Yes, that is a strange title but it pretty much sums up my adventure to the zoo today. First of all, the Memphis Zoo is, in my opinion, the best zoo I have ever been too (except the one in Canada that you drive through and monkeys come swing on your car). It is huge, if you have problems walking, I don’t suggest it. They have alot of donors and therefore are constantly expanding and building better exhibits. I went in 2006 and I hardly recognize it now. The enclosures for the animals are fairly large, natural looking and paths take guests up close and personal with the animals.The pride and joy of the zoo are the pandas, Le Le and Ya Ya. They came in 2003 and are on a long term lease from China that was just extended another 10 years in 2013. There are only four zoos in the U.S that have pandas- Memphis, Atlanta, San Diego and the Smithsonian. I spent way too much time with these guys. I went twice while I was there because the first time Le Le was sleeping and Ya Ya was pacing for food behind a wall and I could only get glimpses. The second time I went back Le Le was chompin on some bamboo and Ya Ya was still pacing but in front of the wall this time so we made some progress.
I got excited because I saw this sign that said “Dragon’s Lair” so I went in and there was this huge Komodo Dragon sitting on this rock really still. I just imagined it moving suddenly and freaking me out so I moved on. There were three different, full grown dragons and they all creeped me out equally. I went back to the first one and it was sticking its tongue out so I took some pictures and decided to video it. It starting walking towards me which was terrifying but made a turn towards some nasty white stuff that was on the ground then eventually made its way back to the rock.
After that I dared myself to go into the Reptile House (ew.) and immediately got goose bumps because as soon as I walked up to the first snake it started slithering around and doing a little dance along the glass. After videoing it for a little while I moved along to other snakes who were also very active. Turns out it wasn’t me, it was feeding time.
They have a really cool bear, wolf and moose exhibit called Teton Trek. You can actually walk along an elevated path to get a better, closer view of the animals. It started raining not long after that so I made my way to the exit. It was a wonderful first trip to the zoo and I will be getting a membership soon because it is pretty reasonable. See facebook for more pictures because I took way too many to upload here. I am going to try to upload the videos of the snake and the dragon soon.
Walking in Memphis 