Los Angeles Vacation 2/28: LA Zoo!

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A lot of people--unless they have little kids--don't go to the zoo when they go on vacation. I'm really glad we did. I definitely recommend the Los Angeles Zoo if you like venomous snakes. I saw so many hot snakes that I completely lost track of what the species were.






This little guy is a sidewinder. This exhibit is very cleverly designed with the natural behavior of the animal in mind. The snake is curled in a nook which faces toward the front of the exhibit, so the animal feels comfortably hidden while being in plain sight of the zoo guests.




This was one of many species that I'd never seen in person before! These are chuckwallas, plump desert lizards known for hiding from predators in crevices, and inflating themselves to avoid being pulled out. These guys are much smaller than I imagined them, only about 8 or 10 inches long.


The front of this exhibit bumped out diagonally, enabling these very active horned lizards to walk around where they were very easy to photograph. My brother got a much better photo of these cute guys.


The zoo seems to have a good deal of success breeding venomous snakes.


I read about this species when I was very young: the archerfish spits droplets of water at insects to knock them into the water to be eaten! Never seen one before.


These snake-necked turtles were living up to their names waving heads on necks nearly as long as their shells.


The fly river turtle has a snorkel nose.


This is the exhibit with the two species of river turtle, the archerfishes, and a big lungfish (another favorite from my childhood self-studies!)


Back outside were these two magnificent Malayan gharials.




Interesting to see koalas--this is a species I may get some experience with soon.


Their silverback is named Kelly, and is about the same age as Kitombe. Kelly is 470 lbs, a lot of which is a big pot belly. Seeing gorillas out in the bright sunlight helps me understand why they have that deep beetle brow.


I only photographed two of the four ape species at this zoo. These chimpanzees lounging in the sun made me think that there should be more human exhibits at zoos.


It was nice to see a tiger enjoying a bone day. Many zoos skip feeding their big cats (and other carnivores) for one day, and instead provide a bone to chew on.


The carousel was amazing: every steed is a different animal.


Many of them were insects!


A sign said that riders over 350 pounds must ride the "dung beetle chariot." Are you calling me a fat ball of crap?


Perfect zoo trash can: Closed with a push flap to reduce odor and pest access. Made of metal to keep rodents from chewing in. The only drawbacks I can see are that the flap will get soda splash on it, and (in New England) the can will rust out.