Animazonia Wildlife Foundation

We drove out to Perris to visit the Animazonia Wildlife Foundation.   We had no real idea what to expect but thought we would be seeing some large cats such as lions, tigers and so on.  Little did we know we would find so much more on our adventure out that morning.

When we first got there, we were told the girls could play around on the trampoline for awhile as we were waiting for another troop to show up.

It was a pretty location.  Even though we were still pretty close to the city, it was if we were out in the woods. 

I loved the Tepee they had.



Once the other girls got there (they were a Daisy troop), we started off to explore the area.  They showed us their big fire pit that they have for the people who spend the night there.

They do have camping and some other Girl Scouts have actually camped there before.  How fun it would be to hear and see the animals at night and first thing in the morning.

This was the only lion they had there. I was a bit surprised they didn't have more large cats there. The web page showed several large cats that included tigers, lions and so on. But, we found out that sadly, those animals had died from old age.

We did get to get pretty close to the lion. But, because they are wild animals no one was allowed to pet them. Even the staff that takes care of them take great measures to stay safe and they do not pet them.

One of the lions favorite things is to enjoy a "blood ball". It's basically a froze Popsicle made out of blood. YUCK!

We saw this strange looking dog house there. Not sure what it was for but it looked interesting.


We then walked over to the small pond area. The girls got to feed the Koi fish in there.



Four of the girls were working on getting their Wildlife Badge.  This was important for them to earn so they could get their Bronze Award. 

They had a few sheets of paper with questions on them that needed to be completed so they had to listen closely and ask questions so they could fill out the forms.

We spent a little time at the pond, watching the fish come up to the surface and open their mouths wide as they gulped down the food the girls tossed in.

Once the girls got all their questions answered and the fish were full, it was time to move on.



We went over to meet Magic.  He was a beautiful black leopard.  He showed us some of the tricks he learned.  He has been trained to respond to a clicker that the staff will click and have him do things.

He too, loved the blood ball he was given.

The girls got several of their questions answered while we were watching Magic. So, what better place to fill out their paperwork but on Michelle.

What a good Co-leader. She puts her whole body into helping these girls out.

After watching Magic, we were taken over to a garden area. The girls and even the parents, got to hold and smell a Passion flower.

These flowers are so pretty but even up close, they look fake. Almost like they are made of plastic.

Even though they were very pretty, they didn't have much of a smell at all.

The girls all got to see how they could plant a big garden in a small place.  There were a lot of different veggies growing here.

We were shown how to plant a whole salad in a bag of soil. As long as the plants get water, sun and gets picked often, these plants can all remain in the bag of soil for the whole season.

The girls got to try different types of lettuce.  Some they liked a lot.

Some, they didn't care for.

They all enjoyed being able to sample the different types though.  I don't think any of them knew about all the different flavors lettuce actually came in.

The girls were all so well behaved. It's always such a pleasure to see them with such good manners and listening to what they are being told about.

This really is a great group of girls!

They got to interact with the big dog that is living there. They also were shown how they trained him to lay down, sit and come when called.

It was then time to take a break and have lunch. We had a lot of laughs at lunch time.

Everyone talked about what they saw so far and everyone was having a good time sharing what they brought for lunch.

Once lunch was finished, we got learn about reptiles.  This was a big surprise because no one thought we would be seeing anything but big cats.

When the girls first saw the big snake that was brought out, some were not to thrilled about even going near it.

Slowly, one by one, they started to touch it.  Of course, not near the head at all. 

Trinity has been around snakes a lot as her Dad has owned a few.  So, she was not scared of them at all and was the first to step up and hold it and put it around her neck. 

After seeing Trinity hold the snake, the others stepped up one by one to hold the snake and let it go around their neck too.

Some of the girls still did not want to hold it or put it around their neck though.

No one had to hold the snake or even touch it if they didn't want to. However, I was happy to see all the girls faced their fears and at least touched the snake.




We then moved on to learning about turtles. 

We first met a little turtle that was two years old.

The girls all got to take turns holding the turtle. They felt his legs and shell.

Then they got to see how big the turtle will grow in a few more years.  The bigger turtle was a lot bigger and to heavy to pick up more then just a little bit.

Tuppence seemed to really enjoy the turtles.

Elizabeth was holding the turtle when she got a first hand lesson on how turtles can NOT be potty trained.  But, she was a real trooper and kept holding him, until he was finished and then she passed him to the next girl.

Tuppence learned something important enough to add it to her paperwork.

Good going Tuppence!

One thing I really love about being the leader of our Troop is, I get to witness friendships growing closer and closer.

So, we had fun watching the big cats, playing with the dog, checking out a garden, conquering fears of snakes and holding turtles.

What could be next?



How about lizards! The girls loved the lizards. They all wanted to give them kisses.

Well, not all girls wanted to kiss them. Some just pretended to.

Some preferred to have the lizards just give them a kiss on the cheek.

Some preferred neither.

I can't say I blame you Tuppence.

It was then time to try their hands at Archery!

Ready... Aim...

Shoot!

Some of the girls have tried archery before.  So getting another lesson was a nice refresher.

Some have never tried their hand at it.  But, sure did enjoy doing it for the first time.

Some have done archery many times before.  It's always nice to have a Dad that works at an archery place.

Each girl got to try several times before having to hand off the bow and arrow to the next girl.  If hey wanted they could get back in line and have several more tries.

I think they all did a great job! Most of the time they hit the target and some even got very close to a bulls eye.

Some of the times though, the arrow didn't want to cooperate and it wouldn't go near the target.

By the time everyone finished up doing archery, it was pretty close to the time to go home.

Some of the girls wanted to color a little bit.  While the other girls ran over to get a few more jumps on the trampoline.

We all had a great day. Four of the girls earned their Wildlife Badge and all of the girls had a blast.

We started off thinking we were going to see lots of big cats and while we were a little bit disappointed that there were not more big cats there, we were thrilled that we got to see a whole lot more then we were expecting.

To be honest, most of the girls said the best part of the day was the snakes and lizards.

But a few, really loved the big cats.

All in all, we had a wonderful day. All of the staff was very nice and made the day a great one for the girls.

Everyone was happy we went there.