Ya, some days life is just ducky …
… and other days there are obstacles to overcome, dilemmas like when you get into a pickle and sadly neither Google nor chatbots have an easy fix.
I think we never knew how easy we had it when we were kids … no responsibilities, no worries, just pure bliss.
Do you ever wish you were a kid again?
In today’s world, being an adult sure is no walk in the park. My daily walk at Council Point Park to escape the noise of the news and everything that is happening beyond the confines of my humble abode is no longer the same ambiance it once was, but I remain confident it is “gettin’ there” slowly but surely. I’ll fill you in on my peanut-eating pals in a future post.
Sometimes it’s just plain fun to act like a kid again.
Over the years, while walking around the Botanical Gardens at Heritage Park, bees and butterflies were not the only critters that end up on my camera’s memory card. If you’ve followed me for a while you might remember those four Lavender Guinea Pea Fowl strolling around. Click here in case you missed the post.
I frequently see the Farm’s chickens and the resident rooster at the Gardens’ Pavilion area as they hunt, peck and scratch. And, back in July 2018, I attended the Petting Farm’s “Christmas in July” event where Santa donned tropical duds and one of Santa’s reindeer was to be available for pics and petting. It was all good fun, except the weather was stinkin’ hot and the reindeer’s handler did not allow their charge to participate until later in the day when it cooled off – sigh. Here’s a flashback to that post.
So, let’s fast forward to July 18, 2025. I was at Heritage Park doing a walkaround and visiting the Botanical Gardens when one of the chickens crossed my path and, on a whim, I decided to walk over to the Petting Farm for a short visit – what’s wrong with feeling like a kid again?
The Heritage Park Petting Farm.
The website for this venue touts that 90 critters call the Petting Farm home, among them alpacas, goats, sheep, ponies, cows, donkeys, rabbits, chickens, and piglets. They’re just waiting for you to visit, or so the sign on the gate says anyway.
I’ve been inside the big red barn where they all live, but it’s a wee bit dark for picture-taking, so unfortunately there will be no piglet or bunny pics today.
Besides the barnyard critters, there is a nature pond filled with Koi. There is a small bridge that crosses the pond so you can peer at the Koi and the various domestic ducks that paddle alongside the Koi, all amicably sharing their space. I’ve seen Mallards wrangling a fish, then downing it, so I was happy to see these domestic ducks did not look at the Koi as an easy lunch and were neighborly.
Though I didn’t “pet” the critters, I observed some barnyard antics, which I captured with the camera. Like this critter playing peekaboo while peering at me from all angles.
So, were the critters willing to pose sans treats? Um, well some of them, others not so much.
Very bummy, er … funny. Well I fixed that little problem and took a side profile.
Did I lose any fingers?
Nope, all ten digits were present and accounted for at the end of my visit.
So I spent a delightful hour, trading the world’s calamities and noise for whinnies, baas, moos, brays, cackles and quacks. 🙂
Join me on a different type of nature stroll and I guarantee by the end, you will feel young at heart again.
I visited the barnyard first.
I was NOT sheepish about taking pictures of some of these critters – after all my astrological sign is Aries, the Ram.
There were several alpacas, some which clustered together and/or plunked down in the middle of the barnyard …
… while others ventured over to the fence while exhibiting a variety of expressions on their fuzzy faces.
Alpacas are known to spit on people if they feel stressed, or you get too close to them. Happily I remained unscathed by alpaca spit. Since I sometimes visit the Gibraltar Bay Alpaca Farm, I learned to avoid getting spat on by speaking softly and keeping my distance i.e. I let the camera zoom in and I zoom out.
Clearly, this was a MOOdy cow that refused to kowtow to me and leave the confines of the big red barn for a photo session, so I took this shot hurriedly before its MOOdy self walked back into the barn.
Have you ever seen/heard of screaming goats? I have seen the videos and their blood-curdling cries could raise the dead. The goats at the Petting Farm were relatively quiet, content to look for grass beyond the barnyard fence – no screaming goats in this group.
