We like to go to the zoo. We like
watching the animals. We like the plants. And Ward likes the gift
shops. We like to visit them wherever we're traveling as we did in
Philadelphia last month. Recently we went to another zoo--the National Zoo in
Washington, DC. We had been there before but not for many years. The
last time we went was when Wally and Theo ran from exhibit to
exhibit and climbed all of the animal statues.
 |
| Mischievous Lucy |
This time, Ward and I went with a grownup
Theo, and besides enjoying the various large and small animals, we
got a behind the scenes tour of the large ape house (orangutans and
gorillas), courtesy of Eddie, my nephew who is a keeper there.
He took us for a private tour at the back of the exhibits where he
told us about the general traits of the apes, and we got to
individually meet each of them.
 |
| Baraka, the very laid-back silverback |
And what a group they were. There was
the very laid back silverback gorilla who only got excited when he
thought he might be able to steal a piece of fruit from one of the
females. (By the way, silverback means no more than the gorilla has
reached full maturity. Before that, their back is black.) There was
the orangutan, Lucy, who filled her mouth with water when our back
was turned and was ready to spray it on us just for fun and a bit of
showing off. Fortunately, we moved on before she got a chance. There
was a very cute orangutan that pulled a sheet around herself and was
playing hide and seek with us. (The orangutans make a nest in hay at
night and then they like to pull a sheet or blanket over themselves
while they sleep.)
Then there was the very mischievous teenage male
gorilla who waited until our backs were turned and made a very loud
sound hitting a metal door. It had the exact effect he was looking
for because we all jumped. Then once he had our attention, he ran
large barrels into the sides of the enclosure making very loud sounds.
Eddie told us that he was showing off for our benefit. Some how that
just seemed right for a teenage boy.
I could go on and on because this was
one of the most interesting things I have done for a long while. But
I'll save some of it for Part 2. Stay tuned.
 |
| Kwame. He and his brother Kojo were the male, showoff teens. |
Pictures courtesy of the National Zoo website. None of my pictures turned out very well because of the lighting.
