Danny and I are the type of people who love going to the zoo as adults as much as we did when we were kids. We purchase Phoenix Zoo memberships almost every year. Between our annual Zoolights tradition and just a couple visits, it pretty much pays for itself. Plus, did you know that it is considered a donation to the zoo, and it’s claimable on your taxes? Cool right!?! We have always found going to the Phoenix Zoo on the weekends a fun and active free date option, so the memberships are totally worth it. We also get discounts for anyone that comes with us, so it’s a great way to hangout and have fun with our friends and their little ones too!
Wherever we go, our love for the zoo travels with us, and we always try to checkout nearby zoos and aquariums during our travels. Here in Honolulu, if you head about half a mile southeast of our apartment, you will find yourself right in front of the Honolulu Zoo. So, one weekend day, we did just that!
Since the Honolulu Zoo is in the city, it was interesting to see the mix of both natural and urban landscapes.
Ever heard the phrase “You are what you eat”? Well for these flamingoes it’s true! They get their pinkish hue from eating shrimp and other foods that contain the natural pink dye called canthaxanthin.
There are these magnificent trees in Hawaii called Banyan trees. They seem almost other-worldly don’t they? What makes them really impressive is not how tall they can grow, but how wide. The biggest one in the world is said to be 4.7 acres in width!
Speaking of trees, there are some pretty cute little guys here who love hanging around trees at the zoo.
And one not so little!
You guys, I audibly squealed when I saw these ring-tailed lemurs. They are so stinking adorable and they remind of one of my all-time favorite PBS TV shows from the 90’s, Zoboomafoo! They are so cute and fluffy and they are best buddies with these turtles!! I could die from cuteness overload ❤
For those with ophidiophobia, Hawaii is probably the place for you, for there are no wild snakes on the island. Other than this lovely rescued buttery looking friend here!
There may not be snakes in Hawaii, but we are certainly used to seeing all sorts of scaly creatures wandering around back in Arizona. We thought this guy looked pretty familiar.
We met some not so familiar reptiles as well.
These gentle giants had by far the most luxurious view, with a green mountainous backdrop and surrounding tranquil gardens.
For about an hour or so at that point, we had been hearing this loud animal noise that sounded somewhat familiar, but we couldn’t put our finger on what it was. That is, until we ran into these gorgeous tail feathers hiding in a bamboo thicket! I started taking pictures of him, which clearly got his attention because when he saw me he starting running straight at me. I quickly jumped out of the way, but after that he didn’t seem to mind posing for his paparazzi.
At one point we felt like we had stepped into an African safari! The way their exhibits were laid out, we were getting to see many of these amazing animals closer than we ever had before. At one point, these towering giraffes started walking in line up a hill toward a group of grazing zebras, and I swear I thought the “Circle of Life” was going to start playing.
Hands down the most adorable creature here, and my favorite one in the whole zoo, is the fennec fox. They’re so sweet and cuddly looking!! Just look at that precious face and those ears! If Danny ever caught me trying to sneak an animal home, this would be it. ❤
During our visit to the zoo that day, I found myself wondering and talking with Danny about what it would be like to work there. I know that a lot of zoo employees are actually volunteers, and volunteering at a zoo and working with animals always seemed like it might be fun! So I thought, “Maybe I should try looking into it!” That was, until what we witnessed next.
The following exhibit we happened upon, was the American Alligator exhibit. Apparently the largest ones can grow up to 12-19 feet in length! As we marvel at this absolutely huge reptile floating in the water, suddenly a golf cart pulls up and man accompanied by a young lady hop out. Now, I have watched a lot of Steve Erwin shows in my day, and I know these people work at the zoo and most likely know what they are doing, but I cannot help but be nervous for them as they unlock the gate and step into the alligator exhibit. Feeding pole nearby and bucket of food in hand, they step up to the edge of the water just a few feet from the alligator. This girl seems way less certain about the situation than the man, and our guess was he was about to train her how to feed this alligator. Sounds pretty scary right?? Oh. Just wait.
