One of the denizens of the Big Cat Exhibit at the Dakota Zoo was peeking above the window frame during a recent trip I took with my boys. This picture could have a more menacing tone if it included my little boy just a foot or two back from the window! I do actually have one framed that way.

The cats were lined up along the windows and fence because it was just about dinner time for them. No, not because my two little boys and I were on the other side of the glass. The zoo staff were running around on their golf carts, delivering chow. These cats heard things banging around over at the bear exhibit, and I’m guessing they have been conditioned to expect their meat soon after.

Zoo hours are already cut dramatically, to only a few hours a day on a select few days. Gates are open from 1pm to 5pm, Friday through Sunday, weather permitting. I still haven’t seen the snow leopards. Time’s a-wasting!