The goats had a big plastic rock for climbing and some toys like balls to kick around, but they were not being used. I did not let the bored-looking goats get MY goat.
This miniature donkey looked old and tired – or maybe it is supposed to look that way? It sidled over to see me with a disinterested look and just stood there. Well, okay then, have it your way.
The pony needed a “mop chop” for its bangs during our hot Summer. It was not too interested in me, but like some of the other critters, it found some innovative ways to eat since barnyard grass was non-existent, i.e. the grass was definitely greener on the other side of the fence, so you grab it however you can – yikes!
A chicken wandered along the walking path at the barnyard – did it recognize me from all our other encounters at the Botanical Gardens since it is a frequent escapee?
After touring the entire barnyard area, I headed to the nature pond.
Oh boy – Koi!
There were lots of huge Koi in the pond and they swam back and forth this narrow passage, under the bridge, all the while popping their heads (and lips) above the water’s surface while looking at me expectantly, so …
… I concluded either I resemble the person who feeds them, or I look like I might be toting fish food.
Some of these Koi were longer than the ducks.
The last part of my “nature walk” was visiting Tony the tortoise. Admittedly, my walking stats are not stellar for 2025, but I am happy to say I still could leave this tortoise’s steps count in the dust.
This South African tortoise was huge, 100 pounds/45 kilograms and first he stared me down …
… before lumbering toward me and he moved more quickly than you would think through the tall grass. Tony’s world is a fenced-in area, with a bridge and wading pool with sprinkler, but apparently, this human was a diversion for him.
Sometimes it’s good to step back a little and have a little fun. While I don’t condone removing animals and birds from their natural habitats for humans to gawk at, zoos and petting farms have existed for years – the first zoo was established in Paris in 1793. They will continue to exist long after we are gone. Yesterday was World Animal Day, a day geared to bring global awareness to improve animal welfare. I have always been an advocate of improving animal welfare and support several organizations to do my part. World Animal Day is the subject of Terri’s Sunday Stills Photo Challenge this week.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Another good adventure Linda. That poor old donkey 🥲 Great animal photos
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Thank you Brian – I’m glad you enjoyed it! I thought you might be aMOOsed by my cow. It is not as photogenic as your cow portraits though. 🙂
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That cow did look MOOdy. I forgot to mention the Alpaca haircuts 😂
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Yes, the cow was totally devoid of personality. A cow whisperer I am not and besides, it was too far away! Yes, the Alpacas look a little like overgrown poodles with those haircuts, don’t they? They seem fascinated by humans when I go to the Alpaca Farm; in one look they size you up, then go back to eating (or spitting, depending on their opinion of you).
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You were really playing with words in this post. Fun!
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I did have fun creating this post Anne and I hoped everyone would be aMOOsed! 🙂
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I was aMOOsed.
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I am glad I aMOOsed you Anne! 🙂
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I think I once saw a Twilight Zone episode that showed humans as caged animals to be viewed by aliens.
Not a fan of keeping animals caged….just ask the Donkey.
You couldn’t bump your ISO and open your lens to shoot inside the barn?
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I was thinking that too, up the iso etc…though I have to say my phone camera does a better job automatically inside and in low light than anything I come up with on my camera.
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Dawn, I will tell you what I told Wayne about adjusting the ISO. I always take the digital compact camera with me when I go to Heritage Park. This is because, except in Winter, I always go to the Botanical Gardens and they require a permit to shoot in the Conservatory and Gardens. The permit is $40.00 for one hour and is really more for formal picture-taking (proms/homecomings and weddings), however, before they put up a sign up about requiring the permit and installed a surveillance camera (along with a sign that says “smile, you are on Candid Camera” which I think is more for vandalism), I was there with the DSLR once and was told not to bring it again. I told them I was a personal blogger and the pictures were for my blog about walking. The person then asked me the name of my blog site and they pulled it up on their phone while I was there. They don’t mind camera phones, so my digital compact is small with 12X zoom, so that is what I take with me, to avoid any issues and I just use it throughout the entire Heritage Park campus. It is the same at Fair Lane/Ford Estate. If I’m just passing through and taking some pics, I’ve not been told I can’t take photos and right now they’re busy with renovation but it is the same policy and no formal type pictures allowed. I actually used the small camera more than the DSLR this Summer.
