Just because it's summer and we are travelling doesn't mean we've stopped learning. Each new day can be an adventure and each adventure can be a learning tool. The world is our classroom and I love it that way.
In June we went back to Tennessee. On the way back we stopped at the
Virginia Safari Park, a 180 acre drive thru safari adventure. Let me tell you, we had the
best time! Well, most of us did. I think my 2 year old may still have nightmares of emus staring her in the face.
Take a look at the animals we saw and what we learned about them.
The infamous
Emu is the 2nd largest flightless bird. This particular emu scared my little girl so bad she stayed in the back of the van the rest of the park. With strides covering 9 feet they can reach speeds of 30 mph.
This cute little guy is an
Fallow Deer. His antlers are flat and feel like velvet.
The
Dromedary Camel can consume up to 30 gallons of water at once. And this one (strategically placed at the front of the park) took all the feed we bought, including the bucket. But I fought back and got the bucket back!
Have you ever stuck your hand inside a camels mouth?
The
Bactrian Camel has 2 humps leaving it's back looking like the letter "B". It can actually close it's nostrils to keep blowing sand out of it.
My favorite, the
Giraffe, is the tallest animal in the world. It's neck has 7 vertebrae, like most mammals, but they are elongated. It has a 22 inch "grasping" tongue to pull food from trees.
And this momma loved playing with her baby!
The
Eland looked like a cross between a deer and a horse to me. Very different. It's the largest antelope in the world!
Bison are the largest mammals in North America. And even though it looks enormous and clumsy it has amazing speed and agility. It can get up to 30 mph!
The
Watusi is not just a dance. It's also the African "cattle of the kings". When they found out we didn't have anything for them to eat the proceeded to walkaway, dragging those huge horns down the side of the van. Nice.
This beautiful
Zebra is the sweetest animal I have ever met. Each zebra has it's own unique stripe pattern and they sleep in turns so someone is always awake.
My Safari Girls!
Like I said before, we had a great time. If you ever get the chance to go to a drive thru zoo or safari you should load the family up and go! You'll have tons of fun, lots of laughs and learn things you never thought you would!
