Butterfly Garden; into frame from Bronx Zoo, New York, USA

Butterfly on a flower

Butterfly Garden at Bronx Zoo, Interested?? >>

Beijing is actually home to three public aquariums, but the one I’m covering here is actually inside the Beijing Zoo, though it can be visited separately hence the separate review. It’s also big enough in its own right to warrant a separate review since it can easily occupy three or four hours of your time. It’s rather new having been open only since 2003 I believe.

The layout is one that seems to be increasingly common – a series of relatively small tanks designed to cover the variety of a given ecosystem and then a mammoth tank or two occupied by huge animals or a massive array of species. It starts in the ‘Amazon’ with the usual fare (and some nice oddities like giant salamanders) with numerous small exhibits and two large ones containing giants like arapaima and pacu and then a whole host of several hundred arowana.

We go from here to an open-top reef tank and the first major set-up – home to several dozen sharks and rays with massive windows and rather nice ‘bubble’ windows that allow you to stick your head into the tank. To the side of this area is the marine mammals hall which features just sealions and bottlenose dolphins. Though I freely concede that I’m generally not happy to see dolphins captive, they certainly have lots of room and seem to be doing well enough.

The central attraction however is the main reef tank, all three stories of it with two viewing tunnels and several huge windows. It’s filled with a large number of reef fish, turtles, big eagle rays, groups and more. It is exceptionally well constructed and unlike many tanks of this kind, has lots of smaller fish and not just the bigger ones so it really feels like a community and not just a display. Again, laid out around the main tank are numerous smaller ones with various sealife (though as elsewhere here it’s mostly just fish – not that there’s anything wrong with fish in an aquarium I should hasten to add, but the odd invertebrate beyond coral would be nice).

That’s it really. It’s pretty big, it’s pretty good, it’s pretty well set up. One major quibble would be the cost (compared to other Chinese days out it’s steep – 10 times the cost of the entry to the zoo it’s in for example) and as ever there were very few signs for anything which is always annoying. Still, well worth and afternoon of your time if you have noting better going and it certainly holds up for repeat visits.

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That I am so obsessed with Bejeweled Blitz. Maybe it’s the beautiful clinking sounds like a toast is about to be made, or it could be the loud explosions when one of the special gems blow up; or perhaps it’s just my innate competitive nature that I must be 1st in the online tournament with my friends.

I was in first. Now I’m in 3rd. This makes me mad. So in an effort to raise my score, I have been playing this game ALL THE TIME–at stop lights, between study breaks, during class (art history mind you), and even going UP AND DOWN STAIRS.

I fear this will interfere with my work, but until it actually does…I’ll keep playing.

in other news..

I went to Houston this weekend, and it was absolutely FANTASTIC. I got there about 2 pm, and Stephanie and I just chilled for a majority of the time. We laid in her bed and talked (just talked) and chilled. We didn’t do much of anything until we were hungry. This is when we decided to go to KFC. Afterwards, we went back to her grandpa’s house and waited for her best friend Matt to get there. Matt is a really chill gay guy. I mention that he’s gay not because I am or that I really care, but 99% of the time I strongly dislike gay guys. They’re most of the time way too dramatic, and I just don’t fly with that. Anyway, Matt gained even more brownie points by suggesting hookah that night. We found this place downtown, and we had to pay the security to let us in (we were under 21). I must say, it was the best hookah I’d ever had. Seriously, it hands down kicked every San Antonio hookah bar EVER.

It was about 11-1130 when Stephanie and Matt both thought it’d be funny to take me to my first porn shop. Upon arriving, I turned beat red and didn’t know what to do with myself. They both had a good laugh at my expense, but seriously…it was awkward, haha. I have to say though…the store was really brightly lit, and I didn’t feel as if I were some dirt old bastard. So, that…was the upside. The downside was that I didn’t  know what I was doing. I just kept my hands to myself and just looked around. Finally we left about midnight, maybe 1230, and we get into my car–she won’t start. For some reason my key won’t turn in the ignition. Stephanie was driving Becca (my car, yes…I named my car), and so I didn’t know what happened. I knew that at some points my car will just refuse to turn with the key, but on the off occasions it would be because the steering wheel was locked. After about 10-15 minutes of trying to start Becca and even thumbing through the manual, I noticed that infact the steering wheel was locked. Once Becca greeted us with a friendly chuckle, we all drove to Jack in the Box then back to Stephanie’s.