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That’s so weird. I can understand (sort of) if they don’t want professional photographers making money using their location without them getting a cut ($40 isn’t that big a cut, but it’s only an hour, too). But seriously…I’ve never been to any botanical garden that doesn’t just let you wander around and take pictures. And cell phones are so sophisticated nowdays that I’m surprised professional photographers don’t do some of their work with those too.
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I follow the Gardens on Facebook and last year they did an announcement around Homecoming or Prom, I don’t recall which, where they reiterated the permit needed for pictures. I read the comments because some of the high school students wanted to share the hour-long permit and that wasn’t doable either because it was just for the permit holder. I think it is more for professional photographers too (and a 3-hour private session goes for $250.00) but I see that all the high school kids’ formal-type photos are taken around the park, especially the covered bridge or the Coan Lake fountains. There is a hobby photographer who does the “Heritage Park Photo of the Day” and he goes and takes informal pics of the Taylor high school students around the park in formal wear, but never at the Gardens.
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I guess they are trying to prevent anyone with a real camera from taking shots but to be honest, who would want to take shots like that to begin with. Pros shoot only wildlife in their nature setting.
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Yes, I agree – they do have surveillance cameras there now, but that could be because of theft or vandalism as well. I have seen butterflies and bees there but no hummingbirds in all the years I’ve been going there. There was an photographer used to take photos of the gardens and I ran into him one Sunday morning. He said he saw hummingbirds there all the time – I’ve never seen one. A goldfinch once – that’s it.
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I know you are not a fan of keeping animals caged up Wayne and I agree with you – this little visit was more for whimsy and an impromptu visit. I wondered if the Donkey was sick, bored or maybe just old. The other animals were much more lively. As for shooting inside the barn, I always take the digital compact camera with me when I go to Heritage Park. This is because, except in Winter, I always go to the Botanical Gardens and they require a permit to shoot in the Conservatory and Gardens. The permit is $40.00 for one hour and is more for formal picture-taking, however, before they put a sign up about the permit and a surveillance camera up (along with a sign that says “smile, you are on Candid Camera”), I was there with the DSLR and was told not to bring it again. I told them I was a personal blogger and gave the person that asked me the name of my blog site and they pulled it up on their phone while I was there. They don’t mind camera phones, so my digital compact is small with 12X zoom, so that is what I take with me, to avoid any issues.
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$40 is rather steep, considering that pros would never pay or shoot in there to begin with. It’s a gotcha fee and I bet they don’t get many takers!
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I know that the high school kids liked going there when dressed up for prom and homecoming events and that booking fee was only for one person, so a group of seniors couldn’t all pitch in for the $40.00 fee either. I think it is steep too. The Henry Ford Estate/Fair Lane also has a fee but it is more for professional photographers. They are not strict about picture taking, but then they have been doing renovations and have ongoing construction vehicles, scaffolding, etc. for years and years, so they are not focused so much on a hobby photographer snapping a few shots – they finally plan to be finished with the renovations in 2027, so they may be stricter then.
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Uh-oh! Sounds like you had some computer issues this week? Hope all is well, now. This is a wonderful tour and I enjoyed all the animal pics. As usual, you’ve captured their expressions perfectly and I love your play on words too. 🙂 You’re probably having the same heat wave we are. Isn’t that amazing for October? I love it, but it’s probably too hot to go walking in the middle of the day.
