But even all that isn’t enough for our 4-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter, who are huge fans of Jeff Corwin and Animal Planet. They want a lynx, an alligator, or maybe a wild horse to greet them in the morning.

Conveniently, we live just a few miles from Stone Zoo, the smaller of Zoo New England’s two wildlife parks. (The Franklin Park Zoo is the other.) We hadn’t been in a while, so we wanted to check out Iggy, the 3-year-old white-cheeked gibbon that’s taken up residence there.

After stops to see the Mexican grey wolves (they were jogging the perimeter of their leafy, hillside spread), the American bald eagle (he looked regal as ever on his perch), and the yak (what can you say about the poor yak), we wandered over to see Iggy, a transplant from the Bronx Zoo who’s moved in between the river otters and the porcupines.

“He’s a real crowd-pleaser,’’ said my daughter as she watched the small, butterscotch-colored ape swing from cord to cord.

“Is he dancing?’’ asked Beck.

No, and he wasn’t performing, either, I explained. He was being a gibbon, doing what gibbons do. (I also may have muttered something about gibbons living naturally in Southeast Asia, but Beck wasn’t much interested in geography as he stared at the ape with the extra-long arms playing peek-a-boo.)

Just as Iggy tired of us, the daily bird show called “Lord of the Wings’’ was starting. The show, free with admission, featured several birds of prey, including an eagle, a blue-fronted Amazon, an Egyptian vulture, and a barn owl.

Audience members were told several times to stay seated during the 30-minute demonstration lest Bessy, an eagle owl that looked like she’d just consumed a large house cat, mistake you for a meal.

“It’s going to eat me?’’ said Beck.

“Maybe,’’ I said. “But only if it’s really hungry.’’

Stone Zoo, 149 Pond St., Stoneham. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. weekends and holidays during the summer. Call 781-438-5100.