a lazy day at the zoo

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i have a love/hate relationship with zoos. i love seeing the animals but they make me so sad. i hate what we've done to this planet. i say hi to every animal i meet and then i apologize to each one for our stupidity & greed and for putting them in a zoo. most of the animals at our local zoos are on the endangered species list. the black rhino at miamimetrozoo.com , where i was today, is beyond endangered and now part of a breeding program in a final attempt to keep the species from becoming extinct.

here are some scenes from today's picture safari courtesy of the cell phone's camera.

hung like a, um, horse?

the male in the background kept trying to mount. here he's taking 5.

this next guy let me pet him, well, as long as i kept feeding him. 18 ft of cute.

 

[laurence]

Zoos have come a long way from the brutal cages kids used to put sticks through a century ago. Like you said, they are often engaged in attempts through breeding to save endangered species and study issues that face our animal friends. Here in San Diego we have the world famous zoo and the Wild Animal Park. The Wild Animal Park is awesome, and these animals have hundreds of acres to roam on, while we visitors ride a safari tram around the edge of their lands to observe them. It's awesome to get to see them exhibit their natural instincts like they would in the wild ( hearding, competition between males during the breeding season etc.).

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i almost got to see san diego zoo my last time out there. i was making plans at night but then in the morning my bud says to me, i'm so glad you decided to spend all your time here (in hollywood hills) so i was stuck. quietly cancelled my plans to see the zoo & he was none the wiser. i'm planning to visit on one of my future road trips instead. also i never got to see a redwood tree. can't wait to hug one.

miami does a pretty good job of giving the animals their space but it's still kind of sad. there was one magnificant animal that can run 45 mph. some kind of antelope i think. sure didn't have room to get up to that speed for long.

anyway, laurance, i took a picture of a stork for you. there were two spreading their wings but it didn't come out so good so i didn't post.

 

[laurence]

Thanks! I definitely would try to fit in the Wild Animal Park if you hit San Diego again. The zoo is great, too, but you'll really be in for a truly different experience at the Wild Animal Park, last time I was there, I got to see Momma and Baby black rhino, and the California Condor exhibit is amazing. The California Condor was nearly extinct ( down to something like 16 birds) and they are on the rebound due to the Park's program.

 

[shiny]

I definitely would try to fit in the Wild Animal Park if you hit San Diego again. The zoo is great, too, but you'll really be in for a truly different experience at the Wild Animal Park, last time I was there, I got to see Momma and Baby black rhino, and the California Condor exhibit is amazing.

I attended a wedding there once - I was neat!

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

speaking of which, those are two of the very same animals i was being sad about today. miami has an amazing aviary, beautifully done. but they also have a separate exhbit of calif condors. big big big birds. very impressive. they have real nice display explaining their plight. also they have a 2 year old baby black rhino who was also with him mom, but they were a bit far away so i didn't get a real good view.

will definitely keep your wild animal park in mind for a future visit. sounds really nice.

 

[shiny]

I was just trying to correct my mistake and I screwed up and re-posted.

The wedding was neat. I was neat too, but I'm not trying to brag or anything !

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

ya shiny, we got that. though it is a zoo so really anything could have happened.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i forgot to post this cute orange elephant. man, if they got orange elephants and you don't even have to be drunk to see one, i gotta get myself to asia.

 

[HFWR]

It is sad to think that my virtual grandchildren may only know an elephant from a photo in the encyclopedia...

However, I've met many good folk from middle America who are actively engaged in the breeding of "exotic" animals...

 

[Dreamer]

We spent my DD's 18th birthday, which was on Thanksgiving, at the San Diego Zoo. We went to the Wild Animal Kingdom the next day. Very nice experiences!

 

[Toejam]

Lazygood4nothinbum: Thanks for the cool animal pics. Reminds me that I need to visit the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, which I haven't been to since grade school. I, too, feel a little bad that the animals must live rather cooped up and not in their natural habitat. But it could be a lot worse. At least (hopefully) they are well fed and seen by vets on a regular basis.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

hiya toejam, definitely good to support your local zoo. we have a little zoo i also go to about twice a year. www.palmbeachzoo.org

located right on i-95, they have limited space but they do a great job. i think every animal there is endangered. i'd do volunteer w*rk there but that drive would be horrible everyday, especially during r*sh hour. maybe i'll find myself doing conservation w*rk instead of boating one day. spending 10 minutes petting that giraffe the other day really made me happy for the whole rest of the day.

i'm just so afraid when i visit a zoo that i'm really visiting a museum in disguise.

 

[Martha]

I have the same love/hate relationship with zoos. My city of 75,000 actually has a pretty nice zoo, my favorite is the polar bears. I have been to quite a few zoos and have two favorites. One was the Zoo in New Orleans. Anyone know if it came through the Hurricane OK? We really liked the southern swampy flavor of the place. My other favorite zoo is a tiny little zoo in North Platte Nebraska. There is an area with a variety of animals, all outside, and a small campground next to the zoo. Cute little place.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

We have a great zoo in Folsom. Mostly local indigenous animals that have become injured or "out of territory" that they bring in, largely keep in friendly spaces, rehab and frequently re-release. Some bears, mountain lions, coyotes, etc. I think they have an odd monkey or something thrown in thats been around forever.

Gabes still not too thrilled to see anything larger than Ted in his vicinity, so maybe next year.

If you live in the Excramento area, check it out...
http://www.folsomzoofriends.org/

 

[laurence]

We have a great zoo in Folsom. Mostly local indigenous animals that have become injured or "out of territory" that they bring in, largely keep in friendly spaces, rehab and frequently re-release....

I saw that HBO special, too. Didn't Johnny Cash play there?

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I just drove by THAT zoo on superbowl sunday. Man is THAT some primo real estate right now. Hundreds of acres of waterfront property on the lake with its own farm, livestock and its very own power generating dam? An acre is running around a couple of hundred grand over there right now.

But then again, it pales compared to the value of San Quentin.

I wonder why the state doesnt divest these high value real estate holdings and move the inmates to...Barstow...?

 

[laurence]

Or just east of L.A. so all their family can visit more easily (that's ex-L.A. resident bitterness talk right there)

 

[Nords]

Or just east of L.A. so all their family can visit more easily (that's ex-L.A. resident bitterness talk right there)

By that "convict logic" they could move to Camp Pendleton or 29 Palms, too!