North Carolina Zoo: A Photo Tour

Toward the end of our trip to NC, we went to the North Carolina Zoo (which is run by the state). The zoo is located in the Uwharrie Mountains, one of the oldest mountain ranges in North America and thus somewhat more eroded than most. Nevertheless, the terrain in the zoo was rather hilly, and walking the trails in their entirety (including doubling back over a lot of them) was good exercise; there are over 5 miles of trail. Fortunately, the weather was pleasant - warm, but with a nice breeze - and there was excellent shade because the landscaping of the zoo left a lot of trees. They definitely went for "natural" in their habitats too, rather than cages and bars, and everything looked great. The zoo contains two areas - Africa and North America - connected by a trail (and mini-train service).

We started in the Africa Forest Edge area with giraffes. I thought the landscaping here was particularly nice.

The male lion in the African Bushlands area was sleepy and seemed content to let us get great, close views and photographs of him in his glory.


I was surprised how much I liked the tropical plant area of the African pavilion, especially the orchids. (I would have spent more time in there but it was really warm and muggy, as one might expect of an indoor tropical plant exhibit.)

One type of orchid:


Many types of orchid all together:


I also finally saw what a tamarind tree looks like (though sorry, no photo - it wasn't very photogenic) and learned a bit about it:

Tamarindis indica
Family: Fabaceae—Pea family
Origin: Tropical Africa
Native to tropical Africa, the tamarind tree grows wild throughout the Sudan. The fruit was well known to Egyptians and Greeks in the 4th Century B.C. The pulp from the fruit is an important ingredient in chutneys, curries and sauces, including some brands of Worcestershire and barbeque sauces. Sugared tamarind pulp is often prepared as a confection and tamarind ade has long been a popular drink in the tropics.

Of course, I was struck by this African eagle...well, not literally. I don't want to think about how much damage this guy could do if he decided to attack me.


The Watani Grasslands exhibit was really nice - a very large, open area visible in its entirety from a high vista but with a pathway system (outside the grasslands area) that allowed you to get close to various of the animals.

It's rather amusing to watch an African elephant, the world's largest land mammal, eating grass. (Apparently an adult elephant consumes 300-600 lb. of plant matter a day.)


The Chilean flamingo can be distinguished from other species by its pink knees.


I don't know what kind of flower this is, but I liked its waxy appearance.


Possibly my favorite part of the zoo was (predictably) the aviary. Robert had been extremely smart to suggest that we bring our binoculars into the zoo, and we used them everywhere (sometimes to the visible or audible envy of other visitors), but they were particularly useful for identifying birds.

My absolute favorite was the grey-headed kingfisher, of course; the guide described this specific bird: "This friendly kingfisher was hatched in 1986. He is usually easy to find, being very comfortable around visitors." And indeed, he was, but unfortunately, my photos did not turn out very well despite repeated efforts; you can at least see his wonderful bill in this photo.


I was also charmed by this extremely cooperative fairy bluebird (of Southeast Asia) with the bright red eye.


I could have stayed in the aviary all day, but we needed to move on to the North America exhibits.

In the Cypress Swamp, there were many lazy alligators lying about.


Also this beautiful big cat, a cougar, who posed magnificently. (Look at those paws, *swoon*)


At this point, my energy and interest levels were beginning to flag and my knee was not very happy with me, so I did not bother taking photos of any of the many, many North American animals that remained in the various exhibits. I did enjoy our sojourn in the Sonora Desert, where we saw all kinds of familiar things - cactus, birds, lizards, and so on. The arctic fox is also really pretty.

But...no rabbits! What?! It was a disappointment. But we did not lack for seeing rabbits during our time in NC. We saw wild rabbits a few times, including once on a residential street in Charlotte the day we left town.

The funniest animal sighting was at the SciWorks science museum in W-S. There was a section of animal exhibits, predominantly reptiles, and at the end of it, I was watching a large iguana make a mess with his salad lunch when Robert said, "Sally, turn around." Now Robert and I have a checkered history with these kinds of exhibits (including the infamous flying cockroach incident at the Fort Worth Zoo) so I was a bit hesitant and, okay, almost scared to see what monstrous reptile he was looking at. I turned and saw...a lop rabbit. "Oh god, what kind of horrible creature are they feeding this sweet bunny to!" I briefly wondered. I looked at the sign. It said: Domestic Rabbit. Oh, the bunny is the horrible creature! He was a cutie (though, in all honesty, not quite as lovely as my own Leo).