Zoo Days

Today I went to the San Francisco Zoo for the first time. It ended up being a great day at the zoo. The giraffes were picture perfect. The lion was awake and strutting around with his big mane. The siberian tiger was meowing (the whole zoo could hear it). In Grizzly Gulch, two grizzly bears were play-fighting. The South American penguins were eating. The silverback was certainly doing a good job of guarding his house. AND no tigers escaped!

I was completely fascinated with the uniqueness and industry of each species. The tapir was especially awesome. It has a body of a bear, and the snout of an elephant/ant eater. To think of the conditions that required this specific capacity is beyond me, but something I would love to learn more about. I was struck by the color patterns and variations of the animals too. At one point, I nonchalantly joked, you wouldn't think loud black and white stripes would fit in on the savannah would you? (in reference to the zebra that had its back to me). Someone pointed out that many animals are colorblind, so this might be an explanation. (I still need to look into this though, I'll believe it when I see it)...I also noticed a few abnormal behaviors that I don't think most wild animals do, like the anteater pacing in a circle repeatedly in her small cage.

I definitely want to go again, I could sit and watch animals all day!