It's been a long time since I have paid a visit to the Auckland Zoo and since the recent arrival of Anjalee the Asian Elephant as a friend for long term resident Birma I was very keen to return and what better time to do it then a, showery, mainly fine Winter's weekend.
So, thats exactly what we did today, we went along to the Auckland Zoo with our friends and their little boy for a fun day out. We had so much fun and it was great to have a nice long walk around the zoo checking out all the animal exhibits, my favourites being, of course, the elephants, monkeys and giraffes.
Although the visit was mainly for us adults - with Ella being too young to understand - Ella was very happy today and seemed to enjoy the trip out and seeing something different, she liked looking at all the animals including squealing and smiling at them - a win all round I think!
A trip to the Auckland Zoo is definitely worth the money it's a not-for-profit organisation with every spare dollar raised channelled into caring for the Zoo's animals and to support conservation projects that help endangered animals in the wild. It has particular focus on trying to save the endangered Asian Elephant in countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka and Sumatra by researching elephant populations, protecting their natural habitats and trying to prevent human and elephant conflict.
An adult pass is $28 per person, a child pass (ages 4 to 14) is $12 and infants under the age of 4 are free. Family passes are also available. It is definitely worth it! So, if you are in Auckland or perhaps visiting I recommend you go pay the Auckland Zoo a visit - you won't regret it!
The first stop on our trip was to visit the "Pridelands" it's currently under construction, in the view of improving the enclosure, but we still had a great view of the Giraffes, Zebra's and Ostriches.
There are six giraffes, one male Zabalu, and five females, Rukiya, Kiraka, Shira, Mdomo and one calf born in 2015.
On to the Lion exhibit, it seemed all the animals today were making the most of the Winter sun by sleeping, sunbathing and not doing much else really but I did manage to take a couple of pics when two of, the three, sleepy lionesses raised there heads to give us a cursory glance.
Next on our visit was the highly anticipated Elephant clearing which houses Asian Elephants Birma and new arrival Anjalee. Following the passing of Kashun in 2009, Birma, sadly, became the sole occupant of the elephant enclosure until the arrival of her new mate Anjalee only just this past week.
Much to the surprise of Birma's keepers, the pair hit it off much quicker than anticipated and we were fortunate enough to see them in action during the Elephant encounter today. This was by far my favourite part of our visit!
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| Anjalee |
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| Birma |
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| Anjalee and Birma |
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| Checking Birma's teeth |
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Checking Birma |
Following our visit to the Elephants our next stop was to the Orangutan enclosure where the were let out into their big enclosure to hunt for their food.
The cheetahs are beautiful animals and them like every other creature at the zoo yesterday enjoyed sunbathing and not much else.
The tiger were enjoying the sun just as much...
The "Aussie walkabout"enclosure... Wallabies, Emu's and a Rainbow Lorakeet.
The Alligator that looked like a statue...
A beautiful Tui bird, not an exhibition but it just happened to be hanging around the lemur enclosure.
The gorgeous ring-tailed lemurs, they are so cute!
One of the tiny little Cotton-top Tamarins scooting around their enclosures...
One of my favourite encounters was the Spider Monkey's with their lanky, long limbs they were incredibly amusing and I could have watched them all day!
All in all we had an incredible day out at Auckland Zoo, it was so much fun and we all enjoyed ourselves including Ella and her Daddy!
So, if you are looking for something to entertain the children this coming school holidays why not take them for a visit to Auckland Zoo!
What are somethings you love to do or places you take your kids to? I'm always looking for new places to go!
One of the tiny little Cotton-top Tamarins scooting around their enclosures...
The only picture I managed to capture of the spritely little Squirrel Monkey's...
All in all we had an incredible day out at Auckland Zoo, it was so much fun and we all enjoyed ourselves including Ella and her Daddy!
What are somethings you love to do or places you take your kids to? I'm always looking for new places to go!
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