A Trip To The Zoo

"Come on, mommy, let's go. I want to go see the elephants."




"Okay, I am ready. let's go get in the car."



"Oh, mommy, I can hardly wait. Can we go see the elephants and lions and giraffe and gorillas?'



"Let's get there first and then we will see as much as we can."



"Oh, okay, but I do want to see the elephants."



They get in the car and drive to the zoo, pay their way in and start on their adventure.



"Mommy, look at the monkeys. They are talking to those people."



"Honey, they probably know who the people are. Some people come all the time and the animals get used to them being there. We can watch them for a few minutes. We may find the same thing at the gorillas."



"I want to go see the gorillas. They are always fun."



"Okay. They are right around the corner."



So, off they go to the gorillas.



"Oh, look, there is the lady that talked to you about the gorillas last time."



"Hey, that is her."



"Do you remember me from last time? You told me so much. Let me see what I can remember. The big gorilla is called a silverback. He is the oldest male and head of the group."



"That's right. In the wild, he makes all the decisions about where they will sleep and eat and when they will move. He is a good babysitter for the little ones when the mothers go off to eat."



"Cool. Thanks for telling me all of this."



"You are so welcome."



"Mommy, can we go see the elephants now. I hope we can see the men feed them and give them a bath."



"Oh, look at them playing in the water."



Nicole giggles as she sees one turn a sommersault in the water. "Mommy, did you see that? He turned over in the water."



They watch the elephants as they fill their trunks and spray the water all over themselves and tumble in the water. And, then they see just a trunk sticking out of the water.



"Oh, look. Mommy, what is that elephant doing?"



"Just resting in the cool water, I suppose. I really don't know."



"I want to go see the giraffes now, please?"



Well, it is a little bit of a walk, but, let's go see if they are up by the fence.



"Nicole, look at that one pulling leaves off of that tree. Look at how long his tongue is. It is about 19 inches long so he can get it in between the thorns on the acacia tree and get the leaves. Look how long those thorns are."



"Wow, doesn't he hurt himself with the thorns?"



"No, that is why his tongue is so long."



"Oh, look, there comes the man with the food. Maybe, he is going to let people help him feed them."



"Hello, young lady, would you like a piece of apple to feed to a giraffe."



"Oh, goody. Yes, thank you. Mommy, I get to feed a giraffe."



"Now, hold it out where the giraffe can get it. His tongue is going to feel yukky, but it will be okay. He cannot hurt you. If you get a chance while he is close feel his fur. It is so, think, silky and a bit oily."



"Yuk! That felt gooey. His tongue was all wet."



"Mommy can we go now? I am getting tired."



"Would you like to see the lions before we go?"



So, off to the lions they go.



They find them sleeping.



"Mommy, they are asleep. Let's go."



"Okay, we can come back another day."

© Copyright 2006 Mary Ann Chidlow (UN: merian at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.

Mary Ann Chidlow has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.

Elephants

In the elephant exhibit where I used to watch them you could see them just swaying back and forth in one place. They might be pushing a log around or munching on the grasses around the edge of the exhibit.




They also have a pool to get down in and wallow around. They love to turn summersaults in the water. They are so big. I did not believe it until I saw it.



They love to thow sand on their backs. This helps to keep them cool on hot summer days.



They take one of the elephants out front twice a day for a bath and a treat while the keeper gives a short talk and answers questions. The elephant loves it.



I have seen babies out there twice. They are about three months old when they are let out. In the beginning, the mother is very protective and it is very difficult to get a very good view of the little one. She stays between her baby and the people. Eventually, the youngster gets to run around and play. They are such fun to watch.



One day, I was minding my own business as I walked past the elephant exhibit on my way to meet someone for lunch. I was not paying a bit of attention to the elephants.



All of a sudden a clod came sailing across the sidewalk. I am not sure what it was. I like to think it was just dirt, however I will never know. I know I am thankful that she missed. I don't know why the elephant did it. I can only surmise that she thought I should be paying attention to her.



I have not seen these animals in over a year. When I can get back to them, I will be adding more to this.

© Copyright 2006 Mary Ann Chidlow (UN: merian at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.

Mary Ann Chidlow has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.

Baby White Tigers

I wish I remembered more about them, but, I will share what comes to mind.




All four of them were easy to tell apart. One had very distinct black stripes on it's white body. Another's stripes were barely visible. The other two were in between in color.



When I first met them they were in a sectioned off part of the park where the most pedestrian traffic was. It was a rather large fenced off grassy area. There were always keepers in with them and would play with them when the babies wanted to. Before they were moved, they could get quite rough.



