Lemurs: “Up Close and Personal” at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo – Part 2

A Travel Post – Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo – Part 2; Gulf Shores, Alabama

I’m so glad your could stop by and see part 2 of our day at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo!!! If you missed the first post in this series, you may want to click below to see the “Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo Part 1 – Kangaroos” post by using the link below- although the 3 zoo posts can really be read in any order.

Alabama Gulf Shores Vacation – November 6-11 of 2023

Kangaroo Adventure see Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo Part 1

Destination Madagascar – is covered in this post.

South American Adventure – Sloth – Will be covered in Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo – part 3

After traveling to Alabama for the beautiful wedding of wonderful friends in November of 2023, we decided to celebrate my husband’s recent retirement by making a detour to the Gulf Shores – Orange Beach area in Alabama. We had heard wonderful things about this area but had never had the opportunity to visit. As this town was only 4 hours away from the Birmingham wedding, this seemed like a perfect time to visit.

On the way to Gulf Shores, I researched things to do, and found out that the nearby Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo had some great “Animal Adventures”. As of today, August 11, 2024, these animal adventures cost $24.95 for each person, in addition to the regular zoo admission. The adventures are held at approximately 20 minute intervals throughout the day. Tickets to the animal adventures can only be purchased on the day of the adventure.

We were at the Zoo before opening and as soon as we were allowed in, we went directly to the booth selling the animal adventure tickets. We did kangaroos in their very first time slot, and purchased the Lemur adventure for about an hour and a half after the kangaroos. We didn’t purchase the sloth adventure until later in the day. The zoo books only 4 participants for each session with the Lemurs and the Kangaroos, while the Sloth adventure books 6 guests per session. The minimum age to participate is 5; and 5-10 year olds can only attend with a paying adult.

During our visit, the 3 adventures available were for the Lemurs, the Kangaroos and the Sloth. So we paid about $75 each in addition to zoo admission for the 3 adventures all together. This was pricey, but so amazing, that I recommend it wholeheartedly, if it is in your budget. As of today – 08-15-2024 The kangaroo area and kangaroo adventure are both closed. So it is always good to check the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo website before planning your vacation. As one would expect – adventures are also closed in the event of lightning. We went on a Monday, non-holiday, in a light tourist time. We were beyond lucky that due to this and arriving and signing up for the adventures as soon as we arrived, Wayne and I were the only two guests in each adventure. In other words, we had a similar tour to Taylor and Travis at the Australian Zoo – Very Up Close and Personal!!!!

If you would love to do an animal adventure but it is not in the budget, you may enjoy the feeding experiences with the giraffes or the Sulcata Tortoise Feeding. These adventures are relatively inexpensive at $5 per guest for each feeding.

Fortunately, the zoo chats and animal training events are free with zoo admission, Click for an Event schedule and keeper chats.

The zoo also features Premium Experiences for $350 each and each experience lasts for 45 minutes. These experiences are entitled the “Big Cat Adventure” and the “Capybara Adventure”. Unfortunately those adventures weren’t in our budget for this trip. Click on the link above for more info on these.

Lastly, the zoo features a carousel, safari cars, a kiddie train, and a ziplining adventure. All of these require the purchase of additional tickets, see Plan Your Visit for prices.

Beware of Lemur Love

The only thing to be afraid of in this exhibit, is falling in love with the lemurs and wanting to take one home or to purchase one as a pet. But unfortunately, Lemurs do not adapt well to life as a pet. The fact that specialized vet care that is not available at most of the vet clinics or even at exotic animal vets is a great obstacle. Also, as you look around the enclosure, you will note that that a large enclosure like the one at the zoo, the various foods that are a part of a Lemurs daily diet, and the amount of lemurs needed to give a lemur the feeling of family that they have in the wild, would all be a challenge to provide at home. Then there is the cost of an inside enclosure for bad weather or for animals that are ill. When you consider that a conservative estimate of the care and feeding, of a Lemur over its 25 year life span is above $200,000 (according to Duke University) and you multiply that by the 5 or more lemurs you would want to have to make your lemur feel at home – lemurs as pets becomes a million dollar expenditure.

So due to the lemurs extreme cuteness and in especially if you are visiting the animal experience with children you may want to check out the “Why Lemurs Don’t Make Good Pets” article from Duke University, in advance and explain to your kids that the lemurs who are not living in the wild are happier in zoos and animal parks than as pets, and that the breeding programs in those places can also help them avoid extinction.

