Behind me is the highly endangered Okapi. It’s one of the rarest animals housed at the Cbus Zoo and also one of my favorites.
We visited the Bonobos’ habitat and I fell in love.
Bonobos are awesome, in case you didn’t know. They’re one of the few species that have a sense of identity (they even recognize themselves in the mirror). They live in female-dominated groups and hunt/gather together. If you’ve read Sara Gruen’s latest novel, The Ape House, these are the amazing apes her characters interact with (and if you loved Water for Elephants, you totally should be reading it!)
We were fortunate enough to visit the gorilla habitat when Mac, the silverback (or male leader), was trying to show off in front of the keeper and docent. They told us he’ll often wait for a crowd and then run up to the glass and pound on it to scare people. He loves the attention and he definitely had mine (I totally jumped a foot in the air).
The leopard was taking a nap right beside the visitor’s window when we stopped by…
Don’t tell Kyle, but this is my new boyfriend. He’s a Komodo dragon and he seriously was as close as this picture makes him appear. He came right up to the glass and stared deep into my eyes. What can I say, we had a moment…be still my warm-blooded heart.
Kyle looks upset. Either it’s the price of drinks at Flamingo Hideaway or he just found out about me and the Komodo dragon. Oops.
Loved this quote on the sign outside the manatee preserve. The Columbus Zoo is one of the only programs in the world that rescues manatees and rehabilitates them to be released back into the wild.
So what about YOU? What did you do today? Anyone see any animals lately (in the zoo or out in the wild)?
love, elizabeth
