The Trip to the Zoo


We had stayed overnight in Kearney, Nebraska, leaving there around 6am to make it to the zoo at a decent time. It's about a two hour and forty minute drive from Kearney to the zoo, and so now we are sitting in the parking lot twiddling our thumbs for 20 minutes until the zoo opens. Jeremy checks his backpack to ensure he has the water bottles and snacks, and I double check mine which is really just my camera bag to ensure that everything is still there and didn't magically disappear while we were on the highway.


We exit the car and walk toward the entry gate. We had already booked our tickets ahead of time, so we just had to show our reservation details

Suzanne + Walter Scott Aquarium


We enter Henry Doorly, and the first exhibit we gravitate towards is the Suzanne + Walter Scott Aquarium. The penguin enclosure is very nice. The aquarium even has a glass tunnel where you can see sharks, fish, sting ray, and sea turtles swimming around you. My favorite exhibits in the aquarium are the tunnel and the jellyfish. I had no idea that there are multiple kinds of sea nettles. It makes sense, though!

Group of bioluminescent jellyfish glowing bright blue in dark waters.
A small green garden eel emerges from sandy seafloor in an underwater scene.
Bright orange tropical fish swimming among colorful coral in an aquarium.
Luminous orange jellyfish floating gracefully in deep blue water.
A yellow-headed goby fish emerges from its burrow in a vibrant blue coral reef setting.
Sea turtle swimming gracefully in blue underwater environment.
Emperor penguin swimming underwater with bubbles trailing behind.
Two mysterious tadpole-like shapes swimming in dark murky water.
Scuba diver silhouetted against streaming blue light rays underwater.
Close-up of purple octopus tentacles with suction cups in dark water.
Orange jellyfish with striped patterns float gracefully against a deep blue ocean backdrop.
Spotted sea cucumber among colorful coral reef formations.

Berniece Grewcock Butterfly and Insect Pavilion


After the aquarium, the next building over was the Pavilion. It is a very quick walk through. It is extremely humid, and Jeremy doesn't cope to well with the humidity, so we make quick work of it. It was very pretty, and there's a zookeeper at the entrance and exit to ensure bugs don't escape.

Orange and brown butterfly perches delicately on green foliage in soft focus.
Bright blue morpho butterfly rests on a backlit tropical green leaf.

Scott African Grasslands


We exit the pavilion and head across the path to where an okapi is. We stand along the fence and notice that there is a small calf hiding behind a fenceline in the tall grasses. The okapi cow is named Kali, and the calf is Lucky.


We walk down a path to go see the meerkats. We only see one, and it must be the one standing guard. Only seeing one seems really unusual, but there are two other animals in the meerkat exhibit with them - klipspringers. They are adorable! Klipspringer are dwarf antelopes who typically live amongst small rocks called "kopje" (coh-pee).


We walk further down the path and are greeted by a large grasslands area featuring rhinos, kudu, impalas, and giraffes! There is an indoor area called the Giraffe Herd Room, where there is a young giraffe with its mother. The cow is named Betty Francis, and the calf is Arthur.


Next up are the elephants. We wander into the Elephant Family Headquarters where we are surprised to find an elephant calf! Neither one of us have ever seen a baby elephant in person before, so it is so cool to see this baby being so active in front of us in the exhibit. She is so small that we think she must be a newborn, but a zookeeper lets us know that she is already nine months old! Her name is Eugenia (You-Jee-Nee-Ah), born to Kiki (cow) and Callee (bull).


We leave the Elephant Family Headquarters to discover there are more elephants - and a SECOND baby! This one is a boy named Sonny, born to Claire (cow) and Callee (bull).


We are now standing next to a café and realize that we are hungry as heck. It's really crowded, but I see a table open up. Jeremy goes to order us food, and I go sit at the table to ensure that we have it to eat at. Jeremy comes to the table with two orders of chicken strips with fries, and we eat our lunch. A little finch comes and sits on the fence next to our table and I take a picture of it. We don't waste any time eating though, since it's so crowded. We want to get a head start before all of these people join us at the next exhibits.


The next animal we see is a bongo. There are exhibits for cheetahs and lions, but they must be hiding inside because we don't see them. There are several sable antelopes just lounging around in their enclosure. I love how chill they seem.

Close-up profile view of an okapi's head showing its distinctive long ears and reddish-brown coloring in a natural setting.
Black and white photo of a lone kudu grazing in dry grassland.
Small dik-dik antelope standing on rocky terrain in its natural habitat.
Sable antelope with long curved horns rests in green grass field.
Meerkat walking across sandy ground near large gray rocks in a zoo enclosure.
Baby elephant reaching for water container in what appears to be a sanctuary setting.
Young elephant calf walking across dry sandy terrain in natural habitat.
Two klipspringer antelopes standing alert on rocky terrain in sunlight.
Three tall giraffes standing together in a sunny zoo enclosure surrounded by trees.

Asian Highlands


The next area in the zoo that we end up in is the Asian Highlands. We first see several rhinos, and inside the same enclosure are Pére David deer. In a separate enclosure ae tufted deer, which are small and extremely cute!


The sloth bear is being shy and is barely visible. They are hiding by the door to its indoor enclosure.


The Amur tiger's exhibit is pretty cool and looks like a temple. The tiger is circling around their enclosure. It must be close to lunch time for them.


We get to see a small glimpse of the snow leopard, napping near its door, a takin grazing, and a muntjac. 

Bengal tiger walking past rocky terrain in natural habitat showing its distinctive orange and black stripes.
Small deer grazing on grass near fallen logs in a woodland setting.
Gray duiker resting on green grass surrounded by fallen autumn leaves.
Duiker taking shelter in a natural cave-like setting among foliage and rocks.
A ground squirrel sits behind a wire fence, its brown fur textured and detailed in the close-up shot.
A majestic Bengal tiger walks along a dirt path surrounded by lush foliage.

Hubbard Gorilla Valley


We cross over to Hubbard Gorilla Valley where we see a few Silverbacks and two babies. One is definitely older than the other. The older baby is a boy named Kgosi (goh-zee), born to mom Timu. The younger baby is a girl named Zuri, born to mom Bambio.

A black bear sits in dappled sunlight among green vegetation on a hillside.

Owen Sea Lion Shores


We walk in to the sea lion and seal area next, but it is so crowded, and the glass is so dirty that it is hard to get a great view.

Mahoney Kingdoms of the Night


We begin a terribly long, uphill trek up to the Desert Dome. Turns out that the Desert portion is closed, but the underground exhibit called "Mahoney Kingdoms of the Night" is open. We go down to tour a faux cave, a swamp, and a cavern. It contains bats, bugs, and other critters like porcupines, beavers, alligators, crocodiles, and viscacha.

Leaving the Zoo


We are back at the beginning of the zoo after exiting the dome, so it is time to leave the zoo. We really loved seeing the baby elephants, we just wish there was more to see between the Sea Lion Shores and the Dome.