Lots happening at the zoo...

We haven't been to our local, fabulous zoo in many years. Probably not more than once or twice since our kids were little and we had a membership. And that was a long time ago.

There have been stories in the paper over the years, and we've heard from friends, that although the San Antonio Zoo has always been noted among the country's finest, they have constantly been upgrading it and adding wonderful new features.

Well, now that we have a next-gen little one to share it with, I'm sure we'll be going more frequently. And when the kids were in town just before Thanksgiving, a zoo visit was near the top of our to-do list.

One of the best new habitat/observation spaces is the one shown above, where you can watch the hippos both above and below the water. It was great!

Our little visitor enjoyed it, too, especially since she could stand up by herself (one of her favorite activities) and look through a perfect toddler-height window at the fishes and other critters in the water.

The Zoo has a long history in our town (as you can read about here) and some of it is still on view. Such as this plaque identifying the lion enclosure as built by the WPA.

And here are some of its current residents! A mom and two of her three cubs (recently named for Spurs Tony Parker and his family)...

As you can see, we had a beautiful day for our visit. 

Another of the areas that are new since our last time here are the expanded African animal enclosures, including this one for the giraffes. I always forget how gorgeous giraffe coats are. Don't they look like artistic mosaics?

The limestone cliffs in the background are representative of the great setting for our zoo. Many of the enclosures and other areas seem almost like natural extensions of the surrounding landscape.

I'll have more pictures of this great San Antonio attraction the next time our little granddaughter comes to visit!