It was such a beautiful day yesterday we decided to go to the zoo for a little while - it turned out to be half the day. It wasn't too crowded when we arrived around 10, so in addition to the perfect weather, we didn't have to deal with any kind of crowds.The Little Rock Zoo has been making all kinds of changes and improvements, and for the first time in all the years we've been going, you can finally get a good look at the Rhinos.Laedyn would have been happy watching the Rhino indefinately - Nick, not so much. When the Rhino turned her back to us, we moved on to the next exhibit.The new viewing areas for the rhinos also give a different perspective on the giraffes. These two were all tangled up together every time we looked over at them, bumping each other and leaning on one another. We kept expecting them to twine their necks together.Next stop was the bear area. Too bad most of the bears were hiding in their dens. We saw a Malayan Sun Bear way at the back of his exhibit, a sloth bear taking a nap and a grizzly bear lounging next to the viewing window with her back to us. Not the best day for bear viewing. I did learn a few bits of trivia however. Sloth bears have no front teeth because they eat insects and teeth would get in the way of suction necessary for slurping up termites and the like. And the sun bears are named for the white patch of fur on their chest that resembles a rising sun.Before heading out, we took a quick turn around the small cats/carnivores area - the only active cat was a caracal who had lovely black pointy ears. He hissed at us. We also saw a red fox napping in his enclosure, and learned a little trivia about what foxes like to eat. Ready for this? They like to eat earthworms! Who would ever guess that???

This carousel, known as the Arkansas Carousel, is a fairly recent addition to the zoo. It made its first appearance at the State Fair in 1924. It's not just any old carousel either, it's an "over the jumps" carousel and this is the only remaining fully operational one in the world! The manufacterer of this carousel only ever made four of them. It used to be used at the fair as a midway ride, and was fully transportable. Now it's permanently ensconced at the Little Rock Zoo and has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. When it was on the midway, it cost five cents to ride. Now it costs two dollars! Laedyn loves the horsies ... when the ride came to an end she screeched, yelled "no no no - I ride horsey" then proceeded to cry. I told Nick he was lucky she wasn't kicking. Last time I took her on it the end of ride tantrum was much worse!