America's First Zoo

On our last day in Philadelphia mom and I took a trolley tour. It was about an hour and a half journey if you didn't want to get off at any of the stops. We rode through China Town, saw where Ben Franklin is buried, went by Betsy Ross's house, saw the famous steps in the Rocky film and a Rocky statue, drove by a couple museums, and the final stop was at the Liberty Bell. We only got off on one stop which was the Philadelphia zoo. It's apparently America's first zoo. It was very nice considering that information. What I liked the most was the wandering peacocks. They were everywhere and they are just so beautiful. There will be several peacock pictures in this post.

Behold...my first peacock sighting of the day! This was just so strange to me. Most zoo's are all about keeping your distance from the animals but these guys (and girls) were wandering everywhere.
This handsome fella was in the reptile house. His head is gigantic and I was a little distressed because his habitat seemed extremely small compared to his size.

This future suitcase was pressed as close and he could get to the wall just below the glass. He was really big but seemed content.
There were about 8 huge tortoises in this space all munching away on lettuce. Can you spot the tiny mouse? He darted in and out from his hiding place at least 5 times before my camera could catch him. The bad part is the mouse was darting back and forth in the tortoise poop. That stuff was all over the floor.
Here's one of the peacock ladies. Not as majestic looking as the males but still pretty.
It was a chilly day so a lot of animals were hanging out in their indoor homes. These orangutans were just lazing around when the mother started playing games with her baby. It was so cute watching the baby orangutan try to climb to his mother while holding on to the beams and his toys--a piece of paper and a large leaf. The baby also walked around with the paper on his head. Mom and I watched the show for several minutes.
This lion is eating. I don't know if you can tell from this picture but it was kind of a gruesome sight. The bone still had bloody flesh on it.
Peacock again! With some swan paddle boats. Mom wasn't up for getting on the paddle boats (neither was I).
And yet again, in all his glory.
And from the rear. I know it's silly but I've never seen the back end of a peacock with his feathers out. He just walked around in a circle. There were several art students sketching throughout the zoo but they wouldn't have had time to get this display because it only lasted about a minute.
This adorable little thing walked up to me in the aviary house. It's a crowned pigeon.

We made our way through all the exhibits and ended at the gift shop. We only bought some bottled water and walked out just in time to see our trolley/bus drive away. Another one would be along in about 30 minutes so we waited and it only took about 20 minutes. It was a fun trip but I wish we'd had time to enjoy some of the other stops as well.