THE NAJERA FAMILY: out of africa wildlife park

the last day of our vacation, we took jj to the out of africa wildlife park. well, we took ellie too, but you know what i am trying to say.

the very first thing we did when we got there was the safari. they gave us carrot sticks as we boarded the bus/tram and said those were the treats for the giraffe so he can eat from our hands or we could put it in our mouth and get a slimy giraffe kiss. we both gave jj ours, so he would have more chances to get close to a giraffe.

as we drove up to him, we werent sure if he was in the mood for treats, but oh, were we wrong. he stuck his whole head in the bus and stuck his tongue out and wrapped it around each carrot stick and swallowed it whole, then the next one, and the next one...

i was trying to get the perfect shot of jj and the giraffe, but of course, i couldnt time my camera right. i did get him hand feeding the giraffe, but missed his slimy giraffe kiss. ellie was scared half to death of the giraffe. at first, she didnt want to feed him, but she eventually gave in. it was absolutely incredible to see a giraffe that close. it was a chance of a lifetime.

we then took the shuttle to the upper part of the park, we saw some lions, tigers, wolves, a bear and a mountain lion. when we walked to the lion cage, they (one male, two females) were sleeping. after about 5 minutes, a little truck drove by and spooked them and they all shot up from a dead sleep. i think they thought it was the feeder truck. they followed the sound until it went down the hill. in the meantime, we were able to get awesome pictures of the male lion. so cool!

we saw a zoo handler inside with the mountain lion and we talked with him for a while. he told us that ALL animals in zoos or wildlife parks are fully capable of escaping. they just don't know any better. that was a little scary to find out. he was petting the mountain lion and told us lots of cool facts. he said the handlers don't go into the lion cages where there are males. he said that the mountain lion could easily kill him if she wanted. his job is to look for cues to see if she is agitated and then try to calm her down. if she lunged for him, he would "calmly" radio for help and try and keep her away from his neck. that is so scary!

we got some lunch and were waiting for the tiger splash show. they have two tigers who play with about 5 trainers, all while going in and out of the splash pool. that was the highlight of the day. we took tons of pictures and got some videos too. it was so neat to see them so involved and literally, playing with humans. it was kind of funny to see the tigers not wanting to let the trainers take the toys away from them. they would throw chunks of meat away from the toy to distract and then sneak it away. pure craziness!

we had the snake show next. when the snake lady drove up, she asked for help carrying the crates with the snakes in them. jesse and albert (my bro in law) volunteered. after jesse had been carrying the crate all the way from the van to the spot in the arena, he realized his fingers were inside the holes in the crate. yes, the holes that allow the snake to breathe. he couldve got bitten! we stayed a little bit and then the little ones were extremely cranky, so we made our way out of the park. we caught the shuttle down the hill and saw a white bengal tiger, more lions, and a HUGE rhino. his name was boom boom!

we left before the last show of the day (predator feed-a tram throws meat into the carnivores' cages and the people get to watch them devour fresh meat). that would have been super cool to watch, but the kids and us sicklings could only take so much. i will never forget that day. i hope jj never does either. memories of a lifetime.