When it comes to traveling and places to see, I always enjoy visiting a zoo. If you were to look at places my family has gone together, most of the time it will be a zoo somewhere. We have been to our two local zoos more time than I can count.  I love animals and I love taking pictures of them.

Last month I had the opportunity to take a tour of the Los Angeles Zoo in support of the new Disneynature film “Bears” that will be playing in theaters starting this Friday. Our mission going to the zoo was to see the bears exhibit as well as some of the other exciting animals.

Once we were in the gates our tour started with the California Condor Rescue Zone that is a FUN place that is designed for elementary school aged children. When you are inside they have play space that children will enjoy and even the adults.

Here I am having a little fun pretending to be a condor. They have big wings and small wings so everyone can enjoy the experience.

They also have these cool puppets that I couldn’t resist playing with.

(Photo Credit: Mommy’s Busy)

While at the California Condor Rescue Zone you can learn about the life of the California Condor in the wild and how they are trying to rescue this species from extinction. You can also pretend to be a zoo vet and even find out some of the bad things that these condors eat that they should not be eating.

Take a peek at this x-ray that they have hanging on the wall. See the stomach and then see what was actually inside the stomach? I think I see a ring!

Before we left the California Condor Zone we got a chance to meet Dolly, a California Condor. Dolly just isn’t any ordinary condor, Dolly has a story.

Dolly was originally from an egg that was laid at the Oregon Zoo condor facility, hatched in Pinnacles National Park and then transferred to the wild by the Los Angeles Zoo staff. When Dolly was 4 months the zoo veterinarian noticed something wrong with her wing. After two surgeries it was determined that Dolly would never be able to fly. Instead of putting Dolly in the wild where she would be in danger, the Los Angeles Zoo decided that Dolly would become the nation’s first condor ambassador!

Now it was time to take a little ride in the cool carts for a tour of the zoo and to check out some of the animals. This is the best way to tour a zoo in my opinion.  🙂

First thing we drove by was some cute koalas. Then we passed the Western Gray Kangaroos. I do think it would be cool to be able to touch a kangaroo one day. I have always loved these kangaroos since I was a kid watching Captain Kangaroo. This was my second time seeing one in real life.

Our tram stopped and it was time to check out the chimpanzees. I have a soft spot in my heart for Jane Goodall and I have a soft spot in my heart for chimpanzees so I want to share this:

The Los Angeles Zoo is home to one of the largest chimpanzee troops of any zoo in the country. Built in 1998, the Zoo’s “Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains” habitat has been hailed by renowned primatologist Jane Goodall as one of the country’s finest chimpanzee habitats. Maintaining a healthy, diverse zoo population of chimpanzees is crucial to the survival of the species. (Source https://lazoo.org)

I have always found chimpanzees to be very interesting and entertaining rather it be watching them be silly at a zoo or watching them on a documentary.

If you stand there and watch, the chimpanzees will make faces at you or do things to get your attention. Here is one of the cute chimpanzees giving me a grin while I snapped a photo with my cell phone. Every time I look at this photo it makes me smile.

After watching the chimpanzees for a while it was time for lunch with my Disneynature “Bear” friend Scout. The food was great but me and Scout were ready to see more animals!

Next stop, some lemurs! The Los Angeles Zoo is home to actually a few different specials of lemurs including the Ring-Tailed Lemur, Sclater’s Blue-Eyed (Black) Lemur and the Coquerel’s Sifaka. Below is a picture that I shot of one of my favorites, a Coquerel’s Sifaka lemur.

Lemurs are found only in Madagascar, off the coast of Africa so I thought it was great to be able to see one so close. The https://www.lazoo.org/animals/mammals/coquerels-sifaka/ are a medium sized lemur that have powerful hind legs which allow them to swing from tree to tree without much effort. They also have some strong feet because they have the ability to cling to the thorniest of plants in their habitat.

One of my favorites to see at the zoo was the CUTE Masai giraffes (also known as the Maasai giraffes).  When we first drove past them, I got this great shot of the zebra and the crowd.

Once we are off the cart I was able to take more pictures of the beautiful animals. I got quite a few good ones that I might just have to do a whole post about them.

I even got some video footage of the giraffes and some information about them.

Next we seen a couple hippos…

And then we seen this tiger…

We finally arrived at our key destination, the American Black Bear. Our group had previously watched a screening of the upcoming Disneynature’s film “Bears” before arriving at the zoo so it was exciting to be able to get to see an actual bear right after watching the film.

Here are a couple pictures of the American Black Bear that me and Scout were able to take.

After taking some pictures of Ranger the bear, we had to check out the noisy Siamangs. These animals like to give a little show to the zoo guests too!

After listening to the Siamangs sing,  we walked over to check out Randa the Indian Rhinoceros. I don’t know her exact age but I know she is close to 50 years old.

Want to see Randa up close? The LA Zoo offers and Indian Rhino Experience where visitors can purchase tickets to get an up close and personal encounter with Randa. This includes behind the scenes contact, touching the rhino and even feeding her.

If you are by Randa, you will also get a chance to see the Andean Condors. These are South American birds that are part of the vulture family. Their head and neck are dull red, nearly featherless and could change color depending on their emotional state.

The wings on the Andean Condor are what amazes me.

After we seen the rhino and the condors, it was time to check out the Giant Otters.

The Giant Otters are the largest in the otter family and classified as endangered. These little guys are cute but also noisy, especially when they are hungry.

We ended the trip to the zoo with a fun ride on the carousel…

And a trip to the gift shop because this mom had to bring back some surprises to her little ones at home…

To see some of the video clips I took during my tour of the Los Angeles Zoo, watch my video here:

Check out the Los Angeles Zoo Links:

• https://www.facebook.com/LosAngelesZoo
• https://twitter.com/lazoo (#LAZoo)
• https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLosAngelesZoo
• https://www.pinterest.com/losangeleszoo/
• https://www.lazoo.org/

Do you like my friend Scout, the plush I took along on my journey to the zoo?

You can buy a Disneynature “Scout” or “Amber” plush bear on the Disneystore website to help support the National Park Foundation. The Disney Store is going to contribute $1 for every BEARS plush that is purchased between now and 5/11/14.

Disneynature’s Bears is in theaters this Friday!