last weekend we went to the los angeles zoo, which you might think means we went downtown or to compton or drove on the freeway or just walked down the street.
but we went where there are for-real furry animals and only a few crazies.
i have a real love-hate relationship with zoos. we lived just blocks from the national zoo in d.c. and i always got excited about going there and then would spend an afternoon walking around looking at animals only to leave feeling kinda depressed. tayloe sometimes tagged along and tried to cheer me up by telling me that elephants in africa hump huge red exercise balls all the time or that all the lions he saw in africa all paced back and forth or that cheetahs aren't smart enough to tell a real rock from a fake one.
the los angeles zoo is pretty nice, despite the fact it costs $10. t2 liked the seals and the zebras and the alligator. i liked the sno cones and tayloe liked keeping it real for us all at every exhibit.
tayloe: i can't believe i'm looking at a river otter at a zoo.
me: he's kind cute, though. look at him, doing little flips off the wall.
a minute or so goes by.
me: he's really having a good time doing flips off the wall. he just keeps going around and around and around.
tayloe: have you ever seen otters in the mill pond do that? have you ever seen a river otter anywhere do that, for that matter?
me, frowning: no.
tayloe (puts his arm around me and turns us around to walk away): right.
later on t2 and i were watching an elephant pace in it's "habitat" when tayloe spotted eric mccormack standing nearby. tayloe's fun to have around for this reason. he can spot celerities from 10 miles away. he never even watched will and grace.
there's a picture above with him behind us. can you see him? orange sweater & scarf, will truman style.
yeah, i didn't think it was him either (i'm all the time forgetting that we live in la and that there are famous people everywhere, even at the zoo, acting like normal folk). but then i heard him say to his little boy, "that elephant looks very unhappy" and i was just waiting to hear karen say, "well of course he's unhappy, honey. there isn't a single bar in this place.”
i think zoos confuse me because i start to get fuzzy aout who's in captivity. are we on the outside looking in? or the inside looking out?
discuss amongst yerselfs.
6 comments:
i love zoos and we're members of the LA Zoo. I do agree that animals in cages aren't un-depressing, but the conservation and research efforts of some of the best zoos in the USA do amazing work on a global level and our support is very much needed. improvements in zoo habitats are being made all the time and our admission fee is just a tiny part. okay, enough soap box. anytime you want to go to the zoo though I'm game.
Set wild animals free!
here here sarah Q!
oh, & btw... we're down with the zoo anytime too. :)
the "wildlife habitat" at zoos are a joke and everyone knows it. the animals are un-happy, bored and slowly going insane. all for your enjoyment.
jack
isnt the correct usage "hear! hear!" ?
awjeewhiz....I LOVE zoos. Am I the only one? San Diego does rank right up there at the top...although T1 and MME going to DC zoo in January was a real treat..remember the gorilla that "slapped" at MME??
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