Life with Dylan

Category: Zoo

  • 5 Simple Ways to Help Your Local Zoo or Aquarium

    Spending the day at your local zoo or aquarium is a wonderful way to learn more about animals and the conservation efforts being made to ensure these animals are around for future generations. No matter how often you visit the animals, there is always something new to learn about them. Zoos and aquariums have so much to offer –  listening to fascinating keeper talks, seeing a new fact on an exhibit sign, or reading about progress made on a conservation issue.

    Most zoos and aquariums are non-profit organizations and depend on us, the general public, to keep the doors open. Everything we purchase, whether it be admission tickets, food, or a stuffed animal, is helping to give the animals the best care possible. There are so many ways that you can make a difference and help, but not everyone knows how or where to start. 
    Here are few simple things you can do to help your local zoo or aquarium:
    1. Get a membership. Instead of just buying a ticket for the day, why not buy a ticket for the entire year? Annual memberships are often the lifeblood of these organizations. If animal conservation is something you feel strongly about, why not upgrade from the basic membership? Check with your local zoo or aquarium and see what types of membership options are available. 
    2. Adopt an animal. Most animal adoptions start at only $25 and make great gifts for birthdays and holidays. Animal adoption can be done through the mail, or from my experience, many offer digital adoption certificates. This makes it very convenient when adopting an animal for someone who lives out of the area. 
    3. Give your change. That’s right, give away all those loose coins that get lost in the bottom of your purse. You would be amazed at how fast those add up and every little bit helps! Next time you visit, look around for a donation spot by the exit or near your favorite animal exhibit.
    4. Support them online. Nine times out of ten, your favorite zoo or aquarium is on social media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Tumbler … do a search and start following them, spread the word. Sharing a post or a picture goes a long way. You probably aren’t the only one who thinks that baby panda is adorable!
    5. Think globally. Many zoos and aquariums are a small piece in a very big puzzle working together to end extinction. Do your research and check out their website. I bet your local zoo or aquarium is affiliated with a much larger global organization that could use your help too. For example, the Tiger Conservation Campaign was started by the Minnesota Zoo, but is supported by many other zoos.   
    Whatever you decide to do, know that you are making a difference for the animals. 

  • Dylan’s Thank You Letter to all the Zoo Keepers

    Today kicks of the start of National Zoo Keeper Week. Over the past year we have had the pleasure of meeting many zoo keepers and are proud to call them our friends. It is difficult to thank all of them in person, so Dylan wanted to write an open thank you letter to all our zoo keeper friends.

    Dear Zoo Keepers,

    Thank you for all the things you do for the animals. Thank you for being the voice of the animals. You feed them and you help them when they are sick or in need.

    To Jonnie, thank you for helping all the rhinos. The great park you work at has had many rhino births and I really liked reading about your experience with Mili’s birth.  You have helped so many animals, especially the ungulates.

    To Julian, thank you for taking me behind the scenes to see where Connor and Christopher live and for introducing me to Danai. I learned a lot about what a tiger keeper does.

    To Peter, thank you for teaching me about the monarch butterflies during Garden Festival at the San Diego Zoo. You are really lucky to work with Sonny and I hope one day that I can tour the reptile house with you. I think it’s really cool that we both want to work with Zookeeper Rick.

    To Katrina, thank you for taking me behind the exhibit and letting me see Mek when we visited the Fresno Zoo. Your zoo might not be as big as the San Diego Zoo, but Mek seems really happy to be back with Paca.

    To Rick, where do I start, you help so many different animals and help bring awareness to the world about conservation. You help animals big and small – from a tiny endangered butterfly to a big African elephant. Thank you for taking so many animal ambassadors on television and showing the world how amazing these animals are. You are my hero and you inspire me to keep doing more for the animals and conservation. Like you and Dr. Harry Wegeforth, I do it for the animals.

    There wouldn’t be zoos without zoo keepers and the world wouldn’t be the place it is today without zoos teaching people about animals and conservation.

    Thank you zoo keepers for all you do.

    Dylan Fryer

    Created by AAZK, Inc, National Zoo Keeper Week is celebrated each year beginning on the third Sunday in July. During the week, zoos nationwide honor animal care professionals and the work they do in animal care, conservation, and education. There are approximately 6,000 animal care professionals in the United States.


    The American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK)a non-profit volunteer organization made up of professional zookeepers and other interested persons dedicated to professional animal care and conservation. The mission of AAZK is to advance excellence in the zoo keeping profession, foster effective communication beneficial to animal care, support deserving conservation projects, and promote the preservation of our natural resources and animal life. For more information, visit

  • Our first family bucket list

    After what seems like months of talking about it, we have finally created our family bucket list. Not just what we want to do for the summer or this year even – we went bigger than that. Our bucket list is a big one with far off places and dreams bigger than big for a 9-year-old. Some have been on my unwritten bucket list for years.

    Rather than confine our family bucket list to a single post, I decided to give it a page all of its own. A bucket list page that will remind us of our dreams and places we want to go. A page that we can track and cross thing off the list as we go.

