Lowry Park Zoo - Tampa, FL

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we decided to go check out the Tampa Lowry Park Zoo.  I had heard many good things about it so we headed off to check out the animals.

One of the first things I noticed was there was no parking fee, which was very nice.  We arrived early and were one of the first people in the park.  I like going early because it seems that the crowds are thin and the animals are out.  We got a brochure and began our way through the park.  We decided to go left and continued clockwise around the park.  The first area we entered was the free flight avairy.  You meander along a path while birds of all different shapes and sizes fly by. 

Once through the bird area you come across the Asian Gardens

Malayan Tapir

Baby Indian Rhino

Clouded Leopard

This section was one of our very favorite parts of the zoo.  When we arrived we were the only ones at the pool and the Stingrays were filled with activity and boy were they hungry.

  

Upon leaving the sting ray area you notice a Bald Eagle.  They said he was hurt and so they had to clip his wings.  This is the closest I have ever been to one of these magnificent creatures

 I tried to take pictures of the River Otters, but they are so fast and crazy that it was really hard to get one that was not blurry.  The next section is a Manatee encounter.  It is so sad to see what happens to these guys out in the wild.  They are such a calm creatues.

you can see where the propellors have it this poor guy.

 On to the Florida Panther

  

 We wondered on throught the park looking at the different animals, wolves, skunks, flamingos and then we ended up at the African Penguin area.  These little guys are just like their southern family, except they also enjoy our weather.

Safari Africa was our next destination.  In addition to the animals they have giraffe feeding.  You know I love feeding the animals when we can.

One of my favorite attractions we came across was the Meerkats.  They are funny little creatures that look like they are trying to be human.  The funniest thing about them is the fact that they like to mirror each other.  Watching the follow the leader game was pretty humorous.

this is an Okapi

Red River Hog

Finally you end in the Children's area where they have a pet farm, rides and wallabys.

 If you are interested in taking your family to the Lowry Park Zoo - check out their website for directions, hours, costs, etc. - http://www.lowryparkzoo.com/zoo_map.php

Here is the brochure for the zoo - download it and check it out for yourself!!! - http://www.lowryparkzoo.com/_page_content/zoo_map/documents/LowryParkZooMapFall2011.pdf

Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens - Sanford, FL

The family is finally on board with helping knock things off the bucket list and adding them to the home page, so we decided to start with the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford.  The price is extremely reasonable $12/adults and $8/kids and we figured it was something that we would only need a couple of hours to do instead of the entire day.  It only took us about 45 minutes to get there and getting to the zoo from I-4 was extremely easy.  The first thing I noticed was that you do not have to pay for parking, which is definitely a plus.  Now let me start off by saying that this is not the normal very large, highly crowded zoo but more of a laid back smaller zoo.

Upon entering we noticed that for an additional fee that the zoo offers ziplining for both adults and kids.  The kids course was extremely cute as it is only like 4 feet of the ground, but allows them to have the fun without being scared of being to high.  There was also a train that you could ride for an additional expense $3/adults, $2/childrn, but we decided against both this time around.  Included in your admission to the zoo they do have a splash playground area that allows you and your kids to cool off if you are there when it is extremely hot out.  Just remember to bring their suits because it looked like a lot of fun running through the streams of water shooting out of the ground.

We saw many animals while at the zoo, but our favorite area by far was the petting zoo where we were able to feed the goats and Zebu's and pet the llama.  I think the kids would have stayed all day just in this one area. 

If you are looking to do something that is both affordable and enjoyable for your kids, I would suggest taking the drive and checking out this small friendly zoo.