And, no, that's not a comment on Congress...

 

There were a few disappointments at the National Zoo. First of all, the zoo is just too small. That can be a problem when you are building in a major metro area though! Also, there was a lot of construction on the new Panda Pen, so that was kind of a mess. But, we did get a peak at the panda shortly before he went in for cancer surgery. Unfortunately, my picture didn't come out. Last but not least, I didn't get to see the great apes, and that was the most disappointing thing. A word of warning to anyone who goes to the zoo outside of the summer hours: a lot of the exhibit areas close at 4:00!!!!! (including the great apes...)

The nation's symbol does actually reside in the nation's capital!

Lions!! That zoom lens really came in handy here!

The lioness expressing her opinion of the tourists.

The tiger must have had a long day.

Okay, so this wasn't an animal at the zoo, but it was one that was here about
65 million years ago: the little cousin of T-Rex, the Allosaurus.

I tried to come up with a clever caption for this monkey...

With the heat that day, I wanted to jump in with the seals.

A three-toed sloth

A gibbon (?) in the area with the smaller primates

Getting the prairie dogs to hold still long enough for a picture wasn't easy!

Part of the giraffe family at the National Zoo

And last but not least, a squirrel; part of the natural wildlife that still thrives in DC.
(With a little help from the tourists no doubt!)