KC Zoo 2020

[Roanoker]

We visited the Kansas City Zoo on 11/6/20. It was a beautiful day. Decorations anticipated Fall holidays.

We enter.


The mask thing prevails.


I love the name of this eatery.


Taking pictures of the seals turned out to be rather difficult.


Heads or tails?


Must be polar bears in there. We’ll check it out later.


This tree left me spellbound.


Wonderful leaves.


The stone elephant has his own dinner.


As some folks may know, I dearly love grass, especially with these colors.


Another place we’ll have to visit later.


Just a reminder of the season.

[Major KC Fan]

Those are native North American otters, not seals. The zoo just introduced a new male to the two females, so maybe baby otters in the future? Like most attractions, the zoo has had a rough year for revenue, having been closed for an extended time and now limiting visitors. Good for you for going and supporting them. Colder weather doesn’t allow for viewing everything available to see in better weather but it is surprising how many animals you can see in colder weather.

[Roanoker]

Thank you, Major. I certainly displayed my ignorance with the otter/seal thing. I appreciate your kind and gentle correction. All I do on these trips is take pictures. Occasionally I'll catch a sign. I should have paid better attention to one of those signs that must have been there. Now that you mentioned the otters, I recall having seen river otters on the lake ice behind my backyard. I may have taken pictures. If so, I'll post one. Even if we had not seen any animals on the zoo visit, the scenery was amazing. I do have pictures, and I will post them in due (my slow) time.

[Major KC Fan]

Great! I always enjoy your photos.

[Roanoker]

About that river otter. I did take a few pictures, via my cell phone through my son's telescope, but they weren't very good. Then he took a video with his cell phone, using the same setup, with greater success. It's still nothing ready for Hollywood, but it's better than nothing. The video was taken on 1/23/2014. I hope you can see it okay.

[Major KC Fan]

That’s great! Where was it? At one time otters were almost trapped to extinction. They’ve made an amazing comeback. The new aquarium at the KC Zoo is supposed to include sea otters (I think from the West Coast). That’s according to comments by the zoo director when speaking about the aquarium.

[Roanoker]

The video was taken next to a man-made lake behind my house in Kansas City, north of the river. I believe the lake is fed by streams. Perhaps Shoal Creek is involved. That same day, a bald eagle showed up, and we got a video of him, too. But it is rather long and requires editing.

[Roanoker]

Well, I thought it was a nice scene.


There must be a choo choo somewhere.


I spent time trying to get this picture to cooperate with itself.


Some grasses are as beautiful as flowers, like these.


What do leaves do in early November?


Sometimes they take over.


We are apparently entering Elephant Country.


This is as close as we could get.


I took pieces of the original picture and arranged them to my liking, brightening the sign a bit.


Same deal here. I guess I got carried away.


This was a very dark picture. You couldn’t read the sign until I brightened it with Photoshop Levels.


At some point, I must have stopped taking pictures of signs. But not yet.

[Roanoker]

Ooh! Big kitty!


I do like grass, trees and sky.


Same sentiment. Different presentation.


What is better than gold grass?


This is more like bronze grass. I like it.


Now we have my son and grass!


This is the best “grass” picture. I caught this little boy running through it. Isn’t he the cutest?


Wire fences and such were a pain, but you can still see what I suppose is a predator.


Couldn’t get too close to these guys. Notice the overhead ride thing.


Minding his own business. “Go away, camera lady!”


Can you turn your head 180º?


The sign says this is a Southern Ground Hornbill that lives in sub Saharan Africa. He can weigh 13 pounds.

[normalthings]

I am excited to see your photos of the new aquarium once it opens!

[Roanoker]

I didn't even know about those plans, NormalThings. I just checked and observed that construction begins in 2021. The grand opening will be in 2023. I may not even be alive then! But if I am, I will make a point to visit the aquarium and take pictures, just for you. <smiley face>

[Highlander]

I didn't even know about those plans, NormalThings. I just checked and observed that construction begins in 2021. The grand opening will be in 2023. I may not even be alive then! But if I am, I will make a point to visit the aquarium and take pictures, just for you. <smiley face>

Wow. I knew it was coming but didn't expect it so quickly. Thanks for that info.

It will be a nice addition. I would have preferred a North America animal exhibition in that locale but an aquarium will be nice too.

I still think the Zoo needs more animal species - concentrating on the Americas.

[normalthings]

I didn't even know about those plans, NormalThings. I just checked and observed that construction begins in 2021. The grand opening will be in 2023. I may not even be alive then! But if I am, I will make a point to visit the aquarium and take pictures, just for you. <smiley face>

I believe you'll be around for the opening.

Have you taken a drive past the new Terminal at KCI? I was wondering what you think of progress so far and of the new terminal in general vs the existing one and downtown airport.

[Roanoker]

Have you taken a drive past the new Terminal at KCI? I was wondering what you think of progress so far and of the new terminal in general vs the existing one and downtown airport.

Gosh, no. I pretty much stay in the house. I haven't even gone to the grocery store since last March. My son does that. Well, I guess we DID go to the zoo last November. Maybe I'll see if we can take a little jaunt to the new terminal. I'll have to see if I can remember how to operate my camera.