Welcome, Rocky Shores!

On Friday I had the exciting opportunity to visit Utah’s Hogle Zoo for the opening of their newest exhibit, Rocky Shores. And the best part is I did it for work! My supervisor and I visited the zoo back in February and had our own private tour when we wrote a script about it. We heard about the new exhibit and encouraged our contact to reach out to us as the opening drew nearer. She did and this is what we got to see.

This is Big Boy. He’s an 850-pound blind sea lion, definitely a rescue animal. He’s impressive to watch both swimming

and on land

These two eagles (sorry, I’ve forgotten their names!) have been together for 30 years. Isn’t that amazing? They’re pretty much an old married couple who’ve had several sets of offspring together. Oh, and notice how they’re both missing wings? That’s because they ran into an electrical wire, while they were flying together since it’s on opposite sides. I had no idea a) eagles lived that long and b) that they mated for life. How exciting!

Here’s the grizzly bears. These are three cubs — Dolly, Lou-Lou and Koda — are also rescue animals. Their mother was considered as a nuisance bear, and without being brought to the zoo, they would’ve had to be put down. Now they have a lovely home. Sorry you can’t see them so well! I did my best!

There’s also harbor seals and river otters.

And I saved my favorite for last. This is Rizzo, the polar bear. Isn’t she beautiful?

We got to see her jump in her pool and swim too. Her tank here in Salt Lake can be both heated and cooled too, so she can enjoy swimming in all seasons. Look at her sitting and enjoying that fish.

What a fun and exciting experience! Yes, I have a very cool job just in case you’re wondering. Here’s my one gripe. How come polar bears can have a big bum and it’s adorable but people can’t?