Watching the Big Blue at Auckland Zoo

I went with my middle daughter Inaya to Auckland Zoo last Thursday, so she could have a Cheetah Encounter. She turned 16 years old two weeks ago so for her birthday present she had an hour and a half with the fantastic ladies on the Carnivore Team walking the cheetahs around the zoo. Afterwards we spend a bit of time looking around and decided to sit down at Sea Lion Shores and watch the seals swim.

Auckland Zoo holds two species of Sea Lion. The California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) and the New Zealand Sea Lion. Both species face huge odds with injuries caused from fishing nets, boat strikes, sickness from pollution and human interference.

This was my favourite photo out of the many I took. The seal in the shot had risen up to the surface to take in a breath. We could hear the breath being taken in before the seal dived back down again into the water. If your zoo has something like this where you can sit down and watch these amazing marine mammals do what they do best then take time out to watch them. I could have stayed there all day watching them, they are that amazing. Also take time out to read the information boards. You can learn a lot just by reading about the animals our zoos hold in their collections. Definitely one of the highlights of what was a fantastic day.