Well, I managed to annoy my right shoulder sufficiently that I couldn’t knit comfortably this weekend, so nothing got done, played with or experimented upon. We did, however, go to the Stone Zoo (part of Zoo New England) yesterday so I can share a few of the better pictures with you.
Drowsy Cougar
Catnapping
We didn’t see a lot of the animals because it was a hot day so many of them were holed up under bushes or in a rock crevice. Those that were out, like this cougar and leopard, were sleeping or close to it :)
Sleepy Duck
Of course, that held true for some of the indigenous wildlife as well. This fellow and a few companions were napping under a bush by the side of one of the picnic areas. It was amusing to watch people walk within a foot of them and never notice they were there.
Inca Terns
The aviary is enclosed and so somewhat better climate controlled. These terns actually have the run of the place and we watched them flying around. Those little white feathers on either side of the beak actually curl up like a moustaches and give them a sort of “Snidely Whiplash” appearance :)
Interestingly enough, these fellows are also housed in the aviary, though they aren’t birds.
Flying Foxes, courtesy of Myria
These are bats and they are fantastic to watch. In body size, they’re probably roughly equivalent to a medium sized cat but their wingspan can be 6 feet or more! We arrived at their enclosure right around feeding time so we got to see them moving around and greedily enjoying their supper which consisted of grapes, apples, pears and bananas. In all cases (there were probably half a dozen bats in the enclosure) the grapes went first!
Black necked crane
This fellow gave me the hairy eyeball as we went by. I love the red patch on his head!
Sparrow (female), courtesy of Myria
There were tons of these guys around and they weren’t particularly shy either. Zoo visitors probably leave enough crumbs behind to feed any number of sparrows very comfortably. Without the shadows for contrast, this one would blend in very nicely with the log she’s perched on.
Male (in back) and female otters, courtesy of Myria
These guys were great fun to watch though, like many others, they slept through most of the afternoon. Myria was able to get this only because we checked back around suppertime and they were most eager to be fed so they were up and around. I wish I had the ability to relax and have fun the way these guys seem to. Makes you feel good just watching them!
And that’s about it for now. I’ll see you Wednesday, hopefully, having gotten some more knitting done and with a tip for making an emergency hot fudge sundae :) Stay cool!
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Lovely pictures, thanks! I am ready for the emergency sundae!
Betty - Thanks, I love going to the zoo :) I also love sundaes!
We have a tiny little zoo here and the otters are ALWAYS stealing the show. They are hilarious. On days like today, I would gladly slide into their pool with them. Shew.
Laura - You’re not kidding! It’s supposed to get up into the mid-nineties this afternoon so swimming with a couple of playful otters sounds like just the ticket.
Thanks for sharing all those lovely animal pics.
We have a nice zoo here, in Taco-land, but I haven’t had a chance to attend this year.
Roxi - We love animals. There are five zoos within reasonable travelling distance (hour and a half or so) and we pick a couple to visit every summer :)
