One of the downsides of a big zoo with large exhibits is that you can often walk by and see absolutely nothing but grass, rocks, and trees. It’s great for the animals, who have lots of room to roam and easy ways of getting away from people, but it can be frustrating for zoo visitors. Beyond a glimpse of a far-off polar bear and a sleeping black bear, we saw no bears, despite there being four exhibits featuring bears. We also saw very little of the napping tiger and napping lions, though we have lions and tigers at Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, so that’s no big deal.

What we don’t have is gorillas.

The last time I was at the Detroit Zoo, the gorillas were nowhere to be seen. This time around, we got a great view of two gorillas, a drill, and two species of macaques.

We also saw some very active chimpanzees, though from further away and while we were en route to the polar bear exhibit, which we were rather exited about, so we didn’t linger long and I took no pictures.

While Zach and I were dog tired by the end of the day, the boy loved the zoo (despite the fact that there were no snow leopards, his favorite animal). And one of his favorite parts is coming up next…