Safari Campout

For Crawdad's 10th birthday, we had a camping adventure at the San Diego Safari Park. Crawdad, Cub, and I spent the night in tents as part of the Roar and Snore Safari. Unfortunately, Taz is not old enough yet for the camping program, so she and Papa Bear stayed in a nearby hotel.

 We spent the day Saturday exploring the Safari Park all together.

Taz found a cool  bird (whose name escapes me).

Crawdad as a baby ostrich.

Taz on the lily pads.

RIBBIT!! :P

My little weaver birds.

This guy roared at us. He put on quite a show. Of course, when I got around so that I had a good angle for a picture, he decided to lay down and take a nap. 

The boys with the camp mascot, a meerkat.

 We forgot candles for Crawdad's ice cream cake, so Papa Bear improvised while we were at the zoo. He put an emergency candle on a piece of mint/chocolate fudge, and we sang happy birthday in the parking lot. Improvise, adapt, overcome. :)

We started our camping experience out by getting to pet a boa constrictor. (Eeek!)

 This little critter is a Springhaas. Even though she looks like a cross between a kangaroo and a rabbit, she's actually an African rodent. This particular girl is 16 years old (they usually only live to about 14). Springhaas are herbivores and live in burrows underground.

 The tree in the background here is an acacia tree. These trees actually talk to each other. They are apparently the favorite food of giraffes and elephants, and when it's being eaten, the tree sends out a signal to the other acacia trees in the area. Once they receive the signal, the other trees produce a toxin that makes them taste bad, so the animals, which can eat an entire tree in one sitting, don't move on to nearby trees when they are done with that one. The boys and I got tickled at the image of the trees yelling "The giraffes are coming! The giraffes are coming!" Pretty smart, really, for a tree.

Roasting marshmellows for smores. Yummy! :)

Listening for the beat during the drum circle.

Losing his place, but not his sense of humor, during drum circle time. :)

The view from our tent.

Mmmmm, camp breakfast of eggs, bacon, pastries, yogurt, fruit, potatoes, and veggie sausage (ick :P).

Rhinos,we learned, will not mate in captivity if there is only one male and one female. The girls have a herd mentality and need their girlfriends around in order to mate.

Crawdad petting an animal that reminded me of a miniature hedgehog, but I can't remember what it was called. Oops!

A pigmy falcon, who would NOT let us pet him, but was very vocal and cool to see.

Cub petting the mini hedgehog.

 We also learned that elephants are constantly talking to each other, but they vocalize in frequencies so low that you need special headphones to hear them, and we got to watch a cheetah do the 100 yard dash. It was a really super cool experience, and the boys both had a great time. We were exhausted by the end, but we had learned tons. I foresee notebook pages in our future. :)