Okinawa Zoo

A few weeks ago, my friend Allison introduced Brock and I to the Okinawa zoo.  I've been dying to take Brandon and Reagan back, because it was so different from any other zoo we've visited that I knew they would be excited.  I should mention that the zoo enclosures are not very big or nice and that is the main difference between zoos here vs. the states.  Also, you can get so much closer to the animals here.

Brock and I during our visit with Allison and Natalie

Reagan at the Zoo entrance

Here's a good example of how close you can get.  Have you ever been so close to a Hippo?  PS - they don't smell great.  

This was one of coolest things we did today.  You could feed the elephants for 200 yen (about $2).   Reagan got in line and was given a few branches to feed to the elephant.  Afterwards, the nice zoo worker took our photo.  

Brandon isn't choking Brock, I promise.  

Japanese people tend to have a different idea of personal space than we are used to.  It's nothing for many, many people to cram into elevators.  This is Brock checking out the other people hovering over the stroller.  There were 11 people and 2 strollers on this ride.

Here's Reagan with the lioness.  She was asleep the first time we went by, but we started to hear her growling so we went back for another look.  Luckily we didn't encounter anything like the below sign.  I love Japanese signs!

Toward the end of the zoo, there was a really nice petting zoo area.  Reagan was in heaven.  (funny side story - yesterday she bought a small plant with her own money so that she could have her own pet to take care of.)  Getting to hold the animals just made her day. 

Here she is with the chicks.  You'll love the sign that explains how not to handle the chicks below.

This is where the fun really started.  Look at this adorable, bundle of fur and dander....can you guess where I'm going with this??  That's right, Reagan had a huge allergic reaction to this little guy.  

Reagan with the turtles

 This is the after shot.  At this point, her eyes were just watery and she was sneezing like a crazy person.  She went through a whole pack of tissues in about 5 minutes.  By the time we got home, her eyes were swollen up and watering.  We loaded her up with benadryl and eye drops and after a long nap, she is looking human again.  She still has 2 dark rings under her eyes and I'm sure I'm going to get an email from the teacher tomorrow wondering "what happened to reagan?"

So, now we can add guinea pigs and cats to the list of things to keep Reagan away from.