The man directs the young lady to grab a sizable piece of raw meat from the bucket. Now, we are expecting since they brought this nice long pole with them, that he is going to have her place the meat on the end of said pole and lower it to the hungry alligator from a safe distance.
NOPE.
This guy points to the alligator and instructs her to lean over the water and dangle this piece of raw meat near the alligator’s mouth just holding it in her hand!! She bends over, reaches out, and shakes the meat against the alligator’s face, to which it whips its head around snapping at the food, and the girl not surprisingly recoils and backs away. She looks back at the male zoo keeper and he just keeps pointing back at the alligator and signaling for her to try again. After an understandable bit of hesitation, she dangles the meat again, and as the alligator goes for it this time, she quickly lets go and it grabs the food in its mouth for a moment, but drops it in the water. At this, the man goes and grabs the pole to try and fish the meat out of the water, and we are thinking, “Oh NOW he uses the pole!” He secures the raw slab, motions it toward the alligator’s mouth, to which the alligator snatches it and leans back its enormous head to swallow its meal.
Two brave zookeepers, two terrified on-lookers, and one large fed alligator later, I quickly gave up the notion of being a volunteer zoo worker.
After our adventure at the zoo, we strolled over to the Waikiki Aquarium just a few minutes away from us. I have always had a love for ocean life, in fact as a kid I wanted to grow up to be a marine biologist and work with orcas, dolphins, and other ocean mammals! (I’m sure growing up watching the Little Mermaid and wishing I was a mermaid had nothing to do with it…). Although I may have discovered my ineptitude for biology in high school and gave up on that dream, my love for oceanic life certainly hasn’t changed. We saw so many amazing sea creatures at the Waikiki Aquarium, some familiar, and some we had never been able to see up close before, like this awesome giant clam!
There were lots of beautiful tropical fish as well, including this vibrant blue tang who liked to photobomb the clam! (Oh Dory…)
They also had a wonderful array of coral at the aquarium. Among my favorite was the blue mushroom coral; they look almost like hydrangeas don’t they?
Do these guys look familiar? No true Disney fan could visit an aquarium without finding Nemo! These little clownfish are so fun to watch, especially swimming in and out of there anemone homes.
One of the best parts of visiting the Waikiki Aquarium was getting the closest and most clear look at a nautilus we’ve ever seen! These fascinating mollusks have multiple chambers within their bodies and use jet propulsion to swim around. They can change both their direction and their buoyancy with these chambers, which sounds like a submarine right? Engineers, artists, and writers have long studied and marveled at the structure of the nautilus (Ever read 20,000 Leagues under the Sea?). Some of the oldest known fossils are even of the nautilus. The Greeks saw its shell as a symbol of perfection, and it can be described mathematically as a logarithmic spiral. He was pretty cool looking!
We also met an octopus who looked like he was putting on a dance recital. He seemed to love the attention he was getting!
Although, he did remind me of someone…
Also found in the underwater town of Bikini Bottom, lots of jellyfish!
I am not sure why, but there is just something inherently cute about baby seahorses.
And something hilarious about this bug-eyed fish.
Another favorite fish of mine was this graceful Moorish Idol, or in Hawaiian, Kihikihi.
This last fish? Well. He sort of just stares into your soul.
The creatures of this earth are just amazing. Some tower over you, and some are too small to see with the naked eye. Some seem so simple in structure, and others are more intricate than our most advanced technology. Some are too adorable to comprehend, and some seem just plain weird. Some have you squealing in amusement, and others have you staring in awe.
With every creature we see, we are reminded of the Creator who made them. We know that we are not looking at beautiful accidents, but at creations who declare the glory of God, for they are the work of His hands.
“Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” Job 12:7-10
Simply Sojourners 
You must be logged in to post a comment.