Where the Wildish Things Are

Yesterday I got a rare Saturday off, so the kids and I spent it at the Fort Worth Zoo.

We had been to this zoo once before, on our road trip in 2007, but that first time we had gone late in the day for the Halloween Boo at the Zoo event and the kids were there for the candy more than for the animals. By coincidence we happened to visit during the 2014 Boo at the Zoo weekend, but this time we came for the animals.

[FUN FACT EDIT: Elizabeth just pointed out that we came on the exact same day, October 25, seven years later. What are the odds?]

It was a fun day, although we were surprised by how small the habitats are compared to the San Diego Zoo and how many of the animals are housed alone or just in pairs instead of in natural groups. The meerkats, for example…in San Diego, their enclosure is a large, fully-populated colony where you can watch them engaging in natural lookout and social behaviors. At the Fort Worth Zoo we only saw two listless meerkats in a small pen; no colony, no natural behaviors, no fun to watch. Same with the gorillas — only two of them, and they looked incredibly bored and dejected.

A few of the habitats are really nice though, especially the aquariums and some of the reptile enclosures.

The rock-climbing wall is pretty cool. It’s more of a challenge than we expected, but making it to the top and ringing the bell was a nice feeling.

We watched a fun Halloween-themed marionette show…

…and enjoyed close-up encounters with a few tame animals.

It was a nice way to spend a Saturday, and the weather was perfect. We probably won’t be going back, though, at least until they upgrade the habitats a little. The San Diego Zoo has spoiled us, apparently.