Dear Phx Zoo,
Though today I should have embraced the holiday from school and slept in, I opted to help out the Early Childhood breakfast program. Though no breakfast surely is worth getting up and being somewhere at 7:00 a.m. in January, I couldn't help but to take the offer of getting to feed the stingrays (getting paid was also a plus). With pieces of smelt and shrimp clasped between my fingers, I reached out as far and as deep as I could. Cownose Rays like to flutter in schools around the pool as the Southern Rays glide across the bottom. Feeding the cownose rays is the best as they would suck the food from your hands, get all excited from their new found treat and begin splashing about as they continue around the perimeter. They are also slightly spongy to the touch and covered in mucus. What's even better is the guides don't tell this to the public until they are already touching them. I {heart} the Zoo.