Totally Texas -- Mingle with the animals

Dallas Zoo

650 South R.L. Thornton Freeway (I-35 South)

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It’s easier than ever for people to get a close view of the Dallas Zoo’s animals -- and for the animals to get a closer look at each other. This spring’s experiment in mingling animals in the Giants of the Savannah exhibit has giraffes, zebras, impalas, ostriches and guinea fowl grazing side by side daily. The zoo’s elephant herd is being accustomed more gradually to the other animals, with selected groups of elephants typically joining either giraffes or zebras on Fridays and Sundays, weather permitting.

Neither group of grazers seems to mind the guinea fowl, who pick their way among all the big animals as if they rule the roost.

Also new this spring -- live encounters with animals and their keepers every half hour, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ndebele Plaza in the Wilds of Africa area. On my visit this week, lively African penguin Sid delighted in leaping off a stump and scampering around the stage area.

On the other side of the zoo, the free-flight bird show in the ZooNorth amphitheater takes off Wednesday and Thursday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., Friday through Sunday at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. (Birds take time off Mondays - Tuesday.)

Other regular encounters are scheduled with lions, cheetahs, elephants and koalas on weekdays, and a wide variety of animals on weekends, at their respective enclosures.

My family enjoys the zoo even on rainy days, with the indoor reptile exhibits and the gloriously creepy exhibit of insects, spiders and other invertebrates at Bug U!, both in ZooNorth.

If the weather’s hot, we can cool off in the air-conditioned Gorilla Research Center and base camp viewing center in the Giants of the Savannah exhibit. Or enjoy the mist machines near the wart hog enclosure and the meandering stream through the Lacerte Family Children’s Zoo in ZooNorth.

The zoo is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Shortened hours apply in winter, and the zoo is closed on Christmas Day.) Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for children (ages 3-11), parking $8 per car. And yes, we usually succumb to the boys’ pleas to ride the endangered species carousel ($2). If you come by DART (there’s a stop outside the entrance), show your DART pass for a $2 discount.

For more discount information and special events, see
www.dallaszoo.com/.

Totally Texas -- Staying cool at the zoo

Penguin Days at Dallas Zoo

650 South R.L. Thornton Freeway (I-35)

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We headed for the Dallas Zoo this week, willing to bet that even on a seasonably cold winter day, we’d get our money’s worth from the zoo’s discounted Penguin Days admission of $5 per person. (Regular admission is $12 for adults and $9 for children.)

The boys were at first reluctant to go -- “it’ll be hot,” they said -- which shows what time of year we usually visit! Our first pleasant surprise was that, even during local schools’ winter break, the zoo wasn’t packed with visitors. We parked at the front gate instead of making our usual lengthy trek. Parking is $8 per car, although the DART rail line stops just outside.

There’s always room inside for the boys to run -- a standard requirement for any outing in our family. Some of the usual exhibits were closed while the zoo takes advantage of this slow season to so some remodeling. Signs warned us that the warthogs were “off exhibit” during remodeling, and we also found the giraffe feeding station closed because of the weather.

However, even most of the tropical animals in the Giants of the Savannah exhibit were outdoors and visible in spite of the cold. For the first time in my memory, we had a clear view of the lions during the 2 p.m. predator encounter near the Serengeti Grill restaurant. These big cat feeding/demonstration times take place at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily, alternating between lions and cheetahs. Our visit time coincided with the lions’ feeding, and cameras flashed like Oscar night as the zoo’s two male lions basked in attention and healthy treats from the zookeepers.

The encounter area is sheltered for both cats and visitors. But there are also great views of the lions from the floor to ceiling windows of the nearby Serengeti Grill restaurant.
Across the trail from the lions, the elephants also were active, reveling in mud baths and visible to visitors from the windows and deck of the adjacent pavilion.

Fortunately, though, some of the boys’ favorites attractions were indoor exhibits -- the bug house and reptile house, with its albino alligators and pythons, as well as plenty of normally-pigmented reptiles and amphibians. Don’t forget a few pennies for the kids to spend on the gravity feed coin toss benefiting conservation of the iconic Texas horned toads (actually lizards).

We lingered until closing time, catching dinnertime for the zoo’s African penguins, whose picture illustrates this post.

Penguin Days discounted prices continue through February 28 at the Dallas Zoo. For additional information, including feeding times and discussions, www.dallaszoo.com/.

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Speaking of animals, the animatronic dinosaurs of the Heard Natural Science Museum in McKinney continue on view through February 3. Power to the dinos’ sound and movement may be turned off in exceptionally cold weather, but the life size models themselves brave the cold. See www.heardmuseum.org/.
　

Totally Texas -- Soar and eat with the beasts

Dallas Zoo

650 South R.L. Thornton Freeway (I-35 East)

(or take DART Red Line to Dallas Zoo station)

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It was our first time viewing the Dallas Zoo’s Festival of Flight, with its free-flying, running, swimming birds, and the boys were nervous about getting too close to the perch the show’s photogenic young hosts set up. Or about participating. Those beaks and claws looked plenty sharp.

Before the end of the show, they were waving their hands to interact. The dozens of species of birds behaved so charmingly, even their rare bloopers drew smiles. A parrot responded to the “pretty women” in the audience with a simple “hello” instead of the wolf whistle his trainer hinted for.

The show began with a fly-over by a young eagle owl, the largest owl species, and still learning to remain calm around crowds of people. Creatures in the show ranged from domestic chickens and white doves to cranes, hornbills, hawks, pied crows and penguins -- and an American alligator named Lunchbox. An African collared raven ended by graciously accepting donations from viewers for the cause of bird conservation.

Show times are 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Friday through Sunday. On Mondays and Tuesdays, the birds rest.

After visiting other animal favorites, we took a lunch break at the zoo’s Serengeti Grill in the Giants of the Savannah exhibit. As usual, lions lounged against the floor to ceiling window separating the restaurant from the predators’ exhibit, ignoring the oohs and aahs of human paparazzi on the other side.

The zoo also hosts dozens of chances to view animals close up. It’s not possible to cram all of them into a single visit, so check www.dallaszoo.com for schedules of those you like best. The giraffes, also into savannah exhibit, encourage you to buy lettuce to hand feed them when they’re not browsing the trees and grass in their paddock.

By mid-afternoon, the temperature was warming up, so we set out for the Lacerte Family Children’s Zoo and The Stream -- a water feature looking like a shallow creek running through boulders. My daughter brought the boys’ swim suits -- not mandatory, but kids won’t be able to resist the urge to splash in the cool water of the partially-shaded playground area.

The zoo is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Tickets for nonmembers are $12 for adults (ages 12-64), $9 for children ages 3-11. Parking is $7 per vehicle. See the website for discounts and special events. There’s a lot of ground to cover at the zoo’s ninety-five landscaped acres, and it’s summertime. Bring sun screen, comfortable shoes and water. (Although there are lots of drinking fountains and drink vending machines.) Stroller and wheelchair rentals are available on a first-come, first-served basis at the Zoofari Market just inside the front gate.

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There’s a lot of fun stuff in North Texas this weekend, but if you haven’t had your children’s eyes tested professionally, please make that your top priority. The Essilor Vision Foundation will provide free eye exams and glasses this Saturday, June 9, during the BooksmART Festival at the Dallas Museum of Art.  For details, see
www.dallasmuseumofart.org/.