Wild Side

It's been a while since we've been to a zoo, so we took advantage of a beautiful spring day to visit a local wildlife refuge. 

I could not get over how huge the cheetahs' eyes were -- huge, luminous, mesmerizing orbs. Pictures do not do them justice!

This prickly fellow was ensconced in his log, and barely opened his eyes! But we admired him, nonetheless:

The zookeeper spent a good 15 minutes just setting out the brown bear's snack! Fruit stuffed in every cavity and crevice -- it was quite amusing to watch her sniff out every last piece.

Magnificent creature:

Um, pardon me, but there's a little salad on your chin...

Not the most exotic of critters, but the raccoon was quite amusing and very active!

This fellow was sleepy, but he did open his eyes a few times:

As a bonus, we saw a bison ranch on our way to the refuge and this little one was having his (or her?) lunch:

Such a stunning day! Happily, we were able to spot most of the animals, with only a few shy (or sleepy) residents. 

The littles enjoyed themselves immensely -- Scout kept asking if we could go home, and then the next day asked if we could go back...  We did eventually make it home, though sometimes I think our "zoo" is a little more wild than the animal refuge! *wink*