My family and I recently took a trip to Toronto, which was great since we haven’t taken a family trip in ages! Or it was great, until we had to spend 14 hours together in a small pick-up truck to drive home… then things got a bit dicey. But that’s not the point of this post! The point of this post is to tell you about one of the biggest attractions in Toronto, the Toronto Zoo!
When I was a kid there used to be a TV show on all the time that was just about the Toronto Zoo. It showcased the zoo keepers and let you get to know the animals they handled. By the time I first went to the zoo I knew the names of half the animals in the place. Probably could have told you the family tree of all the apes too. However, my first trip to the Toronto Zoo as a child was a bit disappointing. It was enjoyable, but nothing like the show made it out to be. This time, returning as an adult I had high hopes. I wanted to see some animals that you just don’t find in your back yard every day.
My intentions were good, but the weather was bad. It poured buckets down on us. It rained like you wouldn’t believe! That didn’t stop us though. We hung out under cover or in the indoor exhibits during the worst rain, and during the breaks in the down poor we got to head outside to see the larger animals.
The indoor exhibits were nothing to scoff at! They were like indoor rainforests, with animals in their habitats and birds flying free.
Each building had it’s own charms and themes, but my favourites were the ones that were like stepping into a tropical forest. The reptile house was especially interesting as all those scaly things were firmly placed behind glass where I could look at them without having to actually touch them! I’m not actually that bad with snakes, and lizards certainly don’t bother me. I’m sure that somewhere in that zoo there is a building dedicated to bugs and spiders though, I’m just glad I didn’t accidentally stumble upon that one. That would have been it for me.
I really liked these guys! Green is one of my favourite colors, and they were such a nice shade!
As nice as the smaller creatures were, I wanted to see some of the bigger animals. The ones that are in all the children’s cartoons, and all the stories from my child hood and… let’s be honest here I just really wanted to see Simba… I mean a lion.
This big guy was relaxing after a big lunch. We just missed his feeding but we caught him before he laid down for his nap!
The lions were a personal favourite for me. Seeing them this close and knowing the power they have is something else. While we somehow managed to tour the zoo about a half hour behind the zoo keepers doing their feeding schedule, we still got to see most of the animals just before they nodded off for a post meal nap.
The Rhinos at the zoo were dozing off too! No one wanted to show off for us, but we were glad to see them just the same!
There were some pretty cute animals to see as well, they weren’t all of the tough or scaly variety. I mean come on, red freaking panda. It’s not even a good photo angle and it’s still adorable!
Look at this little guy! He’s so cute I could just cuddle him! (If he wasn’t a wild animal, be careful kids, don’t try this at home.)
Overall my family and I had a great day at the zoo. Rain or no rain. It still didn’t live up to my childhood visions of grandeur, but as far as zoo’s go, it’s worth a visit. Part of our problem was visiting just before high season, so a lot of the shops and food stalls weren’t open yet. That and the rain. I’d recommend going on a beautiful sunny day, just before animal feeding time. That way all the animals will be out and about, you’ll get to hear from the zoo keepers as they do their feeding’s, and the animals won’t all be napping!
…I mean really, even the frogs were asleep.
Morgan On The Map 