When we decided to go to the zoo on Easter Sunday, we hoped the crowds would be limited due to the holiday and the weather would be decent. We were right about both! What we didn’t expect was that the day would come back to animals mating as often as it did.
Last time we went to the zoo, we saw mostly the Native Florida animals, the South American creatures, and most of the animals from Down Under. We figured today we would check out the Australian Lorikeet aviary we’d missed the last time, and the African animals. We started by taking a train halfway around the zoo. From the train, we were able to catch glimpses of just about all of the African enclosures. We got to ooh and ahh over the elephants, giraffes, and zebras from a distance. We saw native Floridian birds (storks, I think?) using some of the trees in the African area for their nests! A whole flock of these huge white birds with long beaks were perched in one tree. Some had nests, others did not. The tree was alive with them, though. The train let us off very near the aviary we wanted to visit, which worked out well.
The lorikeets were fun. They seemed to enjoy hanging upside down by one foot, looking like brightly colored bats draped across the roof netting of the enclosure. We saw several of the free flying birds land on other visitors, but none of us were so blessed. We did, however, find one bright red ‘keet which earned the nickname of “Thief” from Jillian. The other birds would politely sip from the tiny cups of nectar we offered them as a treat. “Thief” felt we humans were not up to the task. He stole my cup, dumping the nectar to the floor and then dropping the cup with disdain. He did the same to Toph, taking the time to slurp the last remains from the mostly empty cup he’d stolen. That ‘keet had personality, that’s for sure. Other keets did not have food on their minds. I saw one pair obviously involved in a mating ritual. One had it’s wings half spread, it’s head was weaving back and forth and it’s beak was open as it hissed at its chosen mate, who ignored the theatrics.
Moving on to the African area, we finally came to the rhinoceroses. I commented to X that one of his favorite people loved rhinos. Toph smirked. “You remember why she started liking them in the first place, right?” I shook my head, unable to recall why she liked them so much. After the kids had wandered a few feet away, I whispered “Why does she like them?” “Rhinos have the largest penises of all land animals,” he said. I choked and laughed. I was still laughing about it several minutes later as we moved away from the rhinos.
Later, we ate lunch (zoo food = expensive food), we pressed some coins (a tradition for our little family) and we walked out the pier to look at the river. From there, we went to the vast kids Play Park to let them run free for awhile. When we were finally done with that, the only thing left on our plan at the zoo today was to see the Giraffes.
There was a wooden boardwalk leading to a raised platform for viewing the extremely tall giraffes. The view from the platform was vast, although the breeze had a nip to it there. We watched a baby giraffe trot after two older ones. We watched two others approach the platform for the leafed branches a zoo keeper was holding out to them. For $2.00 we could have fed the giraffes a branch too! We opted just to watch from the side. They were beautiful! Their heads stood as tall or taller than the platform we stood on. And then my gaze drifted back to the giraffes in the distance. There was another pair there, one short and one taller. The taller one wouldn’t seem to let the shorter one move away. The short one would step a few paces away, and the taller one would follow closely. It quickly dawned on me that mating was on their minds…or at least, that the tall one (the male) had it on his mind. Meanwhile, the children were still watching the two closest to the platform eat their goodies. The adults on the platform were slowly realizing the mating dance that was happening in the distance. Bawdy jokes were being passed around, spoken in polite euphemisms safe for children’s ears. Everyone was chuckling. I got a glimpse of parts of a giraffe I didn’t need to see, ever. Even from a distance, you couldn’t mistake the male giraffe’s … interest.
Soon after, our day at the zoo was over. After my day at the zoo, there is no doubt in my mind that Spring is here. The animals certainly seem to think so!