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Debbie, well I had computer issues doing updates yesterday and today, resolved in part, turned off the other update, but it didn’t affect me when I was writing this post, HOWEVER, WordPress was glitchy in that I wrote this post a week or so ago, thought of another pun I wanted to add, went in to add it, then got a message re: “there is a newer version of this post available” so I chose that, re-read the post again, saw nothing was missing, added what I wanted to, saved it and left. Yesterday, I went in to add Terri’s blog link and got the same message about a newer version, but this time, it gave me to versions within the post to compare them side-by-side (???) So I had to re-read the post again (and I still missed where I repeated a word). The whole thing was annoying!
I’m glad you liked my punny stuff and the pics too. Some of the animals were a hoot with the looks on their faces. Today is the last hot day for us. We have a storm and rain finally tomorrow and then cooler. I have been walking a lot since even though it is hot, it is still cooler in the mornings than it was back during the hottest days of Summer and lower humidity.
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Some first class punnery, Linda! And fun photos too.
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Well JP, coming from the Master Punster himself, I will take that as a compliment. I am glad you were aMOOsed with the puns and the photos. 🙂
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Love those pictures of Tony the tortoise. Did you get down on the ground to get that great eye-level shot? Tim did that back in 1995 when we went to see the giant tortoises on Discovery Island at Disney World, before it was closed in 1999. I like the shades of color on the miniature donkey, even if he is old and tired and understandably indifferent to passersby. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one before. All the goats I’ve known are charming and comical, just like the ones you met this day!
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Thank you Barbara – Tony was quite friendly and ambled over to see me right away. 🙂 I did not have to lay on the ground like Tim, but just crouched down a little as he was coming toward me. I was standing on the asphalt and Tony was on the grass in the fenced-in area so the fence would have been in the photo. He had a little bridge in his living area too and I suspect it was for decoration only as he was so heavy. I did feel sorry for the miniature donkey as he stood there motionless the entire time. I’ve seen those videos of the screaming goats, even the fainting goats. I’ve also had a laugh with the videos of the kids running around inside people’s homes. They jump up and down like a pogo stick – so cute! All baby animals are cute though. These goats were quiet, mostly eating grass, but it did make me laugh how they and the pony stuck their head through the slats to get to the grass outside the barnyard!
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Great shots of animals. Looking forward to hear how Council Point Park is coming along.
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Thank you Kate – it was a fun diversion from my usual walk around Heritage Park. Finally, the shoreline looks better, only because the milkweed plants, some pokeweed and other assorted colorful weeds are now waist high, so that is an improvement, but I am now up to eight squirrels as of this morning. It is not the same old gang of 30-40 as before, but we’re gettin’ there. They no longer run the other way and come over willingly, even standing on my shoe or dancing around my feet. Even the Jays and Cardinals are beginning to come around. Baby steps!
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🙂
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That’s a lot of animals to see and pet! The cow looked indeed MOOdy. Hehehe
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Yes, there are a lot of animals there – I know some of them were hiding, or maybe staying inside the barn as it was warm by mid-day and the barnyard is in full sun. The cow just looked at me like “what do you want?” Maybe I am a squirrel whisperer but a cow whisperer, I am not sure of. 🙂
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I haven’t been to a petting zoo in….well….I don’t know if I’ve EVER been to a petting zoo. At our county fair there’s a tent with animals you can pet…and I walked through it once but it was during covid and I didn’t stay in the tent long and I didn’t want to touch anything, like the treat dispenser, plus I think you had to buy the treats and I’m too cheap! Loved your animal photos.
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I’ve only been to this petting zoo twice. I haven’t been to the Detroit Zoo since we had a field trip there in junior high – many decades ago. There are pony rides at Elizabeth Park and I did a post about it a while back, because I was there once when I was about 10 years old and I reminisced about that. The owner saw my post (by Googling I assume) and wrote me a really nice comment. They have a little area with an alpaca and a couple of donkeys and ducks for the kids. I got some fun shots of the two donkeys. You can get a cone filled with carrots to feed them. I was cheap too as I just watched and took pictures. 🙂
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How wonderful to have these animal areas to visit frequently, Linda! It’s so important for people of all ages to appreciate and learn about our feathered, furred and scaled friends. Great shots!
