10 Reason’s to Visit Los Angeles Zoo

On April 18th, my family & I were invited to meet Paddington at the L.A. Zoo, and we were given a VIP tour around the park.  Even though it was hot, there is plenty of shade and places to sit.  I couldn’t wait to start the tour.  I love animals, and I also like to learn all that I can about them.  My family and I had such a great time that I wanted to share with you 10 Reasons to Visit Los Angeles Zoo! 

Here are 10 Reasons to Visit Los Angeles Zoo:

“The Rainforest of Americas”  When you first arrive at the exhibit there are enormous lily pads for the kids & parents to walk and play on. Here are a few of cool facts about the exhibit:

•  Check out the school of Large Red Belly Piranha when you first walk in.
• Keep a look out to your right for the Emerald Tree Boa hiding in the branches hanging over the water.
• If you like Otters, here is a cool fun fact:  when they are fed they like to slide down the long rock slide to bottom pool to eat.
• What is also cool about this area is that you can see the Otters through the Piranha’s tank.
• If you are lucky, you can hear the Black Howler Monkey make their famous howls.
• Watch out when you enter the huge tree stump-you will come in contact with a Dwarf Caiman and Mata-Mata Turtle, also if you look closely you will see a Goliath Bird-Eating Spider!  Yikes.
• Just outside of that exhibit also on the left is a very active Keel-Billed Toucan.
• On the final path of the exhibit on the right is the new Leopard habitat (opening soon). I love leopards.

Here is a list of animals in this habitat. There is a lot to see in this area.

•  Red Belly Piranha  •  Emerald Tree Boa  •  Giant River Otter

•  Central America Tapir  •  Black Howler Monkey  •  Paca

•  Crested Oropendola  •  Blue-Billed Curassow  •  Goliath Bird-Eating Spider

•  Keel- Billed Toucan  •  Mata-Mata Turtle  •  Harpy Eagle  •  Dwarf Caiman

•  Cotton-Top Tamarin •  Uakari

Our second stop was the giraffe habitat. The giraffes were relaxing in the shade.  The baby giraffe named “LEO” was born 6′ tall and weigh in at the heaviest 170 lbs. (Usually they are around 150 lbs.) Here’s some fun facts about the Giraffes:

• 9 different species of giraffes (There are 2 sub species that are endangered)
• No 2 spots are the same
• “SOPHIA” was born on Earthday (That brought a huge gathering until one of the Chimpanzees was born later that day)
• They have 7 neck vertibrae, just like us, but bigger

There was a huge gathering over at the Chimpanzee habitat because it was feeding time, and everyone was watching the baby chimpanzees eat and playing around with the older ones.  The cool part is that there is a mini-stadium seating area for you to sit and watch.  There were three baby chimpanzees, all females.  They were very cute and very active,  just like our kids LOL.  The tour guide said that when the adults go to sleep, the little ones are still out playing!  Here are some facts about the Chimpanzees:

• All the them are from the same family (mommies, uncles, brothers, sisters, aunts)
• The oldest at the zoo is 46 years old
• They can live up to 50 to 60 years
• All of the females are on birth control pills

The third stop was the Australia Outback where we saw Koala’s and Kangaroos, Wallabies, and Komodo Dragons. There is also an indoor night habitat with a few other animals too.  All of the Koalas were asleep, and the Kangaroos were moving about and eating the plants.  The baby Kangaroo, named “Joey” because they haven’t given it a name yet, was jumping all around checking out the surroundings.  Here are some fun facts about the Koala’s & Kangaroos:

• In Australia they are all called Marsupials (Warm-blooded, hairy, live birth in wild animals)
• Koala babies stay in momma’s pouch for about 6 month (this is when you start seeing body parts popping out until finally they climb out of the pouch and hold onto momma’s back)
• Kangaroos babies stay in the pouch a lot longer because they are bigger- about 8 to 9 months
• Koalas sleep so much because they only can eat eucalyptus leaves, they are high in fiber but low in nutrients, so they get tired fast
• This is the only zoo that has to go and find eucalyptus leaves. (they cannot be matured leaves)
• They are feed 3 different kinds of eucalyptus leaves. (man that must be a crazy and tiresome job)
• Koala’s can live to about 14 years old.
• Kangaroo’s can live to about 15 years old (all depends on how they are raised)
• Koala’s will stay in the trees most of there lives.

Like what I said before there is a lot you can do here at the Zoo. It is well worth the visit. I always liked field trips to the zoo because I could learn about the different species of animals, birds, reptiles, rodents, insects, plants, flowers, fish in one place. They also have a Children’s Discovery Center, Botanical Gardens, Children’s Zoo. They also have live shows with the animals. There is a Safari Tram that has four drops off & board sections if you don’t want to walk. Every section has a bathroom & food spot.

I wanted to say “Thank You” to Los Angeles Zoo and all the tour guides, you guys were full of knowledge about each section we visited. Me and my family had a blast and can’t wait to come back and visit.

Paddington is available on Blu-ray and DVD At Target | Best Buys | Walmart | Toys R Us | Amazon

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