By this time it was about 1 in the morning. I changed my clothes and was ready to crash (I’d been up since 6 am). I stayed up with Matt and Stephanie only a little while as they talked with Stephanie’s Papa. Soon after we all got into Steph’s room and started talking, listening to music, and what-have-you. I fell asleep almost instantly, but I overheard Stephanie tell Matt endearingly that I am the fastest sleeper in the whole world (it’s true).

Around 4 AM the three of us were uncomfortable sleeping in one full sized bed, and so Matt moved to Steph’s papa’s room, as he was out duck/dove hunting. I woke up for about an hour and talked to Steph until I finally fell back to sleep.

Saturday: we woke up around 1 pm. Matt started hounding Stephanie to get up so we could all go to the zoo! Around 2 we all got out of bed, and I started the domino effect by taking a quick shower and getting dressed. About an hour later, we all on our way out to the Houston Zoo! We stayed there for a couple of hours. Stephanie got attacked and eaten by mosquitos. Afterwards we went out to eat, got some tequila, margarita mix, and had ourselves a fine evening.

I must say that I’m pleasantly surprized on how well this relationship is going (thus far). there have been no crazy arguments, crazy demands, expectations, or anything of the sort. It’s easy. It’s natural. It’s right.

This thanksgiving we’re frying TWO turkeys, AND my favorite aunt and uncle are coming in town. It shall be fantastic and amazing. I’m working the next few days, right up until Wednesday to help prepare the store for black friday. I’ll be making about 30 hours this week. Can we say, money in the bank? I think so.

It has also been decided that I’ll be going back to UTSA this spring. I’ll talk all about that in my next post. I’ve got 2 tests I must take TOMORROW. I better get to studying.

Nowe ZOO wzbogaciło się o kilka nowych okazów – przyjechały nowe ptaki, które dołączą do już przebywających w Poznaniu, aby utworzyć z nimi pary. Ponadto narodziły się kolejne młode!

Pierwszym nabytkiem jest samiec kariamy czerwononogiej (Cariama cristata), który przyjechał do Poznania z wiedeńskiego ZOO. Jest jeszcze bardzo młody, dlatego też jest jeszcze płochliwy i powoli przyzwyczaja się do nowych warunków. Ma stworzyć parę z samicą, która już od jakiegoś czasu mieszka w poznańskim ZOO. Nie będzie to jednak łatwe zadanie, gdyż poprzedni partner nie miał z nią lekkiego życia – była wobec niego agresywna i bardzo długo trwało, zanim go zaakceptowała.
Oba ptaki nie zostaną jednak na razie połączone, gdyż przebywają w oddzielnych boksach na “zimowisku”, czyli zimowych wolierach w części ZOO przy ulicy Browarnej, gdzie przebywają ptaki podczas chłodniejszych dni. Nic to jednak straconego, gdyż będą się widziały przez siatkę ogrodzenia (gdyż ich woliery sąsiadują ze sobą), dzięki czemu będą się mogły do siebie przyzwyczaić.
Warto zapamiętać, że – obecnie już  – dwie kariamy czerwononogie, to jedyne okazy tego gatunku w polskich ogrodach zoologicznych!

Kariama czerwononoga doczekała się nowego partnera

Kariama czerwononoga jest dużym ptakiem z rzędu żurawiowych, a w środowisku naturalnym zamieszkuje trawiaste przestrzenie Ameryki Południowej.
Mamy nadzieję że wiosną będziemy mogli zobaczyć oba ptaki tworzące zgodną parę i być może doczekamy się małych kariam:)

W przyszłości parę ma stworzyć również kolejny nabytek poznańskiego ZOO, bardzo jeszcze młoda samiczka marabuta, która przyjechała z ZOO w Cottbus. Dołączy ona do mieszkającego w Poznaniu już od lat samca, któremu po stracie swej poprzedniej partnerki doskwierała samotność. Trzeba jednak poczekać aż samiczka dojrzeje i będzie gotowa utworzyć związek ale i w tym przypadku mamy nadzieje, że wszystko się ułoży.

