It all Started in Hobart

I love the zoo, but especially when I have never been to it.

Really though. I love the zoo. I know that they can get a bad reputation due to the whole wild animal being kept in an enclosed space and all that, but the ones around here are all about keeping them safe and rehabilitating when they can. But I had never taken the time to visit Point Defiance Zoo down in Tacoma, so Tami took me when we had some time off together during the holidays.

It even comes with a stunning view. Now mind you, this was towards the end of November when we went, so it wasn’t the warmest day, despite the sun. But there was still plenty to see.

First were the lemurs. They are always adorable, but the sun snoozles can hit pretty hard around the PNW. Takes you by surprise some days.

And you can never forget about our reptilian friends. I find them fascinating and just want to carry one around sometimes, but mostly just to freak the wife out.

They also have a petting zoo! This is always more fun than it has any right to be. I even happened to have some change on me to buy some feed for them.

Elephants are an awe inspiring sight, even behind bars. They are just so damn smart. This one was hitting a bucket that was chained the the ceiling so that it would knock the popcorn that was in it onto the floor so it could eat it up. And with all the power that it would hit the bucket with, it picked up individual pieces of popcorn like it was nothing.

And this guy was doing his best to hide, but there was only so many places to go. I have yet to see a cat, regardless of it’s size, not act like a cat.

Even cats this big, though I don’t think I would scold it for getting into something it shouldn’t. Especially around lunch time.

The Tapir. I don’t even know what to say about them other than it looks like they would be a great napping partner.

And then there are these chuckle-heads. Always dressed up like they are somebody important. Even holding pretend meetings to try to fool us. But I see right through them, not a braincell among them.

This guy on the other hand was just living it’s best life in the only way it knew how. Again, looks like it would be a good nap partner, but probably not too safe with the tusks.

I had to make sure that I got some puffin photos since we missed out chance on Skellig Michael. Funny little birds.

And this thing barely sat still long enough to actually get these photos. I was working hard and it felt like it was just laughing at my attempts. Jokes on this guy, still got some decent shots.

Just too cute to pass this guy by. I have only ever seen the red ones before in real life. I had no idea there was an arctic fox at the zoo.

Again, sun snoozles will sneak up on you.

It’s just nice to not see this thing in my back yard. Gorgeous creature, but they can stay in the mountain, away from me.

You can’t go anywhere around here without seeing at least a dozen crows.

It’s just a small zoo, and they rotate the animals, so there are a bunch that I didn’t get to see. But that just means that I am going to have to go back soon to try and see more.