Elephant Encounter at the Houston Zoo

Our big Christmas gift this year was an experience -- we went to the Houston Zoo for a behind-the-scenes elephant encounter. It was an incredible experience!

First up, we learned a little about the elephants and toured the elephant barns. We met Max, the dog who lives at the elephant barn.  

Then we headed out to touch and feed the elephants.  

This is baby Tilly, who was born on Father's Day 2018.

Her mom is Tess.

And this is the matriarch, Methai.

This is Joy.  The baby elephants are wary of barn dog Max and Joy sidestepped out of his way as soon as she saw him.

We got to feed and touch Tess,

but first she showed off her training. 

Touching Tess

And feeding her!

What an amazing experience with these beautiful, intelligent animals. 

The zoo was packed, so we didn't stay to explore, but we did stop at some of the zoo lights displays on the way out.   

The Houston Zoo is one of our favorite places in town and we're happy to be able to their efforts here and with animals in the wild.