Grant's Farm and Fun with Bud the Elephant

Today we visited Grant's Farm (named for and previously owned by Ulysses S. Grant, but now owned by the Busch, as in Anheuser-Busch, family). The farm is home to some of the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale horses as well as a wide variety of other animals. After we parked we took a tram ride around the farm and saw Ulysses S. Grant's homestead and lots of animals.
We also saw the two shows that Grant's Farm offers, Animal Encounters and the Elephant Show. The Animal Encounters show included birds of prey that flew over the audience, a parrot who could do tricks, a pig that ran through an obstacle course, and rats that raced along human race tracks. Yes, they asked for 4 volunteers to stand with their arms extended and touching so that rats could race along them. Ewww! I had to work with a rat during a psychology Research Methods class in college and hated it. They had no problem soliciting volunteers though. We were in the front row, so we got a close-up view of the animals including a huge owl. An interesting fact that we learned is that owl's eyes are very large in proportion to their heads (and brains), so if human's eyes were comparable in eye:head size ratio, our eyes would be as large as softballs and weigh 5 lbs each! No wonder their eyesight is amazing.
The elephant show was really interesting and entertaining too. We learned that elephants can pick up objects as small as dimes with their trunks entirely by feel. They have large and intricate vein systems in their ears and cool themselves off by holding out and flapping their ears. They can extend their trunks to reach somewhere around 22 feet (I don't recall the exact distance). This male elephant, Bud, is one of only 4 in the U.S. that the public can interact directly with due to his laid-back nature and the fact that he has had a procedure done that reduces his testosterone levels. In fact, for a very small fee, you could take a tour of the building and facilities that house Bud and also feed, pet, and take photos with him. What a neat opportunity! Ethan and I got tickets for this experience and really enjoyed it.

Bud during the elephant show

The tour that Ethan and I took. These enormous bars are required for the safety of Bud's trainers and caretakers. This building was fairly new because Bud had been "playing with" and bending the slightly smaller bars in his old building.The photos below are of Ethan and my turn to feed Bud carrots. Ethan was a little hesitant at first, so we got to see Bud's outstretched trunk trying to reach the carrot.

It was neat to feel the suction as Bud pulled the carrot up to his snout. Ethan quickly became more comfortable and approached Bud more closely.Petting Bud was neat too. His skin was not as rough as I had imagined, but he has huge black whiskers on his trunk that were kind of wirey.Bud was great at posing with us for some photos!

We also got to see lemurs, guinea pigs, foxes, kangaroos, tortoises, goats, horses, camels, llamas, Clydesdale horses, and several others. They also had food vendors, and since Grant's Farm is owned and operated by the Busch family, each adult could get 2 Anheuser-Busch beverages free. Dan tried one of the brews and liked it. We would like to visit Grant's Farm again sometime in the future. Everyone had a great time!