Breakfasts at the Zoo!

The last two Saturdays we have been able to have Breakfast with the Tortoises and the Warthogs. We have done the Tortoise Breakfasts before and love it, but this time was different because it was with Nana and Papa! This was last weekend when they came to visit (which was much needed by Mommy and Zane).



Today, we fed the Warthogs with Grammie. This was a new breakfast that they have only had for two days (today was day two!). It was really a great time. The activities that were there for the kids to learn from were fantastic. They had this really cool pegboard maze that they used plywood, nails and rubber bands to get marbles (warthogs) to mud pits. There was another homemade game, like the peg board triangle game where you jump over until there is one peg left in the hole (can find them at Cracker Barrel) but the holes were borrow and one type of marble was aardvarks and the other the warthogs (Warthogs don't like to build their own holes so they will steal them from the aardvarks!) There were other fun learning activities too, the crafts I brought home because we did not have enough time to do them.

We then went out to the exhibit where the Keeper told us more about the warthogs and then lead us to the night houses. He had not let the males out to the yard yet, so those were the ones we got to feed. Boy were they excited to get their food. The kids could not get it in their mouths fast enough! Once he let them out into the yard the kids then filled up their toy ball with hay pellets and the Keeper threw the balls into the exhibit and we were able to watch the warthogs push the balls around and eat the pellets as they came out. These are very, very smart animals!




The one thing that the Keeper said that really made some sense is that the warthogs normally do not get in the mud at all in October. He said "I know that something is wrong when the warthogs head straight to the mud pits and roll around first thing in the morning when it is Oct. It is way too hot!" I must say, I agree! Does not feel like Oct. around here, still feels like late June and early Sept.