Once again we traveled with our wonderful friends, the P. family to visit the Denver Zoo. Even though we have been to the zoo a lot this year, we still got to experience neat, new things. Above, we got to watch the new baby snow leopard climb down from the upper door to his mother and then play (chew) on her a bit. Looked like a really big kitten & his house cat mother. Here's a bit from the Denver Zoo newsletter, just a couple days before we went:
June 19, 2012
DENVER ZOO WELCOMES BIRTH OF AMUR LEOPARD CUBCub is First Birth in 16 Years
DENVER ZOO WELCOMES BIRTH OF AMUR LEOPARD CUBCub is First Birth in 16 Years
Denver Zoo is celebrating the birth of a critically endangered, Amur (ah-Moor) leopard cub, which was born April 25. The young male, named Makar (Mah-car), is the first birth of his species at Denver Zoo since 1996. Until now, Makar has been behind-the-scenes with his mother. He just received a clean bill of health from zoo veterinarians and guests can see him now inside the zoo's Feline Building.
Makar was born to mother, Dazma (Dazz-mah), and father, Hari-Kari (Harry Care-ee). Hari-Kari was born at El Paso Zoo in 2003 and arrived from there in 2005. Dazma was born Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in 2001 and came to Denver Zoo from there in 2004. The two were paired under recommendation of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) which ensures healthy populations and genetic diversity among zoo animals. Fortunately, the couple has proved to be an excellent match.
Makar was born to mother, Dazma (Dazz-mah), and father, Hari-Kari (Harry Care-ee). Hari-Kari was born at El Paso Zoo in 2003 and arrived from there in 2005. Dazma was born Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in 2001 and came to Denver Zoo from there in 2004. The two were paired under recommendation of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) which ensures healthy populations and genetic diversity among zoo animals. Fortunately, the couple has proved to be an excellent match.
We visited the brand new Toyota Elephant Passage as well. The zoo did an amazing job with this! I've always thought the pachyderms could use more space and more green, so I've been excited about this for a while. I highly recommend going to take a look. Of course the children enjoyed the blue Indian taxi cab more than the animals in this section, but as long as they are happy, I'm happy.
The most important reason why this was a special day was because it was baby Hannah's first trip to the zoo with us (outside of the womb). Kaelah could not get enough of her and was so happy she is such an easy going baby that smiles so readily.
These 5 have such a blast together. Here they are enjoying the newish water feature over by the Arctic. A great way to end the day right before heading to 7 Eleven for some treats before the drive home. Kaelah is lactose intolerant and Joseph is allergic to dairy, so slushies are a good switch from ice cream cones for us.
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