Bear Wilderness

Part of the induction to suburban life is a membership to Brookfield Zoo. Part of the perks is a preview of the new Bear Wilderness habitat before it opens to the public (it opened May 8th). I saddled up the kids, fed them lunch in the car and took off running to see the new home for the bears and bison. It really is awesome. Go before the summer crowds hit. Now that I am a member, I got lots of guest passes so if you need company and a free entrance, let me know.

We were almost through the trail when we saw the last polar bear, Hudson. The trainers were just about to start a training session. I usually don't stick around for this type of deal but Trinity wanted to see what it was all about. Her and Everett snuck up to the glass (2 feet from the bear) while I stayed back a bit with Reeve and the stroller so the swarm of kids could get a good spot. They opened the large-safe-metal-so-I-can't-eat-your-children door that leads into his home. Panic struck me as the only thing separating the bear from my children was a metal gate too small and flimsy for my liking. They gave Hudson a treat and led him to the glass right in front of my kids and had him jump up onto it to touch the green circle. It was truly amazing and a cool thing for the kids to witness from 2 feet away.

Here is Mr. Brown Bear's new home. You can see him above the kid's heads sleeping on the rock.This was inside the Living Coast exhibit where the penguins and the fishes live. The kids sat here for a good 20 minutes watching the fish. It was Everett's favorite part of the day. Either that or he was coming off his adrenalin rush from thinking he was going to drown in the ocean just several minutes before. If you have been through here you may remember the rushing water that assimilates the waves of the ocean. There is this glass "ceiling" you stand under and water rushes on top of it and onto rocks. It is sort of like you are all of the sudden under a waterfall but you don't get wet. If you are a 2 year old, you may get freaked out. (I still laugh when I think about my girlfriend's son Jack jumping ten feet in the air when the water came rushes over his head.) Everett jumped out of his skin. Several weeks later, he still says "I don't like water scared!"

Five minutes before THIS happened, a seagull pooped all over Reeve's head and my stroller. gross!

One other funny thing Everett picked up at the zoo was "He is going to bite you!" This was my response to Everett's "why?" when I kept telling him he couldn't climb into the lion's den and physically had to remove him from off of the fence. Now every time he sees an animal, bug, person, he says "he is going to bite you!" It cracks me up.