San Francisco Zoo

School starts on Wednesday, so the boys and Kevin and I headed to the San Francisco Zoo this morning, as a way to put an end on a great summer. The zoo has made a lot of improvements, and they are working on even more. It's really coming along nicely.

Two boys, happy to go to the zoo.

What lion? I don't see a lion.

The newest zookeepers.

Such a sleepy owl. She was sitting on the ground, behind a low fence, and she stood so still, I was able to really zoom in on her face.

The Grizzly Bears were quite animated. It was a few minutes before the doors opened to their bigger enclosure, and feeding time, and they could not wait to get in there. They were running back and forth, making noises and pacing. It was quite the scene when the door was opened and they ran in to search for fish in their water area, and then other various fruits/veggies scattered around the rest of their enclosure. Not too long ago, a homeless guy climbed INTO the enclosure with the bears. I did not climb in. I felt like I could be one with the bears, without going into their home. I'm funny that way though.

The boys did climb ON this Grizzly Bear. The Grizzly Bears (the real ones) are super impressive.

There are peacocks all over the zoo. This one just let us take pictures of her, she wasn't shy.

The boys and a baby elephant. How sweet.

We spent over an hour watching this Fishing Cat try to catch a fish. It was a big fish, a carp, and a smart fish too. In the end though, and after the zookeeper let some of the water in the tank drain out, he caught his prize. He splashed into the water and grabbed that fish right up! He took it out of the water and then proceeded to play with it. The poor fish would flap all around while the cat hid and pounced, hid and pounced. Finally he carried it off to eat it. It was worth the wait. Proof of the food chain.

This is a Mandrill. He was very cooperative too! Look at his face, isn't he cute? His butt is pretty cute too, all blue and yellow and red. Just sayin'. Click my link at the bottom of this post and see for yourselves.

This giraffe found the wall quite tasty. They literally may eat the zoo out of house and home.

If you would like to see the rest of my pictures (and there are some very impressive lions and of course all of the shots of the Fishing Cat getting his fish, and the Mandrill's bottom) you just need to click HERE.