Still More Animals!
The next zoo on the roster was Franklin Park. It is a companion to the Stone Zoo and a much larger facility. We haven’t been there in a very long time - mainly because of my nervousness about driving in Boston and the fact that we can’t seem to find our way home from that area without taking a detour through Iceland! I always get lost.
Do these colors go together?
These guys were all over the place, just roaming around - park pets. If I were wanting to put together a spectacular color combination, this is one place I’d be looking. But it’s interesting to notice the almost khaki center ring in the “eye” of the tail feather. Without that neutral shade, I wonder if the blues and greens would appear quite so magnificent.
Nope - not a bear
This fellow is a tree kangaroo and he hails from New Guinea where he is, unfortunately, considered delicious. I had never heard of a tree kangaroo. To me, he looks like a little bear. However, like the Koala (another creature perceived as a bear) he is a marsupial. The picture is a bit odd because it was taken through plexiglass.
Who says polka dots are pass?
Now if I were looking for pattern, this fowl is something I’d spend some time studying. The overlapping, dotted feathers are really something. Myria commented that the pattern was almost hypnotic!
I work here! What’s your excuse?
This was one of a small flock on the premises. A bit later in the season, they’ll be part of the petting farm, but that wasn’t open yet. She must have been the bellwether of the flock because whenever she moved, all the others followed her. I offered to knit her a coat but she said, “What for?”, and that seemed to be the end of the discussion. She was seriously unimpressed with us :)
Some privacy, please…
The gorillas didn’t seem very happy. This one had an adolescent offspring and she was not thrilled about us watching them. She eventually got up, nudged her young’un out of the way and stood between us and the child. When this picture was taken a little later, Myria said that it was like taking a picture of a homeless person. The animals are healthy and in good condition - but even to us, our presence seemed like an intrusion.
Wanna come up and see my etchings?
This guy is a Bali Mynah and there are only a very few left in the wild. Thanks to breeding programs, and the birds’ ability to reproduce easily in captivity, it won’t be consigned to extinction. I personally found this fellow very engaging and very attractive. When I spoke to him (just my usual “Hello there!”), he raised his crest, bobbed his head and invited me to mate :) A girl doesn’t get an offer like that every day!
Over all, Franklin Park was disappointing. A half to two thirds of the enclosures hadn’t been set up for the summer season yet or were being worked on. A much larger place than the Stone Zoo, we had expected more from it. Instead, there was less. Since the Stone Zoo had been so impressive, I suppose it balances out. It was worth the trip in any case to see that wonderful little mynah. I hope the breeding programs are successful in being able to re-establish the kind of numbers needed for the survival of the species. It would be a shame to lose such an engaging creature.
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I think there are something like 12 Bali Mynahs left in the wild. Mainly because of timber harvesting, and the pet trade. People suck. We have three at Dallas. Hopefully they will breed for us this year. Unfortunately they tend to have a problem with feather picking, which probably has a genetic component, and the breeding pool is limited.
What great animal pictures!
Sarra - This fella was a real charmer. They are beautiful birds. I sure hope the zoo breeding programs are successful. Yeah, I always wonder about the gene pool when the numbers get that low. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for your birds. May they reproduce themselves silly!
Gail - Thanks :) You couldn’t tell I’m fond of animals, could you?
