However, once we got to the zoo, the rain had stopped and the parking lot was almost empty! The rain must have kept everyone away, including the schools. We only saw 1-2 small groups of school kids the whole time.
I had not wanted to get my nice camera "rained on" so the pictures were "make do" shots using my cell phone camera. Too bad, there was so much to take pictures of!
The cooler weather (jeans and tshirt--or even light sweatshirt) had woken up all the animals!
We immediately headed to the cat area. It is highly unusual to see them up and moving! When we got there, the tigers were not in their usual spot behind the bamboo. One was up lapping the water and the other moving around too. The cougars and leopards were moving about. The daddy lion was very up close to the glass. The bears too were highly active. All except the Grizzly who was fast asleep.
We checked out the elephants and a few other random animals, like the anorexic-looking Gerenuk.
Then, we went to see the monkeys. The orangutans were more apparent than some days too. As were many of the other monkeys.
(this one made me laugh really hard, the mommy Gibbon was holding the baby even as the baby was squirming to get out of her arms...haven't I done that a million times?!?!)
Time to stop for lunch.
After lunch, the giraffes as requested by little Elizabeth. Three giraffes were standing bottoms together kicking and head butting each other. Then, another giraffe came over and stood only a few feet from us. I tried to capture a picture of his long black tongue and David's incredibly long pink tongue. Unfortunately, the timing did not quite coincide.
Our last stop was the chimps on the way out. We ended up being around for a zoo keeper talk. I did not realize until we chatted with her that Chimps are so very territorial that they are quite scary, and the keepers never go in the area with them.
It wasn't until we got in the car and left the parking lot that the heavens broke loose again and the rain came! What a gift!
