Monday, September 7, 2009

Lions and Tigers and Snakes, Oh My!

The fun part of our Labor Day Weekend was spent at the Out of Africa Wildlife Park near Camp Verde, north of Phoenix. This place was so amazing! It started out with a safari to see African animals like this giraffe. The bus driver/trainer got out of the bus to coax Pilgrim over. Everyone got a carrot to feed him. That's Skye's hand. It was so neat to be that close to the giraffe.

Then we saw some zebras including a couple of really cute babies!
The trainer made the zebras "smile" in order to get a treat.

Out of Africa is filled with shows including the Tiger Splash where trainers play with these two female tigers, sometimes getting them to jump into the pool with them.

Then we saw a snake show.
After the show, everyone got to go in and pet these two giant pythons.
It was so cool! You could tell they were powerful animals. And yet, they let hundred of hands touch them! If you ever get the chance to pet a big snake like this, take it!

After the snake show, Skye insisted on going for a camel ride.
She was all smiles riding that camel with Daddy and is still talking about it!

Don't be fooled by this picture. I know this hyena looks small, but it was quite large and scary looking. Lance was sure it was eyeing Skye as if she could be its next meal. I would never ever want to run into a hyena in the wild. Those things are freaky!
This cougar, on the other hand, just looked like a big, friendly cat.
Well, maybe.

I LOVE tigers! I think they are the most beautiful creatures in the whole world so I was thrilled to see this one so close up. The reason it wasn't off sleeping is because it was almost meal time. Yep, the final show was the Predator Feed where trainers come around and huck big chunks of meat in for all the predator animals. Once, this tiger jumped up and growled at us. It definitely made my heart race, despite the fence between us.
The lion enjoyed his meal.
We ended our trip with some slightly more mild creatures--birds! If you're ever looking for an animal adventure, I totally suggest checking out Out of Africa.

4 comments:

Camille said...

Nate and I had planned a trip there last year and then couldn't get off work! I still really want to go there! It looks like you guys had a great time...and had the chance to be up close and personal to some fun animals! Have you guys been out to Montezuma's Castle yet? It's in that general area and it was fun to see.

Cookie said...

So if you do end up moving back to Utah, I will have to go down there in a hurry so you can take me to Out of Africa! I think it was a great adventurous weekend! I love all the pictures. Glad you got to go have a fun day there.

Jess said...

I don't want to see a snake show- you're brave! That looks much better than the zoo. I may have to swing by on our next drive to UT.

Lance said...

The picture of the multiple zerbas combining strips is cool.