Również dla wspaniałego marabuta afrykańskiego skończył się czas samotności

Podobnie jak kariamy, para marabutów również przebywa na zimowisku i zamieszkują osobne woliery, ale na pewno będziemy je mogli podziwiać już wiosną na wybiegu sawanny.
Oprócz poznańskiego ZOO, marabuta afrykańskiego możemy w Polsce zobaczyć jeszcze w ZOO w Krakowie (aż 4 sztuki!), Łodzi (jeden okaz), Warszawie (para) oraz we Wrocławiu (dwie pary) – krajowa kolekcja liczy zatem już 13 sztuk.
Marabut jest dużym (rozpiętość skrzydeł sięga 3 metrów!) mięsożernym ptakiem z rodziny bocianowatych, zamieszkującym sawannę Afryki.

Oprócz przybyłych do Poznania ptaków, ZOO wzbogaciło się także o nowych lokatorów, którzy niedawno przyszli na świat.
25 października w ogródku dziecięcym urodziła się klaczka kucyka szetlandzkiego, która otrzymała imię Mila. Ma bardzo przyjazny charakter, jest odważna i chętnie podchodzi do zwiedzających, a czasem pozwala się nawet pogłaskać po gęstej grzywie.

Jeden z kuców szetlandzkich zamieszkujących ogródek dziecięcy w Nowym ZOO

Zaledwie kilka dni później urodziła sie natomiast kolejna mała koza karłowata – samiczka, która otrzymała imię Maleństwo:) Jest jeszcze bardzo malutka i fantastycznie ubarwiona i z pewnością – podobnie jak pozostałe kózki – zyska sympatię zwłaszcza wśród najmłodszych zwiedzających.

Malutka koza karłowata, która przyszła na świat latem, również w ogródku dziecięcym

Zdjęcia maluchów – kucyka i kózki – postaramy się wrzucić w najbliższy weekend, jak tylko udamy się w kolejne odwiedziny do Nowego ZOO.

After the death of all of it’s polar bears, presumably because being dead is simply a more reasonable and respectable lifestyle choice than being a polar bear in St. Louis, the St. Louis Zoo has decided to make the most retarded decision possible over what to do for their Christmas display. That decision? To replace the dead bears with animatronic facsimiles. Which is to say, robotic polar bears.

Merry Fucking Christmas, Kids.

Really shitty robotic polar bears.

You can tell this is a retarded decision because PETA supports it, and it’s a well known fact that PETA is a front group for the meat industry designed to make every person who has even a semblance of respect for animal rights look like a brain damaged asshole through the consistently ludicrous, offensive and well publicized actions of PETA.

While Gizmodo expressed the completely reasonable concern that the development of a robot bear army is bad news, there is worse to this decision than just it’s implications in the inevitable robot uprising. It will serve as a nightmarish warning to the rest of the zoo’s charges, who will only be able to reasonably conclude that their departed bretheren have been returned to them in a state of horrific un-life, unable even in death to escape the dread clutches of St. Louis.

The folks at Chuck E. Cheese have to be fucking elated at this development though, knowing that they have a whole slew of new business opportunities building shitty robotic versions of actual animals that are too difficult or expensive for small zoos to acquire or keep. Did your rare white tiger get mauled to death by a pair of lions? Why not replace it with a version that costs half as much, never needs medical care or food, and erupts into a rousing chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’ every hour on the hour?

And why stop at making inroads into crafting zoo animals that can also play the banjo and terrify children? When real polar bears go extinct in ten years, we can just place animatronic bears on ice floes to star in our wildlife films and keep elephant seals in their fucking place.