They were perpetual motion running for all they were worth from one fence to the other. Then, all of a sudden, they would just drop in their tracks and fall sound asleep.



Later, they were moved to the baby animal nursery where they had a shallow pool to play in. Two of them loved it and were in it a lot of the time. One would have nothing to do with it. The fourth could take it or leave it. Did you know that tigers like water? I, also, have a picture of a grown one swimming in the moat at their display. The keepers were always with them here, too. This is where I got my best pictures of them. Once I can, I will share some of them here.



It was not long before they were too big for any of the keepers to be in the display with them.



Finally, they were moved to the adult compound. They traded days on display with the rest of the tigers.



© Copyright 2006 Mary Ann Chidlow (UN: merian at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.

Mary Ann Chidlow has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.

Cape Buffalo

When grown these animals can push over a train - or, so I have heard.




Here is a short account of another side of them.



I don't really remember how it happened. There was a baby cape buffalo in the animal nursery. I suspect I started talking to it. I talked to them all.



I know one time he was already up and at the fence when I got there. I started talking to him. I realized his horns were not breaking the skin yet but I started rubbing his head there and he loved it. He did not want me to stop. I was hooked.



Another guest came by and said "He'll bite you." I answered "No he won't. He knows I will bite back." I had no fear. I don't know if that was bravery or stupidity but I never got bitten.



The next two times he would start walking up to the front before I even rounded the last corner to get to him. I guess he could see me coming. Each time I just talked to him and rubbed that head. We would even go nose to nose. Like I said - bravery or stupidity.



The last time he was trying to come over the fence but he would let me push him back. If he wanted, he could have pushed me out of the way. I stayed for quite some time as I knew this was the last time I would see him. They were going to have to move him to the back where the fences were much higher.



The next time I went I heard he had gone over the fence and was out "walking with the guests." I never heard that verified but I can believe it.



Now, he is out on the island with two others and there is no way I can talk to him.



I will continue to share memories with you from time to time.

© Copyright 2006 Mary Ann Chidlow (UN: merian at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.

Mary Ann Chidlow has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.

Observing River Hippos

The display started with two older females. It was never really impressive. Occasionally, you could see them out of the water but not often. Usually, if you could see the top of one of their heads, it had been a successful day with the river hippos.




Then, one morning I got to go out on the feed truck. That is when I learned they feed them hay when the ground is dry. But, if it is wet, they get a bucket of grain. Open up. They pour it right into their mouth.



Then, we got a new river hippo display. This time, we could look through glass right into the water. There was also some dry ground where we could sometimes see them.



In the beginning there was a female and an unrelated youngster. It was quite something to watch them. I don't know whether the adult took up to the youngster or the other way around. We would see them together. The baby had it's front feet up on the back of the older one and they would go bouncing across the exhibit. Until then, I did not know they bounced instead of walking in the water.



The original two were still in the old exhibit. They were not going to move them because of their age. When one of them died, they did move the other one to the new exhibit. When she was out in the display, she was by herself. Oh, how we cried over the death. Funny how we get attached to animals that we never get to touch or really to know.



They usually stayed in the water in the hotter part of the day. One of them must have gotten confused one day. In the hottest part of the day, there he was standing on the dry land. Stayed there quite awhile, too.



This was all so long ago. I am beginning to miss them all as I am sharing these adventures with you.



© Copyright 2006 Mary Ann Chidlow (UN: merian at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.

Mary Ann Chidlow has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.

Giraffes

I have lots of memories of the giraffes.




One of my favorites was looking out over the area where the giraffe could be seen in the background at dusk. It was so serene and peaceful. Most of the time they were still. Occasionally, one would be walking but in no hurry at all. What a wonderful way to end the day.



At the other extreme, was when I was invited to go out on the feed truck. Then, I had to be there at 5:30 a.m. or get left. I got to go out three times.



When we finally got to the giraffes, they were ready to be fed. This was one of the times I got to touch them. Think of very thick velvet and you have a very good idea of what they feel like. It felt so luxurious.



Then, there were the exciting and unexpected times -



One day I was walking through the baby animal nursery and there they were. Twins - rare, but none the less, there they were.



They were named Archie and Edith. Giraffes usually come one at a time.



They were having trouble getting them to take a bottle. Finally, someone came up with the idea of hiding the bottle in her long blonde hair. It worked. No more feeding problems. That was as close to looking like a giraffe as they could get.



Eventually they were moved to an outside pen. I spent many hours with them.



One time, they were both very interested in getting into the bag I had over my shoulder. One actually had it's neck wrapped around my back and coming in to get in the bag. Finally, I remebered I had an apple in there. I don't remember how I got out of the tangle of baby giraffes necks, and still had the apple. LOL



They were eventually moved out with the other giraffes.



