Brevard Zoo

by Katherine

          When we had planned our trip to Florida, I had no idea that there would be a baby jaguar involved in it.  But when I was doing my zooborns update, I found a baby jaguar at the Brevard Zoo, which happens to be only a 15 minute drive from where we were staying.

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          I love zoos a lot! It's always fun to go watch the animals playing about. I really like the Brevard Zoo; it wasn't too big yet there was a lot you could do there, including kayaking through the parts of the zoo, paddle boating, a train ride, a little water/play area for kids, and animal feedings (most at additional costs). The zoo was also laid out well; you never had to walk far to get to the next animal and it was arranged in loops so that you never had to worry about which path to take or that you might miss something. You also get to be pretty close to the animals, something that you don't get at a much more spread out zoo.

          First, I of course had to find the jaguars and make sure the cub (read more here) was out, which it was. It was really frickin cute (duh!) and was very playful. I think one reason I love jaguars so much is that they always seems to be active at the zoos. Most cats sleep away the day and barely move, but the jaguars are always running around; I also eagerly await the day that one decides to actually swim. The cub was goofy, jumping on his momma, trying to get her to play. I could have watched him for hours but there were other things to see.

          Another really awesome thing about the zoo was the animal feedings. You could feed the lorikeets and another type of bird, but the real delight was the giraffe feedings. I'd never experienced that before; you get a cracker that you can break into smaller pieces and have loads of fun. It was super cool to watch their ginormous tongues reach out and wrap around the cracker. The tongue feels almost like sandpaper but also a little slimy. You could pretty much pet the giraffes, though they tend to back off when you try to touch them. After that interaction, we both gained a new appreciation and love for giraffes.

          There's also a high ropes course/zip line tour that actually takes you over the animal exhibits. I read that it takes 3 hours, is a good workout, and costs $48. For a zipline tour, that's pretty damn reasonable. Next time we go to Florida, we definitely want to do that, but it was too hot to do it anytime near summer. But the zoo itself was definitely worth a trip. We ended up getting a membership because the zoo reciprocates 100% with my favorite zoo back in Ohio and we got 2 free guest passes and 2 free train rides. And we'd definitely go back to the Brevard Zoo on a future trip!

Visiting Information
          Cost: zoo entrance  -  $15 for adults, $11 for kids
                      parking  -  free
                      train ride (10 minutes)  -  $3
                      kayaking (30 minutes) -  $6
                      paddle boating (30 minutes)  -  $15 for a 4 person boat
                      rhino encounters (20 minutes)  -  $15
                      bird feedings  -  $1
                      giraffe feedings  -  $2
               *There are discounts if you buy certain combinations of the above 
                  options
          Time: It took us 3 hours to see all of the animals, go on the train ride, and 
                       feed the giraffes, but probably at least 30 min of the time was spent 
                       with the jaguar cub.