The Utica Zoo in 2009

The Utica Zoo charges no admission during the winter months! We try to take the opportunity to visit during this time. It was a warmer winter day (late March), so most of the animals were perky and curious. And we discovered a few new things that made this visit our best one yet.

My kids love the reptile area; they don’t seem to tire of it even though we’ve seen it a dozen times (or so it seems– all reptiles look alike to me).

The tigers were very active, I’d never seen them running around before. They chased each other, quibbled over the best rock to lounge on, and trotted the perimeter of the cage. These are BIG animals.

The best thing we explored was the Nature Trail, behind the large tiger cage and up the hill. It was a little muddy, but not too bad. We had on our Walking Boots, and so were well prepared!

There were animals in cages up here, that I had not known were here! There was a large pack of Mexican wolves. This one was limping. Apparently, there had been some sort of fight or a quarrel between two wolves; we’d heard a painful yelp on the way up to the cages here, and when we arrived, one wolf had some blood on its leg and was walking with its tail between its legs.

The Snow Owls eyed us as we walked past.

The view from the hill is stunning. The city of Utica lies below.

We walked back down to the zoo area, hopefully to see the sealions and some domestic critters.

The sheep seemed a little hostile. They just stared. They are always smiling, though. Ever notice?

The shaggy deer, as usual, wanted to eat.

This little guy wanted to eat my camera. Or my hand. He snapped at both.

And the seals refused to come out of the doghouse. Last year, the much-celebrated baby seal, Pedipede Jack, died. I don’t recall ever reading about the cause of death; at the time of his death, it was a mystery. Very sad. I wonder how long mama seals mourn? She looked very lonely.

The livestock barn has the friendly donkey and llama, but we were only able to get a glimpse before one of the zookeepers strolled in and announced it was Zoo closing time.

It was a very pleasant visit, especially the nature trail. I’ve got to try that again when the ground is drier!