That other place in Tampa with rides and animals....

Lowry Park Zoo

So... Just down the road (pretty much) from Busch Gardens in Tampa.. there is another place that combines amusement rides and animals all in the same place, Lowry Park Zoo. The zoo opened in 1957 and is not a very large zoo, but is also far from being small and it is still one of the nicest Zoo's in Florida (not in Miami, at least) After being suspended from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) due to a few escapes and other possible violations, the zoo fixed their issues and was established as an AZA accredited zoo once again in 2009. (yay)

Main Entrance. woo, animals!
I'd only been here once before, back in the spring of 2009 before I moved to Florida.
I've wanted to come back for a while.. but with so many other new things to see and do I just never found the time. (I guess)

Getting to the zoo soon after opening, some of the animals hadn't been harassed yet.
Shh, the Clouded Leopard is sleeping.

Why hello there.

Mr. Bald Eagle?
America, woo!

!!! Lots of Manatees!
One of only 8 places in the world where you can see them in captivity.

Shh, Ms River Otter is sleeping too <3

Gators... uh.. being gators?

Flamingos?
But more importantly....

A SANDHILL CRANE!!!
(doing crane like things)

African Penguins, going for a little swim.

Look at this yellow-footed rock wallaby!

I wonder what the Meerkat is looking at?

!PYGMY HIPPOPOTAMUS!
(hippo, hippo, hip-po)

Giraffasaurus....

Quack quack?!

Komodo Dragons!
(Jeff made me feel bad for liking them.)

:3
Mr.Bear!!! But this wasn't even the best part!
(vine video at the bottom)

Indian Rhinoceros and baby

The badass looking GHARIAL Crocodile!
(Critically Endangered :( )

Ugh, Lorikeets, don't have time for them..... :/

:D Reticulated Eel

In all my travels I've seen these "Mold-A-Matic" machines around. Mostly at other Zoos (but Busch Gardens has them as well).. I'd never done one myself... well.. until I saw this Hippo one. Best $2 ever spent?

...And coming soon? A new on-site Animal Hospital.
Now for some of the non animal related parts of the Zoo...
and stuff.

This odd... Corn... photo spot?
How luxurious

Animal themed carousel, featuring a Manatee!

Tasmanian Tiger is the Zoo's only coaster, added in December of 2008.

It had been located at Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia but on my trip there in 2008 it was missing-in-action and had yet to resurface. It was pretty annoying walking around the park looking for it, unable to (RCDB hadn't listed it as removed yet)

Woo woo and back in 2009 it was the first coaster credit I got of the year.!

There are a few other kiddie rides as well, like this little train.

Skyfari had gone closed and semi-removed over the past 5 years as well.
(I did get to ride it my first time here)

Sadly, its just rusting away, unused

Woo, Gator Falls Flume Ride!
(and its 30 foot drop)

Ah, a nice little flume ride around the Gator enclosure...
Jeff and I had both ridden it together back in 2009 and remembered it being a small, fun little ride...

What the hell is this?!
Neither of us remembered this MASSIVE splash from the drop!
Its nearly the same height as the drop itself!
(having just gone back and looked at my photos from 2009, it shows the wave being much smaller)

Yeah, completely soaked.... I don't recall any flume I've ridden getting me this wet.. and from just a single small drop!

(Back in the 70s and 80s there was a full-scale themed-park area of the zoo called "Fairyland at Lowry Park" and featured Storybook Land style buildings and themes as well as rides and an older kiddie coaster, this site here has more info on that)
 

Woo, Lowry Park Zoo and stuff. A nice good sized Zoo in the Metro Tampa area. I'd have revisited sooner but its so hard to drive all the way out to Tampa and not go to Busch Gardens just down the street a few miles. In fact, now both times I've visited the Zoo, I've stopped at Busch afterwards.

Bonus Vine of the amazing swimming bear!
Click