    Take a look at our Family Bucket List page …
    and come back often to see if we have crossed anything off the list.

  • Why conservation is important to me

    Everyone has something they hold close to their heart. Something they are passionate about and that somehow connects with them on a personal level. As you have probably figured out, I am passionate about conservation and preserving what the earth has to offer for our future generations. 

    We recently lost an animal known as Lonesome George. He was the last of his species and now my family will never get to see this La Pinta Island giant tortoise. When my son and I read about this loss, we cried. Some may think crying over an animal you’ve never met is ridiculous. Others may think there are hundreds of other Galapagos tortoises – you see them at the zoo. These are the people that don’t get it. They don’t get the big picture and I would say that only a third of them ever will.

    I will probably live longer than the Northern White Rhino species. My sons children will probably never get a chance to see a Northern White Rhino. Why? Because these animals are hunted and killed … Just as the tigers and elephants are hunted and killed. When I read stories about this in the news, like the one I read today, it makes me sad and angry. I sit here racking my brain trying to figure out how I can help. These animals can’t talk. They can’t ask for help. So it is up to people like me, people who call themselves conservationist, to bring awareness to others about the plight of these animals and the importance of keeping them alive. Not just for our children and grandchildren to see, but for the survival of the animal world.

    When I see a picture of an endangered animal or one at the zoo or read a sign at the zoo that says only 39 left in the wild, I literally stop and catch my breath. These animals are so beautiful and I fear that too many people take them for granted.

    Don’t assume that because you can see an animal at a zoo today it will still be there in 20 years. Zoos educate us about the animals and let us see them up close, but the best way to ensure a species survival is for the species to thrive in the wild.

    Once you come face to face with an endangered animal, you will do whatever it takes to save them. I am proud to call myself a conservationist. I will continue to be an advocate for the environment and wildlife because one person can and does make a difference.

    Con·ser·va·tion·ist
    Noun: A person who advocates or acts for the protection and preservation of the environment and wildlife.

  • Wordless Wednesday – You’re invading my space

    I gave Dylan my old camera to use at the zoo last week and I think he may have annoyed this Golden Bellied Mangabey. The monkey came leaping from the tree and jumped at the window numerous times.

    At first Dylan was scared, although he would never admit that, and then he began to show his teeth to the monkey. This went on for a few minutes and my only regret is that I didn’t get it on video.   

  • It’s National Zoo Keeper Week!

    There are many national appreciation weeks for various professions, but this one is special to me for more than one reason. The obvious is that Dylan and I visit the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park on what some may call a regular basis – we actually consider them our second homes. Many of the keepers we know by name and they have become our friends. We look forward to seeing them almost as much as seeing the animals (many of which we also know by name).

    The other reason this week is so special to me is that my son wants to be a Zookeeper. He wants to be just like the people he admires – and yes, he wants to pick up animal poop! Most people don’t know what a Zookeeper really does and I think our friend Zookeeper Rick said it best in a recent Facebook post.

    What is a Zookeeper?

    Zookeepers are caretakers. Zookeepers are house keeping. Zookeepers are chefs. Zookeepers are educators. Zookeepers are construction workers. Zookeepers are gardeners. Zookeepers are parents to animals in need of a mom or dad. Zookeepers are the voice for those who don’t speak our language. Zookeepers are nurses. Zookeepers are friends to other species. Zookeepers are advocates for conservation. Zookeepers are scientists. Zookeepers are behaviorist. – Rick Schwartz

    I know Zookeepers arrive to work hours before the zoo even opens and even though we don’t always see them, they are working hard behind the scenes. Sometimes they work late into the night preparing a PowerPoint presentation or writing a research paper for a publication – they help promote conservation and teach us things that help us understand the bigger picture. 

    For me, the most special thing about Zookeepers is the time they take to talk to the people visiting the zoos. Zookeepers truly love their jobs and have a passion for sharing that love with others.


    When was the last time you thanked a Zookeeper?

  • Our long awaited walk with the reptiles at San Diego Zoo

    When most people think of the 4th of the July, they think of BBQ’s, picnics, homemade desserts and fireworks with friends and family. Well, we spent the 4th a little differently this year. Still with friends and family, just not the human kind.

    After what seemed like a year of construction, the San Diego Zoo had its grand opening of the new Reptile Walk on July 4, 2012 – we had to be there. Dylan and I had both missed seeing the frogs and especially the Galapagos tortoises. The new long awaited Reptile Walk is amazing and definitely worth the wait.

    Still located behind the Reptile House, the Reptile Walk is a beautiful stroll down planked pathways that are lined with trees and lush landscaping.

    Once  through the entrance, you enter the first building which houses the amphibians and California native species.

    The new open-air design allows for better public viewing and the enclosures are much bigger. You still have to look around to find those tiny frogs, but the glass is now a good 4-5 times larger than before. Here you will see poison dart frogs, tree frogs, mossy frogs, king snakes, giant horned lizards, a green tree boa, and more. 