Sometimes we would have a chance to feed them over the fence in the afternoon. The keepers would bring carrots and apples out for us to give them. There tongues are so long. It was a joy to be that close to the giraffes again.



I will be sharing pictures of all these situations except the twins in the nursery. At the moment they are prints that were taken with the old fashioned disk cameras. I need to see if I can get them transferred to a disk that will fit in a computer. I am working on it. In the meantime all I can offer is that your imagination takes over and you can picture the different scenes.

© Copyright 2006 Mary Ann Chidlow (UN: merian at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.

Mary Ann Chidlow has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.

Gorilla 3

The oldest male started out staying in the back of the exhibit and refusing to come to the front. Only once in awhile would I get a glimpse of him. The most interesting time was when he and his little brother were tussling and all I could see were arms and legs flailing as they tumbled.




Finally one day, I went in to the viewing area and there he was up against the window at the front. We started getting “acquainted. He was quite something. He taught me a very involved set of signals that I had to follow exactly before he would hit the glass and run to the other side. (He has seen his younger brother do this with me but no hand signals to speak of.) If I messed up the hand signals, he would get up and walk to the back of the exhibit.



Sometimes, if I would put my hand high up on the glass and nod my head he would come down. There were days he made that into a game and would sit back there for the longest time before he would come up.



If he was in the front of the exhibit in “his” corner, we could sit there for a very long time. If someone would get between us, he would get up and walk away. And, yet at other times he did not care if I was there or not and would interact with everyone.



Added July 29, 2009



Yesterday, I found out this much loved animal died on January 6, 2009. I am in shock and mourning a very special animal. I no longer live where I can get to this group so I mourn alone, except for special friends here who allow me to talk about him as I get past this.



© Copyright 2006 Mary Ann Chidlow (UN: merian at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.

Mary Ann Chidlow has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.

My Gorillas 2

To continue with the gorilla who was at the glass with me -




One day I came in looking for her and could not find her. After looking in all of her favorite places and any where else I could think of, I went over to her favorite place and sat down on the benches to wait. Sooner or later she would come up and lounge behind her favorite rock. Well, I waited. The day was very calm - no breeze to speak of.



There was a big hibiscus bush in the middle of that area. All of a sudden it started moving a little more aggresively than from a breeze. When I called her name she stuck her head out in the middle of the bush surrounded by red hibiscus. I wished for a camera.



She also loved to climb way up in the rocks when it was cold. If you did not know what you were looking for you would miss her. I showed many a guest and most of them still could not see her until she moved. That is the way I first noticed her up there. She blended so well with the rocks and really all you could see was part of an arm unless she raised her head when I called her. That did not always happen.



The most puzzling display I got from her was one day she was on the point. We were both just hanging out on either side of the moat. All of a sudden she charged and I was afraid she was going into the moat. She stopped just short. I still don't know what caused that.



One thing she loved was when I brought a khaki bag with me. She would meet me at the glass for that. She wanted me to take everything out of the bag so she could see what was there. If she could see something that I had not taken out she would hit the glass.



If there was a storm coming while I was in the park, I would head for the gorilla exhibit. There she would be right by the glass. Everytime there was a thunder clap she would run to the other end of the glass. I felt so sorry for her. All I could do was be close.



There is more to even her part of the story. I will share it soon.

© Copyright 2005 Mary Ann Chidlow (UN: merian at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.

Mary Ann Chidlow has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.

Gorillas 1

This will be a series of articles about these amazing animals. When I am through you will know six of them very well.




Gorillas remember people when they have not seen them in a very long time. For about eleven years I was with this group several days a week. There was always glass or a moat between us but three of them and I had differing interactions. The others would let me know they knew I was there but then most of the time would go on about their business.



Their outside area has lots of places for them to hide. They have big bushes, a rocky area they can climb up in with a waterfall and big flat rocks towards the front that are heated for cold weather.



There are glassed in areas where the animals can be no more than an inch and a half from us. The glass keeps everyone safe.



Around the corner there is an area that has a moat between the gorillas and the people. There are benches for us to sit on. This is often where they throw a snack for the gorillas.



When I had been away from them for two and a half years, they remembered me. The oldest female came right up to the glass and put her head right up against mine on the other side. I have a picture of that. I am new here but once I find out if I can put a picture up on an article, I will put it here.



She and I had spent countless hours together at that same spot and also around by the waterfall. I will be sharing all of this with you.

© Copyright 2005 Mary Ann Chidlow (UN: merian at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.

Mary Ann Chidlow has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.