I may have mentioned a time or three that we are budget travelers so on our 2008 visit to Albuquerque we chose to focus on the Botanic Garden and Aquarium which we got into free. We did not get our first zoo membership until we visited the Miller Park Zoo later that year so we just put off a visit to theAlbuquerque Zoo until now which was one of the reasons Albuquerque was our rest stop on the Great Train Adventure.
The zoo entrance is watched by these metal art sculptures depicting local critters to get you into the animal viewing mode even before you get into the zoo.
One of the first guys we visited was the Gorilla who was very actively patrolling his enclosure. Then he just sat down in the corner, looked at us, then rolled his eyes. Later I caught him in a more natural pose that does not scream zoo.
The zoo had a very young Orangutan so mom is looking on with patient resignation while the baby plays and then they had some togetherness time.
The Red River Hog was wallowing in the mud which is only to be expected. The Peacock spent a lot of time strutting around but would not open for me like at the Jackson Zoo. Apparently I am not very attractive. It was hard to find the throne chair empty since every little king and queen wanted to try it out. Grandma even got a chance or two.
While classified as antelope, the Klipspringer is more at home in the isolated rocky cliffs of Africa than the open grasslands. They walk on their toes and the info sign claims they can land with all four feet on a silver dollar sized outcrop. The way they were bouncing around their enclosure makes that very believable although they were not showing off when we watched.
I missed the info sign for this rather strange bird and I can't seem to find any references. From the bare head and neck it should be a type of vulture but the long legs suggest a type of crane. I know the big harry fellow is a Takin and here I caught one of my favorites the Wart Hog actually bothering to look up at me.
This seems to be my year for big horn White (wide mouth) Rhinos although I think the one at Little Rock Zoo keeps the record for longest while this one is fatter.
I know I have found these guys at other zoos but the Capybera is your basic 150 pound guinea pig. Not quite the type for cuddling on your lap. After dogs, no cats, rabbits, snakes, no hamsters, but maybe something else we prefer a 5 pound guinea pig.
Here is another view of the Zoo Train that runs over to the Botanical Garden and Aquarium as well as around the zoo. The Polar Bear was unusually active for being about as far from his natural environment as you can get.
The zoo also has a seal exhibit with above water shows and an underwater viewing area to watch these guys gliding through the water. Surprising to me they very frequently swim upside down. Reasonable when you think that water is their natural environment just like air is ours.
I will just finish up this visit with a Komodo Dragon from the Reptile House and a banded Skink running free in the zoo who decided to stop long enough for me to get a quick picture.