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Clever Horse Pretends To Sleep When She Doesn’t Want To Work

Plenty of us can relate to this. According to the New York Post, a clever horse named Sugar has gone viral for pretending to be asleep when she doesn’t feel…

sleeping horse

A different sleeping horse. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

Plenty of us can relate to this. According to the New York Post, a clever horse named Sugar has gone viral for pretending to be asleep when she doesn’t feel like working.

A tweet by circus performer and author Jim Rose has a photo showing Sugar laying on her side in the grass with text explaining what’s going on in the pic: “Meet Sugar, she doesn’t like to be ridden. If Sugar is approached with a saddle she lies down and pretends to be asleep.” She looks very convincing.

No one can accuse Sugar of sleeping on the job if she never actually starts doing the job, am I right? The hilarious tweet has over 400k likes so far. Many commenters are saying they identify with Sugar, saying she’s their “spirit horse.”

An interesting fact that you may not know is that Charlotte is actually the largest city in the country that doesn't have a zoo. And there is very little chance we will ever get a true one. But don't let that get you down, there are plenty of places you can visit with all types of animals in the Charlotte area. The biggest reason we will most likely never get a true zoo is that we are just 1.5 hours from both the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro and Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia.

Both of those zoos make our list and while both are large zoos, they offer different animals. For instance, you can see polar bears in North Carolina and Koalas in South Carolina. Is marine life more of your interest? Don't worry we've got a couple of options for you as well. Other animals include bison, alpacas, farm animals, all sorts of birds, goats are more.

All of the places on this list are a short drive from Charlotte. Most are very affordable to visit so a great family trip as the weather gets warmer. I love animals but I'm not a huge fan of encountering them unexpectedly, so this type of thing is right up my alley. I can't wait to add several of these to my summer bucket list. Where is your favorite place to visit animals in the Charlotte area? Let us know on social media!

North Carolina Zoo

Location: Asheboro, NC

Ticket Prices: Adults $15, Senior $13, Child $11

Animals: Lions, elephants, polar bears, giraffes, black bears, and more1

Discovery Place

Location: Uptown Charlotte

Ticket Prices: Adults $23, Children $18, Seniors $20

Animals: sea urchins, jellies, and other sea life

Cotton Bean Farms

Location: Mt. Pleasant

Ticket Prices: $15

Animals: Goats

Carolina Raptor Center

Location: Huntersville

Ticket Prices: Student $8, Adult $12, Senior $10

Animals: 20+ bird species

Good Karma Ranch

Location: Iron Station

Ticket Prices: $10

Animals: Alpacas

Tiger World

Location: Rockwell, NC

Ticket Prices: Adults $15, Children and Seniors $12

Animals: Multiple tiger species, lions, kangaroos, leopards, jaguars, and more

Sealife Aquarium

Location: Concord

Ticket Prices: Adults $18, children $15

Animals: sharks, stingrays, fish, seahorses, turtles, and more

Dallas Lavender Lane

Location: Dallas, NC

Ticket Prices: Contact for more info

Animals: ducks, potbelly pigs, pygmy goats, a miniature pony, and a donkey

Zootastic Park

Location: Troutman, NC

Ticket Prices: Adults $15, Children and Seniors $13

Animals: tigers, lions, leopards, giraffes, monkeys, lemurs and more

Tatanka Bison Ranch

Location: York, SC

Ticket Prices: Varies by tour $13-$150

Animals: Bison

Riverbanks Zoo

Location: Columbia, SC

Ticket Prices:

Animals: zebras, koalas, tigers, komodo dragons, and more

Darby Acres Farm

Location: Charlotte

Ticket Prices: $11

Animals: emu, water buffalo, goat, pigs, sheep, camel, and more!

Sweetwater Farms

Location: Huntersville, NC

Ticket Prices: $5

Animals: horses, cows, pigs, donkey, goats, chickens, and ducks

Lazy 5 Ranch

Location: Mooresville, NC

Ticket Prices: Adults $15, Children and seniors $11

Animals: antelope, giraffes, cattle, birds and ducks, cattle, sheep, goats, and more

The Farm at The Schiele Museum

Location: Gastonia, NC

Ticket Prices: $3

Animals: chickens, goats, pigs, bunnies, bees, a turkey, and alpacas

Phil Harris is 50% of "Phil & Mel in the Afternoon" on K104.7. He has been with the station since 2013 and on the air in Charlotte since 2000. Before coming to the Queen City, Phil worked for radio stations in Pittsburgh, Austin, and Seattle. In addition to the weekly "Throwback Threesome" music video feature, Phil writes about things that matter to Charlotte sports fans and pet owners. He happens to be both.