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I went to the zoo yesterday with a friend and we went by and saw the animals. I felt bad for them because you know our zoo is really shameful looking if you compare it to San Antonio's zoo. (as well as the people who work the food kiosk have no idea where any of the animals are located!)

So anyway we walked around and we came upon the Zebras. Well they looked like typical grass eating zebras. There is one that stands out VERY well. His name is "Adam" a zookeeper told us. Zookeeper also told us that he was hand raised and someone thought they could use it as a pet and train it as a horse but it started biting (They must have watched, "Racing Stripes" a bit too much!) so it was donated to the zoo. My friend and I were just totally loving and playing with this Zebra from our safe distance of course! :)

First he comes up to the pen as close as possible! (I couldn't believe that)

He came when called if he moved away from the pen for a while.

If we asked the Zebra to smile, he'd grin his upper lips. (As much as a Zebra) could smile!

But this gets better. After the smiling he took his rubber food bucket he plays with. He dragged it from the back of the pen and started rubbing it against the fence, and trying to throw the thing over the fence and playing with it.

Then Adam came to the front of the pen with his food container, and he tried to show it to us. He was pressing it against the fence. (Like here you have it)

So after a long day my friend told the Zebra..."bye, we have to go...byeeee.." and we started walking. The Zebra was following us alongside. We decided to run by and the Zebra ran side the pen...

When we ran not only running but he was bucking and kicking playfully. He was so enjoying our company.

When my friend and I left...we noticed other people trying to get him to run too.

btw, to identify the Zebra if you go to see him he has a small dot on the side of his face hear his cheek bone. (or if you want to see him ask the zookeeper for "Adam") he's really one of the most unusual semi-wild Zebras I have ever seen.

I asked the zookeper, "did you know the Zebra fetches?" and she only said, "I have seen him playful but I have never seen him this happy!"

THEN I call for a cab to go home and this cab (if you are interested I have his card I can give you in whisper) was THE COOLEST cab I have ever been in! (if you need it)

The guy had a awesome stero system with bass and 2 TVs in the back with a DVD playing in it. (Probably had more I didn't ask about)

Well wanted to tell ya about this awesome Zebra if you wanted to check him out for yourself! :)

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We may not have the best zoo but we have the best animals!! LOL! So personable! :P

I still can't get over the Zebra! If anyone goes, please let me know if the Zebra acts that way to y'all too!! I am curious!

My friend and I are actually interested in "zoo adopting" the Zebra to suppport it! :)

We're looking into it. We'll let you know what comes of it.

BTw, never heard of a duck that growls...was it at the duck pond?

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BTw, never heard of a duck that growls...was it at the duck pond?

It was in the children's area. Past the petting zoo. There are some restrooms right by it. Maybe he was hissing. He had teeth which I didn't know ducks had.

Did they finish renovating the main entrance? If that's what they were doing. I was there last in December and we had to enter through the gift shop because they had the entrance closed off. Just inside to the left, near the front, they added a new indoor tropical and desert animal feature which is really neat. They have the cutest mother otter and her daugthers (about four or five of them). It was their feeding time and they sounded like little kitties crying for their food. They're so fun to watch.

My neice was having her birthday party there that day under one of the pavilions outside and it was freezing (and we had ice cream and lemonade), but because of the cold, the whole place was pretty much a ghost town. Just about the entire zoo was ours for that day. That was very nice. I want to go again soon while it warm, but not unbearably hot.

Edited by KimberlySayWhat
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As a zoo, Houston's is pretty depressing. But it has some of the best animals out there. Lots of personality. And the people taking care of them seem to care a lot. I got a VIP tour behind the scenes one day and got to go into a lot of places and see a lot of interesting things (like a wolf under anesthetic being carried on a stretcher to surgery).

Two pieces of advice:

> Do not try to feed a giraffe by putting a slice of yam between your teeth and leaning back. He WILL stick a long blue tongue down your throat.

> If an orangutang urinates in a cup and then drinks it -- run. It means he's about to spit it on you.

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As a zoo, Houston's is pretty depressing. But it has some of the best animals out there. Lots of personality. And the people taking care of them seem to care a lot. I got a VIP tour behind the scenes one day and got to go into a lot of places and see a lot of interesting things (like a wolf under anesthetic being carried on a stretcher to surgery).

