Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo

Last week, Ethan, Chris, and I drove north about 3 hours to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska.  It was pretty cool to see, but cold weather for us Floridians.   (Around the upper 50's.)  We did venture out to all of the outdoor exhibits though, including Ethan's favorite, the ostrich.  (I thought it was odd he liked the ostrich so much--aren't elephants or bears cooler?)  The ostrich did do a special dance for Ethan though, I attached some it so you all can see.  

The zoo was pretty big, so we spent two full days there.  Technically, I suppose you could say we spent even longer there.  The first day we were there, I thought the zoo closed at 8:30, so we were still walking around the zoo at 6:45 when we realized we hadn't seen anyone in quite a while.  Then Chris realized that all of the buildings said they closed at 6:00.  Finally, Chris checked the map and saw that the zoo closed at 5:00.  Now why it would say the zoo closes at 5:00 when all the indoor exhibits say they don't close until 6:00 is beyond me.  But we did get our money's worth on the first day, however you look at it! 

Ethan had a couple of unique experiences with the primates there.  On the first day, he and Chris were talking to this gorilla through the window for a few minutes.  The exhibit is set up so that the walls are glass throughout the whole building, and the gorillas are outside where you can see them.  Ethan eventually got bored looking at the gorilla, so he ran off to catch me.  The gorilla got upset about that and chased Ethan on the other side of the glass.  When Ethan reached me and stopped, the gorilla ran right up to the glass and pounded his chest- Tarzan fashion.  

I found out later, talking to a zoo keeper, that by Ethan interacting through the glass, he had inadvertently initiated a "I'm stronger than you" contest with the gorilla.  By Ethan breaking eye contact first and running away, he was telling this 300+ pound gorilla that he was stronger.  The gorilla (obviously a male) was threatened by my 28 pound son and had to chase him and hit his chest to prove he was strong too.  Hmm......

Needless to say, he was done with gorillas that day.  

Okay, so this monkey is another great story.  This happened on our second day there.  In one of the exhibits, you get to walk through a simulated rainforest, where birds, and these little monkeys, run lose around you.  There are also other animals in separated exhibits.  The sign the monkeys are sitting on says "Don't Climb the Tree."  Apparently, the monkeys are allowed to climb wherever they want.  Ethan was sitting in his stroller looking at them, when one decided to jump right on his snack tray!  (I was so upset that I didn't have the camera ready!)  I guess he thought Ethan would have something yummy to eat.  Little did he know that Ethan had already gobbled up all of his cookies.  

Anyway, Ethan sat looking at the monkey for a minute, until a group of girls behind us screamed.  He then panicked and never wanted to see another primate again!