WILD ON THE ROCKS

Dom and I are members of Zoo Atlanta.  We don't get there too often, as it's quite a drive from where we live, usually always in traffic.  But there was an event there last night for members only called Wild on the Rocks.  From the very limited description given on the Zoo website, it included cocktails and snacks and something to do with "celebrity vets."  From what I've read of other after-hour zoo events, we thought it would be fun to tour the zoo when it was nice and quiet.

So we drove through Atlanta rush hour traffic downtown and got to the zoo around 5:40.  We waited outside the gates with a bunch of other people until we were admitted right around 6:00.  The zoo was so quiet.  You could hear only some isolated animal sounds.  We walked to the Outback Station where the food and drink were being served.  Outback Station is at the entrance to the petting zoo, next to the kangaroos.  The petting zoo animals were in the barn, eating or sleeping.  The kangaroos were resting in their enclosure.

After having a little snack, Dom and I decided it was time to tour the zoo and head toward the pandas.  We walked a few feet and saw a couple of zoo employees, who informed us that the pandas were put in the back of their home for the night.  Sorry.  Then a zoo guard told us we couldn't walk the zoo and we had to stay in the Outback Station area.

A visit to the zoo without being allowed to see the animals? No pandas, no tigers, no lions, no elephants, no giraffes, no monkeys - just the petting zoo animals and you couldn't even pet them?  So I took a few pictures and we left.  No use hanging around for some lecture from a vet if we couldn't see the animals.  What a complete disappointment.

One of the kangaroos

One of the little goats, nibbling on my hand

Flamingos in their pool

We'll plan another trip down to the zoo in the fall, and then also visit Cyclorama - a visual history of the Battle of Atlanta during the Civil War - which is right next door.  But no more after-hours events for us.