We’ve been doing more and more things without the stroller. The girls are very used to walking into places holding your hand, and they’re generally well behaved while doing it. It’s nice not to have to drag out the stroller for every stop we make. I made plans to meet up with a coworker at the zoo last weekend and decided to try it strollerless. The indoor trail that we’d likely go on is difficult with a stroller anyway, so I decided to go for it. It went really well! It was fun to watch the girls navigate their freedom, although most of it was navigated at a dead run.

Still not tall enough!

Delaney was not so sure about this bamboo “door”.

The plan was to take the first monorail, but with all of the running, I wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of containing them for any length of time, so instead we hit the park. The last time I was at the zoo this park wasn’t finished. It’s so nice! I was worried the girls would be too young, but they did awesome. My coworker commented that my girls are very athletic. I hadn’t really thought about it, but they are. They run, they climb, they slide, they are all over the place.

EPISODE 45

Hello, welcome to the Carolyn and Joe Show Zoo. This weeks special guest are the one and only Carolyn and Joe! Yes, they’re back and ready for action. On this weeks thanksgiving episode Carolyn and Joe run amok on many subjects like, Kevin Smith!, Joe’s adult store documentary, Peter Jackson, Curls meeting Dave Navarro, how the mail man left Joe’s blu player in the rain,how twitter equals titter, and being woken up by Pamela Anderson, plus much, MUCH MORE! You can only find it here, so enjoy.

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1919 - The Giraffe

Click pic for full size.  View the full collection at  clicksypics.com.  To find out how these are created, go here.

Swissinfo.ch reports that Saturday a mentally handicapped man was mauled by a bear after jumping the enclosure fence at Bären Park, a Swiss zoo. Finn, the 4-year-old European Brown Bear, inflicted non-fatal wounds to the head and leg of the 25-year-old man. He climbed over an area of the wall that was 13 foot tall from the inside but was just about 4 foot tall and blocked by a stair rail from the viewing area. Police arrived 5 min later and shot the bear trying to save the man. Finn retreated back to a cave and the intruder was removed from the enclosure. 

After the incident Finn was examined by vets and it was decided that since the bullet shattered in his body, it was best to leave the fragments. Finn is doing better and is being treated with high-dose antibiotics, analgesics and cardiovascular drugs. Although Finn is avoiding movement he is alert and eating. Bären Park says they will be able to better assess his chances of survival in the coming days.

Finn  (4-years-old) 

I think its sad that in situations like this its really the animals that suffers. When you intrude on a wild animals territory what do you think is going to happen? I dont know what part of hanging out with carnivores that are bigger, stronger, and faster that you; seems like a good idea. You pretty much would have to be retarded to hop in a pit with bears… Ironically in this case….

If Darwin were alive today I think he would shed a tear…

Two lions burgled the enclosure of a rare white tiger at a zoo in the Czech Republic, killing the occupant, BBC News reports.

The big cat blue-on-blue is attributed to the zoo’s peculiar cage rotation policy. Lions and tigers share nocturnal accommodation in the same “pavilion”, and are released into separate open-air enclosures at daybreak.

But for reasons that are not at all clear, the external habitats are assigned to different species on a rota system.

The friendly-fang incident took place when the two lions — Sultan and Elsa — prised open a trap door leading to their previous accommodation, perhaps in an attempt to reclaim their old territory, and surprised Isabella, the new occupant.

Staff rushed to respond to the tigress’ cries for help, but in vain.

Head-scratching zoo director David Nejedlo told the BBC: “The current security system has been in place for 12 years and such an accident has never happened before.”

Kyung Jae Kim + Yong Ju Lee

Proposal for Vertical Zoo Competition

Kyung  Jae Kim + Yong Ju Lee

Proposal for Vertical Zoo Competition

Zapraszamy na kolejny, poniedziałkowy raport aktualności.

ZOO ŁÓDŹ

Nowe zwierzaki w łódzkim zoo, a wśród nich niezwykłe turaki fioletowe!

