Last weekend we actually got out of the house and went over to the CALM (California Living Museum) zoo on the outskirts of town. It's a very small zoo, with native animals and vegetation. It's a great place for small kids, not too much walking and complete with a train ride and playground.
We did ride the train first thing because, hey, you are never too old for a train ride! It only takes about 7 minutes to go around in a big loop outside the zoo, but you do get a view of the river below, a part of the river that even has water in it before it all disappears underground or is diverted into canals. You also see some beautiful houses along the river and if I lived there I'd be sitting down by the river every day having my morning coffee. Or afternoon iced tea.
After the train we went to check on the mountain lions and bobcats who were all sleeping since it was late in the day and they are cats after all and we all know how cats love to nap. These two were napping right by the viewing window.
This one opened his eyes for a few seconds then right back to sleep.
No pictures of the bobcats since they were not sleeping next to the window but rather up on a rock ledge.
We looked at the birds and then over to the foxes.
As we were in the fox area we heard an announcement over the loudspeaker about something I didn't pay any attention to but apparently coyotes don't like loud announcements and the two coyotes in the enclosure next to the fox area started barking and howling. Their bark sounds just like a dog but that howl is definitely not coming from a dog, very distinctively coyote. A zoo employee was riding by on a cart and said that the coyotes always howl at loudspeaker announcements. I can't blame them, it probably hurts their sensitive ears.
We went by the barn owl cage just in time for him to hoot at us, when they hoot they kind of puff out in the neck area first, something I had never seen up close like that before.
Our little trip wasn't all that exciting but it was really nice to get out in the somewhat fresh air for an hour or so, we hadn't been anywhere in quite a while. We would like to get back to the Fresno zoo sometime this spring, they have a new safari exhibit that we'd really like to see.
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