This was a very different zoo experience. First of all, there were more kids than we’ve EVER seen at a zoo, the place was packed. The reason is that they sell food for the kids to feed the animals…ALL the animals. They buy a bucket of food pellets, and then slide them down the chute (see the girl feeding the llama?) or feed them by hand (see the boy feeding the deer). The unfortunate part is that it evolves into getting an animal’s attention by throwing pellets, and then throwing popcorn, and then throwing whatever they have in their hands. It’s pretty chaotic, and seems cruel to the animals.
The photo of the boy crouching by the rat? Ugh. That is a big nutria rat, which are native here (although we saw them only in the zoo, thank God). The kids feed those too…their word for it in Argentina translates to “otter” although it is definitely a member of the rat family. 
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