Yesterday we stopped by the Harvest Festival down the street to buy pumpkin donuts and check things out. This year, there is a petting farm hosting miniature animals including a baby bison! Of course i took pics and will share more about that next month for national Bison day on November 2. Lol. Have a great week!
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Yes, it is great for the kids around here because there is this petting farm and also a big children’s zoo in Saginaw, Michigan, geared just for kids. It is good for kids to interact with these animals that they might never see otherwise. Just think – if you don’t have access to a farm, you could go your entire life without seeing farm animals. Your Harvest Festival sounds fun, especially the baby bison! I know you’ll have fun with that post for National Bison Day. I also went to a park yesterday for some Harvest/Halloween shots for my “Scary”/”Walktober” post. I figured the leaf colors may be a bust this year, so I had to come up with another creative and colorful idea. 🙂 You have a great week too Terri.
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The post for ntl bison day will be inclusive for hooves and maybe feathers 😁
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Hmm – hooves and feathers. I can do hooves (kind of for a Wordless Wednesday) and feathers are a cinch with all the herons and egrets pics I usually have. 🙂
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Love you pics! duckduckgo.com is a good search site like google. The best part is that they don’t track your searches like google.
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Thanks Cathy! It was a fun way to while away an hour. 🙂 I used to use DuckDuckGo awhile back and lapsed back into using Google again. I do have a VPN and ad blocker which helps somewhat, but what I find is if I read a non-news article on MSN, once I click that article, similar articles flood my news feed to a point that it is annoying, so I open another tab and Google the story and read it there – yikes!
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MIss Linda………………………………….I’ve never seen a black hen and a Bumpy shelled turtle or a tortoise………………………….and the funny hairy-looking goats……………………….cool!!
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I’m glad you liked the animals at the petting farm Ann Marie – the next time you go to Heritage Park, you have to take a stroll over there … something different to see!
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Great post for World Animal Day, Linda! 👏👏👏
Last week I did get into a pickle! I could not open my jar of pickles!! I called on my neighbor to have him help me out of my pickle, but he didn’t want any of my pickles.
The donkey has 3 socks and missing his 4th sock! Perhaps that’s why he seemed disinterested in you at that moment. It was looking for his lost sock. Although I have no idea why a donkey would be wearing socks!?!
I love the tortoise. He was smiling at you which led me to believe he was being smitten with you.
Enjoyed being a kid with your post today.
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Thank you TD – I’m glad you liked this post! It was fun feeling like a kid at the petting farm and fun writing about it too! You are very observant as I never noticed that the donkey was wearing socks or I would have mentioned it in the post. I went back to take a look and see which sock was missing. Interesting – I also wonder why a donkey would wear socks? The tortoise was huge and I must have a friendly face as it came right over to the edge of the fence to see me. That makes me happy that he was smiling at me. 🙂 My mom was a pickle lover, sweet ones only, especially the kind with the pickled onions and cauliflowers that were in the jar. She’d get really frustrated when the lid got stuck and she’d be tapping on the lid with a spoon or waiting for the pop for the jar to open and get at the pickles. I’m glad you enjoyed being a kid too! 🙂
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Dill pickles are my favorite . I tried tapping it on the floor trick. Didn’t work. Luckily the neighbor opened it for me. 😄
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Yes, I like dill pickles too, but haven’t had any in a while though. I have a jar opener too – it grasps the lid at the edges and pops open the lid.
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I did not know that China made jar openers. I will go on a scavenger hunt in the Amazon jungle soon. 😁
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I think it was probably American made and I got it for my mom years ago, just at the grocery store. But they have it at Amazon – I will put the link in a separate comment. I got it for her as she had arthritis in her hands and her grip was not good. You don’t need the one that looks like a vise. 🙂
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Here is what I have at the house TD that I found on Amazon (in case your neighbor moves):
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I really enjoyed seeing all the animals and your punny story telling. 🙂 It looks like a fun place to visit but not sure how you do so without wanting to feed all the animals.
