Lions and Tigers and...Vacation by the Hour

Vacation by the Hour Lions and Tigers and…

Usually vacationing means finding some place to vegetate away from home for a week or so, but this summer, I needed to condense that into a few hours. I needed one place that would be refreshing…a hint of childhood revisited…the Pittsburgh Zoo.

Of course, when it’s hot, the animals just like to lay around too.

Eating is high on the agenda too.

Don’t worry if you hear the elephants “growling” – it just means food is coming!

Learning to share?

Meet the new kids, Mel and Buddy. At 9 feet tall, they are only half grown!

It seems like even orangutan babies know when someone’s taking pictures!

A tank of sea dragons greets visitors to the PPG Aquarium.

A plaque on the wall commemorates Chuckles, the Amazon River dolphin who greeted visitors for some 30 years at the old Aqua Zoo.

Jellyfish, Sea Stars, and all types of fresh and saltwater fish can be found at the PPG Aquarium.

There are big tanks too, with a variety of sharks and sting rays.

These guys know how to keep cool, but don’t ask them about hockey…that’s for a different group of Pittsburgh Penguins!

The polar bears only spend about 10 percent of their time in the water, so don’t be disappointed if this is the view you get. A winter visit might be better for action shots.

It’s hard to get anything but action shots with the sea otters!

Don’t miss Kids Kingdom and Worlds of Discovery, even if you go to the zoo without any kids. That’s where you’ll see the National Aviary’s Flight Deck, the kangaroos, beaver, deer, and a bunch of small critters including the meerkats !