Admission: FREE
So on our last day in DC, we visited the Smithsonian Zoo! This the first time I've visited a zoo overseas because its so expensive everywhere, we always pay exorbitant prices to enter a zoo. The Smithsonian zoo has a smaller collection of animals but it is of a decent size (we spent 2 Hours in there) and its free!
The Smithsonian Zoo has open-air enclosures for its animals and the morning we were there it was freezing. This was also the day where we heard news of heavy snow in NYC. So, animals in some exhibits were moved out of their open-air enclosures due to the temperature.
The Red Panda
While browsing the Smithsonian Zoo webbie I found out you can watch the Elephants in real time here!
Panda BaoBao :)
Elephant Indoor Facility
Sand and Dust Shower to Protect their skin
Poo Poo :/
Golden Lion Tamarind
Meerkat
Komodo Dragons - Largest Species of Lizards
Spikey Sea Urchin
Crabbie~
HAI~~~ YA!!
The beautiful and strong Mantis Shrimp
So an elderly volunteer working in the aquarium section excitedly walked over to tell us about the wonders of the Mantis shrimp. The Mantis shrimp is a huge and it has 'knuckles' that are very powerful, the man said sometimes when he tries to feed it food it doesn't like, it will hit the stick of the net that's used to lower the food. It also has two eyes that work independent of each other and are said to have a a visual system very much more colour sensitive than ours. I think it knows it's kinda pretty :) Hehe. Also, female shrimp are only fertile during certain phases of the tidal cycle and when its mating season, they actively fluoresce. Cool shrimp!
The imposing looking Lion staring out of its enclosure.
The air was pretty tense here, people were just watching the lion and those with kids spoke with hushed voices. Scary..
Hmmm. Food for Thought.
This what I got from the museum souvenir shop :) Too cute!
Human haha
So that's all for the Smitsonian Zoo :) It was nice to visit the zoo after not visiting one in almost a decade. This zoo is free so it'll be nice to donate for the animals :) Every cent goes a long way!
