I know that you're all doing that vampire valentine thing, BUT NUTS TO THAT I WENT TO THE ZOO
Yes, I love the zoo. You can probably tell. In fact, I am planning to start going to the zoo once a week, from open til close, to sit in my favourite environment in the hopes of getting back into writing.
That news aside, and before I start posting pictures, I am just going to say it - FV2012 is pretty much officially ON. It only occured to me this morning, but more or less every time I go out, I am in my victoriana regalia. Whether it be my Voltaire outfit (pics coming eventually, but it was my bustle skirt) or my zoo outfit, or even my undressed bloomers and shirt outfit (close enough to Victorian combinations for me to call "totes"). And so here and now, on this day, 15th of February, 2012, I declare the challenge OPEN.
...except it's too hot today for me to wear anything big so today is my day off though shush.
On with some pictures. Click to expand if you want to see some cute fuzzy faces.
We arrived, did a tour of the reptile house, and heard a god-awful racket. The painted dogs were just about to be fed. I took a video but, i will leave that til the 24th when our internet resets (along with a few other videos i have, including the accent challenge vid)
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| These are adorable painted dogs, also known as Cape Hunting Dogs. They are a semi-domesticated canine from africa. They are eating.. I'm not sure. It had hair on it. I think it was a cow or horse bit. |
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| They're fucking adorable, too. Did I mention that? |
We then made straight for the felinae - the small wildcats.
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| A serval! Servals are a desert cat, not endangered but some of my favourite of the small cats. They look like Delilah. |
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| Thanks fairy for letting me borrow your parasol! Mine is a bit sad nowadays |
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| The straw bonnet is the straw hat I wore to the Victorian Goth picnic, with a LOT more false flowers and a ribbon attatched. |
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| A caracal. Once considered to be a lynx, and also known as the Egyptian lynx, it is no longer classified as such. One of my favourite Zoo Tycoon animals! |
Then we made our way over the pantherinae - the big cats. Except the lions. The lions are near the painted dogs and we didnt' get any good pics. not that fond of lions anyway but, just for trivia, in 1984, a guy snuck into the lion den at Melbourne Zoo at night to test his martial arts skills. He was killed and eaten. Guess he wasn't as good as the thought.
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| The snow leopard! My favourite big cat other than the Sumatran tiger. |
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| Snow leopards are very endangered. They are the smallest of the big cats, and their taxanomical definition is very much debated. They have long, thick tails and fluffy feets, and aren't true leopards. Doesn't matter had cat |
We then made our way to the Asian rainforest. We saw elephants but neglected to photograph them as we were too enthralled. We were on our way to the butterfly house and spider house. n.n
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| The oriental small-clawed otter! Also known as the Asian small clawed otter, these animals are vulnerable. They are very active, fast, inquisitive and playful, and are a joy to watch intereact. Impossible to photograph, we only managed when they laid down to cuddle. |
Insert butterfly montage. I don't know the species and I am not looking them up.
It was then, more or less, time for us to shove off. We didn't get to see everything again, but as I mentioned I will be doing weekly visits to the zoo for the rest of the year. However, on our way, we stopped to see one of my very, very favourite animals.
According to wikipedia:
the meerkat is also known as the sun angel, as it protects villages from the moon devil or the werewolf which is believed to attack stray cattle or lone tribesmen.
So that's interesting! This is a family of meerkats. Usually they are seperated, but I believe they were put together because one of the enclosures was being renovated. They are ALSO difficult to photograph but, remain to be one of my very favourite animals to interact with. They are closely related to the mongoose and are just as hardcore. Seriously, a whole family of Riki Tiki Tavis.
I hope you guys enjoyed it! I loved being there.
Do you want to see photographs of anything at the Melbourne Zoo? Comment or message me and I'll get you some!
much love! <3
6 comments:
Kitty, when I eventually come to see you after August can we go to the zoo, pleasseeee? I've never been to the zoo. ;-;
Also, do they have Walruses? o.O
They do not, miss sar. But of course we can. entry for you is $19.60
Haha I love how the leopard is just laying there all stretched out and whatnot. Also the butterlfies are very pretty. I've always liked butterfies
I was told that otters are about the most dangerous animal in the zoo as far as actual injuries to keepers. Small, quick, bitey, and somewhat organized. It makes me love them that much more.
Nyteshade - yes, it was quite warm that day. There was a second one but I didn't get many good photos, it was laying on its platform, pretty much flat. My cats do the same thing. There were also giant multicoloured butterflies. <3
Tante - you're not considered a carnivore keeper unless you've been bitten by an otter. They're not like lions and tigers, where you have to feed them from a distance, and that are obviously dangerous. Otters need to be caught by hand to medically checked and are too small to traquilise. There was an otter from Taronga Zoo that was transfered to Wellington Zoo in New Zealand. His name was Bruce, he was four times the size of their females and not as shy as the otters they were used to. He was a bit aggressive and gave them a few good bites.
I love otters. They are very inquisitive and quite friendly all in all, but they do bite. :P
I love the zoo! I love the caracal too, its ears are so funny and cute hahaha Oh, and the meerkats! The way they stand is so cute! Very intelligent animals <3
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