Two pieces of advice:

> Do not try to feed a giraffe by putting a slice of yam between your teeth and leaning back. He WILL stick a long blue tongue down your throat.

> If an orangutang urinates in a cup and then drinks it -- run. It means he's about to spit it on you.

:P:lol::P

I aquired my hatred of zoos when I worked at the children's zoo during the summers in junior high school.

I just wanted to free all those animals trapped in cages and "habitats". But the zebras were my favorites-so exotic and with so much personality. I don't know if anyone besides myself remembers Hi-C and Hi-Cecilia but they were the coolist giraffes ever. :)

B)

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  • 2 weeks later...
seriously though, where are the chipmunks are they coming back?

chipmunk.gif

Maybe they found their back back to Alvin. :rolleyes:

(Note to non-Houstonians, and those under 40: (1) Alvin is a small community several miles outside of Houston. (2) "Alvin and the Chipmunks" was a popular animated cartoon series in the 1960s. And explaining that still didn't make it funny, did it? Ah, well.)

Edited by dbigtex56
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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 7 months later...
Where did the big locomotive go that used to sit in front of the lake by the zoo?

Not sure if anyone ever answered your question about the cool old locomotive at Hermann Park. So here goes, about 2 years ago it was relocated to Minute Maide Park. As far as I know it is outside somewhere. I guess in front. It was at Hermann for a long time. I recall seeing it there even in the mid-60's.

The only rail line that should be expanded is that tiny little train everyone rides in Hermann Park. Someone would gripe about that too I guess. Hey they could raise it up like a miniature monorail wouldn't stall in a flood like the Metro Rail. They could run the miniature train down Richmond. Would take too long to get to work and people would probably crash into it too.

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i had some good times climbing that big train in hermann park when i was little

Hey Moose, you remember how HOT that friggin' metal got ? It was like playing on the sun.

I don't think i actually ever climbed on it, I just remmeber touching it and nearly searing my hand.

Edited by TJones
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:rolleyes: No Puma, not the one the rabbit rides back and forth.

Actually, now that the train is over at Minute Maid Park area, it probably has homeless fans living inside of it. Instead of oranges it's Strawberry Hill wine bottles. Rabbit probably got clunked on the head for his spare change.

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  • 4 months later...

Hermann Park mini-train to be replaced

From 11 News staff reports

Hermann Park's mini-train is going away, but it will be replaced by a new one.

The Parks Department said the new train will go a long way to alleviate traffic problems around the park.

The train will have a new route and three new stops, including the Museum of Natural Science and Miller Outdoor Theater.

The existing train contract expires in September, and then construction will begin.

For a minute there I thought they were going to close down. Wheoo..close call. :rolleyes:

Edited by Vertigo58
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How long has the current train been there?

I am almost certain since mid 1940's is what mom said. You can tell by the style of the existing train (which is one of the reasons I love it) Looks like a Lionel Toy Train set like the ones we played with as kiddies. Except I crushed mine with rocks (thought I was Godzilla) :wacko:

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Wow, that long? I wonder what they'll do with it. Hopefully put it on display somewhere.

22566358.jpg

Kind of looks like this. and your right they better not melt it down or something stupid like that which Houston is historically known for. Maybe it will go on auction or something insane. We could get all of Haifmeisters to jump on one day we would probably end up derailing it or something. All aboard! :P

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Here's a link (there are others too):

http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/kho...n.2ab7aed5.html

Based on various news stories from Ch. 11 and 13, it sounds like there will be stations near the Museum of Natural Science, Miller Outdoor Theatre, and at least one of the METRORail stations.

Actually, with the connections to METRORail, this may end up like something Mr. Spieler joked about last April 1 (scroll to the bottom):

http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2006/04/01/35/

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Here's a link (there are others too):

http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/kho...n.2ab7aed5.html

Based on various news stories from Ch. 11 and 13, it sounds like there will be stations near the Museum of Natural Science, Miller Outdoor Theatre, and at least one of the METRORail stations.

Actually, with the connections to METRORail, this may end up like something Mr. Spieler joked about last April 1 (scroll to the bottom):

http://www.ctchouston.org/blogs/christof/2006/04/01/35/

this has been in the planning stages for quite a while...the red line didn't quite meet expectations for access to the park. mayor's office had complaints.

