Here are some of the animals we were able to see at the
Brevard Zoo. This was by far the coolest zoo I have ever visited. There was lots of close encounters with the animals, more on that later.
This was some type of carp that was nesting. I didn't even know that fish nest, but apparently they swim in a circle until they have dug a little hole in the sand. They are very protective of their nest and will chase off other fish. Weird!
Parrot
I am watching you!
There was a part of the zoo where they had different bonsai trees with a sign under the tree telling visitors who had been shaping and taking care of the tree and for how long. Obviously, whoever has been taking care of this tree should be fired.
Rob, you need to work on your gardening skills. I don't think this tree is going to make it to its 31st year.
I don't know what the name of this bird is but it is one of the ugliest birds I have ever seen.
This is the star attraction of the zoo,
Rifikki the
giraffe. I have never seen a giraffe this close before. They are very beautiful animals. You could buy special crackers for a couple of bucks and feed the giraffes. You really only get to feed
Rifikki, because he is the dominate male and won't share any of the treats with the other giraffes. There tongues are extremely long as you can see from the picture.
Guess I will just lick the pole until someone is ready to give me another treat.
I thought I would take a picture of the rest of him since you only really got to see the head. I think he was close to 18 feet tall.
Here is Isaac taking his turn feeding
Rifikki. He was in absolute awe of him. He stared at him for a good 15 minutes.
Just a really good picture of his face.
His eyes were amazing. You could see the intelligence behind them. Both Heather and I were
mesmerized by them. Maybe that was
Rifikki's plan the entire time as we seemed to keep buying crackers to feed him.
This is a picture just after Isaac had given
Rifikki a cracker. He was laughing.
People would stay far back to see how far
Rifikki's tongue could reach.
They had a petting zoo full of deer and goats. Here is Isaac chasing a goat around the pen.
Golden Eagle. He was tethered to a post just outside the petting zoo. It looked like he was either guarding the animals or trying to decide which one was going to be his next meal. Isaac was not allowed to pet this one.
A very beautiful bird. Quite majestic.
Also, looks like he could kick some serious butt.
Hey, it's the turtle family.
Can you tell who wore sunscreen that day and who didn't?
We have a video of Isaac feeding the deer that I will hopefully get on the blog sometime in the near future.
Bald Eagle, the symbol of our country and a very good choice.
Also a really cool looking bird. He reminded me of Russian officers during the cold war with their puffy hats. This would have been a good symbol for the U.S.S.R.
Otters, I have always loved watching otters. They embody the playfulness and spirt of children. I could watch them for hours.
This one got really close to the glass to check me out. I must have been pretty boring because he didn't stay long.
Chilean Pudu. Or the spawn of satan! Check out the eyes on this guy. I believe it was just a product of my flash, but man that makes for a scary picture. I think he would be even scarier if his name "Pudu" didn't sound like a nickname for poop.
Lorikeets. The zoo had a large aviary that you could walk into and the birds were free to fly around. These birds were accustomed to people so they let you get really close.
Here is Isaac trying to pet a Lorikeet.
Isaac was really interested in this bird. As it turns out, the bird was just as interested in Isaac. He kept hopping down the railing to get closer to Isaac. I thought he was even going to let Isaac pet him but I thought better than to let it get to the point in case the bird decided to nip at Isaac. Then Isaac would be forever afraid of birds.
This is right before I stopped the meeting of Isaac and the Kookaburra.
Dude looks tough!
Go-away Bird. Who decided to name this bird? Someone who doesn't like birds? As you can see Isaac almost touched this one.
Violet Plantain Eater. Well, that ends the picture from the zoo. We really enjoyed our visit and plan to go back the next time we are in the Coco Beach area.
Here let me try to take a picture.
Yeah, this is more like it. My Packer's blanket, to cover up this Bear's symbol.
Oh, the shame. I can't believe Daddy is taking pictures of me wearing this. I am never going to live this down. Or Isaac could be playing peek a boo, depends on your perspective.
Hello!
