Another last-minute decision Stephanie and I made was to visit the Santa Barbara Zoo @ Santa Barbara. We had an hour (yes, an hour) to check out all the animals in the zoo, and surprisingly, we did it! And I managed to take some pretty decent pictures too :D

We saw the pretty flamingos..

… the cute giraffes..

… some absolutely adorable Humboldt penguins (video @ Flickr)..

… a grumpy gorilla who refused to smile to us..

… an anxious giant ant-eater who wouldn’t stop pacing in and out (video @ Flickr)..

… a pair of very loving African lions (video @ Flickr)..

… and a pair of very cute Asian small-clawed otters.

And of course, I’ve got some pictures of myself too :D

More pictures taken at the Santa Barbara Zoo here.

This post pretty much wraps up my 12-day stay in California and needless to say, I enjoyed myself very much, and I am very much indebted to my super-friendly and accommodating host, Stephanie, the founder of Chelonian Science Foundation. Stephanie has shown me, among other things, that “everything is possible if you put your heart in it.” She has been a role model to me, and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from her.

Thank you very much, Stephanie :heart:

P/S: More pictures taken during visits to other zoos:

• Cape May County Zoo @ Stone harbor, NJ
• Bronx Zoo @ Bronx, NY
• Philadelphia Zoo @ Philadelphia, PA