We got to feed penguins! My oldest son took me to the Emerald Coast Zoo for my birthday so I could feed a bear. I decided to return the favor and took him there to feed the penguins for his birthday.
He has always been fascinated with penguins and was so excited to be able to spend some one-on-one time with them.
We got to the zoo and wandered around for a few minutes before the penguin keeper showed up. Into the enclosure we went, cooler of sardines in hand.
There are three African penguins living there. Big Z, Chicken Joe, and Maverick.
Big Z and Chicken Joe are about ten years old while Maverick is only five.
The two older ones are not as friendly as Maverick. Maverick loves people and had no problem coming right up to us.
We got to hand feed him and even pet him a few times.
Big Z and Chicken Joe preferred for us to toss the fish out into their pond. They are so funny swimming and playing.
It was magical sitting there with them. They each have their own quirky personalities, and it does not take long to see that.
My son was over the moon by the time our encounter was over.
We walked over to see the baby giraffe that had been just 2 months earlier.
His name is JoJo, and he is SO cute. He was a month premature so he’s not much bigger than when he was born. Despite this size of his mother, the thought of birthing something that size wigs me out a little.
Both of us really enjoyed looking at all of the animals. At one point I was watching a jaguar pace around until my son said “Mom, I do not like the way that hyena is staring at you. He walked up to the fence and even when I tried to distract him, he would not take his eyes off you.”
I turned around to see this.
This hyena made immediate eye contact with me and as we started walking he followed, never looking away.
A few minutes ago, we were happily feeding penguins and now this animal is looking at me like those penguins were looking at the fish.
As if we had spoken the words aloud, my son and I started walking fast at the same time. We didn’t stop until we got to a wall that blocked the hyena’s view.
I’ve never given much thought about hyenas but have now decided I do not care for them.
Interestingly one of the encounters the zoo offers is feeding a hyena.
That is going to be a hard no for me.
We had a lot of fun feeding the penguins and will be back to visit.
