The Jackson Zoo – Wilderness Mississippi Open
This morning we all got up and decided to cash in on that “Friends of the Zoo” membership we bought a few weeks ago. We got dressed, ate breakfast, and made it there around 9:30. I had forgotten until we arrived that the new “Wilderness Mississippi” exhibit opened about two weekends ago.
Seems we’re starting a tradition of “one odd event per zoo visit”. The one “odd” thing that happened this morning was in the Zebra enclosure. Right as we got there, one zebra “mounted” another. We hastily distracted Rhi and took off for other areas (Don’t need to explain that fact of life yet). Although, the booming roar that one of those zebras let loose a few seconds later could be heard echoing across the entire zoo. A sound so eery that everyone I could see stopped and clutched their children closely, while looking for a rampaging elephant or bull running through the streets. I don’t know if it was a scream of joy (the mount-er) or shock (the mount-ee), but it was surprising to hear something so deep & booming coming from what I always considered basically a horse.
So, about the new “Wilderness Mississippi” exhibit:
The Good:
- It’s remarkably clean, the cleanest part of the zoo by far.
- There’s a wide selection of animals, although since it is “Wilderness MIssissippi” most of it I’ve seen before.
- All the outdoor pens have large shaded areas in front, complete with Benches & fans
- There’s a large indoor aquarium area with Turtles and otters
- Alot of the animals have moved into the new areas, leaving alot of old cages empty. Looks like they were making plans to fill them, just gonna take some time.
- The animal’s haven’t quite adjusted to their new environments. Two perfect examples were a bird in a nearby area that has picked itself bald, and the black bear has killed all the grass on one wall of the enclosure by endlessly pacing back and forth. Again, something that should fix itself in time.
The just plain odd:
- They have a ceramic skunk with his tail held high, “misting” all the kids right next to the bathroom.
All in all, it was alot of fun and Rhianna enjoyed it. Especially the aquarium. It isn’t very large, but it’s air-conditioned and indoors (Which is good for a pregnant wife) and Rhi liked watching the turtles swim and the otters play.
Still seems weird to see that other family with the Video Camera just happily filming the zebras, with 3 kids in tow…. “Daddy, what’s he doing?”
[tag:family][tag:zoo][tag:jackson]
