One of the things I’d been looking forward to in Grand Rapids was going to the John Ball Zoo. I follow their social media team and enjoy their content. While they don’t have as many wildlife influencers as other, larger, zoos like Cincinnati with Fiona, Fritz and Rico, they have sweet animals and their red pandas Wyatt and Wasabi are regular features.
I was at the zoo very early because I saw that they were offering Breakfast With The Animals (one of their many events) while I was in town. I got my $35 (at the time of writing) ticket which included zoo entry and breakfast, as well as an educational talk at the chimpanzee and lion enclosures. They also have a different tour of the reptile house and spider monkeys.
Bright and early at the zoo for the 7:30am start time.
As you walk through the zoo to the South America area where the breakfast is held, you get to see the sleepy residents as they start to wake up. It was especially nice to see the big kitties up and around because they’re usually laying flat in the sun during most zoo visits.
On offer for breakfast the day I visited was a delightful spread from El Granjero. That included breakfast burritos (chorizo, bean or beef), quiche if you can’t have flour, breakfast potatoes, fresh fruit cups, water, juice, coffee, pastries, donuts, Pop-Tarts and cereal.
There was plenty of seating, so you could eat with your party and sit near the monkeys or giant anteater. I chose the latter. He was wandering around looking for his own breakfast!
At 8:20am the tours began. You go to your designated sign and a guide takes you to see your chosen animals. I’m so glad I picked the lions and chimpanzees as they were more active than I’ve ever seen at any other zoo, so the early start was the way to go before it got too hot. At the end of the post I’ll have more pictures from my camera – these are just from my phone.
Along the tour you see a few other exhibits like the toucans and bongos.
The tour ended promptly at 9am and you’re then free to roam the rest of the zoo. I hung out for about two more hours. I didn’t end up making it to the reptile house or aquarium, but I still had a really nice visit. The zoo opens at 9:00am and since you’re deeper in the zoo for the breakfast experience, you get a bit of time with many of the animals before the crowds start to make their way to you. It was delightful. Like a quiet little solo trip to the zoo for a bit of time.
Wasabi just had two baby red pandas last month (July 11, 2023), so they’re off exhibit with her until September/October. Wyatt was out having a little rest in the sun though.
I treated myself to a $3 budgie snack. You can go into the aviary with them and they come hang out with you. The larger parakeets don’t come down, but they will take some of your millet (the seeds on the stick) and eat it with their little claws which is fun to see. There are also cockatiels in with you. It was a fun, inexpensive way to get up close with some of the John Ball Zoo animals.
Another place you can touch the “wildlife” is in the barnyard area where there are goats and sheep. There’s also Pumpkin the miniature Highland Cow (who’s still in training) and his best friend, Sweet Pea the goat. You can’t always touch Pumpkin yet, but he was fun to see up close. The goats were happy for neck pets, shoulder rubs and selfies.
I ended my time at the John Ball Zoo with Penelope, the pygmy hippo. They’d just cleaned their other enclosure so a few of the bloat were away, but Penelope was in this other enclosure. She was down by the window so we all crammed in to get a good look at her in all her cuteness.
I had a very nice time at the John Ball Zoo for Breakfast with the Animals. The usual zoo ticket is $20 (at the time of writing), so if you’ve got to grab breakfast anyway you might as well go for Breakfast with the Animals for just $15 more. You get to see many of the animals as they wake up and some are more active in the quiet, early hours of the zoo before opening. You also get a bit of time to explore the zoo before the 9am opening crowds make their way to the back of the zoo, allowing you a quieter experience and more time to look at the animals and their natural behaviors.
I was wondering how I’d feel about this zoo. It’s my first time at one since our wildlife experience of South Africa where the animals are wild in their natural habitat. As for the animals themselves, obviously, wild is best but as the Pandora’s box of zoos have been opened there aren’t that many good options now, so just going to reputable zoos that focus on animal conservation is your best choice. What I thought about though is the number of people who wanted to learn about animals that they may never get the privilege to see in real life otherwise. Children who were fascinated by the animals, creating a new generation of conservationists, animal activists, vets and more. And I felt good about that as I watched them enjoy their Breakfast with the Animals at the John Ball Zoo.
Here’s a few more photos for you from my camera.
Cool experience! Happy Big Apple Birthday!