Turako fioletowy

W sobotę do łódzkiego zoo zawitali nowi mieszkańcy. Z zoo we francuskiej Miluzie przyjechały dwa samce turaka fioletowego, zwane również – z racji upodobań kulinarnych – bananojadami.
Turaki fioletowe posiadają niezwykłą właściwość – ich pióra, które są rzecz jasna koloru fioletowego, zawierają czerwony, rozpuszczalny w wodzie barwnik – turacynę, która sprawia, że kałuża, w której wykąpie się stadko turaków fioletowych, zamienia się w czerwony barszczyk. Ale dzieje się tak tylko w kontakcie z wodą – w przypadku dotknięcia turaka, na pewno nie pobrudzimy sobie rąk – chyba że będą mokre:).
W warunkach naturalnych turaki fioletowe zamieszkują tropikalne lasy deszczowe Afryki.
Dwa samce, które trafiły do Łodzi, to rodzeństwo – para samców, co jest o tyle istotne, gdyż w populacji europejskiej samce są o wiele rzadsze, niż samice. Na 205 okazów w europejskich ogrodach zoologicznych, tylko 61 to samce.Dla przykładu ostatnio w Barcelonie urodziło się aż sześć małych turaków -same samiczki!
Łódzkie ZOO ma w planach sprowadzenie w niedługim czasie dla pary turaków partnerek, dzięki którym można byłoby założyć stadko.
Oprócz Łodzi, turaki fioletowe w Polsce można zobaczyć jeszcze w ZOO w Gdańsku (jeden samczyk), Opolu (2 samce i 2 samice), Warszawie (samiec i 2 samice) oraz we Wrocławiu (2 samce i 2 samice).

Turaki fioletowe nie są jedynymi ptakami, które przyjechały do Łodzi w ten weekend. Oprócz nich przyjechał także samiec ary zielonej, para ar zielonoskrzydłych oraz dwie wyjątkowo rzadkie kaczki, piżmówki malajskie, które są w łódzkim zoo jako jedynym w Polsce.

STARE ZOO POZNAŃ

W związku z aktualnie przeprowadzanymi pracami remontowymi na dachu budynku, znajdujące się na terenie Starego ZOO Muzeum Wiedzy o Środowisku (zawierające m.in. bogatą ekspozycję wypchanych eksponatów polskiej fauny) będzie nieczynne do 15 grudnia.

Muzeum Wiedzy o Środowisku w Starym ZOO będzie nieczynne do 15 grudnia

ZOO BRANIEWO

Nie milkną echa tzw. “afery niedźwiedziej”, którą rozpętał opublikowany już blisko dwa miesiące temu raport o warunkach życia niedźwiedzi w polskich ogrodach zoologicznych, stworzony przez parę wrocławskich naukowców, Agnieszkę Sergiel i Roberta Maślaka.
Tym razem Radio Gdańsk i trójmiejska Gazeta Wyborcza zwracają uwagę na brak jakichkolwiek zmian w ZOO w Braniewie, które uznano za miejsce o najgorszych warunkach do trzymania niedźwiedzi. Niestety, w ciągu dwóch miesięcy, jakie minęły od publikacji raportu, nic się właściwie nie zmieniło i co gorsza – raczej na razie nie zmieni. Nie udało się znaleźć żadnych chętnych na braniewskie misie a dyrekcja Mini-ZOO (bo braniewski ogród nie ma licencji ani statusu Ogrodu Zoologicznego) rozkłada ręce twierdząc, że…nic się nie da zrobić. Nawet z urozmaiceniem betonowej nawierzchni, na której żyją misie oraz z usprawnieniem dostępu do czystej wody…
Co gorsza – ani kontrole, ani oficjalne pisma ze strony świata naukowców i dyrektorów polskich ZOO zrzeszonych w EAZA nie przyniosły żadnych skutków.

Mamy nadzieję, że sprawa znajdzie jednak szczęśliwy finał i – podobnie jak w przypadku niedźwiedzi z Leszna – ktoś bardziej zainteresuje się całą sytuacją i podejmie stanowcze działania interwencyjne.
Mrówkojad na pewno będzie śledził rozwój sytuacji i informował o jakichkolwiek postępach.

