We got there around 11:00 AM which was not too bad but towards the middle of my trip is when it would get filthy hot. After entering, I must say I was a bit lost but that map really came in handy. We first went to go see the gorilla’s and I had Oliver count them. He says there were 10 total so I counted and he was right. Some were in the water and others were on land. They were about to get fed because I noticed one of the zookeepers coming with 2 bags full of food. That is when we got closer and were able to see what they were eating. To be honest, for a few minutes while she threw the food in, I was trying to guess what she was feeding him because it did not look familiar to me. I went ahead and asked her what it was and it was sweet potatoes. Mannn did those gorillas go crazy for those sweet potatoes. Then once she was done throwing all the potatoes, I saw about a good 6 lbs of broccoli. I thought that could not possibly be for them. Well what do you know, it was. She started throwing the broccoli in and they loved it as well. What good and healthy eaters they are. It was funny at one point because while the zookeeper was throwing in the food, many gorillas would cover their heads because they did not want to get hit by any of the foods. From there we went to go see the Flamingos and was kind of hesitant at first because from experience, I know they smell pretty bad. We still went since Oli was so intrigued by them. They did not do much except eat and eat and eat. Then we continued walking and came upon an American Alligator. Oliver was very interested and wanted to see it move but of course the lazy alligator did not move a muscle. We both learned that these alligators are found in swamps, rivers, and lakes bordering the Gulf of Mexico. Juvenile alligators mostly feed on insects, frogs, and small fish, while the adults feed of turtles, raccoons, and occasionally small alligators. Breeding for these fierce creatures occurs in the spring in which 20-50 eggs are laid.
One ugly creature we came upon that Oliver insisted I take a pic of was the Bornean Bearded Hog. Wow was that thing scary looking. In the pictures below you will see what I mean. These things were huge, and would walk around trying to find food. Oliver laughed at one point because they would rub their butts over the bark of the trees. I guess they had an itch that they couldn’t get to. These beasts are found in Malaysia, Borneo and other islands. They do not eat meat and are more omnivorous. They like to eat fruits, roots, earthworms, and carrion. It takes about 4 months for these beasts to mature and there is usually 2-8 per birth. These babies that are born, come out with stripes and stay with their mama for about a year and then off they go on their own. Upon walking to see the next animal, we were confronted by a peacock. It was really neat because you were able to see his beautiful feather up-close, which I must say was a little scary. I was able to take a few pics of this beautiful creature but he did not do much other than stare at random people. At one point in our visit, it was pretty funny when we went into the reptile facility. We were able to see snakes, lizards, alligators, and much more. While walking into this place, keeping in mind that it is pretty dark in there, as soon as we walked in, Oliver got scared and ran out. I went back outside and asked him what he's scared of. Well he told me that as soon as you walk in, you can see a snake hanging when really it's the left over scales of a snake which freaked him out.
Then we were able see some beautiful beasts that are known as tigers in danger. The are nine subspecies of tigers in which three are already extinct, one in which is certain to become extinct in the near future, and five which still carry on today. The three tigers that are extinct are the Balinese tiger, Javan tiger, and Persian Tiger. The one that is know to become extinct in the near feature is the Xiamen tiger and is listed under the 10 most endangered species in the world. The main causes to the disappearance of these beautiful creatures are habitat loss and fragmentation and hunting. This is really sad how many people don’t care and kill for the fun and don’t see the harm it’s causing our world. The next animal we saw were the giraffes and Oliver was soo excited to see them. He is just amazed by how long they are and how they are just yards away from us. Giraffes are from Africa, south of the Sahara. Their diet consists of leaves, buds, and tender shoots. Had to look up tender shoots because I had no clue as to what they were. I found out they are part of the trees high above which is why their long necks come in really handy. Can you believe the gestation period for a giraffe is 15 months? I thought 9 months was long, I couldn’t bare to imagine 15 months, especially with the size of them. We also came upon a few zebras that were also eating. They look so pretty with their black stripes and noticed them trying to get close to where we were. Then we went into the Butterfly Exhibit, which was very nice. There were over 15 types of butterflies flying all over the place. I tried taking good pictures with my phone since my camera batter died on me but the phone camera can only get so much.
Through out our visit we saw many animals before, during, and after that in which Oliver had a question about each one we stopped to look at. It is such a great thing because it shows how smart he is by questioning me with questions I don’t even know the answers to. After today, it's safe to say that I have learned quite a bit about gorillas, tigers, lions, zebras, cranes, alligators, and many more animal.
