Bronx Zoo: tigers, rhinos, otters, birds

[redbird]

cattitude and I went to the Bronx Zoo today to see the new tiger cubs. So did a lot of other people, so we looked at tigers from the back of the exhibit for a bit, went elsewhere, then came back when it was a bit less crowded and watched the cubs play again. (Three Amur tiger cubs, which have just been put on display, sharing an exhibit area with their mother.)

Buefore we got to the tigers, we wandered past what had been an elephant area, and saw two white rhinos. As I said to Cattitude, someone had probably told me the zoo had these rhinoceroses, but I had forgotten. So we stood there a while and looked at rhinos, and I grinned. I'm not sure why: the two rhinos were standing at the back of their enclosure, walking a bit, interacting a little, and somehow it was a delightful surprise.

After the tigers Cattitude decided he wanted to see otters, so we went to Jungle World, where they have short-clawed otters (from Asia). We spent a nice long while with the otters, watching them play and wash and generally do cute otter things, and barely looked at the other animals in that building.

Cool birds: the white-naped cranes were standing relatively close together when we got to their area (the pond is covered with duckweed, and there are a few feathers lying on the green surface). While we were watching, they danced a little: waved and displayed their wings, jumped, and made honking and beak-clacking noises. Only a little, but I don't expect cranes to do even a little of their mating dance in the fall. Before the cranes danced, Cattitude spotted a hummingbird in the reeds. I saw him point at a small bird flying across the pond, but didn't see enough to identify it as a hummingbird if he hadn't told me. (I think the thing that I mind most about my vision not being correctable to 20/20 is that it makes bird watching less enjoyable.) The other cool bird thing was that we heard one of the trumpeter swans on the duck pond give its signature call.