Animals. Twinkle lights. Crisp December weather. Tons of little kids running around. The Bronx. All of these things are part of the formula that make the Bronx Zoo's Holiday Lights a sight to behold. Gothamist decided to head to the Bronx to actually see them, after we posted about it, and we're glad that we did. It's romantic, fun, and somewhat surreal, because you don't exactly know where you're going and sometimes you can't quite make out if there are fences at some of the outdoor exhibits.

The Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights are open until January 9 (weekends Friday-Sunday until December 19, when the display is open every night). Here are some of the pictures that actually came out from our excursion (it's really hard taking pictures in the dark) with a little color commentary:

Penguins might be the most welcoming animals ever - their wings are so expressive! Gothamist kind of wishes there were actual penguins greeting us, though.

All over the park, there are lighted depictions of animals of different animals and creatures. But not all are ones that the Bronx Zoo has - there are some dinosaur lights in there.

Many of the promenades and walks in the zoo have arches of lights that pulse. This seems to make children even more excitable.

There's a pen of reindeer for people to see. Gothamist seriously doubts they like to play their reindeer games that much, because they were totally chilled out.

The camels were pretty docile. One sat next to the fence, which allowed vistors to touch its fur. But don't think about getting rouch with the camel - there's a zoo employee on watch.

Tiger Mountain was open, and two of the tigers were awake, which meant it was a mob scene at the first exhibit space. The tigers seem to be having a decent time - not wondering why they had to be up so late when they are usually sleeping at this hour. If you happen to go, check out the second exhibit, further along the path, which impatient families seem to ignore.

And these were our favorite lights: Monkeys (mandrills?) with red butts.