The last week was sad for many of us who had been there for weeks, but it was still awesome for everyone! And check out our great photos!

Sloth--We met up with a Kelly, an education assistant, at the home of Gonzo, the sloth at Lion Country Safari. In the beginning, we didn't have a very good view of the sloth, but as the talk progressed he came out of the dark shadows. It gave us a good chance to look at his fur, which looks a lot like moss. This is one of their features to help camouflage themselves. They spend their entire life in the tress of South America. They hang by their feet way up high, and even give birth up there. About once a week they will climb to the ground to go to the bathroom. On the ground they are the slowest animals on earth due to spine and foot structure. They literally drag themselves by their claws.

Hornbill--Andrew, a wildlife keeper, met us outside the Hornbill exhibit where these really cool birds are kept. A lot of the kids were saying they looked similar to the Toucan, but with a different beak. So we checked it out, but these are totally different. One really cool fact is they mate for life. Once they find the bird of their dreams, they stay together, just like humans! When it is time to lay eggs the female hole themselves up in a mud wall, with only a tiny opening in it. It is then the male's reasonability to gather food for her so she can watch the eggs.

Alligator--This was the second time we had Alligator day at Safari Day camp, the first being during Week 6. It was just as cool this time around. We met up with Andrew (again) at the baby alligator exhibit. The baby was a little stressed from being held this week so we just observed her. As babies they have these really neat little yellow strips on their tail; that is how you can tell they are juvenile. They also make this clicking noise when they feel they are in danger to call for the mom to help. So if you hear it in the wild, get away! Later in the day we went to alligator chit-chat and learned more about big boys. Then we took turns throwing fish at the hungry once. Since they only eat a couple times a week, they weren't as hungry as we hoped. It was still really cool; always a favorite day at LCS Day Camp!

Nursery Keeper--On Nursery Keeper day, we participated in a game of Bird Diet Relay. We separated into two teams and it was a race to fill bowls with the right amount of food. Judy, who is in charge of the animals diet preparation, helped us out by calling out the ingredients. It was a lot of fun. In the end, the Girl's Team won! Then Rhonda met us with Jesse, the young Scarlet Macaw, and we all had our photo taken!

Africa Day-- We went out on the preserve today, looking for the animals from Africa of course! It was awesome to see how much the kids knew about the animals. And for the campers that had been there several weeks, wow, they were near experts! Then we headed back to the KOA for arts and crafts where we made African masks with beads, feathers, and markers for decoration. Mine is on my wall, where is yours?!