It’s Monday morning and you know what that means! It’s Week 8 of photographic scavenger hunt, Mystery Image Mondays at the Houston Zoo! If you want to brush up on your sleuthing skills, or just want to check out what you’ve been missing in our past seven installments, just click here!

The rules for the game are very easy: we are about to show you a portion of a photo- it may be of an animal, a habitat, or some other point of interest found on Zoo grounds. Your knowledge of the Zoo, partnered with the three clues that will follow the photo, will aid you in identifying the location and subject of the photo. Post your guesses below and return this afternoon between 3:00 and 4:00 pm to find out if you were right!

Are you ready? Good, then let the (scavenger) hunt begin! We are proud to present…

This Week’s Image, a.k.a #8:

The Clues

1. People always seem to be afraid to take a drink from me- I don’t know why, I don’t bite!

2. I’m very proud of my celebrity status here at the Zoo. I’m the pride of my family, who lives nearby!

3. I’d be lyin’ if I told you I’m a newcomer to the zoo- I’ve been here for ages!

Psst- here’s a freebie hint: all the photos are Chill Out themed!

The Answer

That’s right, you guessed it! This is a photo of our lion water fountain located along the path that runs from the exit of The African Forest to the Cypress Circle Café. For all of the expert navigators out there (and those who took a sneak a peek at our online map!) you will notice this path runs right beside the lion habitat. Pretty cool placement, huh?

Don't worry, he won't bite!

Our lion water fountain has been a guest favorite for many generations- and here are some “retro” photos to show it!

The Fountain in the early-mid 1960's

And here he is again in the early 1970's

Here he is posing for one of many family pictures!

Unfortunately, records of when this thirst-quenching lion joined the Houston Zoo family are hard to come by. So while we look to the past for more clues, we have decided to share what some of our guests have said about everyone’s favorite big-cat-shaped water fountain! These quotes are taken directly from the comment section in a previous blog post asking for your favorite zoo memory!

               When I was a little girl my parents took me to the zoo. I was so thirst and had a drink of water out of the lion water fountain/ My mom took a picture of me on my little top toes drinking out of that lion water fountain/ When I was a grumpy pre-teen I begrudgingly had my picture taken out[side] of the lion water fountain. Now as and adult when I go to the zoo I still take a picture of myself drinking from the fountain and I email it to my mom and dad to remind them of all the fun times we had at the Houston Zoo. Don’t ever get rid of that fountain! -  Amanda L

               I vividly remember my first trip to the zoo back in 1968. I was almost 5 years old. My father wanted to take pictures of me in front of the Tiger exhibit… and I was completely terrified to back myself up to the for fear I would be eaten. …I also remember drinking from the Lion waer fountain… of course this was after much discussion that it was not a real lion!  - Amy Fagan

Feel free to share your favorite Houston Zoo water fountain memory; they make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside- and folks I ain’t lyin’ about that!

We hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of Mystery Image Mondays at the Houston Zoo! Come back next Monday, and every Monday throughout our TXU Energy presents Chill Out at the Houston Zoo.