Mid-Winter At The Zoo Part II

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog post, I went to the Denver Zoo this past Monday to take a few photographs. The weather was pleasant, and all the animals were out and about, although it was still a bit of a challenge to take photographs of the new zoo babies. Try as I might, I was not able to get a photograph of the baby mandrill looking straight at me. The eyes are the window to the soul, after all, and I was hoping to see what was in the soul of an 8-month-old mandrill. I suspect nothing.

Dealing with a baby mandrill must be pretty hard work. These creatures were wandering all around the compound, and the mother was constantly leading its baby by the hand, which as you can see from the photograph on the right, was a point of contention between the two. I wonder what Doctor Spock would have said about this situation? And does anyone out there still remember Doctor Spock, author of the bestselling book Baby and Child Care? If you do, you are old, like me. And no, he was not related to Mr. Spock of Star Trek fame.

As for the baby orangutan, it's mother covered it up with her arms the entire time I was there. And I was there quite a while. The photograph on the left was the best I could do. And I have to say, if that mother keeps that baby on such a short leash for much longer, it will grow up with lots of issues some zoo psychologist will have to deal with for years to come. And I imagine that their per-hour rates are just as high as regular psychologists. Of course, I am probably not the first person to mention this. I am pretty sure that orangutan mother in the photo is saying to someone "Me? You're trying to tell me how to raise a child? Give me a break"

The Denver Zoo, by the way, was founded in 1896, and is located in City Park. And it is indeed very much like a park, and would be a pleasure to walk through even without the animals. It is filled with trees and flowers, and is one of the top zoos in the country. The photograph on the right was taken at the Toyota Elephant Passage, which is home to the largest herd of bachelor Asian elephants in the country. The theme of the plaza is, of course, Asian, and they even have a classic tuk-tuk that hordes of children can crawl over to their heart's content. I am still waiting to see elephants being driven around in one of those Toyotas, but I suspect I will be waiting a long time. All in all, despite those minor disappointments, it was a very pleasant day at the zoo, in the heart of winter.