A Visit to the Austin Zoo

I had been browsing Groupon for deals in the Austin area for a while when I finally stumbled upon something I'd been meaning to do since moving to Austin: visit the zoo. As a vegan, this had a whole new meaning for me. The Austin Zoo and Animal Sanctuary, which started out as a goat ranch, has grown to over 300 animals from over 100 different species and serves as a sanctuary to assist animals in rehabilitation and rescue. I quickly purchased this deal and went with a friend soon after.

Upon arriving, we stepped out to find many peacocks roaming the ground freely. These gorgeous creatures were strutting around and as soon as I turned my back, I heard one of them burst open into full bloom. After staring in awe for at least five minutes, we moved on to the other animals including monkeys, big cats (lions, tigers, jaguars and more!), reptiles, birds, domestics and amphibians. 

I enjoyed petting the goats was even handed some feed by a passerby to give them. These animals were loving the petting and attention and it made me even more confident in my decision to give up animal products for good several months ago. I was blown away at the intelligence of these animals and left the zoo with a calm feeling that my decision to go vegan was not only healthy, but ethically the right choice for me.