More From The Denver Zoo

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I visited the Denver Zoo on Wednesday to take a few photographs and enjoy the sunny and relatively warmer weather (it hit 41 degrees in the afternoon).  However, not too many people seemed to agree with me about the weather, since the zoo was relatively empty.  There was, however, a small crowd that gathered to see a show put on by a seal and it's trainer, as seen in the photograph on the left.  The seal saluted it's trainer, did a batman impression, leapt up and hit a ball with it's head, and showed how it evades predators (although I assume the zoo doesn't actually put predators in with those seals).

There were also a few visitors in the ape house, where gorillas are kept on one side of the building, and orangutans on the other.  Sadly, the gorilla baby and it's parents were sent to the Jacksonville Zoo in hopes they can grow their family there. There are still 3 bachelor gorillas that remain in Denver, including the one in the photograph on the right interacting with a family and posing for a group photo.

What I want to know what is happening with Cerah, the baby orangutan.  I have not seen it in a long time, and when I check on the zoo's website, the only mention I see is a celebration for it's first birthday, back in March of last year.  The older orangutans are still out and about, including the one in the photograph on the left, no doubt enjoying the sunny, cool weather.  I must say, the inside of their compound is a mess, filled with hay and various objects put in there to amuse those animals. It is such a mess that somebody reported the state of the place to the newspapers, who after talking to zoo officials, reported that this was just how the orangutans like it.  Kind of like me, I guess.

As I was leaving the zoo, I walked through the monkey house, where I ran across the red-tailed lemur in the photograph on the right.  This poor thing looks really hostile, and I can't blame it.  It is kept in an inside cage all the time, and has probably never seen the outside world.  No wonder it is so angry and bitter. The zoo should definitely put it in an outside compound once in a while and let it feel what a natural environment is like. In any case, I think that if you want to take really good photographs at the zoo, it is best when there are few other visitors, so that you will be the focus of these animal's attention.  In other words, stay away from free days, where the odds of being trampled to death or run over by thousands of baby strollers is a real possibility. Stay safe out there, people!