A Zoological Anomaly?

Today, myself, The Tramp and ESD paid a visit to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. It was supposed to storm but instead the sun came out and it was rather hot and steamy. Not too hot, but by the end of the day we were all a bit uncomfortable. Tired really. Put-up-our-feet-and-collapse tired!

It's a pretty nice zoo and I'd recommend a visit. I've read articles recently on how the exhibits are old and tired and the zoo needs a whole bunch of money to bring it up to speed, but the "decay" is well hidden and we thought the place was quite nice. The animals look comfortable and well cared for and some are heart warming rescues with sad stories of their previous lives. The grounds are attractive with lush vegetation (lots of it in bloom) along the well maintained pathways and in the enclosures, small ponds and running water everywhere and wonderful bronze sculptures of the animals near each exhibit. There were even bronze snakes here and there unexpectedly hanging on railings.


The website says,

"Located about 75 miles west of Raleigh in Asheboro, N.C., the Zoo is nationally recognized as one of the nation’s finest zoos. It was the first American zoo designed from its inception around the "natural habitat" philosophy--presenting animals and plants in exhibits that closely resemble the habitats in which they would be found in the wild.

Among the most popular exhibits are those that display polar bears, sea lions, river otters, alligators, elephants, gorillas, baboons, rhinoceros, giraffes, and zebras. The 37-acre African Plains exhibit alone is as large a many entire zoos.

The 11-acre Prairie exhibit in the North American region showcases the zoo’s collection of bison and elk. The Sonora Desert, an indoor recreation of the famous desert of the American Southwest, is alive with roadrunners, rattlesnakes, gila monsters, tarantulas and many more fascinating denizens of that hot, dry climate.This was the nation’s first state-supported zoo and remains one of only two state zoos, the other located in Minnesota.

The N.C. Zoo is...the nation’s largest walk-through natural-habitat zoo. Its African and North American exhibit regions span more than 500 acres with more than five miles of walkways. Another 900 acres are available for future development..."

Our aching feet tell us this is true!

In all I took 181 photos! I promise not to show them all here. :-) Digital cameras are a wonderful thing. You can just snap away without a worry and deal with the mess when you get home. So.......as I browsed my photos this evening I discovered a recurring theme. It struck me pretty funny so I thought I'd share it with you.

I apparently have a disturbing number of "buttocks" shots! LOL What's the deal with that???? True, I was hot and sticky and looked downright dorky and touristy in my NY Yankees cap snapping pictures but sheesh...what's with all the backsides turned my way???

I present to you.....

My "Backwards" Trip To The Zoo

My very first photo was of Ostrich heinie. Little did I know what was to come.


Giraffe posterior came next


Then we got Elephant tail


Followed by Gorilla tush


Elk ass


Polar Bear butt


Baboon buns


Flamingo fannies


Black Bear fundament
(the Grizzly Bear presented the same view but somehow I missed getting a pic)


Chimpanzee cheeks


Ocelot arse


OMG....is that my rear view???
(Climbing on the rear end of the rhino sculpture no less.
Dang! That's the last time I hand over the camera to anyone. LOL)


Lion rump


Lizard stern



Even Bee bums...sigh. Clearly I was on a roll!!!


Sheesh...even the Tortoise turned against me


And my favorite caboose of all! The Tramp's. :-D
It's why I married him. SHHHHHHHH! Don't tell!

Hope everyone else is having a great 4th of July weekend too!