We went to the Portland Zoo on the cheap day this month. $4 to get in on the first Tuesday of the month, plus a few dollars for parking makes the $10+ gas drive not so bad. We hadn't been to the zoo in almost 2 years (with the exception of our visit to the Akron, OH zoo almost a year ago). I have mixed feelings about zoos anyways. They make me kind of sad. The animals are cute and it is somewhat educational to see them and learn about them, but I just don't feel like it makes up for them being caged up. The Lion 'exhibit' has 3 baby girl cubs. Born in captivity of course, right in our own local zoo. They are adorable! But how sad is it to know that they will never even develop natural wild animal instincts to hunt, to kill, to run, to find a mate and become part of a pride, to feel thirst and hunger and fear in their natural environment (unfortunately, they will probably still encounter these feelings, but in a human controlled space), to birth in the wild and protect their own young...etc. Instead, they will probably be sold to another zoo, or worse, a circus. Okay, off my soap box.
Despite my opinionated commentary about how un-natural it is for these animals in the zoo, the kids had a fantastic time! We had spent some time over the past several months learning about various animals so it was nice to see some in person. The animal in particular Esperanza was most excited to see up close were the bats! We studies bats the week before our zoo visit and she has been interested in them ever since. We made it through most of the zoo in record time with no major melt-downs or accidents of any sort. It was uneventful, which is a good thing since it was just me with a 2 and 5 year old.
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