Perry Wildlife Zoo

We were going to take the kids to the National Zoo today but the combination of potential rains and tiredness changed our minds.

Instead we took them to the Perry Wildlife Zoo in Perry, WVa.

They say an interesting blog has good photographs....

I would love to show photographs of the kids squealing with delight, as they fed the bear. The deer shedding its velvet would have also been a great pic. Or how about the porcupines, that also would have been a neat photo.

Alas, I brought the camera, but the batteries were totally dead. Ugh.

I hadn't been to Perry Zoo in probably 15 years. It is a perfect outing for small children--low key, relatively inexpensive, and a good variety of animals. I am not a veterinarian, but all of the enclosures appeared to be clean, and the animals well cared for.

I always have mixed feelings about zoos. On the one hand, I like seeing and learning about different kinds of animals, and the kids certainly enjoy it. It is sad though to see a cougar or lion all caged up though when you know they are accustomed to roaming large areas. In many cases though, zoos take animals that would otherwise die or be treated poorly by individuals. As with most things in life, there is more gray than black and white.