I Was Followed...By A Pygmy Goat!
Written: Jun 05 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Educational, lots to do
Cons: Expensive food
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| millymac's Full Review: Zoo Gulf Breeze |
The Zoo in Gulf Breeze is a family-friendly place...but grownups probably enjoy it as much as the kids. In fact, I don't even have kids and I had a blast all four times that I went. And I will admit that my favorite part is the petting zoo, where you can feed and pet a cow, a donkey, sheep, ponies, and goats. It wasn't too pleasant when the cow licked my hand, but I was most flattered when the baby pygmy goat followed me around, begging for attention. We had a mutual admiration society going, and when at last my husband dragged me away "to see some REAL animals", I started begging for a pygmy goat of my own. That little guy was adorable.
Not as adorable, but equally fascinating, are the gorillas. I enjoy watching them in their little family group, doing their little family thing, picking fleas off of each other or whatever. They seem to be more sedentary when they know someone is watching, in contrast to their smaller cousins, the chimps, who will perform for anyone. Leaving the primates, we went to see the giraffe. You can climb up on a high platform and see the giraffe face to face, even feed him, which is fun. After finding a (very clean) restroom where I washed off the giraffe slobber, we ate lunch in the (overpriced) zoo cafe and then went for a train ride.
The train ride is really neat; it's like a mini-safari where you can see the animals roaming about in a huge compound that has the illusion of freedom. Not dangerous animals; just gentle beasts like hippos and capybaras. The train took us back to where the elephant, Ellie, was giving a show. After watching her tricks (she's very smart!) we got to ride her. You haven't lived until you've ridden an elephant! The zoo has camel rides as well; I haven't experienced that yet.
The Zoo is well-maintained, clean, and has a huge variety of animals. Most of them are not in cages, but in pens or enclosures, but I still always hate to see the big cats pacing. That's the only depressing part. The reptile house is awesome; if you have a little boy who is into snakes and other crawly things, you'll have a hard time tearing him away. For myself, I prefer the furrier sorts of wildlife, like the happy lemurs and the otters, who seem to enjoy lazing their days away, floating serenely on their backs.
Beware of the gift shop - you'll spend too much money! Besides the T-shirts and rubber alligators, the shop offers lots of educational books, toys, and games, not to mention stuffed animals. The lemur I bought was "only" fifteen dollars; steer your kids toward those big bins of plastic dollar junk.
Most people find animals fascinating so a trip to a well-kept zoo is always pretty surefire, especially for kids. However, a pet peeve of mine is people who let their kids climb on the fences, tease the animals, and so on. Please don't allow that. It's rude and it's unkind to the animals, besides the fact that it can be dangerous. It would be very unfortunate if a child fell into the alligator pit, so be sure that your child understands the rules going in. Running on the paths is also a bad idea; I've seen a lot of kids fall and get hurt that way. You might want to consider eating lunch before you go or packing a picnic, since the food is expensive, and be sure to allow yourself plenty of time to browse, observe, read the information about each animal, and attend a couple of the shows - there are several different ones where kids can touch the animals. Have fun and be safe!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
millymac
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Member: Christina McKenzie
Location: Daphne, AL
Reviews written: 520
Trusted by: 91 members
About Me:
I review lots of movies and books when I'm not teaching.
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