My son Scott and I decided that we had had enough of being adults so we took off on a beautiful morning to be kids again at the Exotic Zoo Resort in Johnson City! We weren't quite sure what to expect but figured we couldn't go too wrong with a front porch on a cabin in the Texas hill country. We had more fun and left any worries, stresses, and concerns behind.
Despite the animals not being as concerned about posing as getting to the food first, I managed to get a couple of decent shots.
There is no particular order to photos, more in alphabetical order of what I titled them than where they fell into the tour.
As you can see the countryside is gorgeous and restful even if you took the animals away.
I won't try to identify animals, because I don't want to mislead you. The guides there can tell you all about them. I do know the two above are kept separate from other residents and are on the endangered list.
This is Humphrey. He heard the truck coming and hightailed it to the gate so he could be first in line for the hand outs. Bless his sweet heart, he stayed right with us until he reached a spot where he could go no more.
Humphrey was our constant companion until he got to the end of his stomping grounds, then looked like he was horribly offended that we would drive off without him AND with the food buckets!
I was so hoping Humphrey would kiss Scott. Pat (you knew I couldn't leave her out of an expedition!) and her mother and aunt went several years ago and Humphrey (or the camel then) took a shine too her and kept trying to lick her....ewwwwww.
Rodney King would be proud. Everyone got along with everyone else living peacefully and sharing the food and the attention of the guests.
You pass the petting zoo and the breeding pen on the way to board the truck for the tour. This little fellow was quite insistent that we lessen our pellet load by giving at least half of it to him. Poor guy lost that battle :)
Deer (my general term used for all those animals that fell into looking somewhat like a deer) were everywhere and some had the most marvelous racks. Did learn that antlers grow back, horns do not.
This little guy was shy and stayed way over there in the pretty "yeller" flowers.
Not so shy was this one that came running for pellets.
How to make a family of llama run? Drive the tour truck down the road. They totally ignored Dora the Explorer when I drove her through the pasture to the cabin.
School's in session...OK, sonny, you hear that? That is the sound of the snack wagon. Look cute and you'll get treats.
Chasing us down the road.
Sing Along with Larry the Cucumber
cebu! (cebu!) cebu! (cebu!)
achu moo moo ba hoo moo moo ba hoo moo moo
ahcu moo moo achoo moo moo boo hoo moo moo cebu!
achu moo moo ba hoo moo moo ba hoo moo moo
ahcu moo moo achoo moo moo boo hoo moo moo cebu!
For those unfamiliar with or don't give a hoot about (although that seems impossible to me) Veggie Tales, Larry the Cucumber sang a song about a Cebu. This is the sacred cow of India that you see walking the city streets.
Wandering off singing Cebuuuuuuuu, cebuuuuuuuu
Rhea according to the owner are "meaner than snakes". When I asked about the danger of predators (we do have them in the Texas Hill Country) she said they wouldn't have a chance between the llamas and the birds.
More random shots along the tour. Being chased by various animals was common. Like I said earlier, they know the sound of that tour bus and what it means.
The llama above was floor boarding it and caught us...then ran beside the wagon grabbing pellets off the wheel casing without breaking stride.
On the left is Freeloader. Freeloader showed up one day and was spotted on a tour. Turns out he belonged to a neighbor and decided to come to lunch one day, and stayed.
Such beautiful animals. The skin is pigmented, if you shaved a zebra you would still see the stripe pattern. Of course that would be after several operations, treatments, and ice packs to get the swelling down.
They were very polite about getting their snacks, not as invasive or forward as some (arching eyebrow at Humphrey). If they could talk they would be the ones that said please and thank you.
Out of Africa and on to Scotland to visit with some Scottish Highland Cattle. They wore their hair like our daughter did when she was a child, in two dog ears. Glad I was taking pictures and not being tasted by that cutie.
You feed the cattle and the zebra the same way, by holding the food high to make them raise their snouts then drop the food in their mouth.
Mother and child...sweet. The baby was shy and didn't want close to the truck, so the picture is blurry but I just couldn't leave it out. OK everyone AWWWWWWW.
This isn't Humphrey, this is a Dromedary, and I can't remember his name.
I accused Scott of socking the camel. LOL, I have proof in the picture below.
Another of the Scottish Highlanders....this one is Scotty.....giggle, snort, giggle.
Not to be outdone by cattle, the buffalo wanted to see what Scott tasted like too.
Y'all come back now y'hear!!!
The tour ended way too soon for my liking, although it was very informative and very thorough. I just wanted to keep on going some more.
A ring tailed lemur lives by the petting zoo, but you don't pet this guy, he will bite.
On down the path are two tortoise - I saw one. He was huge. I wish there had been something to use as a comparison.
Thank you for joining us today....you may now go to your cabin and relax and watch the other animals roam free outside your fencing. Tips in the form of pellets are not required by would be welcome.
On to the cabin. For some reason I didn't get a picture of the cabin itself, but visualize a wooden cabin with a front porch beside a big ole oak tree and there you have it.
This was the view from the front porch. On the left is the kangaroo pen, on the right the private petting zoo for those of us that rented the cabins. The pond is a catch and release fishing pond reached by going through the petting zoo. The head belongs to someone painting the fence around the pool equipment.
When this guy walked/ran/trotted - whatever they do - he was majestic. That head was held high, he pranced and knew he was all that and a bag of chips. He wasn't pettable but I sure watched him in the enclosure.
and he watched me.
So much for Scott not having to feed the donkeys and the deer....LOL.
and the goats.
Some of the birds that live around the fishing pond.
Z and Scary, this is a nice goose, not an evil clothes stealing one like you have.
Just a pretty face in the crowd with the sweetest eyes.
I fell in love with the kangaroos. They were easily seen from the porch so I watched them while relaxing and sipping on a cup of coffee. They were skitterish and wouldn't come close to the camera, but they did hop to the fence when some kids went up to it.
After a gourmet dinner of chili dogs and chips (hey I bought the Angus dogs) Scott relaxed with his music, totally unaware he had an audience. We were fenced in, the animals had full reign of the rest of the place.
YAWWWWN - time to get up
There may be better ways to wake up in the morning but this is sure at the top of the list!
Early morning visitor. He wouldn't leave and kept posing for me.
After a yummy breakfast of juice and banana nut bread, we headed to check out.
We drove up to the parking lot and was treated to a performance by this guy....LOL he was dipping and twirling and really "getting down". Luckily the camera was where I could grab it and start shooting. And then....
we got photo bombed!!
A new acquisition to the resort is this little wallaby. He is learning to be around humans and then will begin the transition to joining the rest of the wallabys. Soft and beautiful fur.
Such fun with one of my favorite men in the world. Can't wait to go back for another night.
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