Zoo trip

[redbird]

cattitude and I went to the Bronx Zoo this afternoon. The specific reason for visiting was lion cubs, but mostly it's just that we hadn't been in a while (we've been members for years). I also am trying to get back into the habit of walking more, now that the knees are somewhat better. (Stairs can still be problematic, but walking on more-or-less flat ground has gotten much easier.)


We went in and headed for the lions. On our way, we stopped in the souvenir shop, where I'd hoped to get a hat. I was hoping for something attractive, in cloth, with a brim to keep the rain out of my eyes. I didn't find anything I liked, but Cattitude found, and bought, a hat with a very large brim that would also keep the sun out of his eyes. He wore it out of the store, and immediately noticed that it also keeps the sun off the back of his neck, useful since he cut off the ponytail.

It being a bright, hot day, all the lions, including the cubs, were just lying around under a tree. I can't blame them in the slightest, but it wasn't particularly interesting to look at, so we didn't stay long. (I tend to prefer tigers and snow leopards to lions in any case.)

From there, we went to Wild Asia. We looked at the waldrapps (a kind of black ibis, native to Egypt and formerly Switzerland) and then went over to the monorail. There was no line at all, so we handed the staffer two of our attraction passes, and went in. It was a good ride: I'd specifically wanted to see the rhino, and we did. We also saw elephants, a red panda, a wide variety of antelopes, and the Mongolian wild horses. I like those, and hadn't known they were now living in Wild Asia; they used to have an enclosure near some of the birds. So that was a bonus. We didn't see the Malay tiger; the driver/guide told us that he hadn't spotted it on the previous trip, either.

Thence to Jungle World for short-clawed otters. (I have more photos, but I'm not sure they add anything to my last set.) We watched them a while, and then went on. At one point, two of the monkeys were sitting right next to the glass, watching humans; they took a break from their people-watching for one to groom the other. (They usually stay further back.) We took a look at one of the panthers; a zoo volunteer pointed out that the skylight made the area bright enough to see the black panther's black-on-black spots, evidence that she's a leopard. I think she found us a good audience: we talked to her a while there, and then she caught up with us later on and described some of the other exhibits. A nice woman, but by the time we were done in Jungle World I had had enough of talking to strangers.

My knees and Cattitude's foot were a bit tired by then, so we headed back to the entrance, past the Himalayan exhibit. Rather than stop at the snow leopards, I chose the white-naped cranes, because the entrance to that exhibit is a lot flatter. It was a very good choice: they have a young crane. He's a light brown, completely different coloring from his parents. I know he's male because the same volunteer popped up again, and told us that, and that he was born in May. No more than ten weeks old, and about his mother's height. We watched the cranes for quite a while; the young one tried to fly, but managed only some long hops, because the zoo pinions the uncaged birds. [That's the ones that are more formally part of the exhibits: mallards and red-winged blackbirds and such are wild visitors and the zoo does nothing more than occasionally put up a sign saying so.)

Here's a photo of the cranes:

We stopped briefly to look at red-winged blackbirds (and sit on a bench in the shade), then took the bus home. About half an hour after we got home, it started to rain. I grabbed my shoes and we headed outside. It was a good rain, cool and moderately heavy, and much needed. We didn't go into the park, because of the lightning and thunder, just stood on the sidewalk and got wet.

Comments

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Are the waldrapps related to Howard? (never mind)

The National Zoo had a red panda cub, first ever, but it died just a bit more than a month on. They're trying to figure out why.