Members' Nite

Last night we felt special and exclusive. We took Oakland Zoo up on their Members' Nite invite and enjoyed a behind-the-scenes peek at our zoo for 2 hours with other zoo members. It was a fantastic night with many highlights. One thing we all appreciated was the bay area's nice cool nighttime temps. Because of this we think the animals were much more active-- lions were roaring, monkeys were frolicking and the bats were awake and going crazy. As much as we do love seeing the animals in their habitats, this trip to the zoo was awesome for giving us a different look.

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There were a few stations where we could interact and get up close and personal with the animals. We stared at an owl perched on a zookeeper's arm, petted a ferret and a snake (!) and even chased a tortoise around.

Every half hour were special animal feedings. Here we observe the alligators gobble up their rat dinner. This is something that is always exciting to watch.

Some of the animal homes had open houses that let us walk through and see what the zookeepers see on the other side of the cages. At the tiger exhibit, we got to go in the night house and actually walk around in the tiger cages (don't worry the tigers were safely locked in the outdoor enclosure, obviously). We saw the balls they chew on, the brushes they scratch up against and even climbed around in their bed. Who can say they've been in a tiger's cage and put their fingers in holes that tigers have gnawed and clawed? Us now!

The veterinary clinic was open for tours and I found this completely fascinating. The vets showed us the x-ray equipment, dentist tools, shots for administering anesthesia and drugs, surgical suite and trachea tubes of various sizes (the elephant one was HUGE!). We saw the giant scales and nets for catching animals and pictures of animals being taken care of. It changes constantly, but once again, Ella has declared her intent to become a vet when she grows up.