Edmonton 2025 - Calgary Zoo

Mike and Aimee had a few days off and there was much debate regarding how to spend them but a trip to Waterton Lakes was the final decision. Packing was an experience as there were 6 of us in the car and much of the luggage had to go on the roof rack carrier. We broke up the drive south with a visit to the Calgary zoo. We had been there in May of 2017, with Avery toddling and Maya in a stroller, but River had never been.

 

She was very excited. First up ....

Penguins We could see them above and below the water and River squealed with excitement.

As I was awaiting the arrival of a new camera, I was using my phone to take pictures and it does not give good quality when I am zooming in on something.

 

The high point for most of us was the River Otters. 4 of them were running around in their enclosure and then diving into the water to swirl and play. 

I just wanted to sit and watch them but we still needed to finish the Canadian Section.

The bears were also a big hit. The enclosure had a brown bear, black bear and a gold coloured bear.

 

Most of the enclosures at the Calgary Zoo are large and the animals have a lot of room to roam with many elements to interact with. The animals are also regularly moved to different enclosures to give them some variety in their environments. We never saw the "pacing" that is the behaviour often found in large animals confined at a zoo. There are also lots of viewing areas and the public can walk around the enclosures so it is usually easy to see the animals. The exception to this was the Hippo enclosure and pool which was ridiculously small for the 2 large animals.

Avery kept hoping for "exotic" animals and the Peacock was our "greeter" when we crossed the river to the island that holds the savanna and rainforest creatures.

The Meercats are so cute 

and inquisitive that I took way too many photos of them.

The Lemurs have a huge enclosure and you can usually go into it and walk around with them but today was too cold for them and they were inside. A notice at the entrance had listed Polar Bears and Red Pandas (one of my favorites) as being unavailable that day.

Last time we were here the fish were Avery's favourite part. This time he was more into the reptiles and happy to see a Boa Constrictor.

We walked through a couple of huge Aviaries, one with hawks and owls and another with colourful rainforest birds. We saw more animals than I can name here and River got to see the Zebra that she had been asking for. We left as the park closed and drove another couple of hours South.

After settling into our hotel (sort of a one bedroom cottage) and having a quick supper, Avery, Maya and I took a short walk in the village. This is the Prince of Wales Hotel (not where we were staying!)

The Prince of Wales Hotel has stood proudly on a bluff overlooking the Waterton Village since 1927. An iconic marker for Waterton Lakes National Park, the hotel was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1992. from watertontourism.com

Even in the evening the surrounding mountains are beautiful and I was looking forward to seeing them in the daylight.