The Los Angeles Zoo, in Two Hours or Less

We met up with our friends Anthony and Candice -- and Blogger Toddler's gal pal Sophia -- to take the kids to the Los Angeles Zoo on Saturday. By the time we were done with lunch, it was already 3 p.m. We knew we were cutting it tight, but decided to still head over there.

Parking, usually not a problem, was tough to find, with few empty spots anywhere. Chief culprit? The Zoo's annual Easter fest. (Pet some real bunnies, sit on a fake bunny's lap and tolerate the sounds of Radio Disney, broadcasting live.)

Lining up to buy our tickets, I was indeed warned by the woman behind the counter that the big animals are taken out of public view at 4. (The Zoo itself shuts down at 5 -- way too early for a holiday weekend, I might add.)

I bought our tickets ($10 per adult, $5 for kids over 2) and once there began booking it to the large animal exhibits. (We passed right by someone dressed up as the Energizer Battery bunny -- nice product placement there, zoo!) Some animals, like the elephant, were already standing at their door (rear ends facing us) waiting to go inside.

Others will willing to still perform -- particularly the giraffes, as seen above. One uses its freakishly long tongue to grab leaves, while two younger ones gallop around the small area -- making one wonder how free they might free in the wild rather than cooped up here.

It was a powerwalk through the two hours, as we hustled through much of the park (the new gorilla and elephant exhibits are still under construction), and even had time to take Evan to his favorite attraction -- the playground.

Most disturbing highlight? Watching a large male orangutan relieve himself -- and then proceed to poke at it, pick it up and then... yup, you guessed it -- eat it. A crowd of about 15 of us all gasped at the same time. I still have images of the animal chowing down on his own feces. Yum.

So the zoo closes officially at 5... but when you've got a todder who doesn't want to leave the playground, it's a slow march out. We finally physically left closer to 6. In the end. two hours were about all we needed to keep the kids entertained before they grew bored and listless.