Wild things

Dex has a picture book that explains the concept of opposites: young puppy, old tortoise; hard brick wall, soft pillow; wet ocean, dry sand; cold popsicle, hot coffee; small mouse, big elephant; etc.

And then, it occurred to me: Dex would have absolutely no idea that a mouse is small and an elephant is big, having never encountered them before. For all he knows, all animals are the size of dogs and cats, the more familiar sights of his everyday world. So, an outing to the zoo was suggested by his dad. I resisted for the longest time. I happen to believe that wild animals are best viewed in their natural habitat, but since a trip to Africa, Antarctica, and South East Asia is not in the immediate plans, I conceded on one condition: as soon as I see sad-looking animals, we are so out of there! (No strolls past the primates then....)

It was a beautiful, 30 degrees plus day for our trek to the zoo. We did not get there till mid-afternoon so we were worried we were not going to see any animals, but it turned out to be a particularly lively day. Four elephants were basking in the sun, a tiger was lounging on a tree, a lion was passed out on the grass, his tail flicking flies off his body, a baby zebra was prancing about and circling his mom, and a giraffe was hovering right in front of us when it spotted what must have been a tasty-looking leaf, so he bent down and stuck out his enormous purple-grey tongue to eat it. We also saw warthogs and lots of birds and some fruit bats. Overall, a very good day for animal viewing despite the heat.

Dex was not too, too excited about the animals. He was more interested in the golf carts being driven by zoo staff (he's into motor vehicles and construction equipment these days). I think a few more visits to the zoo and he might appreciate it a little bit more. Next time, we might stop by the aquarium and pet the sting ray!