Olhe esse exemplo de chifarada amor animal:

Que história boneteenha, quase chorei o macaco além de levar a galha, perdoou a vadia da sua “esposa”, e de quebra assumiu um filho que não é seu, e para quebrar de vez, o macaquinho, oriundo de uma copulaçao assistida pelo funcionário do zoológico, foi batizado com o nome do Ricardão! que burro

Vendo essa reportagem (sem utilidade nenhuma) , me lembrei desse clipe do massacration:

‘Cos tonight you are the bull

These cute animals are literally right at your fingertips when you use this cool fingerprint technique.  Using your fingerprints and a pen, the possibilities are endless and you can create an entire zoo full of animals!  This is a great beginner project that can get a little messy if you don’t keep an eye on the ink pad.  To help keep things under control, make sure the ink is washable and that you have plenty of soap and water on hand!

Things you will need:

• A washable ink pad in the color of your choice
• A pen or fine-tip marker
• A piece of paper or note cards

Steps: Simply press your finger into the ink then press it firmly on your piece of paper.  Next, follow the guides below to create the different animals.  Try experimenting and see what you can come up with!

Bird

Cat

Fish

Monkey

Pig

Congratulations!  You are well on your way to creating a thumbprint zoo!  Use your imagination and see how many different animals you can come up with.  Have you done this project?  Did you do it differently?  Please feel free to share your comments and pictures in the comments section!

Una coppia di panda rossi

Forse non tutti lo sanno ma il Jardin des Plantes, situato nel quinto arrondissement di Parigi, oltre a essere una rilassante oasi di verde che permette ai parigini piú stressati di staccare la spina con la routine metropolitana, custodisce un coloratissimo zoo.
La ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes (ovvero lo zoo di Parigi), creata nel 1794, saprà catturare l’interesse di adulti e bambini con i suoi numerosissimi animali.

Situato a pochi passi dalla Grande Moschea di Parigi e dal Pantheon, lo zoo accoglie svariate razze di animali: mammiferi, uccelli, rettili, anfibi e invertebrati. Passeggiando  tra scimmie e tigri, coccodrilli e serpenti, scoprirete questo microcosmo animale nel cuore di Parigi.
La politica dello zoo, visto che non ha grandissime dimensioni, è quella di accogliere animali di piccola taglia; non sperate, quindi, di trovarvi giraffe o elefanti.

Uno dei personaggi simbolo del posto è Nenette, un simpatico orangotango che da parecchi anni vive nello zoo con il figlio Tubo e che spesso accetta di sorridere ai visitatori.
Il mio animale preferito dello zoo e il panda rosso…e il vostro?

Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes
57, rue Cuvier
75005 Paris

Tutti i giorni dalle 07:30 alle 17:30 

Just returned from a lovely mini-getaway in Lille, France. (just 1 hour and 15 minutes by Eurostar from London St. Pancras)  This city has everything you need for a short get away.  Lovely shops, beautiful buildings, museums, food markets, gorgeous food and even a zoo, all packed into this quaint little town called Lille.

Hotel Des Tours

I decided to book this holiday to celebrate my husband’s birthday.  We stayed at  Hotel des Tours , centrally located in the heart of Lille’s Old Town.  We had a lovely stay.  As with most European cities, hotel room size is small but it had everything we need – TV, mini bar, good comfy bed, bright and clean bathroom with modern hair dryer.  Hot breakfast was included every morning and check out time is 12pm.  The Concierge pleasant.  I requested a birthday cake delivery to our room prior to arrival and it was done with ease.

Minor set backs…

• The drain in the bathtub made a loud noise during the night
• there was smell of cigarettes in the hall that seeped into our room from neighbours who were smoking (even though this is supposed to be a smoke-free hotel).  However, it wasn’t worth complaining for a 2 nights’ stay.

Hotel de la Treille

I’ve stayed in Lille before (Aug 2009) at a different hotel (Hotel de la Treille) and it’s also centrally located and quite lovely.  No smoke of cigarettes.  The room size is decent with flat screen TV, minibar.

