DanMargarita.com

My last venture to the zoo proved to be very disappointing. The few animals there seemed to be stuck in small, concrete areas, as though living in the inner city was a lion’s natural habitat. I had to try to convince my young niece that pigeons were an exotic bird and were a featured exhibit. A sign on one of the cages meant to keep people from feeding the animals which read “We Bite” seemed to be as much of a motto as it was a warning.

On a beautiful Sunday afternoon I arrived to find a full parking lot, unlike my last visit when it seemed to mainly serve as a custody exchange point for divorced couples. Paying what is no longer a “suggested donation” but a $7.50 admission, I entered to find a highly vegetated landscape with many more exhibits than I expected. Clearly, while still limited by space restrictions, a lot of time and money has been put into the place.

Sure, some things were inevitably bound to change. Major, the polar bear and longtime main attraction, passed away some years ago. In his pit was a black-handed monkey, limited to a small, enclosed cage. According to a information sign, he can use his tail as “a fifth hand.” What surprised me was the idea that he even had four hands. I would’ve guess two hands, two feet and a tail.

Another type of monkey, a Emperor Tamarin, typically gives birth to twins. Let’s hope they have better sense than to dress them alike as some humans are fond of doing.

Llamas share a pen with some tiny horses. This is where the giraffes used to be located and I swear I remember some elephants being there when I was a child, but a woman working in the former giraffe house said I was mistaken. It sticks in my mind because I remember wearing my brand new mittens on a school field trip and trying to feed peanuts to the elephant. He took the peanuts from my hand and left me with a mitten moistened with elephant snot. I’m sure he remembers. The building now houses small exhibits including exotic cockroaches that you can touch, if you so desire. I passed on that one.

What surprised me was how small a roadrunner is. The sign says that their average life expectancy is eight years, presumably that’s if it’s not caught by Wile E. Coyote. I had to keep looking up to make sure I wasn’t going to be hit by an Acme anvil.

Perhaps the saddest sight was that of two reindeer. While their area was fairly restricted, they limited their movements to pacing back-and-forth in one spot with the same one leading and the other following.
Maybe they were contemplating their lengthy journey on December 25th ?

The most intimidating creature in my opinion was a pack of Mexican Gray Wolves, which is a bit of a misnomer as the info card says that “Wolves come in different colors, just like people.”

Wolves also travel in packs, feed on smaller mammals and will rip your throats out, given the chance…just like people.

Exotic birds such as the Great Hornbill, are on display. Apparently, “after mating, the pair seals the opening of the tree hole with mud, leaving a slit just large enough to feed the female and the young and eject droppings.” No mention is made if the male then watches a ballgame on TV.

One of the fundraisers listed on the guide pamphlet is to “Zoodopt an animal” meaning that you can “adopt your favorite animal for $35.” I don’t know about you, but I find house cleaning enough of a chore. If I want a 500 pound roommate who throws his dung against the wall, I’ll join a college fraternity.

Congratulations to the folks that changed the zoo from being a sorry concrete jungle to a place that albeit cramped, is more akin to an animal’s natural habitat. My niece is now too old to believe that pigeons are an endangered species.