MONKEYS AND STUFF
Oct. 17th, 2006 10:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elsajeniZack and I went to the zoo today and were there for almost two and a half hours, which I feel is pretty impressive; if there are any animals we didn't see, I don't know which ones. We also saw a bunch of the areas that are soon to be converted into new exhibits, including the African Forest, where they're going to have hippos and chimps, which is pretty neat.
We also saw a lot of slightly defective animals. There was a lemur with only three feet, and another lemur whose tail was cut off about six inches long; there was an enormous, somewhat alarming bald eagle that didn't even have to be in a fully enclosed area because its wings had been broken too badly for it to fly effectively; there were two macaws stuck in a little building all by themselves because they kept making macaw noises and driving the other birds berserk; and, of course, there was a jaguar with OCD.
Seriously. Pacing back and forth in front of the glass, over a distance of less than ten feet. Did not leave that ten-foot space. Huge cage; well-adjusted jaguar sleeping on a rock; neurotic jaguar wearing a hole in the floor.
Most of the animals were just sort of draped around their exhibits, looking hot and slightly damp and mildly annoyed. There was an inexplicable tapir in the exhibit with the maned wolf and giant anteaters, which was interesting; he was just hanging out in their wading pool, waving his prehensile snoot around, and then a giant anteater came over and scared him and he ran off. Also, we got to hang out with the giant dominant male orangutan, which was fun; he was the only one out, because he's, um, not allowed out with the other orangutans, because he's huge and mean, and we were the only people by his exhibit, so he made moody orangutan faces at us for a while, let Zack take some pictures, and then followed us around to the other viewing area, where he strolled right up to the glass, ate an orange peel that he'd picked up somewhere, and looked morose at us.
Also, the patas monkeys, which are old buddies of Zack's from when he did some kind of primatology project involving observing them, have had two new babies. They now have four adults and three juveniles in the exhibit. Apparently the zoo staff took pity on the tiny antelope (a Gunther's dikdik, if you're interested) that used to share the space with them, because she had been moved elsewhere. (The baby monkeys liked to try to ride on her.)
Hey, anyone else who's lived in Houston for, I don't know, 15 years or so. Do you remember the zoo having a hippo? I think I do, but I honestly can't, y'know, prove it or anything, because if they did have a hippo, it was when I was about five and therefore not a reliable witness.
We also saw a lot of slightly defective animals. There was a lemur with only three feet, and another lemur whose tail was cut off about six inches long; there was an enormous, somewhat alarming bald eagle that didn't even have to be in a fully enclosed area because its wings had been broken too badly for it to fly effectively; there were two macaws stuck in a little building all by themselves because they kept making macaw noises and driving the other birds berserk; and, of course, there was a jaguar with OCD.
Seriously. Pacing back and forth in front of the glass, over a distance of less than ten feet. Did not leave that ten-foot space. Huge cage; well-adjusted jaguar sleeping on a rock; neurotic jaguar wearing a hole in the floor.
Most of the animals were just sort of draped around their exhibits, looking hot and slightly damp and mildly annoyed. There was an inexplicable tapir in the exhibit with the maned wolf and giant anteaters, which was interesting; he was just hanging out in their wading pool, waving his prehensile snoot around, and then a giant anteater came over and scared him and he ran off. Also, we got to hang out with the giant dominant male orangutan, which was fun; he was the only one out, because he's, um, not allowed out with the other orangutans, because he's huge and mean, and we were the only people by his exhibit, so he made moody orangutan faces at us for a while, let Zack take some pictures, and then followed us around to the other viewing area, where he strolled right up to the glass, ate an orange peel that he'd picked up somewhere, and looked morose at us.
Also, the patas monkeys, which are old buddies of Zack's from when he did some kind of primatology project involving observing them, have had two new babies. They now have four adults and three juveniles in the exhibit. Apparently the zoo staff took pity on the tiny antelope (a Gunther's dikdik, if you're interested) that used to share the space with them, because she had been moved elsewhere. (The baby monkeys liked to try to ride on her.)
Hey, anyone else who's lived in Houston for, I don't know, 15 years or so. Do you remember the zoo having a hippo? I think I do, but I honestly can't, y'know, prove it or anything, because if they did have a hippo, it was when I was about five and therefore not a reliable witness.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-18 12:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-18 01:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-10-19 01:38 am (UTC)i think the houston zoo recently had a baby elephant.
the ocd-ness of the leopard, i think i heard that addressed by a keeper once. yea that or the boredom could account for the pacing. they are making robots for lions so they chase and are less bored. http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=385
also one neat thing, the zoo has a lot of things they don't display because the aren't so great having lots of people come by. specifically they brought in a singing dog(like a dhole but smaller) to a class i took there.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-11-01 12:33 am (UTC)