Armed with that knowledge, I truly hope you get to experience a Lemur Adventure at least once in your lifetime – ours was wonderful and unforgettable – and I hope yours is as well!!

The Lemurs – Destination Madagascar

On our zoo day, after our animal adventure with the kangaroos, we arrived at the Lemur Adventure (Adventure – star C on the zoo map) at least 20 minutes early for our time slot, and took the time to read signs about the Lemurs and check them out. The Lemur keeper was excellent at explaining the rules and introducing the Lemurs individually and by name, which was really cool . Wayne (my husband) is more of a sitter than a stander so he immediately sat down. The Lemurs seemed to really enjoy that.

This enclosure had two different kinds of Lemurs – both critically endangered. The types of Lemurs in the enclosure were the…

Red Ruffed Lemur

and the

Black and White Ruffed Lemur

The term “ruffed” refers to the fringe around their faces – which almost looks like a smaller version of a lion’s mane. Both kinds were wonderful to watch. Both kinds seemed to think Wayne was there as a new climbing toy and both Wayne and the Lemurs seemed equally enthralled with each other.

At one point Wayne had a Black and White Ruffed Lemur that had climbed on his lap, another Black and White Ruffed Lemur that had curled up on his right side, while a Red Ruffed Lemur that had curled up on his left side.

From the zoo website, it appears that the Lemurs in this animal experience occasionally change. Currently the Lemurs in this experience are the Ring Tailed Lemurs, whereas during our visit, the Lemurs in our animal experience were the Black and White Ruffed Lemurs, and the Red Ruffed Lemurs. In my opinion all the Lemurs are beautiful and interesting so I wouldn’t hesitate to participate in the animal adventure with any of the Lemurs.

The Black and White Lemur who curled up on my lap, seemed very, very interested in my iPhone “technology”.

This Lemur enjoyed his vegetable snack while curled up on the bench.

Many of the Lemurs (like this one) seemed to love being petted, and also liked the eye contact.

This Red Ruffed Lemur was much more interested in Wayne’s arm, than his apple watch.

This one liked to hold hands.

I love this one’s alertness and curiosity. (above0

The Lemur’s hands are adorable, and help them to hold a lot of things – including our fingers.

The fur coats on both types of Lemurs were gorgeous!

Like dogs, they seemed to like to give us a lick.

Below – Trying to get a selfie with 2 of the Lemurs

Above, and Below – swinging on the swings

We had a wonderful time with the Lemurs and were very sad when the time was up. Although we loved all our animal encounters – I’m sure you can guess, based on the number of pictures, that this one with the Lemurs was our very favorite!!!!

After Our Up Close and Personal Lemur Animal Adventure We Continued Walking Around the Zoo…

By pure luck we arrived at Lemur Island, right at feeding time. The Lemurs noticed that their keeper was on her way across the pond to the island. She was wearing waders, and carrying a food bucket.

Click the play button to see the videos below from our time at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo.

The Lemurs hurry to their “lunch spot” as their keeper comes down the stairs and starts across the pond.

The Lemur keeper crosses the pond in her “waders” bringing “lunch” to the Lemurs.

The Lemur keeper distributes the food, but one Lemur decides to help himself. Can you spot him?

I hope you enjoyed this Lemur Adventure at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo!

Coming Soon

One of my next posts will be “Sloths: “Up Close and Personal” at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo – Part 3. I hope you can stop by and join us for this South American Animal Adventure!

Other Posts I Think You May Like

If you enjoyed this post, I think you may also enjoy the first post in this series.

Up Close and Personal at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo – Part 1 – Kangaroos and Lunch

If you have kids, neighbors, or grandkids starting school this month, or if your are a teacher and getting your classroom ready for the first day of school, you may enjoy the tablescape below:

Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse Go To School

If you are an animal lover, you may also enjoy the below

Simba’s Boat Bravery and Other Patriotic Holiday Adventures

and

Two fun Tablescapes for My Puppy’s 1st Birthday – one for Our People Friends and One for Our Dog Friends!!

Comments

I treasure your comments! If you have time please scroll to the Comment Section at the bottom of this post. I would love it if you would comment about my post, and/or if you would share any animal encounters of adventures you have had on a photo safari, zoo, or other wildlife adventure. Also, I would love it if you would share any favorite zoo, or other animal adventures you have had. Thanks so much!

Link Parties

Following is a list of websites I really like!  They are listed under the day of the week where they also host a Family Friendly “Link Parties” aka “Blog Hops”.