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How long has the current train been there?
Not sure where I heard this. I have posted this before, but got no confirmation.

My understanding is that at least one of the trains running at Hermann came from Playland Park when it closed down.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Starting July 1, going to the Houston Zoo will cost more.

The zoo's board of directors voted to increase adult general admission from $8.50 to $10 and children's admission from $4 to $5.

Zoo officials also announced a discount ticket program with Fiesta Mart. Tickets will be available at the 33 Fiesta Mart locations for $8.

full article

They need more money but announce a program to sell them cheaper than they currently are selling them for?

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Starting July 1, going to the Houston Zoo will cost more.

The zoo's board of directors voted to increase adult general admission from $8.50 to $10 and children's admission from $4 to $5.

Zoo officials also announced a discount ticket program with Fiesta Mart. Tickets will be available at the 33 Fiesta Mart locations for $8.

full article

They need more money but announce a program to sell them cheaper than they currently are selling them for?

Wow, I remember when dad would take me there and it was free. I had to drink out of the lions head fountain even if I wasnt thirsty. I always got a helium balloon on the way out. It had a colorful mickey mouse head shaped balloon on the inside of a clear round balloon.

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Wow, I remember when dad would take me there and it was free. I had to drink out of the lions head fountain even if I wasnt thirsty. I always got a helium balloon on the way out. It had a colorful mickey mouse head shaped balloon on the inside of a clear round balloon.

I thought we pay taxes to keep up that place, and yes, I thought it was free too, or at least a meaningless amount. That is as much as a movie ticket now.

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Does anyone remember when they started charging admission. I'm thinking it had to have been 10-12 years ago. And when they started, it was 50 cents for kids and I think $2 for adults. In that short period of time admission has skyrocketed to $5 for kids and $10 for adults.

That's a prohibitive amount for many families. Families could always turn to the zoo for a day of fun. Then you could go have a picnic in Hermann Park. Good, clean, CHEAP family fun.

The article says the zoo is trying to become one of the top 5 zoos in the nation. That's a tall order, especially in our climate. How much of the zoo is air conditioned?

With the price increases over the years for the Museum of Natural Science also (with separate fees for the butterfly room, IMAX, parking, etc), you'd have to have at least $150 bucks on hand if you want to take your family of 4 or 5 to that area.

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Does anyone remember when they started charging admission. I'm thinking it had to have been 10-12 years ago. And when they started, it was 50 cents for kids and I think $2 for adults. In that short period of time admission has skyrocketed to $5 for kids and $10 for adults.

That's a prohibitive amount for many families. Families could always turn to the zoo for a day of fun. Then you could go have a picnic in Hermann Park. Good, clean, CHEAP family fun.

The article says the zoo is trying to become one of the top 5 zoos in the nation. That's a tall order, especially in our climate. How much of the zoo is air conditioned?

With the price increases over the years for the Museum of Natural Science also (with separate fees for the butterfly room, IMAX, parking, etc), you'd have to have at least $150 bucks on hand if you want to take your family of 4 or 5 to that area.

Our former mayor Kathryn J. Whitmire was the reason it went from free to a fee.

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This fare increase is not fair. Houston's zoo is not very large and should be free. I was raised in St. Louis where there is a wonderful zoo, it was free and still is. If St. Louis can offer a free zoo, then Houston can. I think the families of Houston deserve this and this would make an excellent campaign issue.

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Yes, I remember it being free years ago, but it was an extremely pitiful zoo and they constantly asked for donations to upkeep the zoo and such.

I went back a couple of years ago and was amazed on how much they had improved it, from what some of my friends have said, the new Meercat exhibit is awesome.

While I'm not sure what funding the St. Luis zoo gets, if it's from the city, then I'm sure they have a good sized Tax rate. If it's by donations, then their city is more generous than our own.

The thing is to find out WHY St. Louis is free as opposed to our own.

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The thing is to find out WHY St. Louis is free as opposed to our own.

Chicago is free, too. But not as good as Houston's (but pretty close). It's something like the 5th biggest tourist attraction in the city, and 10th in the state.

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  • The title was changed to Houston Zoo
  • The title was changed to Houston Zoo At 6200 Hermann Park Dr.

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