Trip Rewind Nebraska: Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, Omaha Nebraska

I am not a fan of zoos. I hate seeing animals caged up but the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium was highly recommend by my friend Jen and Stacie, the bride of the wedding I had attended. I arrived to the zoo with not much time before I needed to get to the airport. I guess I had spent too much time at the air museum and safari, but me running behind was typical.

I entered into the zoo with not much of a plan and in hindsight I probably should have reviewed the map as with limited time I needed to strategically plan my visit. After getting through the gate I was greeted by a huge dome structure that housed the desert animals.

I entered into the dome and followed the path around taking in the animals, from the weird tippy toe animal (I don’t know what this thing is but it’s feet have to be killing her by the end of the day).

I also liked this pissy looking bird.

After I finished up at the dome I moved on to the cat complex. Here was the location of the Bloody Bangle Tiger.

The snow tiger was most frightening as this one had her eye on a dad and his kid. She literally was staring them down to the point it was even making me uncomfortable.

I moved on to the leopard, who also looked hungry for little girls. I’m not much of a cat girl, but these tigers and leopards are for sure beautiful animals.

Next was Durham’s Bear Canyon. Where I saw this sweet polar bear taking a nap probably dreaming of ice caps and fresh seal meat. Poor guy.

I also got to see the sun bear, a native of Asia, I had never seen or heard of a sun bear before. This guy did not look particularly happy but perhaps he was having an off day.

My favorite animal was up next. As I approached the glassed in cage I noticed a log with paper viciously flying out of it. This animal seemed to be pretty upset about something. As I approached the cage to get a better view of this animal I saw the all too familiar black and white coloring.

Although I never got a good look at the animal the plaque on the wall explained it all, the badger. I am fond of badgers as they are mysterious and rarely seen and like myself, easily annoyed. It has been a long running joke between my friends and I that “you don’t poke the badger”, meaning don’t piss me off on purpose.

As I type this blog entry I am drinking a Snarling Badger Berliner Weisse beer from Grand Teton Brewing. A coincidence most likely but I will admit I bought the beer because there was a badger on the label. I would most likely have a badger as a pet if I wasn’t afraid of it ripping my face off. I actually almost named Boomer badger, and probably would have if he was black and white instead of black and tan. Although his personality is the polar opposite of a badger (and myself), he is a friendly soul.

Next was the aquarium where I saw some massive sharks and sea turtles (obviously not in the same tanks). My time was running out and I was buzzing through the rest of the park as quickly as possible. I unfortunately did not have time to see the jungle animals as I had to get to the airport.

I had a great visit to the zoo and as I had mentioned before I do not really care for zoos, mostly because I find it sad that any animals are in a zoo. They probably do not understand what the hell is going on. I think the most painful to see was the cougar that was pacing back and forth. She looked mad and probably wanted to eat the children that were walking by. I don’t really blame her, I don’t care to be around kids either 🙂

If you would like to visit the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium they are located at 3701 S. 10th Street in Omaha. Parking is free and entrance fees into the zoo are $15 for adults, $10 for children (2 and under are free), $14 for seniors and military and $9 for military children from April to September. Fees are reduced from October to March $13.50 for adults, $9 children, $12.50 for seniors and military and $8 for military children. Operating times from March to October 9am to 5pm daily and November to February are 10am to 4pm daily.