Fear & Loathing In Absentia: Zoopalooza (part 2)

As promised, here are more pictures from my day out at the zoo. There’s just something cool and primitively rewarding about being able to see a live ‘exotic’ animal in the flesh…even if it is behind bars. Its not every day you get to see elephants, tigers, monkeys, polar bears and wolves all in the span of a few hours. As I said in part 1, I plan on going back again during the summer, and next time, I think I’m going to spend a little more time ‘watching’ the animals. Of the few animals that I stuck around to really watch, virtually all of them ‘gave’ me something. The snow leopard coming down off its perch to ‘play dead’ in front of me…the seals doing tricks in front of the window…the crazy ostrich…the elephant who just stood there staring me down, before relieving himself right then and there (what’s a trip to the zoo without witnessing some animal go potty?)…or the inquisitive tamarins…its making me smile just thinking about it. I know I was lucky in the sense that after 3:00 pm I was pretty much the only person at some of the areas…so it was 1 on 1…which I’m sure won’t be the case later on in the summer.

Anyway, here you go…

EXTREME CLOSE UP. WOOOAAAAH!

What's a day at the Metro T.O. Zoo without a picture of (can't remember his name). He's always in the spot...if he's not charging the glass!

Uh oh...I've been spotted. He's coming my way...ok, don't make eye contact...don't make eye contact...

...and then, when I looked up, it was going crazy, hissing, waving its feathers all over the place, crouching down as if ready to jump over the barrier. I'm not ashamed to say I was a little intimidated.