Gladys Porter Zoo was named after Gladys Porter who was heavily active in charitable work. Gladys traveled all over especially to Africa. It was then when she came up with the idea of having a zoo for the Rio Grande Valley. She was the daughter of Earl C. Sam who was the one that provided the funds to begin the zoo. The Gladys Porter Zoo opened it's doors to the public on September 3, 1971. Until this day, they still have fundraisers the first Friday and Saturday of every October. Some special guests who are animal lovers who have helped with this are Betty White, Amanda Blake, and Marlin Perkins. An average of 375,000 tourists and local people visit the zoo annually, with the attendance exceeding 400,000 in 2001.
One ugly creature we came upon that Oliver insisted I take a pic of was the Bornean Bearded Hog. Wow was that thing scary looking. In the pictures below you will see what I mean. These things were huge, and would walk around trying to find food. Oliver laughed at one point because they would rub their butts over the bark of the trees. I guess they had an itch that they couldn’t get to. These beasts are found in Malaysia, Borneo and other islands. They do not eat meat and are more omnivorous. They like to eat fruits, roots, earthworms, and carrion. It takes about 4 months for these beasts to mature and there is usually 2-8 per birth. These babies that are born, come out with stripes and stay with their mama for about a year and then off they go on their own. Upon walking to see the next animal, we were confronted by a peacock. It was really neat because you were able to see his beautiful feather up-close, which I must say was a little scary. I was able to take a few pics of this beautiful creature but he did not do much other than stare at random people. At one point in our visit, it was pretty funny when we went into the reptile facility. We were able to see snakes, lizards, alligators, and much more. While walking into this place, keeping in mind that it is pretty dark in there, as soon as we walked in, Oliver got scared and ran out. I went back outside and asked him what he's scared of. Well he told me that as soon as you walk in, you can see a snake hanging when really it's the left over scales of a snake which freaked him out.
Then we were able see some beautiful beasts that are known as tigers in danger. The are nine subspecies of tigers in which three are already extinct, one in which is certain to become extinct in the near future, and five which still carry on today. The three tigers that are extinct are the Balinese tiger, Javan tiger, and Persian Tiger. The one that is know to become extinct in the near feature is the Xiamen tiger and is listed under the 10 most endangered species in the world. The main causes to the disappearance of these beautiful creatures are habitat loss and fragmentation and hunting. This is really sad how many people don’t care and kill for the fun and don’t see the harm it’s causing our world. The next animal we saw were the giraffes and Oliver was soo excited to see them. He is just amazed by how long they are and how they are just yards away from us. Giraffes are from Africa, south of the Sahara. Their diet consists of leaves, buds, and tender shoots. Had to look up tender shoots because I had no clue as to what they were. I found out they are part of the trees high above which is why their long necks come in really handy. Can you believe the gestation period for a giraffe is 15 months? I thought 9 months was long, I couldn’t bare to imagine 15 months, especially with the size of them. We also came upon a few zebras that were also eating. They look so pretty with their black stripes and noticed them trying to get close to where we were. Then we went into the Butterfly Exhibit, which was very nice. There were over 15 types of butterflies flying all over the place. I tried taking good pictures with my phone since my camera batter died on me but the phone camera can only get so much.
Through out our visit we saw many animals before, during, and after that in which Oliver had a question about each one we stopped to look at. It is such a great thing because it shows how smart he is by questioning me with questions I don’t even know the answers to. After today, it's safe to say that I have learned quite a bit about gorillas, tigers, lions, zebras, cranes, alligators, and many more animal.
Gladys Porter Zoo was named after Gladys Porter who was heavily active in charitable work. Gladys traveled all over especially to Africa. It was then when she came up with the idea of having a zoo for the Rio Grande Valley. She was the daughter of Earl C. Sam who was the one that provided the funds to begin the zoo. The Gladys Porter Zoo opened it's doors to the public on September 3, 1971. Until this day, they still have fundraisers the first Friday and Saturday of every October. Some special guests who are animal lovers who have helped with this are Betty White, Amanda Blake, and Marlin Perkins. An average of 375,000 tourists and local people visit the zoo annually, with the attendance exceeding 400,000 in 2001.
Want to plan your visit to the Gladys Porter Zoo, visit http://www.gpz.org/
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