If I Left the Zoo

I went to Bristol Zoo today, in no small part motivated by the desire to see Alfred's successors. There are a total of 5 gorillas there, Jock the alpha male and his family of two mothers and two juvenile.

Getting up close with a massive Silverback in his prime is quite an experience. Jock is big, even among Western Lowland Gorillas. This Goliath of pure muscle is bigger than Alfred.

Another picture of the yawning ape. Don't you think those menacing canines are a bit oversize for a herbivore?

Standing under the gaze of those intelligent eyes, one could not help but feel empathy for these magnificent creatures, wondering at the challenging future that awaits our close cousin.

Next to the gorillas, I am also quite fascinated by lemurs. While I have seen ring-tailed (and was scratched by one) before, this is my first encounter with red ruffed lemurs. These agile Madagascan primates can be aggressively loud with their arboreal communication.

Other mammal inhabitants of the zoo include the prairie dog and meerkats. Both species lives in underground burrow.

This meerkat is on sentry duty.

The dark rings around meerkats' eyes are like natural sunglasses.

Let's take a break from furry mammals and talk about birds, water birds, to be precise. Here is a 'free ranging' pink-backed pelican in standing on the waters surrounding Monkey Island.

I have no idea what are these. Looks like some kind of duck to me.

And now, to a common star among zoos and aquariums - the penguins.

These are African Penguins. As mentioned in a child's poem, these flightless birds of solid bones will turn from clumsy clowns to graceful acrobats once they are under water.

Another 'soarer under the waves' are the South American fur seals. These swimmers are currently in their mating season.

Other highlights of this visit included seeing live Aye-Aye for the first time (They are in the Twilight World where it was too dark for pictures), touching a beautiful lady snake called 'fluffy', petting a big cuddly rat (Norway Rat or for those who know Ratatouille, it is Remy & co. not black rat) and stroking a ferret. It has been a great day.

Trivia: 'If I Left the Zoo' is an album by the band call 'Jars of Clay'