Yankee Southern Transplants in the Upper Midwest: NEW Zoo

When we arrived in the area, we immediately saw ads for the NEW Zoo & Adventure Park, naturally thinking that this zoo was a "new" attraction. With time to discover the vernacular, we quickly learned that the acronym NEW is often used to describe this region of NorthEastern Wisconsin. Hence, the NEW Zoo.

We thought we would check it out before the weather gets really nice and the crowds come out in force. Sunday was sunny enough for sunglasses and reached the mid-40s, so it felt fantastic. The main attraction was the opportunity to feed the giraffes (inside in the winter, but there is an outdoor platform for summer). We started at the giraffe house and bought some crackers (the off-season specialty when browse is not available) to feed the giraffes. It was pretty neat- I would have liked to feed them outside where the barrier is a little less intrusive since they have you up on a high platform at giraffe level, but it was nice to have the giraffes to ourselves and not have to wait in line. Plus, it was definitely cool to stand right next to them and see how tall they really are. The male (on the left in the first photo below) is about 2,500 lbs. and the female is about 1,500 lbs. I had a sandpapery giraffe tongue on me!

The bar is in the way of their faces, but they both perked up and were ready for some tasty crackers!

Up on the stepstool sharing some crackers. Their tongues are really long and felt like sandpaper.

I thought more of the animals would be moving around since it was a fairly nice day after a cold winter, but a lot were not out and about for us to see. Scott was really hoping to see the moose since he has not seen one before. The moose was not completely in view, but we did see him (sort of) laying down below the floorboards of the boardwalk. Despite the giraffe feeding experience, the zoo mostly focuses on North American wildlife, especially wildlife of the northern landscape such as lynx, bobcat, badger, moose, elk, and black bear. No timber wolves like at Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, but they did have some red wolves that were pretty active. And of course the kitties (lions and snow leopards) were out laying in the sun.