Hippo Encounter at the Los Angeles Zoo

Have you ever wondered what a hippo feels like? Are you curious about the food that they eat? Wouldn’t you like to see a hippo up-close?  Well the Los Angeles Zoo has a new Hippo Encounter tour that enables you to go behind the scenes to meet 15-month old baby Rosie & her mom, Mara!

You see, on any given day, this is what you normally view at the Hippo area of the LA Zoo.

However if you sign-up to do the Hippo Encounter, you get the opportunity of a lifetime to go behind the scenes! My daughter & I got to experience this tour recently. The way it works is LA Zookeepers will take you in small groups of 15 to the hippo enclosure. (Note: Kids are allowed but must be four years old & up.)

Before meeting the hippos, LA Zookeeper Jennifer Gruenewald gave us some fun facts about hippos, such as the specifics about their daily routines, care & training!

Ever wondered what hungry, hungry hippos look like when they are chowing down on their veggies?

We got to watch up-close as the staff feeds lunch to the hippos. It must take a lot of leafy greens to get these hippos so big! We learned that Mara weighs 3,700 pounds & baby Rosie weighs 1,100 pounds.

Watching Mara & her baby, Rosie chow down on lettuce at the #LAzoo. #HippoEncounter

A video posted by Jennifer Miyagishima (@realmomofsfv) on Feb 12, 2016 at 12:18pm PST

Then it was time to pet the hippo. My daughter (in the pink t-shirt) was thrilled! Even some of the adults posed for selfies with Rosie & Mara. 🙂

NOTE: Hippo Encounter tickets are $15 per person in addition to regular Zoo admission and available to adults and children ages four and up accompanied by an adult. You can purchase the tickets for the Hippo Encounter in person at the Admissions ticket window or online at http://www.lazoo.org/visit/showsandactivities/. This 20 minute visit is offered on weekends & holidays at 12 noon.

Admission to the Los Angeles Zoo is $20 for general admission (ages 13 to 61); $17 for seniors (ages 62+), and $15 for children (ages 2 to 12). No ticket is required for children under 2. Admission for Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association members is free.

Disclosure: No monetary compensation was received for this post. I attended a media preview of the Hippo Encounter at the LA Zoo which helped facilitate this review. All images & opinions are 100% my own.