Up Close!

I found out that the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC was having a members night. Which means if you purchased a 1yr membership, this was a party for you. I was so excited to do something fun with the kids since we were not able to go anywhere during spring break. This Members Night was on Friday April 16. So we surprised the kids when we picked them up from school and told them we were going somewhere fun. Funny thing is my kiddos don't like surprises. The members night was from 6-8pm. We get there just before the zoo opens up to the members and are greeted by some slimy friends. The zoo officials were walking around with a snake and skink for the kids to touch. The kids were hungry of course so we headed straight for the cheap food. $1 hot dogs, $1 pretzels, $1 icees, and free soda. Filled our belly's full of junk and headed for the animals.

The first thing we come to was a Galapagos tortoise. He came right up to the fence. They guess he is between 60 & 100yrs old.

We also see a vulture sitting on top of a Land Rover of course Matt was more interesting in the Land Rover. Probably the only reason why we have a pic.

The next part is the awesome part. We were able to go into the Elephant Barn and see the elephants up close. It was so neat. They were African Elephants and they are huge. One of the Elephants did not have any tusks. We asked why and guess what, they didnt know. Go Figure!

Then we went to see the Gorillas. It was their dinner time. It was neat to watch them in action. Walking (Evan said "Gorillas can't walk like me"). Eating (one of them was being very neat and taking his time and the other ate like the whole head of lettuce in just a few minutes).

We then shuffled over to the Meerkats just in time for the dinner. They were being fed mealworms, green beans, and raisins. They were very busy digging tunnels.

Another awesome part! We were able to go into the Grizzly Bear Barn. Again seeing them up close was kinda scary. They were making a growling noize but it was more like a giant purr. The vibration could be felt the the whole barn which was made of concrete block.

Really Crazy stuff! After the Bears we caught a glimpse of a Hyenna in action. It was up running around.

Wait! Look! Did one of the animals get loose. I hope not, it was a pretty skinny bunny.

Then we went to the Riverbanks Farm. We were able to pet and brush the ponies. That was one of Evans favorite parts until the pony sneezed while he was petting it and it scared him. He was done after that.

We went into the barn and fed the goats and the llama. We were able to pet the rabbits and see lots of farm life. They had a cow, chickens including a rooster, rat, turkey, and even a barn owl up top. We had not noticed it before.

Evan then insisted we see a zebra. So we wondered back over to the African side of the zoo and were able to see a Zebra pretty close to the fence along with an ostrich. They also have a mommy, daddy, and baby giraffe. So cute!

We finished our two hour adventure with $1 icecream and free soda. We had so much fun. I think I had more fun than the kids. We will be attending the next members night in May.