How to prepare for a day trip to the zoo

So today i am going to the zoo!!! And I am really excited (as you can tell)

The journey. Depending on the zoo, the journey can be boring! Bring entertainment such as books or your iPod/iPhone etc.

Buy a visitors guide! These booklets will have detailed information about each animal, pulse iformation about facilities and show times.

Find out what everyone's favorite animal is, and make visiting the animals a priority. For me it is the elephants, my own photo :)

Take lots of pictures! Make sure you get a balance between picture s of the people and animals (unlike me!)

Capturing a good picture can bring back memories, this picture reminds of the cheese brand the laughing cow!!

Photos can be a forever reminder of a good family day out.

Watch all the shows that are available and that you can. We will visit the elephant show!

Sometimes zoos offer 'extra experiences' at an extra cost, where you can feed the animals and meet them. I would recommend these if you can afford it, because they are very fun!

At some zoos, such as the one I am visiting, they have free roaming animals, such as the above mara (my- raa), please do not feed or touch these!

Visit the gift shop! Buying a gift from a shop can help support te zoo and it conservation work in other countries.

On a serious note, if you think that a zoo is mistreating or harming animals, then make sure you contact an authority in your area that can deal with the issue.

Have fun!!! Although some people think that zoos are cruel, zoos are places that educate people about caring for wildlife.

Most zoos operate with big open enclosures, not small cages. I would never visit a zoo where I think they had small cages..