LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS

 

 

OH MY

This morning started out rainy and miserable, but not as much as snow.   I checked the forecast and it said it would clear up by 11 AM.   Emily and I went to breakfast and then to the Zoo.

It was a nice day after all.  The sky was brilliant and the temperature was in the 50’s  So with a sweater and jacket we went.   

The animals today are all in their natural habitat.  The zoo is divided up into areas and they live in natural surroundings.

The tiger was separated from the visitors by a very thick sheet of glass.   Pittsburgh Plate Glass had donated to the zoo, so I suppose it was their glass.   It appeared to be about 1 1/2 inches thick.    Tiger took no interest in the visitors.

I was telling Emily how the zoo looked when I was a child.   It had cages for the cats, and they paced nonstop every time I saw them.   The chimps were on a rocky island that had a moat around it so non of the chimps could escape, there was actually water in the moat.     I can recall as a child not getting too close to monkey island because the chimps would throw feces at the visitors.   Guess they were really bored.

There were hippos, rhinos and elephants also in cages, at least the hippos had a water pool.   What I remember was the size of the metal bars used to contain the large, powerful animals.   It must have been five inches in diameter.

The only things that remained from the fifties are the bear dens.   They were as pictured behind the Kodiak bear above.    It must have been getting close to feeding time because they were all gathered at the gates and scratching the doors.   Sounds hungry to me……

 

There were two elephants born this year.  The father is Jackson, he must be really studly.  I know they send him, or perhaps his life fluids to other zoos around the country.  The elephants were in the elephant house because the keepers were cleaning the outside yard.   I would not want that job, cleaning elephant poop.

 

Giraffes and zebras out in their environment.