As part of the Forest Park complex and containing some of the original structures from the 1904 World's Fair, the Saint Louis Zoo like the Missouri History Museum is free, well sort of mostly.
Like all zoos they have to find ways for revenue enhancement like the train circling through the various areas and certain special exhibits have an admission but for a large zoo you get an awful lot for the price of a good walk. They tend to be focused primarily on hoofed animals like the new baby elephant here first with mom and then with grandma added and I'll have much more of those later.
Zoo wise this has been a great year with two good pictures of a Cheatah
here walking along even if she is not looking right at me. The Bush Dog
was quickly pacing a rut in the enclosure which has two good viewing spots with glass viewports. And the Capybera
is also ignoring me.
My favorite photographs of the day was the Black Rhino
in a great enclosure that gives the appearance of her natural environment. Again the Black Rhino has the pointy chin and prehensile lip for stripping leaves and small branches that she was eating when I arrived. Maybe just pacing around but I can at least pretend she is looking right at me in the one picture.
Here I'm not sure the Hippo can see me as well as I can see him but this also has to go on my list of special shots. The Dwarf Mongoose
was definitely stopping to look at their observers as they scamper about sort of like the prairie dogs they resemble.