Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo

Last week, for Jason's birthday, we decided to check out a zoo in nearby Thurmont, MD.  Now, I have a total love/hate relationship with zoos (and the circus for that matter).  I really hate seeing animals locked in a small cage, all alone with nothing to do but pace day in and day out.  But, as a child, I absolutely loved the zoo - it was such a magical place and it had a huge impact on the animal lover that I've become.  So, I suck it up and want Redmond (and our future child) to experience them too.  Plus, they're a great place to learn about different species, places and, of course, animals.

Ok, now that I'm off my soapbox, back to the subject.  The Catoctin Zoo was small, but I was impressed with the variety of animals that there were. 

When you pay to enter the zoo, you're able to buy a cup of food to feed some of the animals throughout the zoo.  I jumped all over that!  They had deer, goats, llamas, alpacas, pigs and a few other animals that you were able to pet/feed.  Redmond is still a little too young for it....he was desperately trying to get the "doggies" (the deer, or any animal with 4 legs ☺) to give him a big open-mouthed kiss like he gets from Oliver.  We intervened and didn't let that happen, btw!

 

Redmond's most favorite exhibit out of the entire zoo was the Koi Pond.  He absolutely loved watching the fish swim around!

A close second was when we made pit stops at the little playgrounds they had set up throughout the zoo.  Nice for him to get out of the stroller and run around a bit!

We saw two giant tortoises kissing....or getting ready for a brawl....

And a black swan.  Seriously, I didn't even know these were real!

The best shot of the day - Redmond and I with a bunch of parrots and a flamingo!

So, even though some of the exhibits made me sad, hearing Redmond yell "DOGGIE" at every four-legged animal (wild cats and camels included), "GAH-GAH" (quack quack) at every type of bird we saw (including emus and flamingos) and my favorite, yelling "DADA" at the monkey exhibit really made my day!