Summer At The Zoo

I went to the Denver Zoo yesterday afternoon to take a few photographs. It was cloudy (at least for a while) and a bit cooler than recent days, and so I figured the animals would more likely be out and about than hiding in the shadows. Some were and some weren't. The lions on Predatory Ridge were all sound asleep, their backsides pointed at zoo visitors, which did not seem photogenic to me. However, many of the monkeys were willing to pose for a portrait, including the one on the left. What that expression means I do not know.

The monkey in the photograph on the right just looks plain depressed. It has that thousand-yard stare, no doubt realizing it is facing life behind bars, without ever having committed a crime. I still think the zoo should let all the monkeys run free through the zoo grounds, mixing with zoo visitors. It would definitely perk up both animals and people and make for good photographs. One of my favorite zoo photos that I took was when Klondike and Snow, two polar bear cubs, were allowed to walk back to the animal nursery at the end of the day from the polar bear compound. I happened to be there once at closing time, looked up, and saw them walking right toward me. Now THAT was fun.

The elephants didn't seem to mind the heat, either. Most of them were scooping up dirt with their trunks and spreading it on their backs to stay cool. The two elephants in the photograph on the left are, I am guessing, Jake and Chuck, bachelor elephants who arrived at the zoo from Ontario back in September of 2018. They both seemed pretty friendly and didn't mind getting close to zoo visitors.  The zoo also has three other bachelor elephants (Groucho, Bodhi, and Billy), all of whom occupy Toyota Elephant Passage, one of the largest Asian elephant exhibits in the world. Asian elephants are considered an endangered species. What I want to know is why they don't introduce some female elephants into the zoo, which might produce some babies to help eliminate their endangered status, and also make for some cute photographs. I still remember the "baby elephant walk" from the 1962 movie Hartari, which starred John Wayne as a professional wild animal trapper, capturing animals for zoos around the world. I assume that is illegal now, which is why the zoo should definitely check with Ontario to see if there are any female elephants they might want to get rid of. Doesn't hurt to ask, right?