    I’m not sure if it was the new habitats or if it was too early in the morning (9 a.m.), but there were about five animals that we couldn’t find in their enclosures. We did go back at night and see a few more, but then it was too dark for pictures.

    Next, another pathway takes you to the new Chinese Alligators. These reptiles are critically endangered and most now live only in breeding centers like the San Diego Zoo.

    One of things I love most about the San Diego Zoo is the informative signs throughout the zoo like this one. Every trip is a learning experience for me and Dylan.

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  • Why you need to keep taking those pictures …

    We all take pictures of our children – it’s what parents do. Birthday parties, holidays, vacations and now with cell phone cameras, there isn’t a reason we can’t snap a picture at any time of the day or night. Sometimes we think we take too many pictures and sometimes our children don’t want us to take their picture.

    Well, the next time your child says No more pictures Mom! – think again.

    Last night I was looking through old pictures on the computer and realized that sometimes a picture is worth more than a thousand words. Sometimes a picture, no matter how many times you have taken the same picture, same pose, same location … is priceless.

    The sign stayed the same, but boy did my son grow up! Not to mention the tress and the plants.

    Yep, he always wants to pose in the tree by the hippos. I won’t be telling him not another picture in the tree anymore.

    This has got to be one of my favorite “then and now” pictures from the San Diego Zoo. Ever since he was a toddler, he asks to eat at the Treetop Cafe – at his table. Yes, he actually believes that this is his table and we always sit here. In all the times we have visited the San Diego Zoo, these are the only two pictures I have of him at his table … now I’m wishing I had taken more.

    So wherever your “picture spot” may be, keep taking those pictures. There is a reason you stop each time to take a picture here – and nothing is more priceless than watching your child grow up in photographs.

  • Do You Live an Earth-friendly Lifestyle?

    Recycling is the most common thing people do to help the environment. Many think that this is all they need to do and nothing else really matters. Well, have you ever thought about how you recycle your aluminum cans and plastic bottles? Most people grab a plastic bag and start filling it up. When the bag is full they head over to the recycling center and collect the money.
    Well, that plastic bag is usually just thrown away. Plastic bags do not go away. Plastic bags end up polluting the ocean, harming marine life, and filling up our landfills. Think outside the box when you recycle your cans and bottles. All those reusable shopping bags you have … I know I have at least 15 in my trunk and about 10 in my home. These reusable bags make a great way to collect your recyclables until you make a trip to the recycling center. Especially if you live in an apartment.

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  • The Zoo … Again?

    What, you want to go to the San Diego Zoo again?

    But we were just there. Oh wait, that was 6 weeks ago.

    Yes, it must be time for another visit. Besides, this time was different because our friend Paul was coming down from Big Bear and going with us. Boy, if I had only known what I was in for with these two goofballs!

    Anything and everything from insulting Mom, to water-spitting fights, to jumping out and scary each other, to attempting to ‘read’ the map and get us around the zoo with the least amount of back tracking, while still seeing everything!

    So much for a relaxing day at the zoo … geesh!

    As usual, we started at the reptiles and insects. Only this time Dylan got to have a first hand look at a stick bug. Thankfully it was only a stick bug and not one of the many other creatures they could have pulled out like the Hissing Madagascar Cockroach or the giant Bird-eating Tarantula!

    Well, now that we’ve seen the creepy crawlies it’s time for a trek to see all the other animals. 

    Time to stop for some lunch at Dylan’s favorite spot high above the trees and monkeys. This is where the two decided to plan out our route … scary. Little did I know this was going to be a full 8 hour day walk through the zoo!

    Although Dylan doesn’t remember, these bronze gorilla sculptures were another one of his favorite places to stop and play when he was a toddler. This is where his love of animals all started.

    Now on to some other primates. Paul and Dylan seemed to enjoy these furry friends the most.

    Getting up close and personal. Male bonding at its best …

    This orangutan was hilarious. At the bottom of the glass was a piece of black rubber, like a piece of weather stripping or something. A small piece was missing and this big guy proceeded to pick up a leaf of some sort and start digging away.

    His hands and fingers were so human-like. Especially the way he used his fingernails (if that’s what you call them) to pick the piece of rubber out and break it off. After all this work, he put the rubber strip in his mouth and decided it didn’t taste too good.

    And what would a trip to the zoo be without Rhinos and Giraffes?

    My personal favorite … the reason I go to the San Diego Zoo … Koalas!

    Now, the last few times Dylan and I have gone to the zoo he has begged me to let him go on the bungee bounce contraptions they have recently added. Just another way to get you to spend money right? This area use to be a nice grass resting spot where Dylan would run around and play, but now it is where he wants to bungee … and this trip I let him! Thankfully Paul was there to help get him going higher and higher.

    Just as I stopped recording, Dylan actually did a back flip. The look on his face was priceless. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or cry. I think it surprised him as much as it surprised us!

    We had a great day and made more memories of Dylan’s favorite place to spend the day. His home away from home with all of the animals that he loves so much … and his ‘rock’