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I’m glad you liked the puns and the gang at the Petting Farm Ruth. It was a fun little impromptu diversion after my walk at Heritage Park and the Botanical Gardens. I wonder if you can feed the animals there? I didn’t see any food to feed them either time I’ve been there.
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Awesome animal photos! I loved the little donkey!
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Glad you liked the animal photos Vero! When I took the photos of the donkey and later putting the post together, I did not notice the donkey was wearing socks and missing one sock. Another reader noticed that and I totally missed it – did you notice?
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No I didn’t notice that either! Going back for a second look!👀👀👀
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Those look like real socks!!! (Or shoes)
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Yes – amazing! If I had seen it I would have asked about the socks (or shoes) that day. I could understand one sock, if maybe it had a hoof injury of some type, but three socks?
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🤭🤭
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What a delightful day you had…..and such a variety of animals you encountered! Our petting zoo is nothing like that, a few goats, a mean alpaca, a few chickens, and tons of ducks! I remember your post about the guinea hens. That turtle is enormous!
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It was fun Joni – I was glad I decided to go there. The last time I went for “Christmas in July” it was very hot, so not many animals were out and I was disappointed the reindeer weren’t there and I didn’t want to go back late in the day to see them. Some of those alpacas are mean and you definitely do not want them to spit on you or the camera. The guinea hens were so unusual-looking (and acting) and they had run quite far from the Farm and were clear across the park. One of the Farm employees rescued them by shaking a bag of seeds/grain and they followed him “home”. I wouldn’t have known what they were except a fellow blogger from Tennessee has a nature blog and had just posted about an encounter she had with some.
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I sent you an email. Watching the game.
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Okay, thank you Joni. I will reply tomorrow. I got home late today due to grocery shopping and stocking up for Winter as the store was busy and got online later than usual today. Sorry the Jays lost. So did the Tigers yesterday, but they won today in a win-or-go-home game for them.
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Game on now, early innings, tied so far.
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Fingers crossed those Jays win …
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They won! Hope they play against Detroit!
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I heard today and thought of you – wouldn’t that be great! We’ll know after Friday night’s Game 5.
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I’d rather they pay Detroit than Seattle, as they’ve beat Detroit before. I don’t know much about the Seattle team.
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Well the Tigers beat Seattle 9-3 yesterday. But the Tigers lost bigtime the day before – the day it poured raining and there was a three-hour rain delay from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and the first night it was chilly!
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I sent you two separate emails Linda…..Jays losing 3-1 first game. Thanks for the e-card!
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You’re welcome Joni – Happy Thanksgiving to you! Sorry to hear that the Jays lost to Seattle. Fingers crossed they do better on Wednesday!
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They are losing right now in the second Toronto game -10 -3. They have tomorrow off to regroup, but I think Seattle will win the series and play the Dodgers for the world series. Lot of bad luck tonight and usually they do well at home games.
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Oh no – on their home turf too. But they may be like the Tigers who did well in Seattle. I’ll cross my fingers they do well. The Seattle games start later due to the three-hour time difference.
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I’m with you about keeping animals in zoos, Linda. I quit going to them years ago, as they are depressing in a way. I get that some are sanctuaries for animals that can’t survive in the wild. Some are for saving endangered species. But I can’t imagine any wild animals would choose this life.
But, I do agree that it is a good thing to revisit our childhood treasures of animal imagination. We keep getting told about the ugly side of life and need a break from that.
