Who knew – Two Zoos!

In our travel research we had always assumed that most of what we had read about Dallas included the surrounding area; such as Irving, Arlington and Fort Worth.  Not so, each city is totally and fiercely independent.  When we read about Dallas in the CAA Tour Guide, it mentioned that it had a Star rated zoo. We did not realize that Forth Worth also has a Star rated zoo and has been recognized as one of the top zoos in the country.  We decided on the Fort Worth Zoo. 

GPS’s are nice they take you where you want to go with not too much trouble and they take you there usually the fastest way.  Unfortunately they don’t always consider traffic flows on Interstates and don’t allow you enough time to cross several high speed lanes to get to your exit immediately following your last death defying manoeuvre.  We missed the exit.  But GPS’s also correct your goofs and then re-route you usually by a much more quiet,, scenic route.  That was our luck today  as we got a chance to drive around the Colonial Drive area of Fort Worth.  Very nice, older homes large but not the behemoths seen in the rural areas. 

We arrived at the zoo, just after the 10:00 AM opening and found the parking lot already fairly full. We were greeted at the entry gate by flower boxes full of pansies in full bloom.  The climatic advantages of southern zoos is significant.  Fifteen foot high bamboo plants form natural barricades between exhibits and define other spaces.  Large oaks (I don’t know what type) are in full leaf and are incorporated into the walkways and enclosures.  They use natural surroundings and materials wherever they can.  It is exceptionally well designed, in that you can see all the exhibits without having to retrace your steps.

 

 

 

We spent the most time at the World of Primates .  The keepers try to hide special food and treats for the monkeys in different areas.  This tends to get the animals moving, in search of these treats.  The orang-utans put on a terrific show.  One smaller orang-utan had a burlap sack which he carried with him almost constantly like a security blanket.  He would actually put the sack over his head and walk around with it.  He would hit the larger orang-utan (we assumed the mother) with it.  Finally, they would seem to kiss.  (Don’t know if they were kissing or just grooming each other.)

The large African and Asian mammals are always neat to watch.  Rhinos, Hippo's and elephants as well as tigers and lions, were all fairly active as the temperatures were a cool 21 degrees Celsius this morning.  One bull elephant kept trying to get through a gate to the side where the cows were kept.  He seemed to have quite a ritual and would walk from one gate to another to see if it was open.  Poor guy was frustrated!

It is amazing the great pictures you can get when animals pose for you.  This kind of wildlife photography I can handle.  (see them in the Photo Section – Fort Worth Zoo)

After 4 1/2 hours of tramping around the zoo we headed back to our trailer.  We have decided that our next trip to the Dallas area we will go to the Dallas Zoo and then compare notes. On the way home we passed the Texas Motor Speedway, a NASCAR race track that is so typical of everything Texas.  BIG!