A Birthday Treat ...

Our Daughter - sounds so formal doesn't it. I think that now she's eleven I shall call her Miss. K. Hope I remember! With Christmas and New Year so near to Our Daughter's Birthday (see I forgot already) it is always difficult to arrange a Birthday Party as usually all her school friends etc are away. So Miss. K. celebrates her Birthday usually late January or early February but on one occasion in July! Don't ask - it would be too difficult to explain and I still feel the guilt!

As she had sat her School Entrance Exam on Saturday and school wasn't scheduled to open on Monday we thought that it would be a great idea to celebrate her Birthday on a small scale on her actual Birthday with a proper party in a few weeks time!

Where did we go? Marwell Zoo on the outskirts of Winchester and one of her friends came too!

First of all we visited the Penguin Enclosure where the girls had great fun with the penguins. The girls would tap their fingers on the glass viewing area and this little penguin would then swim and dive following their hands! Probably thinking that their hand was a squid!

Such graceful and fantastic swimmers!

The girls loved the pigtail look of the Congo Buffalos' ears!

We came to the Monkey Enclosure -  their hands looked ever so human!

They were picking at and chewing the grass.

We then came across the Zebras.

I love their stripes!

Even the ones on their backsides!

We came across the Tigers! Such beautiful creatures! Look at the size of the paws! And I thought some of our cats were lean mean killing machines - nowhere near the league of this big cat!

We then went and saw the Meerkats - funny little creatures digging about in the sand!

We went and had something to eat in the cafe for lunch before returning to the Tiger Enclosure. I was telling Miss. K.'s friend about a previous visit we'd had to Marwell one Summer a few years ago when one of the Tigers had gone to cool down in the small pool by the glass viewing area and it was a shame that it was cold as we were unlikely to see that when, lo and behold the Tiger walked up to the viewing area where the pool is and got in!

Here you can see the Tiger walking up to the pool!

And in he went!

We saw the Red Pandas! Something had happened to this ones tail as they normally have big bushy ones!

 We went to see the snow leopards!

Snow leopard cubs! Apparently three had been born but one had died.

The proud mum!

The dad - look at the size of those fangs!

All too soon it was time to leave but not until after a lollipop had been purchased!

Happy Birthday my little one! I promise to organize a proper Birthday Party soon!

Until next time,

June.