2026, animals, education, Family, Nature, Travel

Columbus Zoo Day

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One of the highlights of our Columbus weekend was a day at The Columbus Zoo.  We got there right at opening and got a nice discount for being Minnesota Zoo members.  We did not really have much of a plan for the day – just wanted to see everything.

Not in any particular order…

  • Saw the tiger feeding and met a staff member who had been part of the Secrets of the Zoo show!
  • Watched a training session with two gorgeous cheetahs.
  • Walked through Adventure Cove (glass tube with water on all sides so you can see the various sealife swim above you and below you.
  • Watched the lion feeding.  I had the BEST spot of anyone… I kid you not.
  • YA walked through the Lorikeet Aviary
  • Lots of kangaroos in the Kangaroo WalkAbout
  • Extraordinarily expensive pizza lunch
  • Spent a LONG LONG time at Stingray Bay. YA is besotted with petting stingrays and little sharks.
  • Petted some goats at The Barn
  • Gorgeous polar bears
  • Visited the manatees and got to see “Stubby”, who can’t be released to a boatstrike injury but has acted as a mom to many young rescue manatees over the years.  Even found a cool manatee t-shirt!

I’ve talked about Jack Hanna running the Zoo for many years, basically turning it around and creating the fabulous experience that it is today.  Up near the Africa area, there is a great bench/sculpture of Jack and his wife, Suzi.  I couldn’t resist the photo op!

We were at the zoo for almost 8 hours and I can truthfully say that I slept like a rock that night!

Do you have a favorite animal?

29 thoughts on “Columbus Zoo Day”

  4. It’s pretty hard to pick a favorite. Of course I love dogs and horses, but there are many wild animals I love too. Frogs, toads, owls (especially snowy owls and Northern saw-whet owls), loons, ospreys, hawks, chickadees, hummingbirds, Franklin’s ground squirrels, and foxes. I like coyotes and wolves from a distance. Bobcats are cool too, with their huge, soft feet. I love huge, soft, fluffy feet.

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  5. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    Well, there are Baboons, especially the human type.😉

    I enjoy so many animals. This morning at 7:31am on my Merlin Bird identifier there was a long, long list after 10 minutes recording:

    White Breasted Nuthatch
    Northern House Wren
    Chipping Sparrow
    American Goldfinch
    Northern Cardinal
    Chimney Swift
    American Robin
    Blue Jay
    House Sparrow
    Great Crested Flycatcher
    Black cappped Chickadee
    Barn Swallow
    Downy Wood Pecker
    Brown Headed Cowbird
    Eastern Bluebird

    I listen to the birds in the morning, but it is really interesting to see the list. The most surprising birds identified are Bald Eagle, Great Horned Owl, and the raucous Pilleated Woodpecker.

    Giraffes are also fascinating to me with those long necks.

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  6. That pose of Jack Hanna in the statuary, sitting with one arm draped casually around the penguin, sums up the way I feel about most animals, including insects, reptiles and amphibians. I just want to sit alongside them with my arm or hand or finger in the case of insects, gazing off into the distance and pondering the state of nature. Companionship. Trust.

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    3. Sometimes in the morning there is a chipmunk sitting on our back step, his back to me, just gazing out on the back yard. I am conscious of a desire to just go out and sit beside him.

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  7. I’m kind of like Krista, but I find I really sit up and pay attention to herons, ever since I lived where they did flyovers between various lakes and ponds, both now and when we were in Robbinsdale. I love to watch their grace at taking off and landing, and once I was close enough to see that when they swallowed the little fish they’d just caught, the hairs on the neck stand straight out, and look fuzzy for a moment.

    I do also love to watch the squirrels (or chipmunks) in action. I remember during Covid, sitting by the window (like a dog or cat would) just watching for any movement outside, and it was usually a squirrel who accommodated.

    OT: Don’t miss last-night and early-this-morning chatter from yesterday’s post (including one from Occas. Caroline…)

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  8. im an otter guy. i identify with them. screwing around and playfully enjoying my existence is an ideal take on life. i tend to feel sad at zoos and like if this is a sanctuary and allowing them to exist in otherwise difficult situations (manatee-above) i can support it. to bring them in for visitor adoration is a problem for me. i am beginning to feel like a jailer for keeping fish. dogs are different… cats too
    i drives me crazy to hear about poaching gorillas lions rhinos tusks etc and would be fine with some huge consequences for people who put money ahead of care for the planet.
    i like too many other critters to list but otters has been an answer ever since i saw on disney as a kid. minnesota zoo has otters and i always enjoy

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  11. I like a lot of animals; it would be hard to pick a favorite. Some that come to mind:
    Cats (big, small, medium; wild and domestic)
    Elephants; they’re intelligent, loyal, complex beings. If you’re on social media, follow Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for some wonderful stories about elephants and other endangered animals.
    Otters; because they’re fun to watch.
    Gorillas; I like all primates, but gorillas are the best.
    Birds, all of them.

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  14. Chorus: All God’s critters got a place in the choir
    Some sing low, some sing higher
    Some sing out loud on the telephone wire
    And some just clap their hands or paws or anything they got now

    Well listen to the bass, it’s the one on the bottom
    Where the bullfrog croaks and the hippopotamus
    Moans and groans with a big to-do
    The old cow just goes “Moo”

    The dogs and the cats they take up the middle
    The honeybee hums, the crickets fiddle
    The donkey brays and the pony neighs
    And the old coyote howls

    Chorus

    Oh listen to the top where the little bird sings
    A melody with a high voice ringing
    The hoot owl hollers over everything
    And the jaybird disagrees

    Singin’ in the nighttime, singin’ in the day
    The little duck quacks and is on his way
    The possum don’t have much to say
    And the porcupine talks to himself

    Chorus

    It’s a simple song of living sung everywhere
    By the ox and the fox and the grizzly bear
    The grumpy alligator the hawk above
    The sly raccoon and the turtle dove

    Chorus

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