After Hours At the Zoo

With our zoo memberships we are invited to many "after hours/ member's only" nights and while we don't always take advantage of nearly as many as we should, we have learned that friendship night at Southwick's Zoo is not to be missed.



Last year the boys made masks, had their faces painted, got free ice cream and enjoyed a fun scavenger hunt through the zoo.

This year we planned ahead and actually had friends with us!

We headed out right around dinner last night with the two younger boys, their friends, and one of the friend's families. 
   
The boys were all so excited- running from exhibit to exhibit.  The zoo at night is actually very different than during the day.

Many of the animals are much more active at dusk-- 
  • We saw kangaroos hopping around
  • The Hyenas (which we thought was an empty pen!) were up and right up close to the fence 
  • The monkey's were noisy and chasing each other around from branch to branch
  • We heard the lion and lioness making lots of noises back and forth to one another
  • We heard the laughing Kookaburra laugh
  • We found the sloths were awake and moving s-l-o-w-l-y
 Alec had picked up a scavenger hunt paper when we entered the zoo and actually got stumped on one question so we asked a zoo keeper and learned about the Colobus Monkey.

For once, I didn't take many photos, but lived in the moment enjoying the kids and watching the excitement on their friends' faces.   Here are the few photos I did take. 

The Aldabra Tortoise was in his pool of water with his head out and facing us!  We've never seen that! 


Checking out the Flamingos-- Evan found a Flamingo feather! 


The hyenas-- We had no idea that their heads were so large!
 They all got a free ice cream on the way out of the zoo and were a bit bummed not to have had a bit more time to see EVERYTHING... but we did see most of the zoo.

Enjoying ice cream with friends! 

This tree looked like it had green beans hanging from it (though we realized it's probably just the leaves) 

Comments

  1. MrsSMay 9, 2018 at 3:26 PM

    Oh this looks lovely! We never think to do night time visits but I bet the animals are out when it is much quieter. Lovely photos and the flamingos would be a hit with my girls!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3May 9, 2018 at 3:35 PM

      There are a lot more animals that are awake and active in the evening. It was a lot of fun.

      Delete
  2. Ethan.n.EvelynMay 13, 2018 at 12:39 PM

    I'd be scared if the Hyenas were right up to the fence looking at me. lol! That Tortoise is huge! Great to hear that you had a lovely time and that you are living in the moment. xx #ExplorerKids

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3May 14, 2018 at 6:06 AM

      It is always unnerving when large animals are looking at us like prey; we actually had a lion jump at the fence before and that was super scary!

      Delete
  3. Our Seaside BabyMay 13, 2018 at 2:43 PM

    Oh wow, what a wonderful experience. I can imagine it's much better away from the day time crowds and seeing the animals at their most active. Lovely photos, living in the moment is a must. Polly x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3May 14, 2018 at 6:06 AM

      It was nice and often felt like we had the zoo to ourselves.

      Delete
  4. Mama2threeMay 14, 2018 at 4:49 AM

    Oh wow this looks super exciting! I can image animals being far more active at dawn and dusk.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3May 14, 2018 at 6:07 AM

      We found that those animals that were active during the day tended to be quiet at night but all those animals that were often sleeping or hard to find were quite active so it was pretty neat.

      Delete

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