu
• Blue neck ostrich
• Vervet monkey
• Wildebeest
• Guineafowl (these are very noisy little creatures!)
• Saddle-billed stork
• Thomson's gazelle
• Slender-horned gazelle
• Dama gazelle
• East-African grey-crowned crane
• African lion (2 females and 1 male)
• Dromedary camel 

Here is a link to the Zoo's website that talks about each animal:  Heart Of Africa Website

Here is the layout of the exhibit:  

Visiting this new exhibit was our #1 priority for this visit, so we went there first after arriving at the zoo at 9 am.  Very close to the zoo entrance is a free tram that takes visitors out to this region.  

The first thing to see are the Dromedary Camels - and it is possible to RIDE them! (Sorry, I don't remember if there is a charge for this.)   Check out these adorable shots:  

Next is the Mudiwah village with some shops.  Much of what is featured in this gift shop are items made in Africa.  Some of the cooler items are only available at this shop, so if you see something you want, I suggest you get it while you are in this region.  More common items like plush animals and small mass-market stuff can also be purchased at the zoo's main gift shops.  

There is also a restaurant called Mapuri which is open to the savanna, so you can watch the animals as you dine.

Moving on to the other animals....  Featured in this section are cheetahs, the fastest animals on the planet.  At certain times (I think 10ish), they do a demonstration showing how fast these kitties run.  Whoosh!  

The ostriches like to hang out in a gang.  If something spooks them, they all run together.   It is funny to watch them run - you can hear their feet pounding the ground!  

There is also a keeper-talk about the aardvark (maybe around 10:30 ish?).

Then there are the lions...  2 females and a male.  While we were there, they were napping.  As part of their exhibit is an old-time plane- maybe from the '30s -  that supposedly has landed (crashed?) in the savanna.  Part of the plane is in the lion's area, and the other part is exposed to the public and set up so kids can get into it and play with the buttons and levers.  Very cool - the kids we saw were loving it!  The lions think the plane is cool too -literally - because the part they are by is air-conditioned for them.  Check out the sleepy kitties:

There are a bunch of guineafowl that run around in groups.  They squawk very loudly and can get annoying.  In fact, they annoy the giraffes and will keep the giraffes away from the viewing station if the birds are up by the people.  

There are also some vervet monkeys.  Their area is set up like an old tent area for a researcher.  The little monkeys are very cute.

And then there are the GIRAFFES!  I've been saving the best.  We have about a million giraffe pics, so picking the best to share is difficult.  I'll start with the main reason we went - to feed them....  In the viewing area, people can feed lettuce leaves to the giraffes on the odd hours staring at 9 (although I don't know who can do that since the park doesn't open until 9).  We got out there about 9:30, and then ended up getting in line for the 11:00 feeding about 10:30.  There is plenty to look at while waiting in line!  I'll cut to the chase.  Here are the best feeding pictures.  

I will be happy to send pics of me feeding one to those of you whom I know - just let me know you want to see them!  I'm also going to post some videos to a Youtube channel, and I will send that link to anyone who asks as well.  

Here are some more general cute giraffe shots:

This one at the left is the one I fed.  Her name is Cami and she is smaller than the others.  There are 11 giraffes in the herd here, but there were only about 6 or so out when we were there.

The giraffes are up close to the viewing area, but most of the other animals wander out on the savanna, and some are hard to see.  I'm going to take binoculars the next time I go.  Here are some other animals on the savanna:
A herd of wildebeest:

Zebra:

Greater Kudu and .... stork?

Gazelles:

Warthog:

After we left the African area, we headed next to the polar bear exhibit where there is an underwater viewing station to watch the bears in the water.  It was hard to get good photos here because of the glare on the glass.  It's almost as if this polar bear knew he was showing off for people with cameras!

Then there were the Alaskan Moose.  3 of them:

And reindeer.... this guy was all alone - not sure if he had been bad?  The other reindeer were in a different pen - maybe they were all female and they were separated to keep them from ..... well, you know....

A couple of giant tortoises - here's one:

A Humbolt penguin - this was one of a few that were not molting:

There is a prairie-dog habitat, and the little pups are just adorable!  They pop up out of their burrows and run around digging and chasing.

The buffalo was molting:

The swan was working on decorating her nest:

The manatees were hanging out on the bottom of the tank:

and this okapi was just hanging out being his cute self:

So, that's it - most of our trip to the zoo.  We walked way more than we intended to, but the 5 must-sees on our list were spread out pretty far  (giraffes, manatees, moose, penguins, elephants).  We left home at 8:30 and got home about 4, and we were exhausted!  I must say, we saw more strollers in one day than we've seen in our entire lifetimes!

We have quite a few good videos which I am going to post to a channel on YouTube.
They will appear below as they are uploaded:
Elephants On the Move
Amy Plays with Prairie Dog
Lions Grooming
Amy Feeds Cami the Giraffe
Trumpeter Swan Tends the Nest
Giraffe Licking Tree
Giraffe Walking - Noise of Guineafowl
2 Prairie Dogs Being Cute
Giraffes On the Move



Thanks for letting me share with you!  Come back again soon!
:)Amy