Beauty is in the eye of the giraffe
Showing off
Hanging out
Catching a few winks
Zoo Day
This past weekend, we attended “Paw Prints,” a wonderful art festival held at the Dallas Zoo. My friend and illustrator, Cindy, was hosting a booth showcasing her wonderful artwork, and we were excited to attend the event. I have not visited this particular zoo in nearly 15 years, and oh, what a difference 15 years can make. Tortoises were on parade, chimps were hanging out, and koalas were sleeping. But I was in search of the “Giants of the Savanna” habitat. Rumors of it being the first habitat of its kind in North America to allow different animals to live side by side piqued my curiosity. And the Dallas Zoo didn’t let me down. I could have spent the entire day enjoying seeing the elephants, giraffes, zebras, ostriches, and impalas living together, just as they do in the wild. What a fabulous example for other zoos and wildlife parks. Experts worldwide are visiting and studying what Dallas has done in hopes of designing similar habitats at other zoos. The “Giants of the Savanna” provides four acres of roaming room for these wonderful and intelligent animals. I have quite honestly avoided zoos for many years because of having to see animals confined in painfully small areas, and more often than not, alone. But Dallas gives me hope that one day, all the animals in zoos will be with more of their kind, in more natural surroundings, and of course, with more room to roam.
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