Carol Kroll

Lesson Learned

I had a little time yesterday afternoon in-between things to visit my local zoo.

Who’s there on a Monday afternoon? I will give you time to guess.

a. nobody
b. just the animals and zookeepers
c. everybody and their brother

If you answered “c” you would be correct! And that much closer to an A+ about the human condition than I am.

Seriously. What. The. Hell.

BUS LOADS of humans. Yes. The buses were lined up all over the place.

But I was brave. I fought my strong disdain of crowds and obliviously annoying people and went in anyway.

However (and this is where the lesson was learned) I forgot one very important piece of equipment.

My headphones.

This will have to be my helmet for my next visit. Nobody actually SAID anything to me, but when you are trying to concentrate and people are invading your space, it isn’t very easy to get in a good groove. I was able to get some gestures down of sleeping kangaroos (because nobody wants to look at sleeping animals apparently)…

…but the rest of the time I just watched the animals. Which was interesting because inbetween waves of shouting people, the animals would come over and investigate me. As soon as waves of shouting people came (and sometimes they would shout RIGHT AT THE ANIMALS) the animals would walk away and go back to sleeping. In silent protest if you will. I loved that.

Another thing I witnessed from just watching the giraffes, was their interesting way of eating grass. They had to fold themselves up, LITERALLY, to lay down on the grass. When they got up, they had to rock back and forth to do that. It was quite the sight to see.

Another thing that fascinated me were the parents of children. But more in a train wreck sort of way. How many times kids went up to the Rhinos and said “Look Mommy! An Elephant!” was answered back with the same exaggerated enthusiasm “That’s right! It’s an Elephant!” when the sign next to their heads clearly explains why they are missing a trunk and about 20 other features:

WHITE RHINOCEROS – Vanishing
Scientific Name: Ceratotherium simum

Habitat: Southern and Central Africa with long and short grass savannahs (treeless plains or grasslands characterized by scattered trees, especially in regions having seasonal rains).

Diet: As herbivores, they eat grass, succulent plants and other vegetation.

Life Span: About 40 – 50 years

Reproduction: Females reach maturity at about six years. After mating, the females will usually have one calf after a gestation period of 15 – 18 months. The calf will stay with its mother for two to three years.

Fact: The White Rhino has survived for over 40 million years, but is now endangered because of poaching (illegal hunting) and the destruction of its natural habitat.

Now.

How hard would it be to say “Oh! You were close, but its a Rhino!”

?

Expecting too much? Perhaps? Am I?

I personally was struck by the fact they look so prehistoric and had my suspicions confirmed by the handy dandy little sign that stands in front of their cages that I now affectionately call their addresses.

Another animal that was often mistaken by many obliviators and their young, was this guy. I watched the two Malayan Tapirs for a long time. How does snobby pants Carol know this was their name? I read the gigantic sign in front of their cage.

No sketches, just observing. They paced wildly in their small cubicle. I felt bad or them, really. I was also looking for signs of them looking like this animal, but I just really couldn’t see it. Plenty of parents told their kids this is what they were though.

In my internet search to find examples of my fine new friends at the zoo, I found this fine book that I will see if my local library system carries. I’m sure I will end up in bed with the shades pulled for weeks on end and softly sobbing to myself after I read it, but it still seems quite interesting.