No safe in the room itself and the bathroom in our suite was rather dark but clean.  It also had a funny looking old-style hair dryer that I can’t help but post a photo here to share…

It does the job and dried my hair but if you’re looking for ultimate chic and modern, then this hotel is perhaps not for you. Breakfast was included (price per night is a little more expensive than Hotel des Tours) with fresh french bread, deli meats, cheese, mini croissants and lovely spread each morning.  The staff were professional and efficient and friendly.

Sights & Attractions

Make your way to the Grand’ Place and allow yourself to get just a little lost to discover the beautiful city of Lille.  Below are some highlights and fun attractions.

Cathedrale Notre Dame de la Treille – The foundation of this cathedral was laid in 1854.  Europe’s last cathedral to be built in the 19th century.

Palais des Beaux Arts (France’s 2nd national museum after the Louvre) – great works by Old Masters from across Europe.  There is a tearoom and shop in the atrium.

Marche de Wazemmes (Wazemmes Market) – flea market, flower market and food market, great for Sunday mornings.

Grand’ Place – The wide Flemish square that’s the hub of all life in Lille.

Parc Zoologique de Lille – The city zoo has big cats, zebras, monkeys, rhinos.  A must see and it’s FREE!

Trying to work in my sketchbook more often lately, working into a habit of it. Here is one of my fun sketches.

The Nov./Dec. 2009 issue of Zoogoer Magazine is now online! Features interesting, in-depth articles on the culinary team that feeds the Zoo’s endangered species, Ostrichs, Mehgan Murphy’s beautiful photographs, and a How Do You Zoo? on wild animal veterinarian Carlos Sanchez–written by me! Of course it’s better in person but please peruse the issue online.

So I am sitting here in my room in the dutch zoo, drinking a beer and having a stroopwaffel. In an earlier post I told you, that I might reveal the mystery around the tiger in the netherlands. Well, it is quite easy. When I was seven, which is the age of a young adult in tiger years, I wanted to explore the world and find the meaning of life, or at least the meaning of my life.

But traveling for a tiger is not easy. Humans tend to think you are a thread to their society and lifes. Still I managed to have quite a journey and I visited a lot of places and met a lot of people. Some where nice, some not, but as they are afraid of my claws and teeth, they tend to not come to close. Which has its negative and positive side.

However, somehow I got caught by some dutch hunters and now I am spending some years in this dutch zoo. Not forever though. I guess it will be around 4-5 years. At least, that will be the time I am occupied with doing things. Like drinking beer and eating stroopwaffels. Or writing this blog, for that matter.

After that I don’t exactly know where to go. Maybe Kenya. They seem to have tigers as well and they even dance:

God said

“Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” … And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.”

And then I’m pretty sure He said, “Ok, now put them all in cages and call it a Zoo.”

The San Antonio Zoo – what a complex place. On one hand, I see the animals pacing and I’m genuinely moved by pity for them. Why do we insist on doing this to God’s creation. On the other hand, we can’t exactly get to the middle of the ocean to see the life there, take pictures in Australia, Asia and do a safari in Africa and still make it back in time to get the horses fed. But, we can at the zoo.

I’m a reader. It’s unfortunate, but true. Sometimes it leads to information overload and inaction. But today it lead to an appreciation of a place I have always loved. I have always enjoyed the Zoo, so I was thrilled when my wife wanted to go there for her birthday. There were signs near every exhibit. Some animals were endangered – being studied and bred to save them from extinction. Some had been injured, like the bald eagle shown above. And yes, I’m sure some of them are simply too much of an attraction to not have on display. But what a blessing to some of the people who have no knowledge, or understanding, of nature and it’s wildlife.

SpiritualHorseman.com usually focuses on inspiration and take action types of posts. Well, today we rest.

Job 12:7 says:

Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you.

So get outside. Relax. And Rest In Him.

Here are some clips from our fun and relaxing trip to the San Antonio Zoo.

This guy is 6000 lbs and can get up to 30 miles per hour. Damn.