Maryland Zoo African Lions!

The Maryland Zoo has been engaged in a 20 month and counting renovation of the far end of its African Journey section.  The remake is upgrading and expanding the habitats of it's African Lions, Reticulated Giraffe and African Elephants.  The hope is that they will be positioned to acquire more African Elephants and increase its current herd from 4 to 6 or 7.  The move also opens up more room for the zoo's 4 Giraffe.  In 2018 the herd went from 4 animals to 6 with the birth of two calves.  Then tragedy struck with the death of one of the calves who failed to thrive, followed by the mother of the other calf who died from a sudden digestive ailment.  The larger and more appropriate habitat would provide room for the herd to grow again.

The African Lions at the Maryland Zoo have long been presented in an obscure habitat that gave visitors poorer sightlines.  The new habitat increases their space, and upgrades its amenities (larger pond, heated rocks for lounging, wider grassy space) and gives guest a state of the art viewing area.  As fate would have it, it was opened to the public this past Saturday, the day of my visit.

Maryland Zoo - Zoo Bloom!

This past Saturday, I visited the Maryland Zoo to complete a self-guided survey that is part of my process for joining the Volunteer Corps.  The process of the survey took all around the zoo and about 3 hours to complete.  Along the way, I also took time to visit some of the animals.

PENGUIN COAST

 Home to 90 African Penguins, the largest habitat of African Penguins in any zoo in North America.

 

POLAR BEAR WATCH

 The Polar Bears, step-sisters Amelia Gray and Neva.

 

CARIBBEAN FLAMINGOS

AFRICAN JOURNEY

Common Ostrich

 Burchell's Plains Zebras

 Cheetahs

The Maryland Zoo is home to a pair of Cheetah brothers who represent ambassador animals: Animals precious for their educational value in representing their species, but not important in the grand scheme of breeding for genetic diversity critical to maintaining a robust and viable population.

CHIMPANZEE FOREST

PANAMANIAN GOLDEN POISON DART FROGS

Homemade Chow Mein

NOT Chinese!  I know.  But a childhood comfort food that is really nasty via La Choy as an adult.  Still, you can make it yourself with your own Oyster Sauce and Sodium Lite Soy Sauce and it's really quite healthy.

Happy Spring Solstice!

Stir-fry Dinner

Shrimp, baby bok choy, mushrooms, fresh ginger and garlic.

The Weekend Starts...

....with Spring!

First Daffodils of the Season

Fountain is covered still, but the very warm dy sent the daffodils into overdrive.