A Hot Day At The Zoo Part II

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog post, I went to the Denver Zoo Wednesday afternoon to walk around and take a few photographs. The temperature hit 90 degrees, which meant some of the animals were hunkering down inside, enjoying the air conditioning and cable TV. Fortunately, the mandrills were out and about in their compound, including the female mandrill Kumani and Akili, her one-year-old who she holds by the hand 24/7, as seen in the photograph on the left. Whenever I see them, they look like they are terrified of something or someone. Last time I was at the zoo, I thought they were afraid of the large male mandrill, but Wednesday afternoon he was nowhere in sight. Maybe they are afraid of some of the zoo visitors. There are a lot of nuts out there these days, and perhaps they instinctively recognize true crazies. Makes sense to me.

The orangutans pretty much stayed inside on Wednesday, including 4-year-old Cerah, seen in the photograph on the right with the stub of a cigar in her mouth. Cerah's mother passed away last year, and surprisingly, her father Berani stepped into the role of caregiver, which never happens in the wild. Right before I took this photo, Cerah was sitting on her father's shoulder at the door to the compound, while a zookeeper fed them treats. I am not sure what those treats were. It looked to me like chocolate bars, but who knows for sure. I just hope one of the zoo interns brushes their teeth for them every night to prevent cavities.

The only orangutan I saw outside was the one in the photograph on the left, who popped out a door in the rear of the compound, looked around, and then hopped back inside through an entrance by the front.  Obviously, it too prefers air conditioning to 90-degree temperatures. I looked on the Denver Zoo's website to find the name of this orangutan, but wasn't able to locate it. I did, however, find out that the Denver Zoo, in partnership with National Jewish Health, is a leader in the care of male orangutans with respiratory diseases. I can just imagine the reaction of people being treated at National Jewish Hospital and finding out their roommate is an orangutan. I guess that is better than it being a Trump Republican. Orangutans, of course, are intelligent creatures, and do not insist that the 2020 election was stolen.

The Denver Zoo recently acquired two new primates, but I failed to note what kind of monkeys they are. When I arrived at their compound, there was a take-out bag lying on the ground, and they were both busy devouring its contents. Finally, one of them looked up, and I was able to take the photograph on the right. It is good to know that the zoo allows these animals to order take-out and have it delivered. Life can be good, even if you are not in the wild. Just try getting Door Dash to deliver in Borneo. All in all, it was a good day at the zoo, despite the heat. If only you could get up close and personal with these primates, it would be perfect.