This week I went to camp at The Toronto Zoo and I had so much fun! I learned so much about so many of the animals.  These are 10 cool facts that I learned:

1. Apes walk on fists and do not have tails, monkeys walk on their hands and have tails.
2. Elephants trunks can pick up a blade of grass and can also move a car.
3. Moose can dive up to 18 feet in the water.
4. Camels don’t spit on you, they actually vomit.
5. Chameleons don’t change colours because they want to. They change colours because of what mood they are in. If they are bright green they are happy and if they are red they are angry.
6. One of the Kangaroos that they have at The Toronto Zoo gets mad if you’re loud. There’s even a sign that says “be quiet!”
7. Male peacocks are the ones who are colourful, the female peacocks are the ones who are grey.
8. Cheetahs can run 120km an hour, that is faster than the average speed limit on the highway.
9. Sharks skin looks smooth but it’s actually rough. Stingrays are smooth. I know this because I touched them.
10. Flamingos turn pink when they eat shrimp. If you feed it a blueberry it won’t turn blue.

Now I have a story that I want to share with you. It’s sad but true.

One day a family was at the zoo and they threw a piece of popcorn for the baby orangatang and the dad orangutan wanted the popcorn and by accident he knocked baby. The baby fell into a moat and because orangutans can’t swim, the baby drowned. A firefighter came to try to rescue him, but it was too late. This is why you should not feed the animals at the zoo. When the signs say, “Do not feed the animals,” please listen. These rules are rules for a reason. They protect the animals.

Here are some of my favourite photos that I took during my week at Zoo Camp.

From the top left going clockwise: Flamingoes, Tiger “Vitali”, Grizzly Bears, Organgutangs, Monkey, Jellyfish, Female Peacock with her chicks, White Lion, Elephant. Center photo is a mom and baby Orangutang cuddling – so cute!

I also learned about some of the things that they are doing for the environment at The Toronto Zoo. There is a lot of information at the zoo about things that you can do to help the environment and the animals. At many of the exhibits there are signs that tell you if the animals are endangered or if their homes are in trouble because of littering and pollution.