A Day at the Zoo

The Oakland Zoo. It's not San Diego, but there is something special about this particular animal preserve. Tucked into the rolling hills east of Oakland, the Oakland Zoo is home to some of my favorite animals. And although my last visit to this zoo didn't go so well (I didn't eat well and then threw up what I had eaten, and then there was the discipline issues with my older brothers), I was very excited about this trip.

My ABA skills trainers (and Mama and Dada, of course) have been teaching me all about animals. I can identify fifty or more by picture AND know their sounds (or just make up sounds for the animals I don't know). So, when Mama and Dada pushed my stroller and all into the zoo, I was totally stoked! I had no idea how cool giraffes, camels, elephants, zebras, and monkeys really were!






And the day just kept gettin' better and better with giant lizards, alligators, and turtles all just feet or even inches away, but always just out of reach. Where does a guy have to go to get some hands on experience with animals?




And then there were the Meerkats (What a weird name! I don't even know if I have that spelled right! But would it matter with a name like that?) and giant fruit bats! Bats are Cool.



And then I found the place where we got to get hands on, or somewhat hands on. Seems the workers aren't real fond of close interaction with the "wildlife". I mean, come on, if you're going to put balls out for the goats to play with and you're going to let kids in to play with the goats, then shouldn't you be alright with kids using the balls to play with the goats? Anyway, I think the goats and I got along just fine...




We made a couple more stops before it was time for Mama and Dada to grab some grub from the on-site eating facility (animal friendly, of course. Nothing a lion wouldn't eat.)




And that was all she wrote, folks. I was out. But my day at the zoo was perfect for everyone, which is hard to accomplish sometimes around here. Maybe next time we can bring Grandma.


It was fun. Hunter out.