Niabi zoo in Coal Valley, Illinois is a great outing for children and adults. This Saturday along with the local sponsors Niabi Zoo conducted a ‘Wild Fest’ event. Businesses from Quad cities advertised apart from conducting games and offering cool coupons in the zoo today.

Animals

I got a chance to visit all the dear animals including:

• Asian elephants – Very huge under a small shade
• Australian kangaroo – Quietly resting
• African Giraffes – I love the two baby ones with beautiful stripes. The female giraffe is cute and the male one enjoying getting wet in the water fountain. The giraffe bends its neck and legs to reach the grass on the ground, which is amazing to watch.
• African Lions – Mustafa, the male lion is gorgeous and beautiful
• American bald eagle – my son’s favorite
• Reptiles – Anaconda, pythons and Texas snake which are scary to watch
• American black Bear – With lots of apples and a swimming pool!!
• Colorful fishes and turtles
• Bobcat – Really big ones

There are many other birds and animals which I will see in detail next time when I visit.

Rides

We all took the train ride with a ringing bell. The carousel ride with animals seats was good. My son took the pony ride which I think is painful for the animals. The rides are affordable and I think they are under-priced for the benefit of the people.

The Wild fest today included many inflatable slides and play areas for children. The zoo installed water sprinklers and water fans everywhere to keep the visitors cool. 🙂

Overall, the zoo is worth visiting in the summer when all the animals are grazing around. It was sad to leave the zoo and I wish they had extended the summer hours.

The zoo has special events and free days for children and adults. You could host a birthday party or have breakfast with animals or enjoy a casual picnic or get together with friends. I could just sit and watch the lion whole day. 🙂