If you click on the name of the blog (in blue) on the evening of the day of the week they are listed under, it should take you to the Link Party, where many bloggers have joined with them to share their own ideas.  I love how the link parties connect you with both a great blog, and other blogger’s ideas as well!  Many thanks to all these bloggers for bringing so many ideas to all of us!!! 

You can actually find these link parties any day of the week, by clicking on the website name below, but once you click, you may need to scroll thru a few entries to find the link party you are looking for. 

Sunday 

Life as a Leo wife (Nikki), Eclectic Red Barn (Beverly),  Décor Craft Design (Mel) ,A Labour of Life (Linda),  Ducks ‘n a Row (Sinea),  Love My Messy Messy Mess (Katie)   host “Happiness is Homemade” Link Party.  I love checking out the home decor, holiday decorations and current projects of all the hostesses as well as the ideas from their link party ! 

Life and Linda hosts “Love Your Creativity Link Party”.  I love checking out Linda’s gorgeous holiday decorations and tablescapes, and her chandelier decorations are a beautiful finishing touch!!

The House on Silverado  hosts – “Sundays on Silverado” link party. I am fairly new to Niky’s site but am loving her holiday decorating and her new grandma stories!!

Ridge Haven Homestead  – “Sunday Sunshine” Blog Hop.  In addition to the blog hop, I am enjoying reading about Laurie’s homestead, the “off the grid” lifestyle they are living and the cabin they are building. 

April J Harris – hosts Hearth and Soul Link Party monthly on the first Sunday of the month. I am enjoying reading about April’s traveling adventures, as well as her projects at home!  

Monday

Life Tales Books Blogspot  hosts Will Blog for Comments Link Party. Jennifer is a Photos and Story Treasures Consultant, and I am enjoying her ideas on photos and memory books, as well as her link party!  

Holly-Pink Lady(Holly) and Sunshine and books blog (Sarah) host “Hello Monday Link Party”. In addition to the link party, I am enjoying Sarah’s book recommendations, and Holly’s recipes and party ideas.  

Between Naps on the Porch hosts  “Metamorphosis Monday” posts, which are all about “Befores and Afters”. I love seeing Susan’s amazing home projects which are very inspiring!! I always come away with some great ideas from her posts and from those who have linked up!! 

The following link, Senior Salon Pit Stop will get you to the link party on Esme’s site as well as getting you to some great recipes and other ideas!

Charlene at A Pinch of Joy hosts “Busy Mondays”. Charlene’s website is all about home decorating, and holiday decorations and recipes. The first two things are things I love to do and the Recipes are things I like to eat!

Good random fun blogspot hosts The Good.Random.Fun. link party  Tamar’s website has some great photography, interesting places to visit, and thoughts on many things. Recently, I enjoyed reading about Hanukkah celebrations! 

Beverly at Eclectic Red Barn, Nicky at  Life as a Leo Wife, Michelle at  Moms are frugal and a few other hostesses host “You’re the Star Blog Hop” I love checking out these websites and the link party for holiday decor, crafts, money saving ideas and tablescapes. 

Tuesday

A Stroll Thru Life   hosts  the “Inspire me Tuesday” link party. Marty has an eye for design and decorating, and turning your house into a home. I always enjoy reading about her projects. 

Eclectic Red Barn (Beverly)  and Penny’s Passion (Penny) host the “Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop” which often opens on Tuesday evenings. I have enjoyed Beverly’s Red Barn project and her projects and decorating . Penny’s website has both projects and recipes I have enjoyed reading about – and more – see “Thinking Out Loud” under “Thursday” in this list. 

Jenerally Informed  hosts the “Happy Now Link Party”. Jen from Jenerally informed and Leslie from playmates to parties host “happy now” which brings many craft and decorating ideas and recipes for fun holiday foods. 

Perfectly Imperfect-LWL hosts the “Tell It To Me Tuesday Link Party” which brings many decorating ideas, recipes, and ideas for family activities. 

Kim and Cassie from Lou Lou Girls host the the “Fabulous Party”. Lou Lou Girls post unique recipes, family activities, DIY and party ideas! 

Marci at Stone Cottage Adventures hosts “Tuesdays with a Twist”. Marci posts on gardening, sewing, recipes, crafts and books! Marci’s link party contains many other fun ideas as well. 

My Wee Abode (Julie) hosts the “Tuesday Turn About” Link Party. Julie is turning her small home into a charming coastal farmhouse home. Her website and link party include great home decorating, DIY, craft projects and recipes.

Wednesday

Karin’s Kottage hosts the “Karin’s Kottage Link party”.  I am also enjoying keeping up with Karin’s Italian Palace remodel! as well as her decorating ideas, crafts, grandchild activities and home projects. 

