LIONS...and TIGERS....and BEARS...OH MY!!!!
BRF at the PITTSBURGH ZOO
The BRF
gang headed out to the Pittsbugh Zoo on Saturday, March 27, 2010, for a
"Behind the Scenes" Tour arranged by Collen Karnes and her ZOO buddy,
Pittsburgh Zoo CFO Jackie Vincunas.
Dressed in our BRF gear, 48 of us started out the chilly morning
with breakfast at Cracker Barrel, then packed into cars and headed off to
the Zoo. We managed to arrive on time and with our entire caravan
intact, we were off.
Lead by Henry Kacprzyk, Curator of Reptiles and Kids Kingdom, we
divided up into two groups and enjoyed "Behind the Scenes"
encounters/educational tours with the Amur Tiger (also known as the
Siberian Tiger), the Black Rhinoceros, and a tall, dark and handsome
guy named Louis, a really cool, affectionate Masai Giraffe who gave all
the girls "giraffe kisses" (Basically, a light wack on the head and
giraffe slobber but it was sooooooo COOL!!!)
We followed Henry to the repitile holding area where we "enjoyed"
seeing venimous snakes, anacondas, West African Dwarf Crocodiles, an
American Alligator, and a 180# Komodo Dragon, yes, the venomous species
of lizard and the largest living species of lizard on
earth........."YEAH-WAY FUN!!!!" More than one mom was a bit nervous
when Henry invited the kids in to "pet" him.........HELP!!!!!
The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around in mini
groups enjoying the sights and smells of the Pittsburgh Zoo
residents....the Gorilla Troup was checking out our group of monkeys,
the bears were sleeping in the sun, the kids loved "petting" the
stingrays, the seals and otters were playing, and the sharks
were......well, they are sharks, I imagine they were doing what they
wanted to do....
Everyone had a GREAT DAY and I think we all wanted to quit our
day jobs and become ZOOKEEPERS!!!!!! Thank You to Colleen for
arranging this outing and always thinking of ways to get us out and
about where we can act like animals and still fit in....
Dan and Christine McLaughlin along with Julie Froats continue to support the Beaver County 4-H clubs.
Here is a photo of their purchase at the 2009 Hookstown Fair of a market lamb from the Stockmans livestock sale.
