Binder Park Zoo
Heather had made the observation some weeks ago that we had never taken Katelyn to a zoo. In comparison, Dylan had been to several zoos in different states by the time he was six. So, we made plans with our Thursday Night Bible Study friends, Scott and June, to go to Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek.
We picked them up Saturday morning, made a stop at Panera Bread, and made a beeline to the zoo. We got there around 10 AM, and it seemed like we had the place to ourselves. We had feared that we would have some rain, but instead we had sunny skies, and cool breezes. These conditions lasted all day up until we got to the van. We felt the raindrops just as we were leaving the park.
Katelyn was excited because we had not told her what we were doing. Because we feared rain, we kept plans a secret so she would not be disappointed. I had told her Friday that we were visiting a "seven-mile spanking machine." Thank you, Sponge Bob, for all of your clever effects upon pop culture and my personal vocabulary.
The first animals we saw were the snow leopards. However, they were asleep behind logs. We saw the occasional swish of a tail, but nothing exciting or photo-worthy. However, we would return later . . .
The first animals we saw who were awake were some Australian mammals.
The next animal we saw was a peacock roaming around the walkways. We were instantly excited to see an exhibit up close and personal. We went through a lot of effort to corral it around to try to get pictures. Scott even followed it around to get it to turn about.
Everyone put so much effort into this one peacock that no one noticed the two coming up from behind. I told Heather in a calm voice, "Heather, turn around." She told me she was busy, and was extra surprised when the two peacocks were practically rubbing up against her leg!
I think that had we known we would see peacocks all throughout the park, we would not have spent so much time on the first ones we saw. Nevertheless, it made for an amusing time. The pictures you see below of the peacocks are from all throughout the park.
As we made our way towards Wild Africa, here are some more of the animals we encountered.
The Red Panda was a real bear to photograph, if you will forgive the pun. When we originally passed him on the way to Wild Africa, he was sleeping in the tree. He was cute, but the pose just was not satisfactory. On our way back, we caught him asleep. However, Heather's camera batteries pooped out, and I had to make an emergency trip to get more. It was worth it, though. She went on to take a couple of hundred more quality pix, and I was a hero for a day! Anyway, here is that darned panda.
We were distracted along the way by free face painting! Katelyn was the recipient of a demo.
While Katelyn was getting her face painted, I went to see the Mexican wolves nearby. I wish they had been a little more active. I really liked them and thought they were beautiful animals.
We reached the wait station for Wild Africa. There is a van/tram that runs about every fifteen minutes, so we had a short break to sit down and catch our breath. During the ride there, a recorded message gave an overview of what we were going to see. Upon arrival, we found ourselves at the ridge of a hill overlooking a wonderful plains teeming with zebras, African deer, African birds, and giraffes. I was simply amazed at the sight to behold.
The main attraction of Wild Africa is the giraffe feeding station. One can buy crackers to feed the giraffes when they come to visit. The giraffe tongues are about one foot long and black, and it's hysterical to watch people navigate their way around them while petting and feeding the animals. Their heads are not as large as you might think; they remind me of horse heads, just multi-colored and horned.
I think this is the most fun we had that day. Katelyn tried to tease the giraffes with crackers while she tried to pet them. Heather compared tongues with a friendly giraffe. Scott fed one while holding the cracker in his mouth. The bottom picture gives you some perspective of what the feeding station looked like.
Do you see the horns on that bull below? I grew up around thousands of cattle in Indiana, so the size of the beast itself is nothing new to me. However, those horns look simply alien to me.
After completing the path around the Wild Africa exhibit, we stopped for lunch. The ladies went shopping, so Scott and Katelyn played some hackey sack in the common area.
On the way back, we hit the carousel so Katelyn would have a chance to have some fun on it. Unfortunately, she did not choose the Purdue University horse. She had to break her daddy's heart, and jump on the University of Michigan horse. Oh well, Daddy still loves his little girl.
Our next stop was the Children's Zoo. It has a showcase of smaller, more domesticated animals. Enjoy the show!
The zoo has a large swamp area with a nature path circling it. There are not many animals there, but it is still educational in nature, and a nice little diversion.
The first time we passed the cheetah exhibit, they were at the farthest point away. My camera just could not get a good shot. However, upon returning from the swamp exhibit, we stopped again, and one of the big cats put on a little show for us.
Our final stop was the aforementioned snow leopards. They were up and around, and were happy to pose for us.
To close this entry, here are just a few more photos of happy people who enjoyed their day at the zoo.