French Ethereal hosts a “Share Your Style”  link party where decorating, recipes, fashion, tablescape styles are all shared. 

Esme Salon recently began hosting a “Wordless Wednesday” photography link party – I can’t wait to link up!

Creatively Beth  hosts the “Creatively Crafty” Link Party. Beth’s website contains wonderful craft posts, including amazing up-cycle, from scratch, and Dollar Store Crafts. Beth’s link party contains a variety of family friendly posts including recipes, crafts, and holiday decor. 

Ridge Haven Homestead hosts the Homestead Blog Hop.  I am also enjoying reading about the off the grid home that Laurie and her family are building. 

Karin at Fifth Sparrow No More, hosts “Whimsy Home Link Party”. Karin posts about Finding the Beauty – in decorating, travel and faith and family! 

Cecelia at My Thrift Store Addiction hosts “Vintage Charm” link party. What Cecelia does with her thrift store finds is so creative!

Lydia at  Pandora and Max hosts the “All Seasons” Link Party. Lydia’s recent blog entry was all about her trip – and the sunsets are a “must see” – fabulous!

Thursdays

I often participate in Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday. I have been following Susan for quite a long time, and absolutely love her Tablescapes!!! I also love the ideas shared on her Tablescape Thursday link party! 

Katherine’s corner hosts the  “TFT – Thursday Favorite Things” blog hop.  I love the assortment of wonderful decorating, recipe, tablescape, and inspirational ideas found here. 

Southern Sunflowers   hosts their “Home Matters Link Party” at 8 CT on Thursday.  I have really enjoyed linking to their link party and the various decorating, recipe, tablescape and craft ideas found on this website and their “Home Matters” Link Party. 

Penny’s Passion  hosts the “Thinking Out Loud Link Party” which often begins on Thursday. Thinking out Loud is a great post published each Thursday, and covers many interesting topics. Today the topic was “elf on the shelf – for empty nesters” and I love the traditions Penny has started in her home. So cute!

Roentare.zenfolio blog hosts a photography link party each week.  The photography is absolutely gorgeous, as are the places he and his wife photograph! 

Good Random Fun  hosts the “Little Things” link party, which I enjoy. Its a place for sharing and reading about lots of different topics and ideas. 

Marsha in the Middle and Melynda, from Scratch Made Food for Hungry People, and Lisa, from Boondock Ramblings host “Weekend Traffic Jam” which goes live on Thursday at 8:30 pm CT. Marsha posts about Fashion and the link party contains holiday decorations, fashion, and recipes (to name a few of the family friendly links). 

Friday

Stephanie at Crazy Little Lovebirds hosts the “Crazy Little Lovebirds link party.” It is a gathering for home decor ideas, recipes, tablescapes, reflections, etc. I am enjoying being a part fo this group. 

Building Our Hive hosts the “Funtastic Friday” Link Party which includes recipes, home decor, tablescapes, crafts, travel and other family friendly posts. 

Cindy at County Road 407  hosts the “Farmhouse Friday” Link Party, which begins at 6:30 am CT each Friday and features home decor – all styles; holiday decorating, tablescapes, crafts, etc. 

Andrea at The Cottage Market hosts “A Morning Cup of Joe” link party. Both the website and the link party feature DIY projects, Recipes, home decor, crafts and holiday decorations. 

Erika at A Little Bit of Everything and Andrea at Momfessionals, host “Friday Favorites”. Both websites and the link party feature family activities, home decor, fashion, entertaining, recipes, and holiday decorations and traditions. 

At Lou Lou Girls Kim, Cassie and Amber bring lots of good recipes and family activities to us and also host “Fabulous Friday” a link party that brings us recipes, holiday decor, family activities and many other family friendly ideas! 

Carol at Answer is Choco hosts BFF Link Party. Carol’s website contains lots of ideas about crafts, scrapbooking, recipes and many other things!

Saturday

Pieced Pastimes  Hosts “Saturday Sparks Party”  which includes home decors, recipes and holiday fun foods, tablescapes, crafts, etc. Among the many things I appreciate at Pieced Pastimes is the first picture of many posts, where Suzanne shows her current view at home (in New Hampshire) I love her wonderful view in all weather!

Pam’s Party and Practical Tips hosts the “Dare to Share Saturday” Link party – which includes some great party ideas, recipes and crafts!

Wishing you a great week

and hoping you have many wonderful

animal adventures in your future !!!!!