Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium

Since it had been a long time since we had gone to a zoo and we had heard they had a good seahorse exhibit, we decided to visit the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium since we were in the park.

..The seahorse exhibit was set up for little kids and all the viewing windows and signage were low. Seahorses live in calm water protected from large waves. Most are in shallow water near the shore. The coastal zones where seahorses live are some of the most important places on earth for people and wildlife.

Since we couldn't use flash, a lot of these photos are blurry. You can just make out the seahorse resting next to the plant.

Weedy sea dragons live in the kelp and seaweed-covered rocky reefs where their skin helps them hide. They are found only in south Australian waters. They are camouflaged to blend in with their surroundings. Instead of a pouch, the male carries unhatched eggs on a brood batch along the tail.

...Yes even Nemo was here. Actually this is a clown fish.

Very weird fish.

Lined seahorses have fine lines and small white spots on them. They can change their color to become gray, brown, red, yellow or black. The patterns and colors help lined seahorses disappear into their surroundings of seagrass beds, seaweed and sponges.

Leafy sea dragons live only in South Australian kelp forests. They are so good at hiding in the kelp that they don't have to swim after food. Their prey comes to them, thinking the sea dragons are just part of the kelp. I sure wished we could have gotten a better photo because these seahorses are really cool.

...In the center of the aquarium is a huge tank of fish. We walked all around the outside of the tank and I swear that every time I looked toward the tank, one of these orange fish was looking at me. There were even small sharks in the tank.

...As we walked around the tank, the opposite side of the walkway had displays of the different kinds of underwater habitats that could be found in the area.

After the aquarium we walked through a couple doors and into a netted area to see the Budgies.

...So cute and small! You could buy a popsicle stick with a dab of bird feed on it so you could hold it out and the Budgies would come land on it.

...As we left that area, people that had fed the birds were required to wash their hands. In order for hand-washing to be effective, you need to wash for 20 seconds. If you aren't any good at counting, try singing the song on this sign. I heard you can sing the Happy Birthday song twice to get your 20 seconds.

Here's looking at you!

Looks like it's nap-time.

Heck even the otters are napping!

..Hey it's a monkey puzzle tree! I wonder if those are its flowers...

This penquin is mottling so it's just standing around on the shore.












Two other penquins were in the water and this one was swimming rapidly and rocking its body from side to side so sometimes we were seeing its white underbelly.

This sea otter was just floating but the others were swimming fast upside-down underwater.

Even the walruses were swimming upside-down. This one would move its lips like it was talking as it swam. These things were huge!

They would flip just as they came to the glass and even rubbed against it hard.

..The puffins were spread out all over the place. Some were swimming, some were jumping from this ledge into the pool....

But these two were preening. Must be getting ready for a hot date.

....Do you know know the difference between a reindeer and a caribou? The only difference is where they live.... No the reindeer doesn't live at the north pole. They live in Europe and Asia. Caribou live on the North American continent.

...As we were getting ready to leave the park, we noticed Mt. Rainier was really showing off with its new coat of snow. I just can't believe how pale it is in this photo! It was beautiful in person.

Instead of leaving the park, Nolan drug me into the kids area. Dang they have some cool animals there! Like these meerkats. Ok, so there's a glare on the glass.

Then two gals came into the enclosure. It looks like they were collapsing all the holes the meerkats had been digging. They kept a close eye on the animals. I guess they must be devious. Notice how small the meerkats are. Hint: They are in the hole just below the bush in the middle of the photo.

...Oh boy I've heard of these creatures.

...See them on the back wall? This enclosure was full of them.

Look how those snakes drape themselves over the branches!

...Hey I've heard about these too!

What a colorful creature! Notice how he sits up instead of laying flat like North American frogs do?

After we left the zoo, we saw a couple peacocks in the parking lot.