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.

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.

Back To Seeing The Animals Again - Finally

For the first time in several years, I will be back out with "my gorillas" and othre animals tomorrow. I will bring a full report tomorrow night with pictures. I am taking my digital camera and plan to use it. There are many new babies and I want to get pictures of all of them.

Live Giraffe Cam at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, CO USA

Live Giraffe Cam at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, CO USA

I saw five giraffes at one time here at 2:10 EDT.

Giraffe Cam

BBC is redoing their website and at the moment this cam is not available. I will continue to monitor it.

Please use the cam at the Cheyenne Zoo. I am really excited with it. I never look at it but what I see at least one giraffe but most of the time many more.

New Baby Gorilla

tampabays10.com - Tampa Bay's 10 News - WTSP

I wanted to share this with all of you even though I have not seen this baby, yet. There is a picture of the little one. I used to go see it's mother all the time. It has been many years since I have seen her. I hope I can share a link later so we can watch this one grow up.

Animal Web Cams at the National Zoo - National Zoo| FONZ

Animal Web Cams at the National Zoo - National Zoo| FONZ

There are 18 animal cams at the National Zoo. There is the one for the gorillas and one for fish. There are cams for the elephants, cheetahs, tigers and many more. Go have a look and spend some time at the zoo.

Elephant Information Repository: Elephant Resources

Elephant Information Repository: Elephant Resources

There is nothing more to add other than my own personal encounters.

One day I was minding my own business as I walked past the elephant exhibit in a hurry. All of a sudden a clod came sailing past me from the direction of the elephants. I guess they wanted my attention. They got it. LOL

I used to watch them playing in the water. Sometimes, they would throwing sand up on their backs. Sometimes, just standing there.

I saw two babies, three and four months old, just after they were introduced to the public. They were so cute. It was fun to watch them grow over time.

San Diego Zoo Weblogs

My email is always behind. This morning, while I was going through some of it, I decided to read a San Diego Zoo newsletter and found a wonderful link.

They are publishing some of their animal log entries. I am really excited about this. It is the same thing I am doing with my adventures at the zoo but this is from an insider's prospective. All I can offer you is what I could see and do with the animals from the public's perspective. Of course, I will continue to share as some people enjoy mine. Here is another side of the story, though.

Click here for the weblogs.

Meerkats

There are three different ways to spell meerkat and they go by other names, too. I will look for a link with all that information on it and post it in the side bar. For now, I will tell you what little I remember from watching them.

The first thing I noticed was that they sand straight up on their mounds to watch for predators. There always seemed to be at least two on guard. Sometimes, I saw three. The mounds come from their digging a maze of tunnels. They live underground most of the time.

They can be busy little critters, though. I have seen them scampering about in and out of the tunnels doing their daily chores.

Zoo Views At Dusk

If you live close to a zoo that has open areas with many animals, the views can be beautiful at dusk.

I found it quite by accident. One evening, I stayed later than usual and was walking up a path when I looked out on giraffe, various antelope and bongo all in site. It was just so peaceful and pretty.

The animals colors were muted and it just left me speechless.

If you can catch the animal cams at just the right time it might work there, too. I had not thought of that until now, so I will try it later and let you know. I know the cams in Africa will allow that view. I will check the sidebar and see what I have listed over there and put some there. You might check Africam, Kwa Maritame and Vuyatela. If these three are not links yet, bear with me. I am having serious problems keeping this computer online. I will fix them as soon as I can. Otherwise, please forgive me and use a search engine. Sorry.

Baby White Tigers

I have pictures of this foursome but they are prints and I do not have a scanner. As soon as I can get them on a disk I will put them on this blog.

When I first met them they wee in a sectioned off part of the park where the most pedestrian traffic was.

What I remember most is 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 be 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. I don't remember about the fourth one. Did you know that tigers like water? I, also, have a picture of a grown one swimming in the moat at their display.

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.

If I remember any more, I will come back and add it.

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 you 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 see them sometimes.

In the beginning there was a female and an unrelated youngster. It was quite something to watch. 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.

I will "take you out on the feed truck" soon. That was quite an adventure. Actually, I got to go out three times.

A Special Youngster

I "met" a very special male gorilla when he was six years old. He weighed in at about 180 pounds and was looking for those who would play with him.

I would try to be the first one in the park on the days I went. He would be waiting the first place I could see him then would race for the first viewing window. From there, he would chase back and forth between the two windows tapping it wherever I was. I think he was just saying "Hi".

If I would be close to the glass but not paying any attention to him, he would hit it right where I was. Do you suppose he was thinking "Hey, remember me?"

I could "call" him to the glass by putting my hand high up on the glass. Most of the time he would come. (Remember, he was just six - still just a kid.)

One day I was sitting at the glass with my chin in my hands. I fell asleep. All of a sudden, I felt someone was watching me. When I opened my eyes, there he was squatting with his chin in his hands. It was all I could do to keep from laughing. (Don't ever laugh at a gorilla. That is aggressive to them.) I wish I had a camera with me that day.

He is now grown. I had been away from him for over two years. He still lets me know he sees me but no longer does any more than that. He has grown up I had watched him grow for about seven years.

Once I tell you all I remember, I will then get into my gorilla logs. No telling what is in there that I have forgotten.

Oldest Female Gorilla

She was my favorite. I have so much to tell you about her. I will not try to put it all in one post.

I guess one of my favorite encounters was when I could not find her anywhere in the display. I checked all of her favorite spots through all of the viewing windows and outdoor viewing spots.

Finally, I just decided to go sit down by her favorite resting spot and just wait.

There was a breeze blowing and all the bushes were movning a little.

After awhile the red hibiscus bush just off to the side was moving, but not with the rythem of the wind. I called her name. Out popped her face. She was surrounded by red hibiscus. I wish I had brought my camera that day.

She loved the bag I always brought with me. She, of course, never got it. But, when I would come up to the window where she was she would just stare at it. If I did not show her what was in it quick enough, she would tap the glass. And, I had to take everything out. She was not interested with seeing just part of it.

I will tell you more later.

Twins

I wrote this the other day and just before I posted it my internet failed. I hope I have fixed it now.

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.

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

One day, 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 the bag. I don't remember how I got out of the tangle of baby giraffes necks, but I still had the apple. LOL

They were eventually moved out with the other giraffes.

Bully

His real name was Bull Durham but we called him Bully.

He was a Cape Buffalo - you know, those animals that can push over a train - or, so I've heard.

I met him at a baby animal nursery. Oh, how he loved to have his head rubbed where the horns were starting to come in. He would stand by the fence just as long as I would do it.

He would know somehow that I was coming before I turned the corner and started heading for his area. He would be getting up and heading for the fence.

We could go face to face and it was just part of our spending time together. One day another guest said "He is going to bite you." I just said "No, he won't. He knows I will bite him back."

The last time I saw him he was trying to climb over the fence. I kept pushing him back. I knew that if he really wanted to, he could come right over the fence. The next time I went back, he was gone. I felt I had lost a friend.

He is out on the island with the others now.