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Eilene, I hope there will always be sanctuaries to provide animals that can’t be rehabbed a new life, but more than likely a diminished life from when they were free. We have a Bald Eagle at Lake Erie Metropark that is kept in a large wooden aviary. Luc was injured many years ago and is blind in one eye and his one wing does not function, so he cannot fly. But this poor eagle just perches, often turning its back on visitors that approach his cage. Occasionally I get a chirp out of him if I call his name and speak to him. There are several instances of animal cruelty in various marine-related theme parks, all which are very sad. I just read today about 30 Beluga Whales that might be killed because a Canadian theme park can’t afford to feed them. Ideally, they could be released into the water, but if they have been in captivity their entire life, that might not be doable.
It was fun to visit here and step away from it all. I go to the alpaca farm sometimes just for that reason. It’s nice to feel like a kid again.
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What a great way to spend your day with so many fun things to see. Sometimes we definitely need to step outside of our adult life and feel like a kid again.
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It was a lot of fun Rebecca and not only seeing the animals, but capturing their antics as well. I agree with you – just an hour or so getting away from the pace of adult life, was like a breath of fresh air.
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That was so much fun seeing all the animals Linda. Peace and quiet in nature can’t be beat, especially for you. You really captured some great pictures. I just watched a show on TV yesterday and they had a screaming goat.
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I’m glad this animal post gave you a smile Diane. I thought it would be fun to go there, something different than the usual Heritage Park walkaround. It was fun to watch the animals and I’m sure there are a lot of other visitors there, but the way the alpacas look at you, like you’re some type of oddity, as if they’ve never seen a human before. They stare at you very intently. I actually had about 20-25 more alpaca pics of just their faces, but had to stop myself from using them! 🙂 The screaming goats are pretty funny. I follow a few animal sites and I’ve seen them there and also the fainting goats – have you seen them? They are walking around, eating, etc. – next thing you know they are on the ground on their side out cold.
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I think that lowering walking goals will be fine. 😊
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Yes, I will have to make a lower goal going forward I think. I was messed up from Winter, having lost about three weeks or more due to icy roads. I am less inclined to take chances now and have a slip/fall on the ice and possibly break a bone. Then we had so much rainy weather and storms in the Spring up to the middle of July. I will try and make my goal, but as of now, it does not seem doable.
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Thank you, Linda, for the delightful tour through the petting farm! I’ve enjoyed watching “reality” shows filmed at zoos, and learning about the work zoologists and veterinarians do behind the scenes. Some of their work benefits animals in the wild as they seek to increase the populations of endangered species, do research, and sometimes care for wild animals who’ve been injured and then return them to the wild. It’s wonderful to see zoos build large, realistic habitats as well. Many of them have come a long way since my childhood!
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I’m glad you enjoyed the tour Nancy. I always pass the Petting Farm when going to the Botanical Gardens and on that day, it called out to me, so I thought why not? I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I have not been to the zoo since I visited the Detroit Zoo on a field trip in 9th grade, so that is a long time for me too. I know they have made changes to our zoo and other zoos to make them more adaptable for the wildlife that live there. The Detroit Zoo completely retooled the “Penguinarium” several years ago so the penguins’ living space is more as it would be in a natural habitat. It gets a lot of rave reviews for accommodating the penguins’ needs.
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If you haven’t been to the Safari Park in San Diego (the former Wild Animal Park), it’s designed the way all zoos should be. The “enclosures” are so big – hundreds of acres – they don’t even look like enclosed spaces. The animals are grouped according to how they would live in the wild (except for the predators). Everything is viewed from the perimeter in tour-guided vehicles so you don’t disturb the animals with whatever they’re doing. Finally, there’s a ton of money invested in research facilities and personnel, in the interest of maintaining endangered species. It’s well worth the visit.
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That would be my kind of zoo Dave, one where the animals roam as they do in the wild and are not kept in cages to be gawked at. The Detroit Zoo recently retooled their Penguinarium to make the environment just like penguins would experience in their natural habitat. I visited California on a 10-day tour of the coast from San Francisco to L.A. and unfortunately, our tour did not go to the San Diego Zoo – I’d have much rather done a side trip there rather than Tijuana, Mexico.
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